How poor is poor?

Can you imagine be so poor and so hungry that you have no choice but to eat MUD? Hungry people in the slums of Haiti are giving new meaning to the phrase "dirt poor." As food prices soar, many desperate people are eating mud cookies to stave off their hunger pangs. The Haitian woman in the photo below is preparing mud cookies by mixing vegetable oil and salt with mud. Can you imagine?

Tragically, the state of Florida is located just a little over 600 miles away from this destitute part of the world. We are so spoiled rotten in America. I saw a commercial on TV today advertising "cat litter" made from corn and wheat. While America's pets poop in litter made from food, poor children just hours away are forced to eat mud because they have NO FOOD. Do we really trust in God in America, when we allow the poor to starve to death, while simultaneously using perfectly good food to make cat sand? Sad!

Americans are spoiled! We enjoy a delicious hot meal 3 times daily, while the world's poor resort to eating mud mixed with salt and vegetable oil to survive. Tragically, many of the world's poor don't even have mud cookies and just starve to death. It's sickening! Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett, have all been honored as great humanitarians for donating several tens-of-billions of dollars to help the world's poor. What a scam! The money will all be squandered, just like the rest of the UNFPA money has been. The poor continue to starve. Who's kidding who?

 

 
The small island nation of Haiti relies heavily on food imports, but with prices soaring, some Haitians are resorting to eating mud.

The cookies -- made of dirt, butter and salt -- hold little nutritional value, but manage to keep Haiti's poor alive.

Why Greece Bankrupt?

By the end of 2009, as a result of a combination of international and local factors the Greek economy faced its most-severe crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1974 as the Greek government revised its deficit from an estimated 6% to 12.7% of gross domestic product (GDP).

In early 2010, it was revealed that through the assistance of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and numerous other banks, financial products were developed which enabled the governments of Greece, Italy and many other European countries to hide their borrowing. Dozens of similar agreements were concluded across Europe whereby banks supplied cash in advance in exchange for future payments by the governments involved; in turn, the liabilities of the involved countries were "kept off the books".

According to Der Spiegel credits given to European governments were disguised as "swaps" and consequently did not get registered as debt. As Eurostat at the time ignored statistics involving financial derivatives, a German derivatives dealer had commented to Der Spiegel that "The Maastricht rules can be circumvented quite legally through swaps," and "In previous years, Italy used a similar trick to mask its true debt with the help of a different US bank." These conditions had enabled Greek as well as many other European governments to spend beyond their means, while meeting the deficit targets of the European Union.

In May 2010, the Greek government deficit was again revised and estimated to be 13.6% which was the second highest in the world relative to GDP with Iceland in first place at 15.7% and the United Kingdom third with 12.6%. Public debt was forecast, according to some estimates, to hit 120% of GDP during 2010.

As a consequence, there was a crisis in international confidence in Greece's ability to repay its sovereign debt. To avert such a default, in May 2010 the other Eurozone countries, and the IMF, agreed to a rescue package which involved giving Greece an immediate €45 billion in loans, with more funds to follow, totaling €110 billion. To secure the funding, Greece was required to adopt harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control.

On 15 November 2010, the EU's statistics body Eurostat revised the public finance and debt figure for Greece following an excessive deficit procedure methodological mission in Athens, and put Greece's 2009 government deficit at 15.4% of GDP and public debt at 126.8% of GDP making it the biggest deficit (as a percentage of GDP) among the EU member nations.

In 2011, it became apparent that the bail-out would be insufficient and a second bail-out amounting to €130 billion ($173 billion) was agreed in 2012, subject to strict conditions, including financial reforms and further austerity measures.

As part of the deal, there was to be a 53% reduction in the Greek debt burden to private creditors and any profits made by Eurozone central banks on their holdings of Greek debt are to be repatriated back to Greece. A team of monitors will be based in Athens to ensure agreed reforms are put into place and three months worth of debt repayments are to be held in a special account.

Greece achieved a primary government budget surplus in 2013. In April 2014, Greece returned to the global bond market as it successfully sold €3 billion worth of five-year government bonds at a yield of 4.95%.

Greece returned to growth after six years of economic decline in the second quarter of 2014, and was the Eurozone's fastest-growing economy in the third quarter.

Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece#Financial_crisis_.282010.E2.80.93present.29

Many injured amok & assault in Low Yatt Plaza

Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/07/13/Low-Yat-mob-attack/

Five people were injured including two journalists in a mob attack near Low Yat Plaza after police dispersed protesters at the shopping mall. An eyewitness said a group of 50 to 60 men barged into a food outlet near the shopping mall and assaulted the patrons with motorcycle helmets at around midnight.

Among those believed to have been targeted was a media photographer. A journalist who tried to protect the photographer was also beaten up. According to the reporter, a group of people shielded the two journalists from the angry mob. The two later sought shelter at a nearby hotel.

There were also sounds of explosions heard at the scene. At press time, it is believed that the police had detained six individuals involved in the mob attack. Two Federal Reserve Unit vehicles were deployed at 1am, Monday.

Police have cordoned off the main road entrance to the shopping complex. Earlier in the night, a group gathered at the Low Yat Plaza following Saturday's melee between customers and sales clerks in a smartphone shop.

Police managed to contain the situation.

Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/07/13/Low-Yat-mob-attack/