Campesinos y mineros se unen a la marcha del SME en el DF

Exigen miles un acuerdo que evite estallido social en el país

Instalarán electricistas plantón en el Zócalo; muere anciana durante la protesta

Patricia Muñoz y Fabiola Martínez

Periódico La Jornada
Sábado 30 de enero de 2010, p. 5

Con la exigencia de un acuerdo nacional que concilie los enconos generados por el gobierno y evitar un estallido social en este 2010, integrantes de los sindicatos de electricistas y de mineros –entre otros–, así como miles de trabajadores del campo, encabezados por la Confederación Nacional Campesina (CNC), llenaron ayer el Zócalo capitalino.

El gobierno calderonista ha puesto al país como una nave sin timón, por lo que es preciso un cambio de rumbo, advirtieron los líderes de las organizaciones participantes en la marcha denominada por la alianza clasista, quienes se comprometieron no sólo a apoyar al Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME), sino avanzar de manera conjunta.

Miles marcharon ayer en la capital del país en apoyo al Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas, contra la carestía y en demanda de aumento salarial de emergencia
Foto Francisco Olvera

El SME anunció anoche que instalará un plantón permanente en la Plaza de la Constitución hasta que concluya el conflicto derivado del cierre de Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LFC).

La primera movilización multitudinaria de este año, protagonizada por organismos del campo y la ciudad (participaron además centrales como la Unión Nacional de Trabajadores, el Frente Sindical Mexicano y el magisterio disidente) partió del Ángel de la Independencia rumbo al Zócalo. Los numerosos contingentes ocuparon de nueva cuenta todos los carriles de Reforma. Ante la cantidad de participantes, los contingentes se dividieron en dos grandes columnas para poder ingresar al Centro Histórico.

La protesta común fue reforzada con nuevas consignas: ¡Urgente, urgente, que renuncie el presidente. Y dicen, y dicen que estamos liquidados, aquí les demostramos que están equivocados. Mostraron otras pancartas contra el secretario del Trabajo, Javier Lozano, a quien señalan como autor de las agresiones contra los trabajadores.

Alentados por la CNC –sector campesino del PRI–, los jornaleros marcharon ataviados como los antiguos alzados revolucionarios; llevaron incluso un camión en el que representaron las gestas históricas de la Independencia y la Revolución. Durante la jornada falleció Inocencia Cruz, campesina de Hidalgo, quien en plena marcha sufrió un paro cardiaco fulminante.

Durante el mitin, Martín Esparza, dirigente del SME, advirtió que este movimiento (después de 120 días de la extinción de LFC) seguirá con más contundencia hasta recuperar la fuente de trabajo. Alzo mi voz para decir a Calderón y a sus incondicionales que no nos intimidan ni nos van a intimidar con sus amenazas farragosas, dijo.

Antes, Cruz López, líder de la CNC, señaló que al acuerdo nacional debe sumarse la creación de un consejo social y económico en el que participen todos los sectores para socializar las políticas públicas. Lamentó el imcumplimiento de la promesa gubernamental de no aumentar el precio de la gasolina: lo que faltaba, la palabra del Presidente de la República vale menos que un cacahuate.

Manifestó su solidaridad con los sindicatos en particular y repudió a la actitud porril e intromisoria del gobierno federal en los casos de los electricistas y los mineros. O los funcionarios cambian su actitud o pondrán en peligro la estabilidad del país, advirtió.

El pronunciamiento firmado por todas las organizaciones del Movimiento nacional por la soberanía alimentaria, energética, por los derechos de los trabajadores y las libertades democráticas plantea como ejes centrales: cambio de la política económica, incremento salarial de emergencia, un nuevo modelo de desarrollo rural y reformas económica y fiscal para una mejor distribución de la riqueza.

Asimismo, plantearon un pacto clasista y ciudadano, avanzar en la huelga de pagos de luz y la preparación de la huelga política nacional, según el documento leído por el líder del magisterio oaxaqueño Azael Santiago Chepi.

Apoyo en los estados

En apoyo a la movilización en el Distrito Federal, cientos de personas –entre integrantes del SME, maestros, campesinos y telefonistas– se manifestaron ayer en los estados de Oaxaca, Morelos, Chiapas, Querétaro y Nayarit.

Demandaron un cambio en la política económica del gobierno de Felipe Calderón; repudiaron los incrementos a la gasolina, el diesel y el IVA, y expresaron su apoyo a los 44 mil trabajadores de la extinta LFC.

En Cuernavaca, Morelos, más de 2 mil personas –la mayoría miembros del SME y sus familias– marcharon y efectuaron un mitin en el zócalo, donde exigieron a las autoridades federales frenar las agresiones contra los sindicatos y dejar de criminalizar la lucha social. En Oaxaca capital, cientos de profesores de la sección 22 del Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, así como seguidores de la Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca marcharon por la ciudad y realizaron un mitin frente al antiguo palacio de gobierno.

En Chiapas, unos 200 integrantes del Movimiento Campesino Regional Independiente bloquearon durante cuatro horas la carretera Panamericana. En Querétaro, unos 100 integrantes del Sindicato Nacional de Telefonistas protestaron frente a las instalaciones de la delegación de la Secretaría del Trabajo y marcharon hacia palacio de gobierno.

Con información de Octavio Vélez, Elio Henríquez, Rubicela Morelos, Jesús Narváez y Mariana Chávez, corresponsales

El gas LP también aumentará a partir del primero de febrero a $9.43 el litro en promedio

El lunes suben 18.3 por ciento tarifas eléctricas para industria

Habrá una pérdida de competitividad brutal e impactará en consumidores finales: Concamin

Juan Carlos Miranda

Enviado

Periódico La Jornada
Sábado 30 de enero de 2010, p. 20

Boca del Río, Ver., 29 de enero. La Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) notificó a los industriales del país que a partir del próximo lunes, las tarifas eléctricas industriales de media y alta tensión se incrementarán en 18.3 por ciento, el aumento más elevado en los pasados tres años, indicó Jaime Williams, presidente de la Comisión de Energéticos de la Confederación de Cámaras Industriales (Concamin).

El encargado de la política energética del organismo sostuvo que dicho incremento representa una pérdida de competitividad brutal para las industrias del país y aseguró que necesariamente tendrá un impacto en el precio que deberán pagar los consumidores finales.

Esto se va a reflejar en los productos al consumidor, es un impacto inmediato. Empieza a partir del primero de febrero y lo vamos a ver precisamente en los índices de inflación del mes de marzo. El impacto en la inflación va a ser de una magnitud no vista desde hace mucho tiempo, adelantó.

Afectación a la industria

Precisó que los productos que se verán más afectados son aquellos cuya fabricación requiere mayores cantidades de suministro eléctrico, tales como acero, cemento, molienda y petroquímica, entre otros.

“En general hay muchos procesos que dependen del sistema eléctrico para llevarse a cabo, como fundición, y todo lo que son calentamiento a través de resistencias de electricidad (…) Estamos hablando de incrementos muy importantes de productos y servicios que están en el mercado”, abundó.

