October 17 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The movie below is written and directed by Peter Joseph. It is 123 min long and offers a lot of food-for-thought. We welcome your comments.

Posted in Identity Management, Security Measures, Health Preparedness, Economic Issues, In The News, Water Issues, Food Security, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Environment, Politics | No Comments »

March 26 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The International Herald Tribune has published the following article:

Efforts to contain bird flu are failing in Indonesia, increasing the possibility that the virus may mutate into a deadlier form, the leading U.N. veterinary health body warned.

The H5N1 bird flu virus is entrenched in 31 of the country’s 33 provinces and will cause more human deaths, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement released late Tuesday.

“I am deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic,” FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech said.

Indonesia “has not succeeded in containing the spread of avian influenza,” Domenech said, adding that there must be “major human and financial resources, stronger political commitment and strengthened coordination.”

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 236 people in a dozen countries worldwide since it began ravaging poultry stocks across Asia in 2003. It has been found in birds in more than 60 countries, but Indonesia has recorded 105 deaths, almost half the global tally, according to the World Health Organization.

FAO’s sharp warning comes amid a flurry of bird flu outbreaks across the region. Chinese officials earlier this week announced the H5N1 virus was responsible for killing birds in poultry markets in the southern city of Guangzhou. Meanwhile, India last week confirmed a fresh poultry outbreak near Calcutta. The country has been battling the virus since January, resulting in the death or slaughter of some 4 million birds.

In addition, Vietnamese health officials on Monday announced that the virus had killed an 11-year-old boy in the north, marking the country’s 52 human death. The virus has resurfaced in several provinces, including the capital Hanoi, prompting the prime minister to put the entire country on alert. Two children in Egypt also were recently diagnosed with the disease.

We’re due for another pandemic. It’s unfortunate that thanks to modern mass media we are desensitized so easily. The threat of a pandemic hasn’t decreased by any means, but already our interest in the subject matter has waned.

What’s perhaps more disconcerting are the continued “promises” by our health care system that it’s ready for anything. I have one simple question in response to those shaking vows: when was the last time you visited the emergency room?

Posted in Health Preparedness, Asia | No Comments »

March 4 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

At the end of January, we posted the latest Indonesian death toll which at that time was 100.  As of February 16th the toll was at 140 - that’s 4o deaths in under 20 days! Where is the global concern, folks? At any time Bird Flu can become the next Human Flu, rapidly spreading across the globe. Perhaps we firmly believe that the ever under-stocked Tamiflu will save us. Or maybe it’s just that a vaccine for a strain of influenza whose make up we have no way of predicting will be developed in advance. It’s likely, however, that as we haven’t faced a threat of such magnitude for so considerable a period of time we have forgotten what the impact on our social stability might be and as a result are content to rely on drugs as the answer.

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January 30 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The BBC has reported that:

“The human death toll from bird flu in Indonesia has risen to 100 - almost half of the total worldwide fatalities.

Two Indonesians from the outskirts of Jakarta succumbed to the H5N1 strain of the disease over the weekend, said Joko Suyono of the National Bird Flu Centre.Indonesia is the nation worst affected by bird flu and has struggled to contain the virus.

Since the H5N1 virus emerged in South East Asia in late 2003, it has claimed more than 220 lives around the world.

Suyono said a nine-year-old boy and a 23-year old woman had died from the disease over the weekend.

“The woman died yesterday [Sunday] but we just received the results that she’s positive with bird flu,” Suyono told AFP news agency.

“The total number of deaths is now 100 out of 124 positive cases.

“Indonesia is one of the only countries to log human deaths year-round.Almost all infected people are thought to have contracted the disease from poultry.

But scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form which could be easily passed from human to human, triggering a pandemic and potentially putting millions of lives at risk.”

Is anyone paying attention as the death tolls (those which are recorded) slowly rise?

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January 25 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The Sina-English News has reported that a new Peking-Hamburg express train has made its arrival in the German city January 24th following a 15-day test run. Its arrival marks the creation of an alternative to the Indian Ocean shipping route which takes a minimum of 40-days.

This new train route has been made possible through the agreement of China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany. The following picture was originally published the Manager-Magazin:

Marking what could be considered the revival of the silk road, the new train service is the beginning in a series of efforts to develop the Eurasian shipping corridor, which will significantly change how goods move across the massive land-mass.

Don’t worry North America, you still have a chance to get in on this development by means of the Arctic Bridge…

Posted in Asia, Central Asia, Europe | No Comments »

January 18 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The Sunday Times has published a very insightful article on the on-going changes to the global economy. Indeed, the article seems to mark the first time a serious newspaper is considering the pending shift in global economic power from the West to the East. The piece is definitely worth a read.

Posted in Economic Issues, North America, Asia | No Comments »

January 9 2008 by The Systemic Analyst.

