Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Smile ! It is good for health
A little boy, after being shouted at by his mom, sitting sadly.
Dad asked " What happened son? "
Kid said " Dad, I can't handle your wife anymore. I want my own wife !"
Concert - T.K. Rangachari
- http://www.mediafire.com/?amqkhz32m18b5b1 Vanajaakshi
- http://www.mediafire.com/?e0m4m1o1vv11sn6 Endharo
- http://www.mediafire.com/?5ggld9l55ugt5k4 Gurulekha
- http://www.mediafire.com/?fjiki70fj963745 Srikantha
- http://www.mediafire.com/?nshq6icnueapp25 Naaradha gaana
- http://www.mediafire.com/?oaq7vpsrmbdgtwi Naadhaloludai
- http://www.mediafire.com/?cpvb23zc59pc46b Brovammaa
- http://www.mediafire.com/?mh2awt0p6tidur2 Nijadaasavarada
- http://www.mediafire.com/?gzn7s8m3c0xe6tj Paalinchu Kaamaakshi
- http://www.mediafire.com/?wbcshc8c8fcwxc7 Thathvameruga
- http://www.mediafire.com/?pzkmcwy9v5ab114 Chintanasthikilam
- http://www.mediafire.com/?7y4i8ygq24xx6hu Varuvaaro
- http://www.mediafire.com/?mrn15f7dcic302j Maamava
- http://www.mediafire.com/?zei7lc42ee7jph4 Kadimodi
...that you must be willing to lose it all before you can
have it all.
What does this mean? It means that until you can let
go of everything, you will find it hard to hold onto
anything.
Detachment is the key. If you are so attached to
something that you are deeply unhappy without it,
then you are not simply attached, you are addicted.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Who is govt shielding in HSBC, Liechtenstein tax-haven lists?
Barack Obama is concerned about it, Angela Merkel is furious about it and Nicholas Sarkozy wants to regulate it. But the leaders of one of the countries most affected by the phenomenon of tax evasion and black money in safe havens – India – don’t want to do much about it.
Tax havens and offshore financial centres are where tax evaders and criminal elements hoard their ill-gotten wealth. In the midst of the Anna movement, one important thing – namely, black money abroad – has been pushed to the background. But this is really the Gangotri of corruption and we are doing little about it. Consider the following two examples:
The Liechtenstein affair: Liechtenstein is a tiny country and a convenient “letter box” for moneyed people all over the world to hide their illegal wealth. Germany’s intelligence agency seems to have paid an unnamed informer more than US$ 6 million for confidential and secret data about the clients of LGT group, a bank owned by the Liechtenstein Prince’s family.
The German government has announced that it will share information on accounts held in the tax haven with any government that asks for it. Finland, Sweden, Norway, UK, France, the US and Australia have expressed interest in the data obtained by Germany.
Now, the interesting and intriguing part is this: the Indian government was initially very reluctant to get that data from Germany. It finally got the data under public pressure in 2009. More than 100 names are presumably in that list. But the results have not been shared with Indian citizens, though some newspapers and TV channels have it.
Headquarters of the Liechtensteinische Landesbank bank Reuters
It is common knowledge that billions of dollars of Indian money is in various tax heavens like Antigua, Switzerland, Bahamas, Liechtenstein, Isle of Man, and St Kitts. But all our leaders – be they in business, politics, films, sports or bureaucracy – are keen on keeping a conspiratorial silence.
Illegal money with HSBC: A few months ago, the Indian government got data on nearly a thousand accounts of Indians allegedly holding illegal wealth with HSBC Bank in Switzerland. This data was obtained by France from people who had stolen the data – more than 15,000 accounts – from HSBC’s data files. The French have given the full data set to us. The government of India is not telling the citizens what action it is taking. It does not want to share the names.
When quizzed about it, the finance minister chants the same mantra about double taxation treaties when those treaties take only prospective effect. What is needed is the political will to bring back the illegal funds accumulated abroad. From Bofors to CWG to 2G to Hasan Ali – all illegal money takes us to tax havens. The size of the illegal stash abroad by Indians is estimated anywhere between half a trillion ($500 billion) and one-and-a-half trillion ($1,500 billion).