En el marco de la reunión anual de industriales que se celebra en Veracruz, Williams señaló que en términos económicos el aumento tendrá un impacto de miles de millones de pesos para las empresas.

Para las grandes industrias que compiten en mercados internacionales los costos de producción alcanzan hasta 45 por ciento de su costo directo, de eso probablemente la mitad sea de electricidad, dijo.

Explicó que el incremento se debe básicamente al alza en el precio del gas natural, que el mes pasado registró un aumento de 56 por ciento, lo que aplica para este mes.

Cabe recordar que para determinar las tarifas eléctricas se toma en cuenta la inflación y los precios internacionales de los principales combustibles utilizados para la generación de electricidad, como gas natural, carbón, combustóleo y diesel.

El presidente de la comisión de energéticos de la Concamin dijo que los industriales han estado sosteniendo reuniones con las autoridades para solicitarles reactivar los promedio móviles en busca de suavizar los aumentos.

Recordó que dichos promedios ya existían hasta 2008, pero fueron retirados cuando se firmó el Acuerdo Nacional en Favor de la Economía Familiar y el Empleo, lo que propició que las tarifas se corrigieran a la baja momentáneamente pero volviéndose sumamente volátiles.

Lo que tenemos ahorita son tarifas que se mueven mes a mes de manera impresionante, estamos hablando de que de un mes a otro tenemos sorpresas de 18 por ciento para la industria. Es lamentable y esperamos que las autoridades nos escuchen y hagan algo al respecto, puntualizó.

Economía atribuye incrementos a la incertidumbre en mercados internacionales

Susana González G. e Israel Rodríguez

El próximo lunes primero de febrero entrará en vigor el segundo aumento del año para el precio del gas licuado de petróleo (LP), un insumo básico que se utiliza en 80 por ciento de los hogares del país.

El precio varía en función de las 145 zonas de comercialización del país que consideran las autoridades y, pese a las reiteradas declaraciones oficiales de que la recesión económica terminó, la Secretaría de Economía (SE) atribuyó los nuevos incrementos a la incertidumbre en los mercados internacionales de energéticos y la agudización del proceso recesivo mundial, según publicó en el diario oficial.

De acuerdo con la dependencia, el precio ponderado del gas LP durante febrero será de 8.13 pesos por kilogramo –cinco centavos más respecto del fijado en enero– pero puede implicar un gasto adicional de entre uno y 3.5 pesos dependiendo del tamaño del tanque y de la región donde se adquiera.

Así, en algunos municipios de Chihuahua el tanque de 20 kilogramos costará 166.55 pesos, mientras que una familia del Distrito Federal deberá pagar 187.37 pesos y otra de Quintana Roo hasta 206.18 pesos por la misma cantidad del energético.

Sin embargo, estos precios se elevan aún más pues se les debe agregar el IVA, mismo que también aumentó a partir del primero de enero: de 15 al 16 por ciento o de 10 al 11 por ciento, esta última tasa aplicable principalmente en las zonas fronterizas.

Al sumarle el IVA al precio promedio, el monto que deberá pagar el usuario final será de 9.43 pesos por kilogramo o 188.60 pesos por un tanque de 20 kilos. Para el caso del Distrito Federal el costo del mismo tanque se eleva a 217.34 por ciento y de 228.85 pesos en Quintana Roo, donde se ubica el precio más caro aun cuando tiene un IVA de 11 por ciento.

El presidente de la Asociación de Distribuidores de Gas LP (ADG), Luis Landa Fournais, alertó a los consumidores a estar prevenidos si el aumento mensual al precio promedio ponderado nacional se mantiene en cinco centavos cada mes. De ser así, precisó, a final de 2010 el precio por kilo será de 8.63 pesos por kilogramo sin impuesto.

Pero al aplicar el IVA del 16 por ciento el Gas LP se comercializará hasta 10.012 pesos por kilogramo, un aumento de 7.5 por ciento respecto de los 9.31 pesos en los que se vendió hasta diciembre de 2009.

Estimaciones de la ADG señalan que los ingresos totales por ventas de gas LP para el mes de febrero ascenderán a 5 mil 250 millones de pesos. El organismo aseguró que 75 por ciento del precio que el consumidor final paga por el combustible son ingresos para Pemex y la Secretaría de Hacienda, mientras que el 25 por ciento restante son ingresos para el sector privado.

El aumento acumulado de casi 20 centavos que registra el gas LP en los dos primeros meses de 2010 –cinco centavos en febrero, pero más de 14 en enero–representará una entrada adicional de 150 millones de pesos, bajo el supuesto de que las ventas para febrero permanezcan al mismo nivel que el mismo mes del año pasado, consideró la ADG.

Por ello, responsabilizó al gobierno federal del alza mensual del energético, al señalar que exclusivamente se reflejará en un aumento de los ingresos públicos, toda vez que son movimientos ajenos a la operación de los distribuidores, cuyos ingresos permanecen inalterados hace ya más de cinco años.

En encerrona con directivos de petroleras expone las ventajas de los nuevos contratos

Ofrece Calderón a extranjeros más apertura para invertir en Pemex

El mandatario llama en Davos a aprovechar el repunte de la competitividad de México

Claudia Herrera Beltrán

Enviada

Periódico La Jornada
Sábado 30 de enero de 2010, p. 3

Davos, 29 de enero. El presidente Felipe Calderón detalló a empresas petroleras trasnacionales las características de los nuevos contratos en el subsector hidrocarburos, con la promesa de que permitirán la inversión de los principales jugadores de la industria.

En reunión a puerta cerrada, explicó a los directivos de British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, la francesa Total y la italiana Eni las ventajas de la reforma energética aprobada en 2008.

Desde el miércoles pasado, el director de Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Juan José Suárez Coppel, se encuentra en este enclave alpino, donde –según información dada a este diario– se ha reunido con directivos de las petroleras, como parte de un intenso cabildeo que realiza el gobierno mexicano para promocionar las llamadas bondades de la reforma y los planes de una segunda generación de cambios.

De hecho, Suárez Coppel y la secretaria de Energía, Georgina Kessel, acompañaron al Presidente al encuentro que tuvo lugar de manera paralela a los trabajos del Foro Económico Mundial de Davos.

A los directivos Tony Hayward, de British Petroleum; Peter Voser, de Royal Dutch Shell; Margaret Ovrum, de Statoil; Thierry Desmarest, de Total, y Roberto Poli, de Eni, el michoacano les aseguró que esta reforma pone al sector petrolero mexicano en la ruta de la modernización.

Se congratuló de que Pemex ahora puede contratar servicios de manera más competitiva, así como nueva tecnología para incrementar la inversión y la eficiencia en la industria.

De acuerdo con un comunicado de la Presidencia, Calderón explicó los nuevos modelos de contratos para las distintas áreas del subsector hidrocarburos y afirmó que ayudarán a mejorar la eficiencia, aumentar la capacidad de ejecución y atraer a los principales jugadores de la industria.

