| Not all is well with rapid economic growth
If you ask India's Finance Minister about the country's economic health, he would seem to be more than sure about its well being. If P. Chidambaram is asked if the economy is showing any signs of flu (overheating, I mean), his answer in the negative comes with a confident smile. He's always happy that India is not only shining, but is now glittering. India is growing at a pace never imagined by even the super-optimist. The Hindu rate of growth (of six per cent) of the country's gross domestic product is history now. We are currently averaging above eight per cent. Several estimates put current GDP growth rate at 9.2 per cent. And for the first time in the past 10 years, industrial growth in India has exceeded 10 per cent. Also, for the first time ever, the rate of growth of the country's manufacturing sector has exceeded 12 per cent in six months (April-September 2006).
Debtor Nation
"News Dissector" Danny Schechter edits MediaChannel.org, where this article first appeared. His film "In Debt We Trust," is now in release. Comments to Dissector@mediachannel.org Well over a year ago, I wrote an article for Harvard's journalism journal Nieman Reports complaining about deeply flawed media coverage of credit and debt issues in America. "There is a credit divide in America that fuels our economic divide," I wrote, warning of a potential economic implosion because so many Americans are trapped by a debt squeeze. I was not alone in projecting a crisis, although my focus was more on the failure of many media outlets to track the problem and ask deeper questions. "Ours has become a nation in which the carrot of instant affluence is quickly menaced by the harsh stick of bill collectors, lawsuits, and foreclosures," I argued.
Mending the Safety Net
Why Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Elmoselhy has the toughest balancing act in government: He is helping the economic team curb the deficit, fixing the nations broken subsidy system and improving services to the nations poor. His biggest weapons: The power of moral persuasion and a businessmans approach to the carrot and the stick. By Fatima El-Saadani While many of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazifs ministers walk the tightrope, Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Elmoselhy has one of the toughest balancing acts in government. Since the former head of the National Postal Authority was sworn into the Cabinet last year, he has not only had to work to curb the nations subsidy budget, but also had to find ways of mending the nations frayed social security net. Indeed, Elmoselhys task often seems an impossible one: Hes being told to trim his budget, delivery higher-quality social services (everything from baking better bread to ensuring the poor enroll in a national health insurance program he doesnt control), push other ministries to pay more attention to the poor and the working poor and, at the same time, find ways of making certain subsidies only find their way into the pockets of those who need them most.
Euro zone March economic sentiment indicator 111.2 vs 109.7 in Feb
BRUSSELS (AFX) - The European Commission said its euro zone economic sentiment indicator for March rose to 111.2 from 109.7 in February.
Economists polled by AFX News had forecast a more modest rise to 110.0.
The industrial confidence component of the indicator increased to 6 from 5, consumer confidence improved to minus 4 from minus 5, and services confidence rose to 22 from 20.
Economists had forecast industrial confidence at 5, consumer confidence at -5, and services confidence at 20.
The commissions euro zone business climate indicator was unchanged at 1.55.
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One Hundred Years of Denial
Filipinos waited 300 years before they wielded their bolos in 1896, then waited another 90 years to revolt against a dictatorship in 1986, and are still waiting now, 111 years later. By Rosalinda N. Olsen
Contributed to Bulatlat After more than 300 years of oppression from the Spanish colonial masters, the Filipinos launched the Philippine Revolution. That was in 1896. Ten years short of a hundred years later, in February 1986, the Filipinos again rose in revolt, not against foreign oppression but against 20 years of the dictatorial Marcos regime. In 1896, their cry was for freedom. In 1986, their cry was for democracy. In both instances, their cry was denied. What did these two attempts at revolution have in common? These two shining moments in Philippine history show two things: 1) Filipinos have a very long and slow-burning fuse; 2) When Filipinos can no longer say Puwede na; puwede pa, they will confront a superior military power by sheer numbers and courage born out of will power and desperation; and, 3) both were aborted revolutions. Lets take a quick look at those two historical spectacles.
Aurora officially named River Edge zone
AURORA -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Thursday that Aurora officially has become the state's first River Edge Redevelopment Zone. These zones were established by state law last year and are eligible for millions of dollars in funding from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The idea is to offer financial assistance to river towns and other areas that need help cleaning up contaminated sites for redevelopment. Aurora, Rockford and East St. Louis are the three communities mentioned by name in the law as the pilot zones for this new program. But Aurora still had to apply for the certification, which was granted this week. "It's another first for the city of Aurora," said Mayor Tom Weisner, who worked with State Rep.
Let the debate begin in race for Holyrood 2007
IT IS without doubt the most important election Scotland has seen for a generation. The official campaign for the 2007 Holyrood vote begins today with the SNP in the lead. According to eight consecutive polls conducted in Scotland this year, the Nationalists are on course to take control of the Scottish Executive in May. .
RUSSIA REPORTS US IRAN BORDER BUILDUP
Russian military intelligence services are reporting a flurry of activity by U.S. Armed Forces near Iran's borders, a high-ranking security source said Tuesday. RIA Novosi (Russia)
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