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The administrator of MF Global Holdings Ltd's bankruptcy plan on Friday sued PricewaterhouseCoopers for at least $1 billion, accusing the auditor of professional malpractice in connection with the brokerage's investment in European sovereign debt.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, PwC provided "flatly erroneous accounting advice" to MF Global and its then-chief executive Jon Corrine by recommending the use of off-balance sheet structures for the brokerage's $6.3 billion bet on the debt.
Market worries about that exposure was among the factors that led to MF Global's quick collapse and October 31, 2011, bankruptcy.
The lawsuit said it is the first case seeking to hold PwC liable for malpractice over its advice concerning, and approval of, the accounting treatment for the debt. Creditors would share in any recoveries if the lawsuit were to be successful.
Part 2: The developing world adds 137 million newborns annually, educational nightmare, providing food impossible, misery index accelerating
Dr. Otis Graham in his book Unguarded Gates, said, “Most Western elites continue urging the wealthy West not to stem the migrant tide [that adds 80 million net gain annually to the planet], but to absorb our global brothers and sisters until their horrid ordeal has been endured and shared by all—ten billion humans packed onto an ecologically devastated planet.”
When Graham wrote his book, he uncovered uncomfortable aspects of humanity’s race toward endless population growth on a finite planet. Let’s examine what he addressed that you see summed up in the quote above.
Each year, with the current world population of 7.1 billion human beings, an average of 57 million people die off from all causes—old age, war, disease, starvation and other violence. Not only does human fecundity replace that 57 million people who died, it adds another 80 million to total 137 million newborn babies every year of every decade without pause. Thus, the human race adds one billion new humans onto the planet every 12 years. Humanity expects to break 10 billion by 2050—a scant 37 years from now. Demographic projections indicate the human race could very well reach 14 billion by the end of the century.
(Massive poverty in Mumbai, India right next to the airport. Notice the filth and trash spread all over the ground. Note that over 100 million people if not more living in India cannot access a toilet, but use the land daily. Thus the ground water, the Ganges and all other rivers run in raw sewage. Note that India adds 11 million people net gain annually to its 1.21 billion population on its way to becoming the most populated country in the world by 2050 at 1.6 billion humans living in intractable poverty, totally miserable and hopeless.) Photography by Reuters
First of all, with that huge number of newborn children, the countries that give births to that many people cannot educate them. Thus, illiteracy, the barometer for all poverty and human misery—accelerates. Further, they cannot feed them. Thus, the United Nations estimates that a low of 10 million children starve to death annually and as high as 15 million. Even with 10-15 million of them dying, it leaves 122 million to feed, water, house, educate and eventually create work for their lives.
As you can imagine, it’s not working. The eruptions in Africa in the past several years revolve around food crises. Egypt alone with its 82 million subsisting on desert sands expects to reach 150 million by mid century. Egypt depends on grains from the West to feed its human multitude, but as oil depletes and costs more, Egyptians will not be able to buy food. They face mass starvation. Hundreds of thousands live on the brink in Somalia, Sudan, Congo, and South Africa. All of Asia lives on the edge. A full one billion human beings worldwide cannot secure a clean glass of water daily.
(In Peru, people live by the skin of their necks daily. For one year, I bicycled the entire length of South America to see poverty extremes that most people in the US and Europe cannot conceive. It’s worse in India and Bangladesh times 100. Yet, those countries accelerate their human populations without end.) Photography by Reuters.
Nonetheless, political leaders of the world, religious leaders of the world and the developing countries of the world refuse to take action. The human mob accelerates without a word from NBC’s Brian Williams, ABC’s Diane Sawyer or CBS’ Scott Pelley. ABC’s David Muir raced around Somalia last year when 100,000 children faced immediate starvation—but that crisis quickly lost the public eye and the children continued starving.
How Many Refugees Are in the World?
According to www.brycs.org , a 2009 report by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), 42 million people around the world were uprooted from their homes due to conflict or persecution. Of this number, 16 million were considered refugees, while 26 million were displaced within their own countries or were considered asylum-seekers in other countries. Approximately 45% of the world’s refugees are under 18-years-old. About 80% of the world’s refugees are hosted by developing countries. The largest refugee producing countries at present include Afghanistan, Iraq, Somali and Sudan, while Colombia, Iraq, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have the largest internally displaced populations.