En su segundo día de actividades en Davos, el Presidente privilegió las reuniones privadas (de 10 una fue pública), la mayoría de las cuales fueron con directivos de empresas como Siemens, Nissan, Intel, Coca Cola y Pepsi Cola, a quienes invitó a aprovechar el repunte de México en competitividad. Además, tuvo encuentros con empresarios mexicanos, entre ellos el dueño de Televisa, Emilio Azcárraga.

De nuevo con Zedillo

Calderón y el ex presidente Ernesto Zedillo volvieron a verse en el foro que reúne al club de ricos del mundo.

El encuentro ocurrió en la llamada reunión informal de líderes mundiales, en la que, según Los Pinos, Zedillo hizo un reconocimiento a Calderón por su determinación para llevar adelante transformaciones en México. Presidente y ex presidente tienen una historia de encuentros en Davos: el año pasado fue cuando el panista dijo en público que ahora comprende lo que el priísta vivió cuando el ahora mandatario estaba al frente de la oposición, y en 2007 lo elogió en el mismo foro por las políticas que aplicó durante su gobierno.

El peor enemigo de un presidente

Temprano, el mandatario admitió que la cumbre sobre cambio climático que organiza México para diciembre próximo genera bajas expectativas, pero dijo preferirlo, ya que el peor enemigo de un jefe de Estado es tener expectativas altísimas.

Luego de que se había propuesto que la ciudad de México fuera sede de dicho cónclave, el panista dejó en claro que se realizará en el puerto de Cancún; explicó que no cree que esta vez nos vayamos con las manos vacías luego del fracaso de Copenhague para amarrar acuerdos vinculantes en cuanto a la disminución de contaminantes.

En la sesión llamada De Copenhague a México: ¿Qué sigue?, el Ejecutivo volvió a coincidir con el gobernador del estado de México, el priísta Enrique Peña Nieto, quien figuraba entre los invitados, lo mismo que el nuevo gobernador del Banco de México, Agustín Carstens.

Ahí, Calderón seguró que en vez de frenar la industria, la lucha contra el cambio climático va a crear nuevos empleos, y propuso, por ejemplo, un proyecto para reforestar Haití.

Jobless Turn to Family for Help

By MICHAEL LUO

WARRENTON, Ore. — After Jean Ley lost her job as a mental health counselor in June 2008, she quickly realized how limited her options were. She had little savings. Unemployment benefits were not going to be enough to pay her bills. She was at risk of losing her home here on the Oregon coast.

Leah Nash for The New York Times

In June 2008, Jean Ley lost her job after she had just purchased a home. Her son Matt has been paying her mortgage and other bills.

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Stuart Isett for The New York Times

Matt Ley with his daughter Josie.

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Stuart Isett for The New York Times

Matt Ley and his wife, Sandy Brown, have been helping Mr. Ley's mother pay her bills since she lost her job in June 2008.

As a last resort, Ms. Ley, 62, turned to her family. Her older brothers conferred with her son, Matt, and agreed that one of them would help pay her bills if needed.

But the assistance proved more than temporary. A year and half later, her son’s regular payments covering her mortgage and occasional emergencies, like a car repair or arthritis medication, have proven to be her bulwark from economic catastrophe.

“If my family weren’t able to help me out at this point, I wouldn’t have a home,” she said. “And I would be struggling.”

As joblessness persists, credit cards max out and the government’s safety net has grown thin, many Americans have turned to a patchwork quilt of family members and friends to stave off eviction, keep their electricity running or cover an unexpected medical bill. It is an underground banking system, complete with lenders and borrowers.

But borrowing from others can be complicated. In interviews, more than two dozen unemployed adults who had borrowed from family or friends said the act of asking, even in these hard times, is often humbling; some even called it humiliating. It can be equally stressful for lenders, many of whom are also on shaky financial footing and can barely afford to extend a small amount — especially when loans turn into gifts.

“I think money changes everything,” said Matt Ley, of Seattle. “It’s a cliché, but when you lend money to a friend, when you lend money to family, it changes things.”

More than half of the respondents to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll of 708 unemployed adults nationwide said they had borrowed money from friends or relatives. In most cases, their financial pictures were bleak. Nearly 80 percent of those who reported borrowing money said their family’s financial situation was “fairly bad” or “very bad,” a significantly greater proportion than among those who had not had to borrow.

Nearly 40 percent of those who had been lent money received food stamps, compared with just 13 percent of those who had not.

Younger unemployed adults were more likely to borrow money — 61 percent of those under the age of 45 said they had. But more than a third of those over the age of 45 had as well.

For adult children borrowing from parents — by far the most common occurrence among those interviewed — the act often meant acknowledging an uneasy dependence that many thought they had escaped long ago.

“Here I am, 38, and having to ask for help from my parents is just belittling,” said Matt Gibbons of Kingsport, Tenn., who has accepted more than $2,000 from his mother to cover his bills since losing his job at a home improvement company in early 2008.

John Morris, 36, of Chicago had to go to the emergency room recently with a leg infection. Without health insurance after losing his job a year and a half ago, he applied for charity care from the hospital. But he still needed about $300 for antibiotics after being discharged.

Mr. Morris waited two and a half days before finally summoning the nerve to call his father, Rich, who had already lent him money for an emergency car repair. Rich Morris, who recently retired, eventually wired the money but only after checking some accounts to make sure he had enough.

“It’s not like we have hundreds of thousands of dollars lying around in a slush fund that you can pull out and do these types of things,” Rich Morris said.

What became clear from interviews is that borrowing from family or friends is often done only with great reluctance.

Carlethaus Hopper, 35, of Sacramento was laid off from his job as a welder in September 2008. A few months later, his wife, Lura, 50, lost her position as a ticket clerk for Amtrak.

They started pawning jewelry, even their wedding rings. But when they received a notice threatening them with eviction if they did not immediately pay the back monthly rent of $1,025, they had no recourse but to ask Ms. Hopper’s 82-year-old father.

Since then, the couple has turned to Ms. Hopper’s father two more times, borrowing more than $3,000. Ms. Hopper also recently borrowed $2,000 from an old friend to pay for medication.

In most cases, according to interviews, repayment is left open-ended, given how bleak the odds of re-employment remain. Interest is usually not part of the agreement. Some lenders said they did not even expect to be repaid. But the borrowers often insist that they will as a matter of pride.

After Christine Oxley, 56, and her husband lost their jobs at a nonprofit trade association in 2008, Ms. Oxley drew up a legal contract when she was forced to go to an elderly great-aunt for $40,000 after her husband had a heart attack and was hospitalized without health insurance. Some portion of the money was eventually going to be directed the Oxleys way in an inheritance, but Ms. Oxley insisted upon a formal agreement that required repayment within five years. “I wanted her to know I wasn’t going to walk away from this and I wasn’t trying to get a handout,” she said.

Some borrowers have exhausted their unemployment benefits, while others did not qualify in the first place. Even among those who have been able to draw benefits, like Ms. Ley, it is frequently not enough.