Why black money held abroad is dangerous for India: The issue of black money held abroad is of paramount importance for four reasons.
Every two-bit expert on the Indian stock markets knows that our markets are moved by external flows – both inflows and outflows. Such flows may be the ill-gotten wealth of Indians kept abroad in tax havens or domestic funds sent out and brought back to facilitate these activities.
In other words, the destabilisation of our stock markets can be done using the black money in tax havens. The movement of the Sensex may not be related to the performance of our economy but to the actions of these black money holders.
The second concern is: are we adequately sterilised in terms of know your customer (KYC)? This is in the context of the concern expressed by our former National Security Advisor (MK Narayanan) regarding the possibility of terror funds coming through the financial markets.
Third, there is a question-mark about our ability to formulate policies without being blackmailed by foreign governments. For instance, many may not know that De La Rue Giori – the owner of more than 90 percent of the world’s currency printing business in Switzerland – was one of the passengers in the Indian Airlines plane hijacked to Kandahar. (Time magazine, 17 January 2000). It is easy to imagine the type of pressure that could have been applied by the Swiss on our government at the time of the hijack.
If a large number of our elites hold illegal money in foreign countries like Switzerland, then we will be prone to manipulation in terms of policy formulation. It is not clear what role was played by various foreign agencies in the Kandahar hijack. Even now it is not clear if our foreign minister handed over dollars or Swiss currency to the hijackers. The true history may come out sometime in the future.
The same is the case with the Bofors funds. The Swedish authorities knew the names of beneficiaries and accounts since the bribe originated there. The Swiss government also knows the identities, since the money went into Swiss banks. The British government also has some idea, since some money was kept with Barclays by Ottavio Quattrochi and defrozen by our government from London.
The fourth issue is about getting arm-twisted in our economic and foreign policy formulations. It is pertinent to note that if the CIA knows about our leaders holding black money in tax havens, then there is a strong possibility that the ISI can also have that data. This is the danger faced by our republic. Our national policies may not be formulated in Delhi, but in Washington or Islamabad – if they have the data and can use it to pressure our leaders.
To protect and preserve our republic we need to insist on exposing and bringing back this black money. Is there political will among India’s ruling class to put the issue of tax havens on the global agenda and compel other developed countries to facilitate the closure of these accounts? If not, we are doomed to be indirectly ruled by western spy agencies who have enough information to blackmail our policy-makers.
The tiny island absurdities had their place in the sun in the 20th century. But in the 21st century, integrity is the motto and transparency the mantra. India should pass a law making all the illegal wealth held abroad as part of a new national trust. We should, along with other emerging markets, arm-twist these tiny islands to give back our money.
India should bring sanity to the global financial markets and joy to millions of pauperised persons in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Let us be proactive and not be ruled by outsiders by cleaning up the global financial system.
______________________________
R.VAIDYANATHAN
PROFESSOR OF FINANCE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
BANNERGHATTA ROAD
BANGALORE
INDIA_560076
TEL: 91-80-2699-3086
FAX:91-80-2658-4050
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
worlds largest debtor countries from CNBC.com
The World's Biggest Debtor Nations
Source: External Debt information from The World Bank, GDP information
from the CIA World Factbook.
Throughout the financial crisis, many national economies have looked to their government and
foreign lenders for financial support, which translates to increased spending, borrowing and in most
cases, growing national debt.