Some estimates by the UN show in excess of 50 million refugees looking for a new country to move to by 2050. A recent survey found:
"More Than 100 Million Worldwide Dream of a Life in the U.S."
More than 25% in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic want to move to the U.S.
However, no one ever asks the most logical question: when will the immigrant line to First World countries end? Answer: the line grows by 80 million net gain annually, which means the line never ends, but grows and grows and grows.
(On out outskirts of hundreds of modern cities like this one in South Korea, you see millions living in slums. Millions trashing the waterways with their filth and human waste. Yet, no one takes action to stop the proliferation of human population explosion. In fact, the Pope and Islamic churches encourage more births no matter how much misery.) Photography by Reuters.
Since developing countries refuse to engage birth control for cultural and religious reasons, they use First World countries for a human exhaust valve. But, at some point, countries like the United States, Canada, European countries and Australia will exceed their carrying capacity—resulting in water shortages, food crises, energy depletion and resource exhaustion.
Africa, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the Middle East and Bangladesh continue growing their populations without pause.
As soon as their refugees flood into First World countries, those refugees grow their carbon footprint impact, water footprint, energy footprint and ecological footprint 10 to 30 times greater than they impacted the environment in their native countries.
(I remember my travels through Hong Kong where millions of people live in 100 square foot “coffin” apartments. You cannot even imagine the human degradation of spirit when you live in a 100 square foot apartment. We must ask ourselves how far into dehumanizing the human race we want to tread via endless population growth.)
Thus, nothing gets solved and everything consequential happening to the planet accelerates. Therefore, Graham spelled it out in his quote: “…but to absorb our global brothers and sisters until their horrid ordeal has been endured and shared by all—ten billion humans packed onto an ecologically devastated planet.”
First world countries must ask themselves if they want to tread that path? Can the United States sustain the projected 100 million immigrants within the next 37 years—by 2050? Why should it? What will it mean to quality of life and standard of living? What will it mean as to water supplies and energy? Answer: it’s all headed into the toilet faster than a bullet train.
From my world travels to all those places facing human chaos, I can unequivocally state that the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia stand on the edge of a demographic cliff. They cannot and will not save those developing world countries from their own fecundity folly, but, if they continue immigration without pause—those first world countries will surely sink into the abyss of the same conditions that the refugees fled.
At some point, the United States must take stock of its path. It must decide on its future. On the current path, it faces demographic disaster. That’s a mathematical certainty. It’s only a matter of time.
Part 1: Quotes that make impact on America and around the world, denial, displacement, ignorance
Nobel Laureate Dr. Henry W. Kendall said, “If we don’t halt population growth with justice and compassion, it will be done for us by nature, brutally and without pity – and will leave a ravaged world.”
What did he mean by that rather abrupt if not deadly statement? How can one of the few human beings on the planet who earned a Nobel Prize come to such a deliberate understanding? Why don’t more humans recognize the same reality facing humanity in the 21st century?
As a world bicycle traveler across six continents, I witnessed firsthand with my own eyes what Dr. Kendall expresses in his statement. One look at China and India gives you an idea of the consequences of “exponential growth” at its end-most destination. Even worse, Bangladesh houses 157 million people in a landmass the size of Ohio. Can you imagine half the US population living in Ohio? Can you imagine the ecological damage as to shortages of drinkable water, sewage pollution, carbon emission exhausts, growing food to fill the bellies of those 157 million impoverished bodies, not to mention human crowding and loss of any quality of life?come
(Humanity digs and carves the planet up for the remaining resources which dwindle while humans continue on their growth rampage.) Photo by National Geographic
Kendall talks about halting population growth with “compassion and justice.” What does that mean? Answer: it means humans need to take their fecundity rates into their own hands and provide for birth control that brings human populations into balance with the carrying capacity of the planet. Exponential growth cannot and will not be tolerated by Mother Nature. She already starves to death over 10 million children annually and another eight million adults. That’s the “…will be done by nature, brutally and without pity…” aspect of Dr. Kendall’s statement.