The Leys’ situation was complicated by the fact that Matt Ley and his wife, Sandy Brown, had lent his mother money to pay legal bills when she went through a messy separation from a partner several years ago that depleted her savings. The assistance became a source of tension in her son’s marriage, prompting Mr. Ley and his wife to seek the help of a therapist.

“Emotionally, we had to readjust,” said Ms. Brown, who works part time as a lawyer. “How do we communicate in our marriage about this difficult issue without making anyone feel bad?”

This time, Ms. Ley provided the couple with a detailed budget of how she was spending her money, down to cat food and haircuts, proving her frugality. Still, the $750 a month for the mortgage on her small modular home, along with some other bills, was not insignificant, even for a couple with means, forcing them to set aside other priorities.

Mr. Ley, who is a commercial banker, said the exchange of money has pushed him and his mother apart in subtle ways. But he tries to maintain perspective.

“At some point, you have to step back and say, ‘This is your mother, this is family, this is blood,’ ” Mr. Ley said. “And this is what you do when they have something bad happen to them.”

Megan Thee-Brenan in New York contributed reporting

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/us/30borrow.html?th&emc=th

Economy Grew at Vigorous Pace in Last Quarter

By CATHERINE RAMPELL

Published: January 29, 2010

The United States economy grew at its fastest pace in more than six years at the end of 2009, even as businesses resisted hiring and continued to do more with less.

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A Lowe's store in North Little Rock, Ark. Businesses are letting their stockpiles shrink at a slower rate than they had been.

The New York Times

The broadest measure of economic activity, gross domestic product, expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, after a 2.2 percent increase the previous quarter.

“It was an excellent report, but it’s not clear how sustainable this pace of growth is,” said John Ryding, chief economist of RDQ Economics.

The growth rate was the fastest since the third quarter of 2003, when the economy grew at a rate of 6.9 percent. But even 2009’s fourth-quarter surge was not enough to overcome a terrible start to the year. The economy finished 2009 with its biggest contraction since 1946, when the country was still cooling off from World War II.

The Obama administration seized on news of the latest upturn as an opportunity to push its proposal to encourage hiring. Companies would receive a tax credit of up to $5,000 for each new hire, and an additional credit on Social Security payroll taxes for raising wages — by increasing hourly pay or work hours, for example — in excess of inflation.

“Now’s the perfect time for this kind of incentive because the economy is growing, but businesses are still hesitant to start hiring again,” President Obama said in Baltimore.

The economy has been able to grow even without adding workers because employers have found ways to accomplish more with fewer workers. Productivity grew at a robust rate of 8.1 percent in the third quarter of 2009, the most recent data available.

The single biggest factor in the strong growth rate last quarter was not consumers buying more, but businesses letting their stockpiles shrink at a slower rate than they had been previously.

For example, a bike company usually keeps its warehouse well stocked. In tough times, it cuts production and sells what it already has in the warehouse.

When its financial worries ease, the company still does not fully replenish its warehouses, but it lets its inventories shrink at a slower pace.

Because of the way the government calculates growth, this business moderation translates into an increase in output. The change in inventories added 3.4 percentage points to the growth rate in the final quarter of 2009.

Those inventory changes alone cannot sustain growth over an extended period of time. Economists are hoping that once business executives become more confident about the recovery, they may increase production to refill their stockroom shelves.

“What goes down wildly has to go up at a pretty good clip,” said Robert J. Barbera, chief economist at ITG.

So far, though, final sales to consumers and businesses have been disappointing. Consumer spending grew at an annualized pace of 2 percent in the fourth quarter, after an increase of 2.8 percent in the third quarter. That is better than many had feared when the quarter began, considering the end of the cash-for-clunkers program that had helped stimulate auto spending. Still, in the past, consumption has been a much bigger driver of growth after a recession.

Many analysts foresee tepid growth in the months ahead. Ian Shepherdson, of High Frequency Economics, expects output to expand by just 1 or 2 percent, at an annualized rate, this quarter and next.

The biggest challenge in the near future is the job market.

On net, the economy lost 208,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last quarter, and the unemployment rate rose to 10 percent, from 9.7 percent. As long as the labor market remains weak, consumers — whose purchases make up the bulk of economic output each quarter — will be reluctant to spend money. That means businesses will need to look for other sources of demand, like exports.

Perhaps the most promising aspect of Friday’s report in terms of jobs was the pickup in equipment and software spending.

Businesses increased their investment in these areas at an annualized rate of 13.3 percent last quarter, compared with an increase of 1.5 percent in the third quarter.

“Businesses that are spending more on equipment and software are probably going to be hiring more as well,” said Nigel Gault, chief United States economist for IHS Global Insight. “If we see more hiring, that means we may see more consumer spending, too.”

Obama administration officials say they see other signs that output growth will eventually transform into job growth.

“Employers are seeing demand go up,” said Christina Romer, the chairwoman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers. “They’re starting to hire temporary workers. We’re trying to get them to take the plunge and hire permanent workers. And do the hiring sooner rather than later.”

Total government spending fell slightly, by an annualized rate of 0.1 percent, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, largely because of declines in military spending and state and local government spending.

Federal nonmilitary spending rose at an annual rate of 8.1 percent last quarter, after rising 7 percent the previous quarter.

International trade increased last quarter, and exports grew nearly twice as fast as imports, aided by a relatively weak dollar.

The latest measure of the nation’s output is a backward-looking figure, providing only clues of where the country may be headed. The number can be subject to major revisions, especially when the economy is at a turning point. The annual growth rate initially reported by the government for the third quarter of 2009 was 3.5 percent, but was later revised to 2.2 percent. The government’s final tally of last quarter’s output will be released in March.

Medvedev calls on counter-intelligence to protect state secrets

28 January, 2010, 18:25

Counter-intelligence should remain a key priority for Russia’s Security Service (FSB) because of spies’ interest in state secrets, President Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with the agency’s board.

"The foreign special services' interest in our state secrets and newest developments remains high," Medvedev said. Therefore, the president urged the country’s intelligence to respond promptly “to any attempts to collect classified information”. Criminal cases should be initiated whenever such facts are spotted.

For his part, the head of state promised to provide support for the agency and its employees.

The focus of Medvedev’s meeting senior FSB officials on Thursday was, quite obviously, state security. Among major tasks in that respect the president named the necessity to provide the most up-to-date equipment at Russian borders.

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"The border should have modern equipment installed, and much has been accomplished in this field in the recent past,” he said as quoted by Itar-Tass. “Also, the border must be convenient for citizens and the development of trade-economic relations with partners."

He drew the officials’ attention to the new rules for the border guards following the launching of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, Moscow will continue helping Abkhazia and South Ossetia to strengthen their borders.

"It is a special task for the Border Service, in connection with the commitments Russia has undertaken," he said.

Following the war in South Ossetia launched by Georgia in August 2008, Russia recognized the independence of the two Caucasian republics and has been providing support for the new states.

According to the Russian Ambassador to Abkhazia, Sergey Grigoryev, within the next three years the republic will receive over $300 million from the Russian budget as part of an agreement to provide help towards Abkhazia's socio-economic development.

