It's holiday season in Manhattan and despite the economic downturn, there seems to be no shortage of well-dressed humans cavorting, laughing, and spending freely. Walking among them, a homeless man begs for money-shaking his tattered coffee cup (adorned with images of Greek architecture) to rattle the few coins therein. A veteran of the first Gulf War, this man is no longer concerned with yellow ribbons. Right now, he'd settle for a scrap of food and a dry pair of shoes.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and nearly 400,000 experience homelessness over the course of a year. Forty-five percent of America's homeless veterans suffer from mental illness and half have substance abuse problems. According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, veterans account for 23% of all homeless people in America.

The homeless vet is barely noticed by the 30-something corporate lawyer whizzing past him, on his way to dinner. It's a holiday gathering to celebrate hope, change, and all that good stuff. The lawyer-still proudly wearing his Obama button-is running late and his colleagues have already ordered appetizers: shrimp cocktails all around (for only $17 each).

The United Nations Environment Program has estimated that a quarter of the destruction of mangrove forests stems from shrimp farming. After the 2008 Burma cyclone, Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan blamed "encroachment into mangrove forests, which used to serve as a buffer between the rising tide, between big waves and storms and residential areas." He added: "All those lands have been destroyed. Human beings are now direct victims of such natural forces."

The homeless vet sees a Wall Street type-still proudly wearing his Obama button-approaching him. "Hey buddy," the vet tries, "how about a bailout?" The Wall Street type doesn't laugh. The Wall Street type doesn't even see the homeless vet. The Wall Street type tosses his half-finished Coke onto the sidewalk.

As labor activist Ray Rogers explains, "The reality is that the world of Coca-Cola is a world of lies, deceptions, corruption, gross human rights and environmental abuses!" Rogers told Democracy Now that Coke "contracted with paramilitary death squads to torture, kidnap, and murder union leaders at its bottling plants in Columbia." If geo-political issues aren't enough to move you, consider what Marion Nestle, author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences says about Coke and its ilk: " The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times."

The homeless vet picks up the Wall Street type's Coke and downs it in one big gulp. Afterwards, he tosses the empty cup onto the sidewalk and glances to his left just in time to look through the restaurant window and see the corporate lawyer cheerfully biting into a piece of shrimp.

At that precise moment, an underwater tremor deep in the Pacific Ocean creates a powerful wave that will develop into a tsunami aimed directly for a popular vacation destination once protected by mighty mangroves.

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net/

The drop in the ransom price has been confirmed by a number of sources, the discount is a bit less confirmed and the cut-rate by Amex is obviously false because American Express never gives a cut-rate on anything.

Part of the problem, for the pirates, is that Sydney and other cities have regained cheap petrol for a little while. However the general point is solid - the pirates have to reduce their ransom because the world economy, the oil price and even pirates faith in the future are all falling.

Even as the Chinese were attacking Tibetan protestors, New York City Police were beating up and literally threatening to kill "Free Tibet" protestors in front of the United Nations. It's all on video.

The Washington Post recently ran a story about how the Chinese people largely support the government suppression of the Tibetan protesters... "Beijing's Crackdown Gets Strong Domestic Support. Ethnic Pride Stoked by Government Propaganda." The article spoke of how Beijing officials have "educated" the public about Tibet "through propaganda".

That's a rather interesting concept. Imagine the Post or any other American mainstream media saying that those Americans who support the war in Iraq do so because they've been educated by government propaganda... Ditto those who support the war in Afghanistan... Ditto scores of other US invasions, bombings, overthrows, and miscellaneous war crimes spanning more than half a century. [More] . . read more

Flagship Murdoch is in a quandary. How do you open up the Opinion page to a wide spectrum of views, without upsetting the hacks at the helm? Those neo-con groupies of Washington bullies, torture and all, who had to be dragged kicking and screaming into an awareness that emissions matter. Tom's lead tongued asses spent a decade pissing on progressives, but now he's trying to argue that the paper has long been paragon of ideological equilibrium. Sure Tom, that's why you published 25 pieces on Why Al Gore is Wrong about Climate Change. And why you are scratching to name any regular dissenters, apart from the official court jester, Phillip Adams.

While it's silly for lefties to pressure The Australian into purging rightwingers; it's deceitful for Tom to pretend his organ has been receptive to radicals. But that's Murdoch World. . . read more

What we see is the result of a catastrophic loss of trust in the West. It goes well beyond economics and finance. It is the sincerity of political leaders of the West that is at stake. If those in power in Washington, London and elsewhere cannot be trusted on the critical matters of war and peace, law and justice and treatment of different sections of their own populations, their ability in other areas is bound to be questioned. The leaders of America and its allies have simply become captivated by a doctrine that leaves their economies at home, to be run by the large private institutions that they befriend, while they themselves go and fight wars abroad.

Today, America's wars are financed by money borrowed from China and the oil-rich Gulf states which are awash with petrodollars... And countries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, which have accumulated huge reserves in U.S. dollars, don't trust the West. The resentment in the Arab world against the treatment of Muslims by the West is strong. And the government of Iceland criticizes its 'friends' for not doing enough to help it and looks towards Russia to bail it out.

The West is simply broke – morally, politically and economically. [More] . . read more

Neda our hearts go out to you. In the hope that your experience and your blood will help turn ‘nothing' into something new. . . read more

Companies are going bankrupt, unemployment will continue to increase, and people will lose their homes, as our economy tumbles downward almost in free spin. Australia of course will survive, and the impact here will not be anywhere near as bad as the USA, England, and Germany etc.

However, what can we do to further reduce the impact; well we need to look at who laid the table over the past decade or so. It was of course the conservative Howard Government, who complained at the black hole, which was the deficit left by Keating Government. Thus the world's greatest treasurer relentlessly set out to move the economy from the red to the black, which after 6 years or so he achieved. Great huh. However, at what cost; well many much needed infrastructure projects were deferred, port congestion worsened, much needed roads were delayed and it is a disgrace that the Pacific Highway as a 2-lane expressway from Sydney to Brisbane is still incomplete. Railway lines to export coal were not built, and worst of all our internet speeds are among the worlds slowest. Nevertheless, our economy balanced, wonderful, but the fact remains we had too much money in the bank, and too many potholes in the roads.

To me there is no shame in running your economy in the red providing you are spending money on railways, ports, roads, bridges, and general expansion all aimed at helping our country enabling it to effectively compete on the world market? Money spent on infrastructure, is soon returned with increased exports and revenue. The Howard Government failed to do this, and I would go as far as to say that Costello was a poor visionless treasurer who was more concerned with deficit free budgeting, than providing inspirational economic development of our great country.

Then we have the diabolical situation concerning our internet speeds, which is innovative technology essential to the success of modern day business. Well this farcical situation is largely due to another visionless nerd, none other than Richard Alston, who back in the late 90's was given the opportunity to speed up our internet speeds , but responded  why should we do that, as it means people can download more porn.

So I believe when you are faced with a severe economic downturn, do not hide your money under the bed; spend, spend, spend on infrastructure.

Editors are cluey to this and since time immemorial they use this time to give their poor over-workedwriting staff a much needed holiday; while also keeping a skeleton staff that pumps out what seems to be the news.

Yes, what's published (stories about shopping, warnings about over indulgence) are probably true, but it is worrying to think that the fourth estate of government and one that acts as the white collar's most vehement policemen are sitting on the sidelines. 

Why bother?

Well, if you stop working, stop keeping the bastard's honest and the pricks on the straight and narrow who know's what might happen. 

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