The earthquake in Nepal. Let's pray for the victims.

I have been following the news of the earthquake in Nepal the entire day on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and SkyNews, and it is shocking to see how a historical city has now been laid to waste and 2,300 lives lost. Let's pause for a moment to spare a thought for the victims who are still reeling from the shock of the devastation.

UMNO may like to take note of this

Why does a political party need to cheat at elections so as to rule perpetually?  Would it not be better to turn the country into a one-party state just by emulating China's approach in the way they manage a nation of 1.3 billion people?

Kevin Rudd returns as prime minister

Australia’s former leader Kevin Rudd toppled Julia Gillard to return as prime minister today, reclaiming the job on his third attempt and with elections less than three months away.

The vote of Labor Party lawmakers followed months of destabilizing leadership speculation, fuelled by opinion polls pointing to an election wipeout for Labor against the Conservative Opposition headed by Tony Abbott.

Rudd’s dramatic return as prime minister came almost three years to the day after he was dumped in favor of Gillard, who was Australia’s first female prime minister, and following two aborted leadership attempts, the most recent in March.

Rudd was elected prime minister in November 2007 and his government helped Australia avoid recession during the 2008 global financial crisis, although he struggled to pass key reforms through parliament. Rudd won the ballot of Labor Party lawmakers by 57 votes to 45. [Source: Reuters]

Footnote: Kevin Rudd speaks fluent Mandarin, and below is an interview with him on Mandarin News Australia when he was the Foreign Minister under the Julia Gillard's administration.

Dollar no longer primary oil currency as China begins to sell oil using Yuan

Oil Sources for ChinaCredits:

Courtesy of TIme, Facts Global Energy

http://www.examiner.com/article/dollar-no-longer-primary-oil-currency-as-china-begins-to-sell-oil-using-yuan

 

On Sept. 11, Pastor Lindsey Williams, former minister to the global oil companies during the building of the Alaskan pipeline, announced the most significant event to affect the U.S. dollar since its inception as a currency. For the first time since the 1970's, when Henry Kissenger forged a trade agreement with the Royal house of Saud to sell oil using only U.S. dollars, China announced its intention to bypass the dollar for global oil customers and began selling the commodity using their own currency.

Lindsey Williams: "The most significant day in the history of the American dollar, since its inception, happened on Thursday, Sept. 6. On that day, something took place that is going to affect your life, your family, your dinner table more than you can possibly imagine."

"On Thursday, Sept. 6... just a few days ago, China made the official announcement. China said on that day, our banking system is ready, all of our communication systems are ready, all of the transfer systems are ready, and as of that day, Thursday, Sept. 6, any nation in the world that wishes from this point on, to buy, sell, or trade crude oil, can do using the Chinese currency, not the American dollar. - Interview with Natty Bumpo on the Just Measures Radio network, Sept. 11

This announcement by China is one of the most significant sea changes in the global economic and monetary systems, but was barely reported on due to its announcement taking place during the Democratic convention last week. The ramifications of this new action are vast, and could very well be the catalyst that brings down the dollar as the global reserve currency, and change the entire landscape of how the world purchases energy.

Ironically, since Sept. 6, the U.S. dollar has fallen from 81.467 on the index to today's price of 79.73. While analysts will focus on actions taking place in the Eurozone, and expected easing signals from the Federal Reserve on Thursday regarding the fall of the dollar, it is not coincidence that the dollar began to lose strength on the very day of China's announcement.

Since China is not a natural oil producing nation, the question most people will ask is how will the Asian economic power get enough oil to affect dollar hegemony? That question was also answered by Lindsey Williams when he pointed out a new trade agreement that was signed on Sept. 7 between China and Russia, in which the Russian Federation agreed to sell oil to China in any and all amounts they desired.

Lindsey Williams: "This has never happened in the history of crude oil.  Since crude oil became the motivating force behind our ( U.S. ) entire economy, and everything in our lives revolves around crude oil. And since crude oil became the motivating factor behind our economy... never, ever has crude oil been sold, bought, traded, in any country in the world, without using the American dollar."

"Crude oil is the standard currency of the world. Not the Yen, not the Pound, not the Dollar. More money is transferred around the world in crude oil than in any other product."

"On Friday, Sept. 7, Russia announced, that as of today, we will supply China with all of the crude oil that they need, no matter how much they want... there is no limit. And Russia will not sell or trade this crude oil to China using the American dollar." -Interview with Natty Bumpo on the Just Measures Radio network, Sept. 11

These duo actions by the two most powerful adversaries of the U.S. economy and empire, have now joined in to make a move to attack the primary economic stronghold that keeps America as the most powerful economic superpower. Once the majority of the world begins to bypass the dollar, and purchase oil in other currencies, then the full weight of our debt and diminished manufacturing structure will come crashing down on the American people.

This new agreement between Russia and China also has serious ramifications in regards to Iran , and the rest of the Middle East . No longer will U.S. sanctions against Iran have a measurable affect, as the rogue nation can simply choose to sell its oil to China , and receive Yuan in return, and use that currency to trade for the necessary resources it needs to sustain its economy and nuclear programs.

The world changed last week, and there was nary a word spoken by Wall Street or by politicians who reveled in their own magnificence as this event took place during the party conventions. A major blow was done on Sept. 6 to the American empire, and to the power of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. And China , along with Russia , are now aiming to become the controllers of energy, and thus, controllers of a new petro-currency.

 

 

The spin of Bersih 2.0 by UMNO

I meant to touch on this subject a while ago but kept putting it off as other national issues started to take precedent.