Terrorism remains main threat

President Medvedev said that he is satisfied with the FSB’s work in 2009 and the agency managed to accomplish its tasks. Over 80 terrorist attacks were prevented and 500 leaders and members of militant groups were neutralized, thanks to security forces efforts.

However, "criminal attacks in Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya show that terrorism is the main threat for society," he cautioned.

Therefore, Medvedev has called on the federal security service to continue "systematic work to neutralize criminal groups, their leaders and people who carry out terrorist attacks." He added that terrorism had to be fought by the authorities and society together.

Not a single week passed without reports of attacks on officials and security forces in Russia’s North Caucasus region in 2009. As a result of the surge in violence, over 230 police officers and troops were killed and over 680 wounded.

In an attempt to bring stability to the region, in January this year, President Medvedev established a new, North Caucasian, federal district. Former Siberian governor and business executive Aleksandr Khloponin was appointed deputy prime minister and president's envoy to the district.

The President said he hoped the newly-appointed official would manage to cope with the region's worst evil – corruption.

"[The corruption level] is high in the whole country, and exceptionally high in the Northern Caucasus, and it is necessary to bring order to local authorities. We must strictly control the use of budgetary funds, because the allocations are large and the efficiency [is low] as you all know," Medvedev was quoted by Interfax. "In turn, I will keep an eye on governors and law enforcers," he added.

Khloponin was present at Thursday’s meeting, along with Presidential Administration Chief Sergey Naryshkin, Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev, Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.

Pranksters use fake videos of politicians to draw attention to poverty

30 January, 2010, 02:49

The Yes Men, an international group of activists, are calling for the Davos Forum to solve the problem of poverty.

And they're doing it in a rather unconventional way – by making fake videos of famous politicians pledging to help the world's struggling poor.

“Look at what’s going on in Haiti today”, says Philippe Diaz, co-creator of the videos. “It’s exactly the same thing over and over again. So we wanted to say what would happen if all the leaders of the world were united and say we understand what the poverty is all about. So we decided to change that.”

Children of the UK wealth divide: how a six-year-old deals with poverty

National Equality Panel's analysis shows the richest 10% is more than 100 times better off than the poorest 10%

• Amelia Gentleman
• guardian.co.uk,
• Friday 29 January 2010 18.21 GMT
• Article history

In many ways the Renton and the Green families have plenty in common – these are two busy, noisy, happy households, each with three children. In both families, the two older children are already in their early 20s, venturing out into adult life, leaving behind a much younger sibling, the baby of the house.

The parents' aspirations are similar. Chris Renton hopes that his six-year-old daughter, and his older boys, will find security and stability in later life. Laura Green wants her children to be happy, loved and fulfilled in their careers.

Cliff, Plaistow, east London: his rental arrears are “a permanent presence, a weight on your shoulders, a knot in your stomach – all the clichés”. Photograph: Martin Godwin

But their ability to help their children is profoundly influenced by their different circumstances. Chris, 44, describes himself as on the breadline, unemployed, with several thousand pounds of arrears on the draughty two-storey home he rents in east London. Laura, 51, lives a dozen tube stops to the west in a well-insulated and expensively renovated £1.5m house.

The publication this week of the National Equality Panel's analysis shows how the richest 10% is more than 100 times better off than the poorest 10% – with household wealth of at least £853,000.

Neither family feels exceptional but they are at the extremes of the wealth divide. This being Britain, there is an unease with the subject of money, and both prefer to discuss their finances anonymously.

In the early morning sprint to get his daughter to school, Chris is encouraging her to put down her pink Nintendo DS and finish her Weetabix, rushing to tidy her hair, straighten her school uniform, strap her into the car and deliver her to class on time.

As he drives back, it doesn't take him long to work out that his personal wealth stands well below the bottom 10% threshold; his most valuable possession is the 10-year-old car, perhaps worth about £1,000. Then there is an eight-year-old computer with a broken disc drive, maybe £50, a temperamental DVD player and some hi-fi equipment, perhaps another £50 together, the beds, the secondhand sofas, of indeterminate value, and the glass-fronted display cabinets, a present from his mother – "maybe they're worth £100 for the two of them, if I'm generous".

Most of the parents at his daughter's school are in a similar financial situation, he guesses, but the subject is never discussed. "Too stigmatising," he says.

Back at home, his 20-year-old son is playing with a tiny puppy in the narrow hallway. Both sons left school at 16 (like Chris), and, like their father, are now claiming jobseeker's allowance. The puppy is a new arrival, but will not be staying for long – grown dogs eat a lot of expensive food.

Good parenting is a priority, and Chris took time off work to be with all three children in their pre-school years. He has helped teach them to cook, supported the elder boys' steps towards independence, encouraged their interest in music and is helping the middle child apply for a Prince's Trust grant.

The sale of his mother's house a few years ago meant that he was able to put £5,000 each in three trust funds for his children – money that he won't touch.

He is not materialistic (although he minds a little that he can't afford to buy his daughter free-range eggs) but money troubles do have an impact on his ability to be a good father. Piled up on the table are bailiffs' notices that announce that agents "have today attended your property with the intention of levying and removing your goods".

Filed beneath them are the bank statements that record the frequent decisions to charge £35 fines for unauthorised overdrafts – charges that mean a trip to buy eggs, bread and milk for his family can end up costing £40 instead of £5, (a penalty for being poor, he says).

In many ways it is a relief that he can no longer afford the landline because before it was cut off the phone would be ringing several times a day with recorded messages from utility providers about unpaid bills. Anxiety about whether his debts to the landlord will trigger eviction once the six-month tenancy expires is, he says, "a permanent presence, a weight on your shoulders, a knot in your stomach – all the clichés".

He knows his daughter senses his unease. "What I can't provide is security. She has her room upstairs, with all her stuff in it – she is comfortable here. If that was all to be disrupted there would be unhappiness," he says.

"If you don't feel secure, you are always on tenterhooks, you snap at the children. It is a mental strain. Sometimes you feel you just want to roll over and give up. Your resilience is worn away, there is nothing left to rely on."

At the other end of the school day, Laura encourages her 11-year-old son to unplug his ears from an iPod to say hello, before his guitar tutor arrives. Her stock-take runs through the value of the home, an estimated £1.5m, minus the £400,000 mortgage, plus approximately £200,000 worth of shares, plus the uncertain value of her husband's business, and the pension and health care schemes – pushing the household so firmly into the 90th percentile, that there is no need to start itemising the values of televisions, cars, carpets, paintings and marble kitchen fittings.

A little later, and with some embarrassment, she remembers a London flat bought for the children that she has forgotten to add into the calculation.

Laura would never have placed herself at the top of the pile. For her being truly rich means "flying first class without blinking", living in a more expensive part of London, taking ski holidays and always staying in five star hotels.

Although money has not been tight for the past six years, putting three children through private education has, she says, meant going on fewer holidays abroad, and keeping the same family car for 17 years. This week's equality report notes: "Most people are unaware either of their own position in the income distribution or of the true scale of differences between the high-paid and the low-paid. This lack of awareness runs through society, from rich to poor."

