The R3VOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED ! hosted by Alex Jones

Are your friends and family still asleep? Imagine being able to watch, on a dish network, at your friends house, all of the content found on InfoWars.com and other like-minded minded organizations. Imagine the conversations that will occur after they see and hear some of the news they havent been getting from the main stream [...]

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[Source: War On You

Europe's single currency

A decade on from the decision to launch the euro

Ten years after the EU's historic decision to adopt a single currency, the European Commission has presented a detailed analysis of the euro's experience to date and launched a debate on how to address the challenges likely to be faced over the next decade.

In May 1998 European leaders agreed to introduce the euro in 11 countries at the start of 1999. Although euro banknotes and coins did not make their appearance until 2002, economic and monetary union (EMU) started in 1999 with a single exchange rate and monetary policy run by the European Central Bank (ECB). A decade later, the euro zone embraces 15 members with a total population of 320m, greater than that of the US. ...

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The past catches up

Nigeria's president is troubled by his predecessor

Olusegun Obasanjo's reputation as a financially prudent president is being undermined by a series of investigations. This presents his successor with a dilemma.

A year after coming to power, Umaru Yar'Adua is finding it increasingly difficult to fulfil his campaign pledge of tackling Nigeria's endemic corruption. While the Nigerian president made an encouraging start, initiating various investigations and annulling a number of suspect deals, he faces a dilemma: the more investigations that take place, the greater the evidence of misappropriation under the previous administration, headed by Olusegun Obasanjo. Mr Obasanjo's reputation for leading a financially prudent administration is thus being gradually unravelled. Given that President Yar?Adua was hand-picked by his predecessor, and that Olusegun Obasanjo is widely perceived to be his mentor, this is something of an embarrassment to the head of state, and many Nigerians are now watching to see how he responds to the mounting evidence of mismanagement and corruption during the Obasanjo era. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis

The Economist Intelligence Unit briefing: China and Japan

Despite warming relations, rivalry and suspicion persist

China and Japan have issued a joint communique emphasising their intention to take a forward-looking and constructive approach to bilateral relations. As a symbol of warming ties between the two countries, the communique is significant in its own right, as indeed is the state visit to Japan of China's president, Hu Jintao, during which the joint statement was released. Relations between China and Japan have undoubtedly improved compared with just a few years ago. Yet while both governments recognise the strategic benefits of a stronger friendship, fundamental tensions and areas of strategic rivalry remain.

At one level, Mr Hu's visit and the joint statement he signed with the Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, on May 7th are proof positive of the "warm spring" in relations that the two governments have recently claimed is occurring. Mr Hu's visit is the first to Japan by a Chinese head of state since 1998, and would not have been possible without an improvement on the situation that has prevailed for much of the intervening period. Not only was the previous visit to Japan by a Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, a diplomatic disaster (Tokyo took offence when Mr Jiang demanded a stronger Japanese apology for prewar and wartime atrocities in China), but relations between the two countries were also badly strained by Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo during his five-year tenure as Japanese prime minister from 2001 to 2006. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis

Making the grade

Brazil gets recognition for improved economic management

Investment-grade status, which was awarded to Brazil?s foreign-currency-denominated debt on April 30th by Standard & Poor?s, one of the main US credit rating agencies, is an acknowledgment of the important progress achieved in macroeconomic management and of a substantial improvement in external solvency ratios. Indeed, with reserves close to US$200bn, Brazil has become a net external creditor. Nevertheless, weaknesses persist, as the government has confirmed its intention to keep increasing public spending as part of its state-led development policies.

The quest for investment grade was so long and fraught with difficulties that financial markets were taken somewhat by surprise when Standard & Poor?s (S&P) raised Brazil?s long-term foreign-currency credit rating from BB+ to BBB- on the eve of the May 1st Labour Day holiday. Even though some investors thought the upgrade had been long overdue, few expected it to materialise before the end of the year due to current global uncertainty. The Latin American giant is now on par with India, according to S&P?s ratings, but still two notches below the ratings given to Russia and Mexico, and far below that of China. ...

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[Source: The Economist: News analysis