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TEEing off on Terrorism, Economy and the Environment Arun Koul |
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Terrorism, Economy and the Environment; these are no longer matters for the faint at heart. Yet, these beg involvement of the masses and utmost seriousness of action from the powers that be. Economy is the top issue at this exact time and so let me talk a little bit about that first. It seems like just the other day that I had friends rave about how the world has come together in an interdependent manner; all proud to be part of the Global Economy and positive about all round growth in all sectors and continents. Everyone had something interesting to say. Come to think of it, this Global economy thing is very impressive for how it works, pretty much on the principles of supply and demand. It is almost that the whole world pitches in to produce and deliver to you whatever you want, use or own and yet no one is in charge! Consider the cell phone that is in your hand, you just would not know how it came together. Specked in one country, designed in several others, different parts produced in different locations and everything put together at another place! Then, come the questions regarding how it reached you through an intricate supply chain network involving the manufacturing company, the cell phone service providers, chains providing sales and service at locations, the franchisee that set up shop in your neighborhood mall… Who runs the show here? Who determines the price? Hey, even in preparing what you need for your morning shave, people have worked in different time zones, solving problems using complex algorithms, as if to launch a satellite. Want a cup of coffee? What part of the world do your beans have to come from? Spoilt for choices, what is a man or woman to do? There has been so much praise of the almost mystical realm of the global economy. All well and hunky dory but what is happening now! Is this Armageddon? This is much worse than 2001, even though the US economy lost several million jobs then, between 2001 and 2003. Yesterday, the DOW was closer to 10000. Job losses are increasing even as auto sales and home prices are down double digit percentages. Credit spreads are high in the USA and Europe and other risk factors are at play. There is bound to be a global impact because what happens in the USA has a direct bearing on the global economy. The fact is that a lot of the world’s money is invested here as well as parked in US “securities” that were considered safe, backed by assets that could be turned to cash. But with the crisis in the real estate markets here, there seems to be a run for the money. Now, people everywhere know Henry “Hank” Paulson the US Treasury Secretary and want to know what he is up to next. His $700 billion bailout plan was voted down by the Congress yesterday. There were people who simply opposed the bailout of fat money corporations called investment banks that had excluded the average folk from their money making ways. Come to think of it, earlier not many people really knew or cared to know the difference between these Investment Banks and Commercial-Retail Banks. Now the top 5 investment banks (Bear Sterns, Lehmann Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Merryl Lynch) have either been bought out, have declared bankruptcy or have been given a lifeline to operate as commercial banks. Now people know that these Investment banks paid $38 billion in staff bonuses last year even as their stocks declined by $74 billion. The bigger you are the bigger the bailout. It is believed that the government bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with investments of $100 billion each in order to protect the interests of the Chinese, who have huge investments in their securities. Many grudge that there is no such bailout or credit if one is a regular guy or a small business. The situation demands that we keep aside these grudges for now. The world lives on credit these days and most business is conducted on the premise of its availability. There is a system for making credit available and it is on the verge of collapse. If there is no action and the world loses its money along with its faith in the US economy, everybody is going to hurt from the implications. So let us bear the pain of any new bailout scheme with forbearance even as we know that we are paying for the merriment of others in a previous time. Yet, the government needs to ensure that some things are corrected, going into the future. There is something that has gone wrong with capitalism as we know it and time has come to fix it. And who better to take some of the required lessons from than Bill Gates himself. His vision of Creative Capitalism would actually create wealth and improve the lives of many. An example of creative capitalism would be the Grameen bank of Bangladesh which brings real change and development in the lives of many rather than concentrate the power of wealth in a few. The economy is dominating discussion so much that two other crucial issues of terrorism and the environment have almost taken a back seat. Yet, everyday terrorists are making efforts that they should not be forgotten. The gains that they presume to be making for themselves are hard to understand. What would one gain by killing children, families, simple folk out for some shopping or on a stroll? What is worse is that many of these terrorists are quite “educated”. With what kind of education, one may ask? Quite a few techies are part of the terrorist network and detailed planning, advanced bomb making techniques, wireless hacking, use of the internet with its mass communication as well as encryption facilities are just some of their skills. These people have options to help themselves, their families, society and mankind in general. Why do they choose to kill and destroy? The world over, anti-terrorist forces are getting trained and equipped to deal with this new breed of city terrorists. Not so much in India where a blast a week is becoming the norm. How can India’s police force be equipped to deal with these guys? How can the terrorists be sifted out of the mainstream where they so seamlessly blend in? What kinds of laws are required to take these guys off the pedestals that they are held high on by their misguided community members and show them the plain, straight arms of law enforcement? How do we make our politicians criminally accountable for their actions or inactions in defending terrorists and their organizations and supporters? Can India learn a lesson from the US or from elsewhere? Terrorism and its global connections is a topic that has been dealt with at length in many issues of Shehjar and may be prescribed reading for those who only now understand that it can strike at will, even in their neighborhood. Finally, a last word on the Environment; if remedial steps are not taken, the prognosis is not good. Pollution of the environment is causing damaging consequences, of which global warming, ozone layer depletion and increase of greenhouse gases are just some of the major threats. The hard effects are already being observed and the forces of nature will be increasingly and devastatingly unforgiving if we ever cross the tipping point. Droughts the world over have started to cause food shortages in places and definitely much higher prices everywhere. Effects on overall health of people as well as on our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are easily measurable. What can we do as individuals- as communities to deal with these triple threats pertaining to Terrorism, Economy and the Environment? You can let us know by emailing editor.shehjar@gmail.com . We at Shehjar believe that we all can play individual roles but also need to exert collectively. Collectively, we can get a lot more achieved. And, many of us are fortunate to be living in democracies and could get politically active around these issues. Talk of politics brings us to Obama-Biden vs McCain-Palin. Who are you rooting for and why? Share your views on these US elections below or by emailing us at editor.shehjar@gmail.com . |
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It is amazing yet original how you have linked three burning issues those pester the World community at presentYou can not ignore one at the cost of the other.All need to be grapled with iron fist to redeem World from present chaos.It is abright idea.
Added By pushkar ganjoo
Thanks Arunji for highlighting these 3 burning issues of our times and writing it so beautifully.
Added By Deepak Ganju
Dear Arun, Your article examines three basic components of globalization which defines the international economic activity for the past so many years. The champions of globalization are describing the world that does not exist. Insightful Sanjay
Added By sanjay Kaul
Well, Arunji, at the outset I would like to say that your write-up on Terrorism, Economy and Environment is simply outstanding. You have dealt with three most important global issues facing us today so deftly, A man like me who knows little about the nuances of economy could now understand, to use your own idiom, “the mystical realm of the global economy”, Thanks for the same. About terrorism, I join you in asking India if she “could learn a lesson from the US” as to how to contain this menace?
Added By Gopinath Raina
This is a very well written article.
Added By Vijay Trisal