Deficit spending, government debt and private sector borrowing are the norm in most western
countries, but due in part to the financial crisis, some nations and economies are in
20. United States - 101.1% ,External debt (as % of GDP): 101.1% Gross
external debt: $14.825 trillion
19. Hungary - 120.1%,External debt (as % of GDP): 120.1%
Gross external debt: $225.24 billion ,2009 GDP (est): $187.6 billion
External debt per capita: $22,739
18. Australia - 138.9%External debt (as % of GDP): 138.9%
Gross external debt: $1.23 trillion 2010 GDP (est): $882.4 billion
External debt per capita: $57,641
17. Italy - 146.6%.External debt (as % of GDP): 146.6%
Gross external debt: $2.602 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $1.77 trillion
External debt per capita: $44,760
16. Spain - 179.4%,External debt (as % of GDP): 179.4%
Gross external debt: $2.46 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $1.37 trillion
External debt per capita: $60,614
15. Greece - 182.2%,External debt (as % of GDP): 182.2%
Gross external debt: $579.7 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $318.1 billion
External debt per capita: $53,984 14. Germany - 185.1%,External debt (as % of GDP): 185.1%
Gross external debt: $5.44 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $2.94 trillion
External debt per capita: $51,572
13. Portugal - 223.6%,External debt (as % of GDP): 223.6%
Gross external debt: $552.23 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $247 billion
External debt per capita: $51,572
12. France - 250%,External debt (as % of GDP): 250%
Gross external debt: $5.37 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $2.15 trillion
External debt per capita: $83,781
11. Hong Kong - 250.4%,External debt (as % of GDP): 250.4%
Gross external debt: $815.65 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $325.8 billion
External debt per capita: $115,612
10. Norway - 251%,External debt (as % of GDP): 251%
Gross external debt: $640.7 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $255.3 billion
External debt per capita: $137,476
9. Austria - 261.1%,External debt (as % of GDP): 261.1%
Gross external debt: $867.14 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $332 billion
External debt per capita: $105,616
8. Finland - 271.5%,External debt (as % of GDP): 271.5%
Gross external debt: $505.06 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $186 billion
External debt per capita: $96,197 7. Sweden - 282.2%,External debt (as % of GDP): 282.2%
Gross external debt: $1.001 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $354.7 billion
External debt per capita: $110,479
6. Denmark - 310.4%,External debt (as % of GDP): 310.4%
Gross external debt: $626.1 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $201.7 billion
External debt per capita: $113,826
5. Belgium - 335.9%.External debt (as % of GDP): 335.9%
Gross external debt: $1.324 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $394.3 billion
External debt per capita: $127,197
4. Netherlands - 376.3%,External debt (as % of GDP): 376.3%
Gross external debt: $2.55 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $676.9 billion
External debt per capita: $152,380
3. Switzerland - 401.9%,External debt (as % of GDP): 401.9%
Gross external debt: $1.304 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $324.5 billion
External debt per capita: $171,528
2. United Kingdom - 413.3%,External debt (as % of GDP): 413.3%
Gross external debt: $8.981 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $2.173 trillion
External debt per capita: $146,953
1. Ireland - 1,382%,External debt (as % of GDP): 1,382%
Gross external debt: $2.38 trillion,2010 GDP (est): $172.3 billion
External debt per capita: $566,756 The US National debt is staggering: $11.896 trillion. There are widespread calls
inside and outside the United States to reduce the country's debt, fueled by fears
ranging from the rising tide of inflation to the possibility that the dollar will lose its
privileged position as the world's reserve currency.
But how bad is it, really?
There is no doubt that the US national debt is in dire straits and getting
increasingly out of control; ballooning over 100% since 2000, when it was a
mere $5.75 trillion. But despite steadily increasing debt levels, individuals and
countries around the world continue to maintain a high demand for US debt,
hinging their confidence on the strength of the American taxpayers and
government revenues generated by the country's economic activity.
On a surface level it may seem like the United States' debt position, the biggest
in the world, is also the worst. But when the numbers are looked at on a more
relative basis, the total amount of debt owed by the US, although still quite
high, seems more reasonable than that of other nations... at least for now.
One way to look at a nation's debt situation is by comparing external debt - the
combined total of liabilities, plus interest, that corporations, private citizens and
the government owe to entities outside their borders - to that country's GDP, a
comparison called the debt-to-GDP ratio. By comparing what a country owes to
what it produces, a picture forms of how likely or unlikely a country as a whole
will be to pay back its debt.
"External debt is more worrisome and important than public debt, as public debt
is generally recycled back into the economy," says Josh Bivens, Economist at
the Economic Policy Institute who has studied the long-term trends of national
debt positions. "With US government debt, a majority of interest payments go to
US citizens and money stays within the country. External debt represents pure
'leakage' out of the United States and is money that citizens will not have
because they've borrowed it in the past."