The report concludes that "economic advantage and disadvantage reinforce themselves across the life cycle, and often on to the next generation" and argues that achieving the goal of equality of opportunity "is very hard when there are such wide differences between the resources which people and their families have to help them fulfil their diverse potentials".

Earlier this month David Cameron argued that "what matters most to a child's life chances is not the wealth of their upbringing but the warmth of their parenting". Both Chris and Laura are kind and dedicated parents, but no amount of warmth can outweigh the effect of money or the lack of it.

Like Chris, Laura has made good parenting a high priority, but money has widened their opportunities. Educating the children has been the key; as well as paying for private schools, she and her husband are now supporting the two older children through second degrees.

Both Chris and Laura have a sense of social responsibility. Laura trained as a social worker and then as a teacher and has spent years helping disadvantaged children overcome literacy problems. Since losing his job as a gardener last year, Chris is working as a volunteer with Community Links, a support group for the long-term unemployed. Both expected Labour to do more to narrow the wealth divide.

"There was a drive to make this a classless society, but I think the trend has become even more emphasised," Chris says. Still, he remains an optimist – happy despite his financial worries and with no desire to jump to the top 10th of society.

"I don't think their lives are more enriched by what they have. They will be accumulating for the sake of it and they will be more worried about what they have to lose. They will have further to fall," he says. "That could be just as stressful as my situation."

Laura does not feel under real stress now, although she concedes that, as a mother, life is never worry-free. "What does it mean to be comfortably off? It means I can choose to work part-time and spend time with my family, I can choose to take a day off a week to do an art class," she says.

She says it is "hard to conceive" of how life might be if her personal wealth were to be shrunk 100-fold, but she doesn't want her children to have to find out. "I do hope that they will be comfortably off as well. I don't think money makes you happy but I think that money worries make you unhappy.

China fumes at US arms sale to Taiwan

Tensions rise as Bejing halts military exchange with Washington

• Tania Branigan in Beijing and Paul Harris in New York
• guardian.co.uk,
  
• Saturday 30 January 2010 16.03 GMT
• Article history

China and the US are set for renewed confrontation after Beijing warned of serious repercussions following Washington's announcement of a $6.4bn (£4bn) arms deal with Taiwan.

Sanctions were imposed on US companies involved in the deal, and in one of a flurry of unsually strong statements condemning the American decision the Foreign Ministry said: "It will be un­avoidable that co-operation between China and the United States over important international and regional issues will also be affected." Earlier it had summoned US ambassador Jon Huntsman.

Patriot missiles form part of the £4bn arms sale by the US to Taiwan. Photograph: AP

The Foreign Ministry statement will add to concerns about the knock-on effects of the deal, and whether it will hinder the prospect of new sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council. Despite China's reluctance to act against its ally, the US was hopeful that it could win its backing if Russia was on board. Beijing will postpone high-level consultation on strategic security, arms control and non-proliferation issues, it said. The Defence Ministry said it was suspending military exchanges because of the "harm and odious effect" of the deal.

The dispute comes amid growing tensions over issues including trade, climate change and internet censorship.

"This is the strongest reaction we have seen in recent years," said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, North East Asia project director of the International Crisis Group. But she added: "Our real sense is that China is looking to see what reaction it will receive from Barack Obama."

US officials made no immediate response to the Chinese reaction, which seemed stronger than expected.

The arms deal includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and minehunter ships. But, in an indication of US concern about Beijing's reaction, it does not include F16 fighter jets or a design plan for diesel submarines – both long sought by Taiwan.

Taiwan has been self-ruled since 1949, but Beijing continues to assert sovereignty over it and has said it is prepared to use military action if the island seeks formal independence. While the US does not technically have diplomatic relations with Taipei, it is legally obliged to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself and has long supplied it with arms.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said the deal "gives us greater confidence in pushing for an amicable outcome in our relations with China, and will help promote peace in the Taiwan Strait".

China is believed to have more than 1,000 missiles aimed at the island. Taiwan's relations with the mainland have improved since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008. But Beijing's reaction to the long-expected sale suggests it may have hoped the thaw would reduce US military cooperation. China's Taiwan affairs office said the deal "fanned the flames of Taiwan independence" and sent the wrong message, according to the Xinhua state news agency.

Washington and Beijing had boasted of a strengthening of bilateral ties, but in recent weeks the relationship has come under growing strain.

China is thought to be concerned that Obama faces growing domestic pressure to take a tougher line towards Beijing, and was angered by Hillary Clinton's speech on internet freedom last week. Although China warned that the speech could damage bilateral relations, both sides subsequently sought to play down the disagreement. Obama's national security adviser, Jim Jones, said in a speech on Friday that the US was "bent toward a new relationship with China as a rising power in the world".

But Jin Canrong, a professor of international studies at Renmin University, said the arms sale would give Beijing a "fair and proper reason" to accelerate weapons testing

Tony Blair accused of putting war with Iran on the electoral agenda

Former prime minister slammed for trying to shift focus onto threat from Tehran during appearance at Chilcot inquiry

• David Batty
• guardian.co.uk,
  
• Saturday 30 January 2010 13.01 GMT
• Article history

Tony Blair has been accused of warmongering spin for claiming that western powers might be forced to invade Iran because it poses as serious a threat as Saddam Hussein.

Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran, accused Blair of trying to make confrontation with Iran an electoral issue after the former prime minister repeatedly singled out its Islamic regime as a global threat in his evidence to the Iraq war inquiry yesterday.

During his appearance at the Iraq war inquiry, above, Tony Blair claimed Iran now poses a similar threat to that of Saddam seven years ago.

Photograph: IRAQINQUIRY.ORG/EPA

Blair said many of the arguments that led him to confront the "profoundly wicked, almost psychopathic" Saddam Hussein seven years ago now applied to the regime in Tehran.

"We face the same problem about Iran today," he told the Chilcot inquiry.

Dalton, the UK ambassador to Iran from 2002 until 2006, said it was essential that all the political parties made clear in the run-up to the general election that there would be no repeat of Blair's actions in respect of Iran.

"One result of Tony Blair's intervention on Iran – he mentioned Iran 58 times – is to put the question of confronting Iran into play in the election," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"We need to be much clearer, as voters, with our politicians and with our candidates that we expect a different behaviour and a greater integrity in our democracy next time."

Blair warned that the international community must be prepared to take a "very hard, tough line" with Iran, a country "linked up with terrorist groups", to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

He said that if action had not been taken in 2003 to topple Saddam, Iraq could be locked in a nuclear arms race with Iran with potentially devastating consequences for the region and the wider world.

The former prime minister attacked the Islamic regime for fomenting the insurgency that followed the invasion of Iraq by US and UK forces.

He claimed that Iran, which follows Shia Islam, had supported al-Qaida, despite it following the rival Sunni branch of the faith, because they both had a common interest in destabilising Iraq.

Dalton dismissed as a "piece of spin" Blair's claim that the Iranians almost caused the failure of the coalition mission in Iraq through their support for the insurgency.

