World Politics Central

Civilian deaths in Iraq have been rising again.  In this month alone, Washington Times reported 674 Iraqi security officials and civilians were killed.  Although there was improved security in the country ever since the troops of United States surged in 2007, the increased civilian deaths now have significantly affected the morale of their citizens.

Workers in Notre Dame Basilica (Montreal’s landmark) are getting ready for a possible strike.  These workers have been working without a contract since end of 2005, and they said that they are frustrated with slow pace of negotiations.  The group includes technicians, boutique employees, tour guides and office workers earning $19.40-$25 an hour.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been asked by U.S. Senators how Iraq was spending its income on oil.  The January 2007 GAO report says that $10 billion has been earmarked for reconstruction, but only 4.4 percent has been spent until August of last year.  The Iraqi government is being blamed in spending 24% of the money.

U.S. President George Bush has acknowledged that the country’s economy is experiencing a difficult time.  He said it has indeed slowed down, but the economic stimulus package that was signed into a law has just started.  In the package, businesses are given tax incentives to buy new equipment and 130 million households will receive rebate checks this coming May.

The Prime Minister for Italy, Romano Prodi, says he is already retiring after the parliamentary elections.  He is 86 years old and in his interview, he told Euronews.net that he is finished with Italian politics and all politics in general.  Rome’s mayor, Walter Veltroni, is taking over the leadership of the country.

European King Juan Carlos has steered Spain to modern democracy from its dictatorship 32 years ago.  His achievements have included defending the said democracy from an attempted “coup de tat” in 1981.  But even if he used to be so popular and well-loved, there are political groups right now that are troubling the king for they have called an end to this Spanish monarchy.

The common man is the worst sufferer of corruption in India, and in any country for that matter.  But in India, there is an unequal distribution of wealth and immoral use of money.  The political parties have a very large share in wasting economic resources.  It is best described as a country where Machiavellian politics is widely present.  This means that although India has the largest democracy in the world, the common man is till getting an unfair deal.

Banks were sent billions of dollars from the Economic Stimulus bill that was supposed to fund their lending activities allowing commerce to progress at it’s normal pace. The problem is that of those banks that have managed to survive the initial onslaught of the recession and who received some funds from the government, they have seemingly been so traumatized they are very cautious with their lending activities even with initial promise that they wouldn’t do so. Well the government has had enough of this over-cautious nature for the funds these banks received were tax-payer dollars, the very people they are not lending to. Read the rest of this entry »

Wall Street, is seemingly gaining ground leading many who are guarding it closely to speculate that the worst of the economy has passed. But still other experts are saying it’s too early to say so best be careful that sorry again. Many other indicators out on the streets of the US, indicators that the ordinary Joe is watching, jobs and weak consumer spending. The US government has pumped trillions into the economy, sending part of the trillion dollar “Stimulus Package” to almost all the sectors of business and even into the pockets of ordinary Americans. These along with tax incentives and other financial assistance packages are all to get Americans back on their feet, hoping they would pump it back into the economy that badly needs it. The measure is a temporary measure meant to boost consumer confidence while the people on Wall Street and lawmakers try to find ways of hastening the recovery and with that, Wall street people seem to be hard at work with mild gains that if they are to continue would surely lead to some relief.

The unwise decision by the closed country that is Korea to test nuclear bomb technology even with UN sanctions in place gave a very much clear picture that their nuclear program that was supposed to be for peaceful means (power generation) was only a cover for their more devious plans. Then came Kim’s absence, soon after more threats of nuclear missiles to be fired at the slightest hint the
West and it’s allies meddles in it’s affairs. Then comes silence for a few months, after which comes the test firing of medium then short range missiles, all banned according to the embargo imposed by the UN against the impoverished country for not complying with the demands of the many in exchange for food and other vital supplies. Read the rest of this entry »