Vital Concerns for the World: Bhadrakumar's recent postings: valuable signs of shifting affairs in Central Asia and Afghanistan

Friday, March 12, 2010

Bhadrakumar's recent postings: valuable signs of shifting affairs in Central Asia and Afghanistan

M K Bhadrakumar of Asia Times Online has recently published two valuable reports worth careful attention. The one that appeared on January 8 reveals how the struggle for pipeline access to the gas and oil fields of Central Asia [the "energy war"] is shaping up. The one dated March 13, 2010, is about the tug of war over how to settle the conflict in Afghanistan.

Both of these you should read through. The world we live in is not the same as it was and will not be the same tomorrow. As we best can, we would like to track with it.

Despite a likely pro-Indian bias, this guy's work helps us gain a sense of how affairs are moving.

RLC

On pipelines in Central Asia:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/LA08Ag01.html

On the efforts to develop a secure agreement for peace in Afghanistan
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LC13Df01.html

A major source of the American debt problem

Notable Concerns

"Not one has taken responsibility for the biggest foreign policy disaster in U.S. history." Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condolezza Rica, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith.
The crash of September 2008 brought the largest bankruptcies in world history, pushing more than 30 million people into unemployment and bringing many countries to the edge of insolvency. AlJazeera 10/15/11
GE, America's largest corporation, paid no taxes last year even though it made 5.1 billion dollars profit in the country [and even more outside the country] [source: same as below]
In 2009 the richest 5% held 63.5% of American wealth; the bottom 80% controlled 12.8%. [source: same as below]
Between 2000 and 2007 the richest 10% in America benefited from all of the average growth in the period. In the post WW II period the top 10% benefited from only one third of the growth, the bottom 90% benefiting from the rest of the growth. [Economic Policy Institute, cited by Bob Herbert, NYT 3/26/11]
In 2010 a "premier" investment bank paid each of its 26,000 employees an average of $370,000. [Bill Gross Pimco Investment Outlook Feb, 2011.]
In 2005, one-quarter of the corporations in America making a trillion dolars in revenue paid no taxes.
The 833% Medical Insurance Ripoff: Medicare charges 3% for service; the health insurance companies in Missouri charge 25% for services
The richest 1 percent of Americans have more net worth than the bottom 90 percent.
The richest 1 percent of Americans receive more income than the bottom 50%. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/dec/10/bernie-s/bernie-sanders-viral-speech-says-top-1$ >