"External debt creates a much bigger hole than public debt," he adds, "for public debt it is hard to say which generation is being particularly harmed... but
for external debt, it is pretty clear cut; you're giving away future income to
support today's standard of living. You can't really say that about public debt."
But who should be concerned? Residents of the country, first and foremost, says
Bivens. A massive external debt could possibly trigger an exchange rate
devaluation, especially if a country relies heavily on imports, creating a
situation where money will be more difficult to tax in the future, debts will be
more difficult to repay with less valuable currency and issues of fiscal
sustainability arise.
However, there is really no single "danger" level for having too much external
debt as a percentage of GDP, and this depends much more on the country's
economic context. If a country has seen a rise in its debt compared to GDP
during a good economic expansion, this means something is really wrong and
policies will have to change, Bivens says.
Out of the world's 75 largest economies, the United States has the 20th largest
as debt-to-GDP ratio, standing at 94.3%, with a gross external debt of $13.454
trillion and an annual GDP $14.26 trillion. In fact, out of the largest 75
economies, this number is just above the worldwide average of 90.8% WesternEuropean and North American countries dominate the upper end of the
spectrum, with Switzerland (422%) and the United Kingdom (408%) at the #2
and #3 spots, respectively, and Ireland representing the most drastic debt-toGDP ratio. According to the most recent World Bank data, Ireland's number
stands at a staggering 1,267%.
So, relatively, the United States' debt isn't all that bad.
The current analysis was limited to the 75 largest economies in order to dismiss
outliers existing simply due to their size, as small countries like Monaco or
Luxembourg have disproportionate debt-to-GDP ratios of 1,850% and 4,910%
respectively. The first time this analysis was published on CNBC.com, it stirred angst from
Ireland over the numbers, as the country was a significant outlier in the final
data. A further breakdown of the country's external debt data, provided by the
World Bank, shows that a significant proportion of the country's external debt is
represented by the country's banking sector, accounting for approximately
$976.48 billion. The argument is that the country's International Financial
Services Center (IFSC) "lends almost nothing to the domestic Irish economy,"
according to the Irish Sunday Tribune.
However, to get a true apples-to-apples comparison, data from the World Bank
as well as external debt estimates by the US Government were used, numbers
which take into account this lending facility and any given country's banking
system as components of the overall debt number.
With the Irish government itself forecasting a contraction in GDP of 8.3%, the
debt-to-GDP ratio will likely continue to increase, even without additional
foreign investment. The biggest difference in these numbers, however, is that
the Irish taxpayers are only responsible (directly or indirectly, as in most
countries) for a portion of the debt responsibilities. But even if the banking
sector is removed from the total external debt number, Ireland would still have
a 748% debt-to-GDP ratio, keeping the country at the top spot.
Take into consideration another nation with a troubled debt-to-GDP ratio:
Iceland. According to the country's central bank, Iceland's external debt was
measured at $104.44 billion in Q2 2009. With a GDP of $10.46 billion, that's a
debt-to-GDP ratio of 998.5%. The Icelandic economy was the hardest hit out of
any in the financial crisis, and although the country's external debt was not
solely to blame, it had a major hand in the country's downward economic spiral,
and when combined with a dramatic drop in the value of its currency, resulted in
a near-government bankruptcy. In comparison, notable countries which have extremely low debt-to-GDP ratios
are Brazil (13%), Singapore (10.7%), China (4.7%) and India (4.6%), with the
lowest ratio boasted by Algeria, at 1.2%. Too low a ratio may not necessarily be
a good thing either, and could reflect a combination of lacked foreign
investment, low confidence in the nation's finances or the absence of debtfunded growth and investment policies by the national government. Bivens
points out that the tendency for emerging market economies to have low
external debt levels is counter-intuitive, as these are the places where marginal
investment is high, you should see net lending from rich countries to poor
countries, not the other way around.
Although the perspective of debt-to-GDP can be a revealing way to understand
the sustainability of a country's debt position, the future of a country's external
debt relies on both domestic economic policy and the ability of an economy to
attract foreign investments. The debate continues over whether there exists a
realistic way to pay off these rapidly increasing levels of government and
private debt, but one thing is clear: if we have learned anything from the global
economic crisis, the policy of taking on excessive debt cannot be perpetually
sustained, no matter the size of a debtor nation's domestic economy.