The China Post has reported that:

“An appeal court Thursday handed down suspended prison sentences on two former South Korean spy chiefs convicted of illegal wiretapping. The Seoul High Court upheld a lower court decision last year to sentence Lim Dong-won and Shin Kun to three years in prison for overseeing the wiretapping of politicians and businessmen by intelligence officials.”

Is wiretapping like murder in terms of legality and punishment - the more powerful the target the more probable a prosecution? For example, if the target is a famous or powerful individual it’s an assassination, the perpetrator accused and tried publicly; however, if millions are killed for whatever reason it’s simply mass murder, blame distributed widely with justice not necessarily forthcoming. Likewise, if an unauthorized or unwarranted wiretap is conducted on an influential person the act is illegal and punishable under the law, however, if unwarranted interception is widespread and includes eavesdropping on millions it’s just a matter of national security.

It’s something to think about anyway.

Posted in Wiretapping & Surveillance, Asia | No Comments »

December 19 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

The following article was published in The Advertiser in Adelaide, Australia. In it the prospects of charging residents based on delivery distance for water is discussed. On one hand this indicates the changing nature of water as a commodity, on the other, it introduces the concept of penalization for those living in more arid climates - perhaps this is something the US should consider to prevent further development of areas with little water resources such as Nevada or parts of California:

“Southern Australia’s (SA) billing system should be “scrapped” and replaced with a pricing structure based on residential region, an Adelaide water expert says.

Professor Mike Young, a scientist from Adelaide University and member of the Wentworth Group, yesterday released a Pricing Your Water plan calling for a complete overhaul of SA Water’s two-tiered water pricing system.

“I propose we have a per kilolitre pricing structure where people are charged for each kilolitre they use,” he said.

“That price would be determined by the region, its water system, the problems associated with that system and the scarcity of water at the time.” Click here for more.

Posted in Water Issues, Asia | No Comments »

December 13 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

Here is a pragmatic approach to foreign policy as reported by Kerala News:

“Nobody should feel that our growing ties with other countries are at the cost of old friends,” the minister told reporters…His comment came in response to a specific question on whether the Russian demand for virtually doubling the price of an aircraft carrier the Indian Navy has purchased would sour ties between the two countries.

“Our relations with Russia are not one-contract or one-issue specific. Our relations have stood the test of time for 60 years. If problems arise, we will sort them out,” Antony maintained.

“Previously, our relations with the US were not good. Now they are improving. We are also improving our relations with other countries like Israel, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia. But, nobody should feel this is at the cost of our old friends,” he added.”

The current instability of the world as a result of apparent shifts in global power suggest that aligning the fate of a nation with any one sphere of influence is entirely impractical. The approach India is adopting to befriend ever more nations while maintaining good relations with historic allies makes perfect sense.

If only countries such as Canada could see that while the traditional ties to the U.S. should be maintained, our future will hinge on our ability to forge new, lasting relationships with many other countries. Perhaps even some with countries that currently clash with our prevailing ideological bent, which is not to say that those countries are incorrect in their thinking, just that we are both blinded by messaging that is misleading. After all, survival requires pragmatism as well as compassion, but certainly not compassion at the expense of practicality.

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September 28 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

Clive Hamilton, the executive director of The Australia Institute, has published a wonderful thought piece in The Sydney Morning Herald. In it, Hamilton suggests that:

“While we stigmatise fat people, perhaps they are behaving normally in a sick social environment. The answer then is not diets, drugs and surgery but a wholesale change in the culture of consumption, which itself is a reaction to the emptiness of affluence.

Maybe we need a new organisation, Overconsumers Anonymous, to provide us all with a 12-step plan in which we first must admit we have lost control and then submit ourselves to a higher power. It may turn out to be a less painful way of coping with our addiction to stuff than being swallowed up by consumer debt when the economy turns sour.” Click here for more.

Contrasting this presentation (indeed, any honest presentation for that matter) of Western society with the trials and tribulations of less wealthy nations and the question begs, how equipped are we as a society to face adversity?

Although there is a sentiment among many that humans are exceptionally resilient, are those who have known no hardships beyond over-consumption really able to face catastrophe?

We are prone as a society to accept so-called social sicknesses with compassion, often blinding us from asking what the long-term effects of such conditions will have on the wider social fabric. Our growing inability to look at these human problems objectively is preventing us from asking serious questions about our future safety as a species.

In the immediate future alone, over-consumption threatens the world’s limited fresh water supply and is already destroying ecosystems. This is to say nothing of the impact our current spoiled state will have on our ability to overcome the challenges that will undoubtedly follow as a result of the environmental changes brought on by over-consumption.

It’s an ugly reality, to be sure, but one that needs considering nonetheless.

Posted in Health Preparedness, Asia | No Comments »