"To say that Iran was the principal reason seemed to me to be part of a broader argument which he was trying to make, namely that it makes what he did in Iraq look better if he extends it to the future and says the policies then might have to be applied. But Iran is a completely different situation," Dalton said

Foreign Sell-Off Pulls Down Seoul Bourse

By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter

Foreign investors, who led the rally on the Seoul bourse until early this year, are now pulling the index down as they dump financial stocks at a brisk pace.

The sell off follows the announcement of U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to limit the size and activities of commercial banks.

Prudential Asset Management said Obama's proposal could deal a blow to U.S. financial businesses.

If it gets approval by Congress in its current form, it would block commercial banks from engaging in private equity or hedge fund businesses, which would impact on the M&A and financial markets.

``This would work negatively on the stock market,'' Prudential concluded, adding that it would be like the resurrection of the Glass-Steagall Act that was abolished in 1999.

Obama is proposing banning commercial banks from proprietary trading, or making investments on their own behalf, on the determination that such risky activities triggered the global financial crisis that ended up burdening taxpayers.

Banks on Wall Street suffered around a 10-percent drop in their stock prices upon Obama's announcement, while financial stocks in Seoul also couldn't avoid the negative effects.

Switching to Safety Assets

Park Ga-young, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said that investors are switching to safety assets due to the strengthening of regulations on speculative investment.

``The first sign of a preference for safety assets is the exodus of foreign investors,'' she said, adding that the phenomenon is not limited to Korea. Investors are deserting most major emerging countries that have been categorized as ``risky.''

Adding to the worries is China, which is hurrying to tighten credit. ``Consumer prices rose over 3 percent from a year ago on heavy snow and rising resource prices. This is the reason for the tightening,'' Park added.

``When realized, the measure will decrease hedge fund investments, which will lower the preference for risky assets following an economic recovery,'' said Cho Sung-joon, an economist at Meritz Securities. He said the dollar carry trade could end upon the fall in hedge fund investment coupled with China's tightening policy, meaning emerging markets will likely falter.

Positive Outlook for Longer Term

The Obama plan to regulate banks could be bitter but effective medicine for the longer term, according to analysts. Prudential Asset Management said in a report that banning commercial banks from doing investment bank business seems like a positive move to stabilize the economy.

Meritz Securities' Cho was skeptical over whether Obama's proposal will be approved by Congress. ``If the stock market continues to plunge, people will turn their backs on Obama. Republicans, who are conservative when it comes to regulation of banks, recently secured 41 seats in Senate, which means they are likely to block the bill.''

He added that it would also take a few years for full implementation.

On the positive side, he said that the recent weakening of the Korean won after the U.S. President's announcement could work positively for exports here, amid strong economic growth in China and improving performances by Korean businesses.

``If the stock market continues falling, China, which is turning toward a tightening policy, can delay a key rate hike. Shocks to the financial market would be short lived in that case,'' Cho said.

chizpizza@koreatimes.co.kr

POPULISM FOR... BEGINNERS

Coldness hits again the northern hemisphere. Desde el extremo opuesto de nuestro planeta, la rojilla me avisa que antier el termómetro ha registrado una mínima de -8 C en la capital de su país. Colorado se ha tornado también el firmamento nocturno en esta frontera, presagiando una vez más el futuro retiro de la presencia solar.


Marcación personal a esta oficina. Recién he regresado de esparcir polilla por el parque vecinal, y el asistente de un doctor me aborda y me dispara una serie de cuestionamientos sobre la importación de un auto antiguo.


_ Me mandó el doctor para saber cómo va lo del carro -es su primera inquisición.




_ ¿De parte de qué doctor viene usted? -pregunto para estar seguro quién manda el mensaje.


_ Pues del doctor fulano, él me envió para que los acompañara a la aduana -su respuesta
me despeja algunas dudas.


_ Mis hermanos ya se fueron con el doctor sutano, amigo de su jefe, para destrabar, si es posible, el enredo -contesto puntualmente para que tranquilice a su jefe.


At lunch time a few hours before, tiempo que aprovecho la soledad para ordenar mis pensamientos, recibo una llamada telefónica de una persona que se identifica como el doctor sutano. En forma suscinta me explica que a él lo han detenido al intentar ingresar a territorio mexicano por el Puente Internacional Anzaldúas. El oficial en turno le ha informado de la condición ilegal de su vehículo, ya que el número de pedimento que presenta no existe más en su base de datos.


Unas horas después, cuando han regresado de la aduana, le pido a mi hermano que me sintetice el caso. "Todo lo que áquel hizo está bien; hay un pedimento de lo que tramitamos que respalda la importación. El problema es que en algunas agencias aduanales clonan los pedimentos para sacar tajada. Lo que hicieron estos güeyes con el carro, es meter una rectificación del pedimento para un avalar la importación de un remolque en lugar del auto, y así se brincan los impuestos y se ganan una lana. Pinches lacras." Muy ingenuamente le sugiero: "pues pónganse truchas entonces para que no se los vayan a llevar al baile a ustedes también." Difícilmente puede contener la carcajada: "¡Ay, Tony!, no manches todo aquí ya está amañado, ya te lo había dicho con lo de las partes, esos güeyes ya desmadraron todo este negocio en la ciudad."

_ Mira güey, hasta donde yo puedo ver creo que hay dos niveles: el mero güeno allá arriba, el que se pervirtió desde que llegó Fox, Martita y toda su parentela. Todos esos locos destruyeron el sistema aduanero como lo conocíamos, por eso ya te había dicho lo del segundo reconocimiento y las zonas francas, hace poco leí que ahora hasta fideicomisos aduaneros y pa cerrar la pinza, ...la connivencia con el narcotráfico. El otro nivel es el de las perras flacas, que es el de todos esos chalanes y coyotes de las agencias aduanales que no hacen nada diferente de lo que aprendieron de sus masters... las ratas grandes, y como no tuvieron límites pus ya ves el resultado.






Las terribles consecuencias son evidentes en la edad adulta. True lies, verdades a medias y dobles discursos que ocultan los hechos concretos, llenan las aparentemente straight answers del senador Beltrones en una entrevista radial, días después del lamento jarocho. Voy a saltarme adrede la reforma política porque la enviada por el ejecutivo es una provocación más al de por sí al muy enrarecido ambiente socioeconómico nacional, la enviada por el tricolor es cosmética porque ni siquiera se acerca a las propuestas de reforma anteriormente presentadas por su propio partido antes de la orgía neoliberal, la del DIA se va al otro extremo en palabras de algunos sesudos analistas políticos. Expectations? Se van a divertir un rato con el juguetito hasta que... PRIAN y Chuchos encuentren una reforma consensuada que salve al país de la catástrofe.



