Weekender: Wound Healer

Plant-based gel can seal bleeding wounds instantaneously

A New York based startup has developed a gel capable of sealing even the most severe bleeding wounds in mere seconds.

The News Great Divide

One man’s death hogs media headlines. Thousands die in wars and diseases, but news take a sideline. Sensational gossip and propaganda are what media is all about today. What emanates from the media (MSM) is cluttered with gossip rather than news that should deserve attention. Even if they are of value, these often reflect the views of the news moguls and not necessarily the true picture of the event. Are people not interested in news that affect their lives? Or is it that people in general are mind manipulated to such an extent that their focus is grossly managed, having no longer a mind of their own?

Thanksgiving Day

The mention of “Thanksgiving Day” conjures up images of mad rush to buy things at supposedly massive discounts offered by major stores in the United States. The buying spree madness is indeed the epitome of this moment set aside for commercialised “thanksgiving”. At the ring of the bell on this auspicious fourth Thursday of November, sanity takes a back seat as throngs invade stores in stampede, elbowing everybody to get into pole position just to buy discounted items. It is the moment stores are waiting for, watching with glee as the mesmerised crowd grab goods as if there is no tomorrow. It is the aftermath that is really memorable – Black Friday!

Gold – A Barbarous Relic?

Market Watch – “Roubini says gold remains a ‘barbarous relic,’ with no intrinsic value, used as a hedge against ‘irrational fear and panic.’ But investors can get their hedge against extreme tail risks — which have come way down — elsewhere.” There is no consensus as to what value gold holds. Is it just a barbarious relic? To the Indians and Chinese, the yellow metal is cherished. Perhaps people are just comfortable owning it. Some feel exhilarated just holding it, or making it into jewelry and flaunting it.

No Gold? Yes Got Gold

In 2013, when Germany’s Bundesbank asked to get back her gold held in the vaults in USA, Germany got a shock. The Federal Reserve did not say Germany could not get the gold repatriated. But it would take 7 years to have the 300 tonnes held by the Fed to be repatriated. A year later, Germany only got 5 tonnes of the gold back? It was strange that Germany timidly subjugated herself to the Fed’s power and did not challenge the action of the Fed. Why couldn’t Germany get her gold back. It belongs to them. The Fed is only a custodian.

Racial Rights? National Rights?

The Israeli cabinet voted in favor of the controversial “Jewish state bill” which cites Israel as “the national homeland of the Jewish people”. It is expected that critics fear that the bill may discriminate the non-Jewish population, which comprises predominantly Arabs. Israel’s action to defend her national interests often conjures up world-wide condemnation. Unless a nation is 100% homogeneous in her racial composition, any form of racial segregation can be construed as apartheid and with discriminatory consequences for the minority. Israel may be singled out as a culprit of racial segregation. In truth the world is just blind to the fact that all nations have racial discrimination in varying degrees. Many are outright violations of human liberty and dignity. Israel may just be a punching bag. It is a worthwhile case study. 

Weekender: Fastest Train

Fastest train ride: Japanese whooshed at 500 kmh on maglev test ride

The train was able to achieve the unbelievable speed of 500 kmh by floating over the tracks. The tracking device established on board the train allowed passengers to monitor the speed, which at its maximum topped 502 kmh.

Debt is Better

Merchant of Venice

Greed is an unquenchable desire for more. It transcends all boundaries and race. Greed is jealous when others have more. It is an intense craving that will not hesitate to destroy those in its way. It will do anything – lie, cheat, or kill, just to get that little more. Never be deceived that if a person has more, greed diminishes. On the contrary, the urge to have dramatically increased. The richest 1% holds 46% of the world’s wealth. The 85 richest people are as wealthy as the poorest half of the world. The only conclusion for these horrendous statistics can only be attributed to the power of greed. 

Greed is Good

Since the 1987 debut of the movie “Wall Steet” in which Gekko uttered the signature line, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good”, the world was given the subliminal message to believe in a new paradigm of greed. Greed was given a nefarious twist as something to be clamoured for in the pursuit of “success”.  Two decades later, Wall Street witnessed the consequence of exuberant greed, leaving lives shattered. Unfortunately, there was no lesson learned therein. Instead, greed went into overdrive with uncontrolled “quantitative easing” (QE), the financial banksters newly coined term for “even more greed”. 

i-Stupid

Washington Post – As of this weekend, there are now seven Gruber videos, in which he mocks the “stupidity” of American voters and boasts of the Obama administration’s ability to take advantage of it. In a new video that surfaced Friday, Gruber explains that the Obama administration passed the so-called “Cadillac tax” on high-value employer health plans “by mislabeling it, calling it a tax on insurance plans rather than a tax on people, when we know it’s a tax on people who hold these insurance plans.” Americans would not support a tax on individuals, so “We just tax the insurance companies, they pass on the higher prices . . . it ends up being the same thing.” The ruse, Gruber says, was “a very clever . . . basic exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter.”