Current Stories
Story written by Prue Osborne
It was the question most asked Marianne Du Toit on her 21-month journey from Argentina to New York. Was she alone? Always the answer was, “Non, con dos caballos!”
Du Toit and two equine companions walked, trotted and galloped through both the spectacular beauty and the perils of South, Central and North America in 2002 and 2003.
Her spirit of adventure, courage and unimaginable inner drive brought her to the notion to try the ride Aime Tschiffely successfully completed in 1925. She spoke no Spanish, knew no one in the Americas, hardly knew how to ride and knew next to nothing about horse care, equipment or what lay ahead of her when she trotted off from San Diego, Argentina. She said it was better that way — knowing…
This is the first in our series of articles about the children of the baby boomer generation, beginning with Adam Shepard, author of the new social narrative, Scratch Beginnings, and one very daring youth of twenty-five who felt the strength of his own freedom as he came of age, took responsibility, and broadened the context of his life. In setting out with little money and taking what was for him a big a step away from the comfort and safety of his hometown, Adam Shepard traveled to a place he barely knew existed, those unfamiliar streets of another America —
I am going to start Ᾱ almost literally from scratch Ᾱ with one 8’ x 10’ tarp, a sleeping bag, an empty gym bag, $25, and the clothes on my back. Via train,…
As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, do consumers ever wonder what happens to their stuff from holidays past? “The Story of Stuff”, a new short film released today online, takes viewers on a provocative tour of our consumer-driven culture — from resource extraction to iPod incineration — exposing the real costs of this use-it and lose-it approach to stuff.
A new nationwide Zogby telephone poll reveals that a sizeable majority of Americans are looking to vote for a candidate who protects liberty, wants to shrink government and immediately withdraw troops from Iraq - all traits common to Texas Congressman Ron Paul.
History loves Baby Boomers for the significance of their generation’s era: civil rights, the Vietnam War, Apollo 11 - unforgettable moments preserved in the hearts of most Americans that are a little more Ed Sullivan than Walter Cronkite.
Central Bank Body Warns of Great Depression
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the organization that fosters cooperation between central banks, has warned that the credit crisis could lead world economies into a crash on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
In its latest quarterly report, the body points out that the Great Depression of the 1930s was not foreseen and that commentators on the financial turmoil, instigated by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, may not have grasped the level of exposure that lies at its heart.
According to the BIS, complex credit instruments, a strong appetite for risk, rising levels of household debt and long-term imbalances in the world currency system, all form part of the loose monetarist policy that could result in another Great Depression.
The report points out that between March and May of this year, interbank lending continued to show signs of extreme stress and that this could be set to continue well into the future.
It also raises concerns about the Chinese economy and questions whether China may be repeating mistakes made by Japan, with its so-called bubble economy of the late 1980s.
EDITORS NOTE: Quite a few comments have been made that there is no direct reference to the Great Depression in this month’s BIS report.
While this is strictly true, BIS warned in June 2007 - just before the Credit Crunch really hit - that the global economy was vulnerable to a major economic set-back because of extraordinary exposure to collateralized credit.
BIS directly made references to the 1930’s as an example of a similarly serious credit bubble, and this month’s BIS report describes the conditions of this being lived out.
So, to be pedantic, the warning 1.)“BIS warns of Great Depression” is actually a year old already. What BIS discusses now is the fragility of existing conditions of the fall-out from a massive credit bubble bursting - which has already been made clear across their reports historically can be similarly referenced to the 1930’s, though stated in a typically conservative and non-alarmist language.
Even what optimism BIS had about a weak recovery to the end of May 2008 have been dashed by extreme shorting of financial stocks across the US and UK - Lehman Brothers, HBOS, and property developers such as Barratts, have all taken extreme beatings in June 2008.
So back to the headline - BIS have indeed already warned of repeat of conditions that could be as extreme as the Great Depression, and are now describing that process as we move through it.
In the meantime, unemployment is already on the rise on both sides of the pond, and the analogy some people have concerns about I’m afraid is still salient.
by Gill Montia
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