As we all know by now, UMNO, it's agents and all pro-UMNO supporters, including the Sultanah of Johore have been saying that Bersih 2.0 was being influenced by the Arab spring uprising. If one was to study the chronology of events, one can easily deduce, with a tongue in the cheek, that the Arabs were actually the ones who were influenced by Bersih instead. Why do I say so? Let's look at the facts:

1. The first Bersih took off on November 10 2007 with a massive rally of 50,000 people.

2. Bersih 2.0 was launched on November 10 2010 at the MBPJ Civic Center, PJ. Until this moment, no one knew, even the Arabs themselves, that there was going to be civic unrest in the Middle East starting with Tunisia within the next two months.

3. The Arab spring uprising started in January 2011.

4. This was followed by the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 2011.

So as we can see, Bersih and Bersih 2.0 actually preceded the events in the Middle East. The momentum for the July 9 2011 rally came about as a result of the November 10 2010 launch.

The other differences are Bersih 2.0 wanted very much to involve politicians from both sides of the political divide but this was spurned by the BN leaders. The Arabs on the other hand, did not have such committee to plan their uprisings. They just happened at the spur of the moment and before anyone knew it, it became litted up like a phosphorous flame, out of despondency and desperation. Thus, the Arab uprisings could be seen about ending dictatorships and toppling corrupt leaders while Bersih 2.0 was about electoral reforms and this was repeated several times by the Bersih 2.0 Steering Committee.

So, in the end, how could our leaders equate Bersih 2.0 to the Middle East crisis? Unless UMNO is referring to the Arab leaders themselves, and that's where the similarities end.

The tsunami strikes Japan

Martin Jacques: Understanding the rise of China

The wind of change blows into Bahrain and Libya

Barely has the excitement died down in Tunisia and Egypt when similar protests erupted in Bahrain and Libya.

China, the economic power house

Does anyone know what China really wants and in which direction China is going?
The Russell answer :
China wants to be the most powerful financial power on the planet. Note that I
said China wants to be a "financial power," not a military power. Militarily, China
simply wants to neutralize the US , and be on a military level with the US . China
knows that nobody can win the next major war between super-powers (both sides
would be utterly destroyed).

China 's initial financial strategy -- to make the yuan (renminbi) the world's leading
currency. China wants the yuan to take the place of the US dollar in world trade and
they want the yuan to be the world's reserve currency. China is going about this in
slow, deliberate steps.

First, China is making strategic alliances with a long list of nations. This means
that they will trade, using currency swaps in China 's currency, the yuan. This will
result in eliminating trade in US dollars. The Chinese alliances include Malaysia , Belarus,
Hong Kong, Indonesia and more recently Brazil and Argentina. China is also moving
to create currency swaps with the Arab nations. More ominously, this means that
China ideally wants oil quoted and traded in yuan rather than as it is currently quoted
and traded -- in dollars.

What's behind China 's new strategies? The fact is that China has been smarting under
many decades of bad-mouthing and disrespect. China is a nation of 1.3 billion
hard-working people, a nation pulling itself out of deadening poverty and fast-becoming
the leading economy of the world. Today, no trend or major deal is transacted without
considering it's affect on China or China 's affect on the transaction.

It's obvious that China wants the yuan to be the world's new reserve currency. Ask
yourself this -- if you are dealing with a currency, would you rather deal with the
currency of a nation with a huge hard-working population, a nation with the largest
reserves on the planet -- or would you rather deal with the currency of a nation
drowning in debt, a nation who's currency is in a multi-decade decline, and a nation
which is steadily losing its productive and manufacturing capabilities?

The next step in the progression is for China to make its yuan convertible. China
wants the yuan to take the place of the dollar. It wants the yuan to be the world's
leading trading and safe-haven currency. More than that, China is in a headlong
rush to build its reserves of gold. Recently, China asked the IMF to create a new
reserve currency, a mix of three or four leading currencies with the yuan and gold
as two of its components.

China quietly has become the world's largest producer of gold. Furthermore, China 's
leaders have been urging their people to accumulate gold.

Unlike the US , China sees gold as a symbol of power and prestige. I believe that China
is thinking that in due time, it will back the yuan with part-gold, thereby making the yuan
far preferable to the US dollar, which is backed by nothing tangible. Today. the dollar
is backed only by the "full faith and credit" of the US government. So it's interesting
and rather frightening, while the US creates billions (trillions) of dollars out of computer
transactions, all in an effort to save its banking system, China is spending part of it giant
dollar hoard to buy up the resources of the earth. China already has a near-monopoly
in rare earths. China is buying mining companies where ever it's feasible. China is
buying arable land in South America and Africa . If it's a valuable resource, if it's for sale,
China wants to buy it.

All this is happening while the US debates the suitability of gays being in its armed forces.

Item, River Court City, Goldman Sachs' headquarters in London , has just been bought
by China through a company called "Chinese estates."

Item, Tim Geithner and Hillary Clinton continue to berate China and tell China what it should
be doing. China is doing exactly what it wants and what serves its own interests, and surprisingly,
China is not interested in the plans that the US has for it.

Housing: China 's leaders are worried about the housing bubble that has formed in China . In
an effort to let the air of the bubble, China has increased its bank reserves and raised its
benchmark interest rates. Thus has resulted in a sharp drop in its stock market (below, a
chart of the Shanghai Composite Index as of Friday's close).

[Richard Russell, Editor-in-chief - DOW THEORY LETTERS www.dowtheoryletters.com. The inimitable and venerable Mr. Russell gained wide recognition via a series of over 30 Dow Theory and technical articles that he wrote for Barron's during the late-'50s through the '90s. Through Barron's and via word of mouth, he gained a wide following. Russell was the first (in 1960) to recommend gold stocks. He called the top of the 1949-'66 bull market. And almost to the day he called the bottom of the great 1972-'74 bear market, and the beginning of the great bull market which started in December 1974.]