Tag: economics

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BRICS in one chart

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UPDATE: A mere glance at this map show how tragic it is that Europe did not seize the opportunity to form a solid, mutually beneficial alliance with Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Instead, directed by US neocons, Europe did almost everything it could to destroy the possibility of that alliance. All the blame falls on the neocons, no one else. Russia, especially under Putin, did all it could to become a rightful member of the Western alliance. The worst foreign policy mistake in world history has been the neocon West antagonizing Russia when they should have been embracing her with open arms. I have been watching this tragedy unfold over the past thirty plus years and take no pleasure in seeing what has resulted. The West will go on, the world will go on, but what a monumental waste it was to reject Russia. ABN

BRICS welcomes new members in push to reshuffle world order

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  • Summary
  • Bloc adds Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and UAE
  • Expansion could lend global clout to BRICS
  • Group leaves door open to further expansion

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 24 (Reuters) – The BRICS bloc of developing nations agreed on Thursday to admit Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates in a move aimed at accelerating its push to reshuffle a world order it sees as outdated.

In deciding in favour of an expansion – the bloc’s first in 13 years – BRICS leaders left the door open to future enlargement as dozens more countries voiced interest in joining a grouping they hope can level the global playing field.

The expansion adds economic heft to BRICS, whose current members are China, the world’s second largest economy, as well as Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. It could also amplify its declared ambition to become a champion of the Global South.

But long-standing tensions could linger between members who want to forge the grouping into a counterweight to the West – notably China, Russia and now Iran – and those that continue to nurture close ties to the United States and Europe.

“This membership expansion is historic,” Chinese President Xi Jinping, the bloc’s most stalwart proponent of enlargement, said. “It shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with the broader developing countries.”

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This is a consequence of the NATO-neocon massacre of Ukraine and wanton provocation of Russia. Most of the world sees it for what it is and is disgusted by it. The sanctions on Russia failed, hurting only Europe and the West. Our American elitists have proved once again that they suck at everything but their own self-aggrandizement, and even that may backfire on them. ABN

Jeff Bezos business advice

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Jeff Bezos is worth $162 billion.

He shared all of his core principles in 24 letters to shareholders.

I’ve read them all.

Here are 12 powerful lesson everyone in business should memorize:

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My sense is Amazon has lost it’s strong focus on customer experience since Bezos left. I’ve posted about this before. Pretty sure Bezos learned a lot about business from Deming, who had a huge influence on Japanese business practices. ABN

What the hell is going on in Canada?

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Canada is a nation owned by a handful of oligarchs, perhaps a dozen families, which pretends it is a function democracy. No joke, effectively one or two billionaires hold a monopoly interest on a variety of essential industries in each province. Patterson in BC, the Richardsons 

in Saskachewan & Manitoba, Irvings on the east coast, the Westons with their monopoly over groceries, the Rogers and Shaw families with telecommunications, etc etc etc

The nation is a two party system, with both the Liberals and the Conservatives working for these families. 

For the past 30+ years they’ve traded who is in office whenever the public gets fed up, but each successive government has expanded the exploitative programs of its predecessor regardless of ideological branding. I’ll get into 𝘸𝘩𝘺 at the end of this 

The country is wholly reliant now on a housing and consumer debt bubble which is the singular primary driver of the GDP and wealth generation and one of the worst inflated in the developed world, economically it is otherwise stagnant. 

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