Coincido sin embargo con usted, en que urge resolver la complicada situación del país en todos los aspectos posibles. Más mi ladina memoria me lleva, como mero ejemplo, al sainete que armaron (incluyendo la enmendada propuesta de última hora pa saltarse a los eternos inconformes) nuestros legisladores para la aprobación del paquete presupuestal 2010, propuesta final de la que usted fue uno de los protagonistas principales, ...peccata minuta, signore. Now, en cuanto a las alianzas para las elecciones de este año y el canditato presidencial tricolor, como no queriendo las voy a enlazar, porque la alianza real es con la televisión privada principalmente.



Dígame usted si no, puede mandar mucho al carajo una concertación con cualquiera de los otros dos principales partidos políticos; pero ni en sus peores pesadillas se le ocurriría ir sin la televisión, ¿qué no? Give us back our 12.5% of time on TV! El último punto está de a pechito. OK, usted acepta las resoluciones del TRIFE mucho más en serio que si fueran preceptos religiosos, y por ello colaboró para la toma de posesión de ese engendro llamado ejecutivo nacional. Afortunadamente algunas cuestiones científicas son poco discutibles y, a menos que hubiera ocurrido un milagro estadístico, el 2 de julio de 2006 se perpetró un fraude electoral (avalado por usted, de acuerdo a sus propias declaraciones), el cual (gracias a todos mis compas, que derrotamos a los genios de la cibernética) exhibimos puntualmente en su momento. A little political miscalculation que tiene al gobierno federal literalmente al borde del desastre, agraciadamente el pueblo mexicano es mucho más que todos ustedes que medran con nuestras desgracias en los palacios legislativos y de gobierno.


TOÑA, LA NEGRA - LAMENTO JAROCHO

La semana (próxima) pasada intentaba explicarles que, cuando los preceptos religiosos se obedecen by heart, es redundante legislar sobre los mismos. Ahora bien, el proceso de legislación no es una concesión libre de luchas históricas. Con todos sus defectos, que en fechas recientes han mostrado algunos de sus límites, la democracia representativa es el sistema político aceptado en la República Mexicana. Para seleccionar a nuestros representantes populares, éstos tuvieron que haberse sometido a su elección por medio sufragio universal y directo. Pues bien, en teoría, nuestros representantes llevan a las cámaras nuestros deseos y aspiraciones y, again, los someten a la dura faena del debate de ideas a favor y en contra para después aprobar o rechazar tales iniciativas. En un estado laico -así sea solamente de membrete- como el mexicano, la separación entre iglesia y estado tiene raíces históricas muy profundas. Los preceptos que son universalmente aceptados dentro del ejercicio de una fe en particular, no son necesariamente aprobados por el resto de la población. Una diferencia es esencial sin embargo, los valores que se pregonan dentro de las paredes de los templos no son sometidos al escrutinio popular. Por ello, aún dentro del sistema republicano representativo, cualquiera que simpatizará con una fe en particular tendría que pasar primero por el támiz de la elección popular, lo cual de hecho pasó en Inglaterra cuando una de sus iglesias empujó a varios de sus feligreses para que avanzaran la aprobación de, entre otras ideas, la abolición de la esclavitud. En México, debido a nuestra experiencia propia, existen ciertos límites para el proselitismo de ideas religiosas en el espacio público. Nada impide sin embargo que un simpatizante de X iglesia opte por algún puesto de elección popular y desde ahí presentar sus iniciativas que tendrían que ganar la mayoría para ser aprobadas, obviamente no es el caso de las últimas reformas en materia de derechos de los homosexuales en el distrito federal.

Algunos doctas voces han advertido con mucha anticipación, sobre el peligro de la ruptura de un sistema político mexicano exhausto. Por ello un cambio verdadero es indispensable en el horizonte del corto plazo. Por lo menos dos son las respuestas propuestas a este viraje: el elitista and the one from the people's point of view. En el primero, quien ha de tomar el poder es cuidadosamente elegido, entrenado y apoyado (económicamente sobre todo) hasta que alcanza el poder máximo, para desde ahí formar su cuadro, copar entonces todos los puestos públicos clave e influir en el rumbo nacional, Fox fue un caso paradigmático de esta tesis, y FCH uno de sus mayores fiascos. En la segunda se simpatiza por la organización y movilización de las bases populares hasta que su peso específico empuje una transformación previamente acordada. Actualmente, por lo menos dos son los obstáculos que impiden la toma del poder de un movimiento organizado (en realidad son tres si contamos también a las viejas inercias de sus cúpulas): el primero consiste en los límites que impone haber elegido la vía pacífica como medio de lucha, y el segundo es el irracional desprecio de quienes gobiernan para reconocer victorias que serían irrebatibles en cualquier país medianamente civilizado.

México es un país tan atrasado que no pudo lograr el conteo total de votos en una elección presidencial, antes que plantear ahora una segunda vuelta. Así que eso nos aleja de nuestras contrapartes sudamericanas que sí pudieron conquistar (o recuperar) el poder con un movimiento de masas espontáneo, y del centroamericano porque nuestra resistencia, a tumbos, pero avanza. Nos alejamos también de las peaceful demonstrations across the river cause we, the people, still are planning to take over the power. Now, what can make us so different then? The very unique times we are living in; not only we are struggling against the big fat cats that have led us to these horrible socioeconomic conditions, but about to fight with beyond man-made troubles too. El contundente rechazo a las alianzas pragmáticas, debería ser una clara señal para entender algunos de los instintos básicos de las masas y enmendar (los) rumbos. Ahora, uno de los verdadero retos está en anticipar y manipular la aritmética de un movimiento ganador, una habilidad que solo un puñado de líderes poseen, looking forward to see if you are one of them, Sir. AL TIEMPO.

M@RClOnado;


MATAmoros, TAM(ovilizado);


29/01/10.

... the ultimate infiltration, huh?

PREGUNTAS SIN RESPUESTA:

De acuerdo, ¿así que no es una cuestión ideológica sino jurídica? Va. Ahora se entiende porque se utiliza el argumento de proteger los derechos humanos de los bajitos en el caso del distrito federal, y no se invoca la misma explicación para la violación de los femeninos en la penalización del aborto en 17, I think, estados de la República Mexicana. ¿Me equivoco? En el pecado han de llevar la penitencia, brodys.

SPECIAL REQUESTS:


Count on me!!!




ENCORE PACIFISTA:

The Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm - Video Clip
Cargado por james_gandolfini. - Videos de música, entrevistas a los artistas, conciertos y más.

Era il giorno ch'al sol si scoloraro
per la pietà del suo Fattore i rai,
quando i' fui preso, e non me ne guardai,
ché i be' vostr'occhi, donna, mi legaro.

Tempo non mi parea da far riparo
contra' colpi d'Amor: però m'andai
secur, senza sospetto; onde i miei guai
nel commune dolor s'incominciaro.

Tròvommi Amor del tutto disarmato,
et aperta la via per gli occhi al core,
che di lagrime son fatti uscio e varco:

però, al mio parer, non li fu onore
ferir me de saetta in quello stato,
a voi armata non mostrar pur l'arc

Petrarca


http://www.valsesiascuole.it/crosior/amore_medioevo/t_pet_era%20l%20giorno.htm


















... being edited.

http://marcosalas.blogspot.com/2010/01/populism-for.html