(Humans spill toxic oil by the millions upon millions of barrels into our oceans and across the land by dumping it without concern.) Photo by National Geographic
What constitutes exponential growth? The term means: endless growth of any organism. That growth ultimately results in overwhelming the carrying capacity of area in which it thrives and finally, collapse and possible extinction of that species.
As it stands today, according to UK Oxford University’s Norman Myers, human encroachment upon worldwide habitat causes the extinction of 80 to 100 species daily. That means those creatures no longer exist because humanity overwhelms its own carrying capacity and destroys the food, water and living area for other species. Thus, humanity creates the most dangerous aspect of Mother Nature’s “carrying capacity” limits. The current rate of extinction within the United States runs at 250 creatures annually. (Source: U.S. Department of Interior)
Collapsed civilizations litter history books: Easter Island, Mayan Empire, Incas, Anasazi, Vikings, Rwanda, Haiti and more to come. Read Jared Diamond’s: Collapse—How societies choose to fail or succeed.
Those civilizations collapsed via exhaustion of food or water, i.e. they overwhelmed their carrying capacity.
(Humans create electrical energy by burning billions upon billions of tons of coal that pollutes the atmosphere that creates air polluted cities and acid rain that destroys top soil and acidifies our oceans that kills marine, avian, plant and reef life. With endless population growth, it can only worsen beyond solving.) Photo by National Geographic
Today, nearly all of humanity overrides its carrying capacity in oil-driven and oil-fed countries. Without oil, the United States could not exist with its 315 million inhabitants. Without the gasoline-filled tractors planting and harvesting enormous amounts of food, we could not feed the current number of people in the USA.
Noted geologist Walter Youngquist said, “This is going to be an interesting decade, for the perfect storm is brewing—energy, immigration and oil imports. China grows in direct confrontation for remaining oil. I think the USA is on a big, slippery downhill slope. Will the thin veneer of civilization survive?”
Youngquist continued, “Beyond oil, population is the number one problem of the 21st century, for when oil is gone as we know and use it today—and it WILL be gone—population will still be here.”
He states the obvious. Today, accelerating from 7.1 billion humans, our species will grow to 10.1 billion hungry people by mid-century. Unfortunately, by 2050, humans will have used up most of the oil on the planet. Our current rate of 84 million barrels per day pales in comparison of the predicted usage by China by 2030 of 98 million barrels per day. With the added 3.1 billion humans, oil usage will grow to over 200 million barrels burned daily. The carbon footprint havoc on our biosphere and oceans will prove cataclysmic. (Source: The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler)
(Oil spills and oil drilling create endless damage to our biosphere and to wildlife worldwide. The grease job on this pelican caused his death.) Photo by National Geographic
When you look back on history’s ragged mane, those collapsed civilizations passed into oblivion without much fanfare. But with major cities like Los Angeles sporting 12 million; New York City with 19 million; Mexico City with 19 million; Bombay with 20 million; Sao Paulo with 20 million; Delhi with 22 million; Tokyo featuring a staggering 36 million and all the other overloaded cities around the world—it becomes obvious that humanity cannot exist without oil—but oil will soon vanish. Unfortunately, nothing on technology’s horizon can duplicate the energy we receive from oil. To say it’s going to get ugly with that many people bunched up in those cities may be the understatement of the 21st century.
At the end of Kendall’s statement, he said, “…and will leave a ravaged world.” You may appreciate the “Seven wonders of the world” created by human beings. Glorious triumphs of architecture and human engineering! However, we could add the “Seven tragedies of the world” created by humans such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Sixth Extinction Session, Overly polluted Biosphere, Acidified and Destroyed Oceans, Acid Rain Phenomenon, Destruction of Worldwide Rainforests, Human Misery Index and more to come.
We may prove ourselves a clever species, but none too smart. None too reasoning. None too rational. None too proactive. Can America lead the world in this quest for a sustainable future? Can it change its course from its current overload of 315 million on its way to 625 million within this century and probably on toward 1 billion in the first part of the 22nd century?
As Dr.Kendall stated, “If we don’t halt population growth with justice and compassion, it will be done for us by nature, brutally and without pity – and will leave a ravaged world.”
