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Christoph Zed

War Profiteers?: Study Reveals Germany Is World's Third Largest Defense Exporter - SPIE... - 0 views

  • Germany Is World's Third Largest Defense Exporter
  • Once one of the world's most aggressive powers, Germany today likes to project a pacifist image
  • a report released yesterday by the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), a German think tank, reveals a different side of Germany's relationship to war.
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  • Germany, it turns out, exports nearly a billion euros worth of military goods each year ($1.55 billion) to developing countries.
  • That makes Germany the European Union's biggest military goods exporter, and worldwide it's behind only the US and Russia,
  • The BICC's annual report, guest-authored by former UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix, focused on the rise of military spending all over the world, a development that the end of the Cold War was supposed to reverse. Instead, global spending on weapons and armies rose by 15 percent between 2001 and 2006. Today it tops €650 billion ($1.1 trillion). A third of that is spent by the US.
  • "We see a revival of Cold War politics without the Cold War -- a Cold Peace, if you will."
  • "Apart from America there are a number of fast-growing countries -- like China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, not to mention Russia -- where the global trend towards militarization is showing itself most clearly,"
Yair Frid

World Military Strength Ranking - 0 views

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    Very cool and interesting page. Enjoy!!!
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    Interesting to see that 10 of the 30 are European states. No wonder Russia wasn't to happy about the US-Proposed Missile Defence Shield. (which will now not be built in Poland btw). Russia also wouldn't be happy about being ranked lower than China (and prbbly contest it) India's ranking could be seen as a surprise - at least compared to its media coverage in the west - and then of course Egypt is very interesting as well. These would help to explain the US's continued and long-standing commitment to these two countries especially.
Yair Frid

The 15 most toxic places to live | MNN - Mother Nature Network - 0 views

shared by Yair Frid on 18 Sep 09 - Cached
  • The 15 most toxic places to live
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    Where do you live????
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    interesting list which Russia and China seem to lead. Though one could argue that while the pollution takes place in these countries it is often caused by companies, that are at least majority-owned by Western corporations. Pollution then becomes another facet to the various aspects of globalisation.
Christoph Zed

BBC NEWS | Business | Emerging economies 'get new role' - 0 views

  • The G20 group of leading and emerging economies will take on a new role as a permanent body co-ordinating the world economy
  • more power to emerging economies, rather than to the developed powerhouses of the G8 group.
  • Senior EU officials later announced a deal to shift the balance of voting in the International Monetary Fund to benefit growing economies like China.
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  • police fired rubber bullets at protesters
  • The G20 is going to be the new body counsel that will be the coordinating body for international economic cooperation
  • financial regulatory reform was the most important agenda item for summit, but that addressing global economic imbalances was also a priority
  • US proposal calls on economies such as China, Brazil and India to boost domestic consumption
  • US and Europe would encourage more saving
  • That's not a sustainable financial situation for the US and that's why we're in the process of adjusting
Shalini Raj

China's Communists Mark 60 Years in Power With Beijing Parade - Bloomberg.com - 0 views

shared by Shalini Raj on 01 Oct 09 - Cached
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    The parade, in best old school communist tradition, is quite an interesting national display of power at this time. While it is predominantly aimed at the Chinese public (though not all, as access to the event was strictly controlled and limited) broadcast by national TV throughout the "Reich der Mitte" it is reinforcing the identity of a military super power, solid leadership and military state institutions, it also serves in a sense as a means of justification and proof for successful ideology to the ruling elite. And of course the display is aimed at the rest of the world, showing that China is a power to be reckoned with, not just economically but also in regards to it's military - just in case anyone has had any doubt. But is that a message the west needs to be reminded of? With the cold war over, and globalization making a path for cooperation and convergence of east and west in both in the economic and political arena, maybe the display is aimed at old friends eg. Russia and possible future "problems" (from a chinese point of view) such as Iran or N.Korea, who are working towards a stronger military recognition and/or are in strong competition with the market powers China has been able to built up eg: India, Japan.
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