||Sandwich|| & [Drink]> blog
A Sandwich of Topics, Easy to DigestArchive for Our World
Will Brazilian President Lula Squash the Nuclear Beef Between Iran and the West?
According to Pepe Escobar, there’s a good chance:
“Iran has all but agreed that Brazil should be the mediator between Tehran and the United Nations – rather than the axis of the US, Britain and France inside the UN Security Council, plus Germany – to finally settle the Iranian nuclear dossier. According to the Fars news agency, after his visit early this week to New York, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, in a phone call with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, told him that Iran had agreed with the Brazilian proposal for a nuclear fuel swap deal for the Tehran research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer treatment. The proposal will be discussed in detail when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visits Tehran by the end of next week.”
Worlds Largest Photograph: Dubai in 45 gigapixels
Source: cnet
Dubai has one-upped Paris’ 26 gigapixel picture with a 45 gigapixel photo of their skyline. Now the city can claim among other things, the largest photo- which captures the tallest building… go figure.
Has Noah’s Ark Finally Been Found?
Source: Streetknowledge
“In the archaeological realm, it is easy to see that the discovery of Noah’s Ark would be “the greatest archaeological discovery of all time.” If the flood of Noah indeed wiped out the entire human race and its civilization, as the Bible teaches, then the Ark constitutes the one remaining major link to the pre-flood World. No significant artifact could ever be of greater antiquity or importance.” (Institute for Creation Research)
Cyber Threats Increasing
No April Fools joke.
The other day President Obama’s twitter account got hacked which just goes to show you how privacy is fading away, or at least getting more expensive. I saw the video below on 60 minutes a while back and meant to do a post on it but never got around to it. Where gonna see these type of incidents more and more. Some of you might already heard about google getting hacked in China.
part 1
part 2
Dan Senor, Author of Startup Nation on CNBC [video]
Dan Senor, the author of Startup Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle discusses key factors on why Israel is one of the fastest growing and most innovative economies on the planet despite being in a constant state of war.
Many countries could gain alot by studying Israel’s example and utilizing some of it’s policies- especially developing countries.
China Pledges $10 billion in Cheap Loans to African Countries
via Al Jazeera
China is steadily and rapidly becoming a key player in the Global marketplace, especially in Africa.
Key Facts:
- Africa’s combined GDP is worth approximately $1.2trn, equal to about one quarter of China’s $4.4trn economy.
- Trade between China and Africa has risen by more than 33 per cent annually this decade.
- Volume of two-way trade almost hit $107bn in 2008.
- Africa has a market potential of 800 million people.
- In the first nine months of 2009, Beijing invested more than $7.8bn in Africa.
- China’s imports from Africa are dominated by oil and minerals to fuel its booming economy. Most come from Angola, Sudan, Nigeria, Zambia, the DR Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
Many western companies and organizations have been criticizing the Chinese for doing business with some African countries but as one Chinese representative put it, “Just because [US and European] companies are doing business here, does that mean they are supporting the military government?…So why, when Chinese companies do business here, is China accused of supporting the government?”. Some see the criticism as fear that the West’s strong role in Africa is steadily diminishing.
The West has had a monopoly on the buying of African resources for the past 20 years and the next decade should be interesting in how the relationships and economic strength of all three regions change with this new trade relationship. I doubt it will be bad for the Chinese or Africans.
CNN Interviews Matthew Hoh Who Resigned In Protest Over Afghanistan
CNN’s Fareed Zakaria Interviews State Department Official Matthew Hoh Who Resigned In Protest Over Afghanistan War.
Hoh does a very good job describing the Afghan landscape and the logistical difficulties and pointlessness of the U.S. operations there when dealing with a unique region and culture.
PBS- The Market Maker: Eleni Gabre Madhin Creates First Commodity Market in Ethiopia [Full Episode]
Trailer:
While in college future economist Eleni Gabre-Madhin watched the famine in her home country Ethiopia, where about a million people died of starvation. The most messed up part about it was that in the northern part of the country there was a surplus of food which was thrown away.
In the video we get to watch her as she goes back to Ethiopia to set up a commodity exchange so that Ethiopian farmers get access to the market all across Ethiopia- and with enough time, the world. This is an amazing documentary (and the only one I know of) showing a person developing a national commodities exchange from scratch.
If you want to see the whole video in full screen, go here:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/the-market-maker/full-episode/5293/
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