We need to get busy in order to provide a liveable world for all creatures including ourselves.
Impendent fuel crisis in Ukraine will crash country's economy
The Voice of Russia
According to a recent statement made by the energy ministerYuri
Prodan, Ukraine will run out of gasoline in the next 29 days. Given
Ukranie's dire economic situation, a fuel crisis will surely crash the
country's economy.
Most
oil refineries in Ukraine are owned by Russian companies or are
operating on Russian crude oil. Since the beginning of political crisis,
refineries have almost stopped producing gasoline and the imports of
crude oil have ceased.
"If we talk about fuel, we have a stable
situation. We estimate that we have enough fuel for 28-29 days", Prodan
told RBK Ukraine. Of course, a situation in which a country receives no
crude oil imports and has insignificant stocks of fuel can't be
described as "stable", but the current Ukrainian "government" is known
for its unjustified optimism.
The
situation with the natural gas supplies is just as bad. According to
Prodan, Ukraine can access 2 bn cubic meters of natural gasfrom
its underground storage facilities. This quantity should be enough for
covering between 2.5 and 3 months of consumption. However, after April
1st all of the existing discounts on Russian gas price will be canceled.
In the past, Ukraine was unable to pay for natural gas deliveries even
at discounted prices so, there is doubt that a crisis-stricken
illegitimate government is alble to pay for gas deliveries at full
price.
After Ukraine's debt to Gazprom reached 2 billion dollars, the
Russian gas giant warned that the next deliveries will only be made
after advance payments. It is highly unlikely that the self-appointed
authorities in Kiev will find the funds necessary for the payments. Yuri
Prodan's hopes that "reverse supplies" from the EU can help were dashed
by a recent statement made by Slovakian government which stressed that
Bratislava will not increase supplies to Ukraine to a level that can be
"detrimental" to the Slovakian economy. Robert Fico, the prime minister
of Slovakia, told the press that his priority is "to ensure the flow of
Russian gas through Ukraine" and pointed out that although suppliesfrom
Slovakia can help Ukraine, his government is not in a position to fund
such help. Overall,
the situation in Ukraine has not yet become a full-fledged fuel crisis
but it is likely to evolve into one. Regardless of the source, imports
of crude oil and natural gas will require advance payments in hard
currency while the country's budget is empty. Self-appointed Ukrainian
authorities expect help from the US and the EU, but so far no one in the
West has ... Read More:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index is the only stock market index that covers both the second and the third industrial revolution.Calculating share indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and showing this index in a historical graph is a useful way to show which phase the industrial revolution is in. Changes in the DJIA shares basket, changes in the formula and stock splits during the take-off phase and acceleration phase of industrial revolutions are perfect transition-indicators. The similarities of these indicators during the last two revolutions are fascinating, but also a reason for concern. In fact the graph of the DJIA is a classic example of fictional truth, a hoax. Transitions
Every production phase, civilization or other human invention goes through a so called transformation process. Transitions are social transformation processes that cover at least one generation. In this article I will use one such transition to demonstrate the position of our present civilization and its possible effect on stock exchange rates. A transition has the following characteristics:
• it involves a structural change of civilization or a complex subsystem of our civilization
• it shows technological, economical, ecological, socio cultural and institutional changes at different levels that influence and enhance each other
•it is the result of slow changes (changes in supplies) and fast dynamics (flows)
Wim Grommen was teacher in mathematics and physics for ten years at secondary schools. The last twenty years he trained programmers in Oracle-software. He worked almost five years as trainer for Oracle and the last 17 years as trainer for Transfer Solutions in the Netherlands. The last 15 years he has studied transitions, societal transformation processes, the S-curve and transitions in relation to market indices. Articles about these topics have been published in various international publications
Here are some basics
Featured Article Around the World in Over 25 Publications
The administrator of MF Global Holdings Ltd's bankruptcy plan on Friday sued PricewaterhouseCoopers for at least $1 billion, accusing the auditor of professional malpractice in connection with the brokerage's investment in European sovereign debt.
The lawsuit said it is the first case seeking to hold PwC liable for malpractice over its advice concerning, and approval of, the accounting treatment for the debt. Creditors would share in any recoveries if the lawsuit were to be successful.