© 2011 CNBC.com
Sent by Mr. Murlidhar Chaturvedi saying ,compared to 22 nations compared in this document india is far better in external debt,if you belive CNBC
Anonymous said...There's the beauty of modern economics. Countries with ENORMOUS UN-servicable debts are Rich, of first world, blah..blah.. Whereas, countries that spend within limits are poor and third world. Great!!
I got to go, I need to borrow 10 bucks from my neighbor who borrowed 20 from me earlier!
I got to go, I need to borrow 10 bucks from my neighbor who borrowed 20 from me earlier!
Anonymous said...No really. you are top class if you have guns and can bomb the **** out of others. Might is right thats all. Another option to be world class is to have a militia population just like Swiss. Nobody even hitler dared to go in there. All have guns.
Concert - O.S. Arun
- http://www.mediafire.com/?bf91phi8seg18c9 Sri ganapathini - Sourashtram
- http://www.mediafire.com/?3p14yj18f0i4m9r Raamabadra raa raa - Kurinji
- http://www.mediafire.com/?dwd4djk84g0ci22 Ninnu nera namminanau - Kaamavardhini
- http://www.mediafire.com/?x2ghb4f7yb3y144 Aloka thulasi - Bhairavi
- http://www.mediafire.com/?s5uubkce9cen7qy Brova baarama - Bahudaari
- http://www.mediafire.com/?abw48gw1nm04b4w Dasaratha raama
- http://www.mediafire.com/?m0dzlnl0491z7mx Raam ratan dhan payo - Bhajan
- http://www.mediafire.com/?a1d13wt9uch6c7n Bega baaro neela mega
- http://www.mediafire.com/?27xwcsfec5tmb63 Thamboori meettidava
- http://www.mediafire.com/?nvv0h3ok95tq88m Raadhe Radhe
- http://www.mediafire.com/?l36vcds3jmdc23j Chalo man ganga yamuna
- http://www.mediafire.com/?gaixq7qo8iihlf6 Thunga theera vijaaram
- http://www.mediafire.com/?d7c8ca70p4cmyo3 Bho shambo shiva sambo
- http://www.mediafire.com/?cdavz6qaaw2glqa Naale nalla naal
- http://www.mediafire.com/?0ar2lq74c65r6b3 Ek mantra japati raho
- http://www.mediafire.com/?1r3pd1790y2rdt0 haa raaghavaa
- http://www.mediafire.com/?oubg1mzcuf9y4a7 Mangalam
Courtesy : Sangeethapriya.org
...that it is not necessary to "prove yourself" to anyone.
Do your best. That's all you can ask of yourself. If you
did your best and things just didn't work out, you don't
owe an apology to anyone. And you certainly don't
need to feel 'bad' about it -- or, worse yet, guilty.
Stop beating yourself up. What happened is what
happened. You're not the 'villain' here, I promise. It's
just what happened. And there is a Soul Reason, I
promise you.
Can we take coffee like this?
COFFEE - 3 Tricks to Make it Super-Healthy
by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best seller: The Truth About Six Pack Abs
Mmm, coffee... almost everybody drinks it... some people have 3-4 cups per day or more.
But most people don't think of it as a "health drink". And it's certainly NOT healthy the way most people make it with loads of added sugar or artificial sweeteners and artificial creamers.
But I'll give you my tips here on how I make a healthier cup of coffee and what to watch out for...
First, you may have seen debate in the past about how coffee has some compounds in it that could have negative health effects such as some tars or other possibly inflammatory compounds in brewed coffee. But, the good news is that coffee has such high concentrations of beneficial antioxidants, phenolic nutrients, and other good compounds, that it counteracts the bad compounds. Also, this article here shows various studies that prove coffee reduces risk of many common diseases.
So what's the best way to make a healthy cup of coffee? Well, here's my 3 most important tricks to maximize the benefits of coffee and minimize the negatives:
1. First of all, you need to AVOID adding any refined sugar or harmful artificial sweeteners. What I do instead is use either a very small touch of organic maple syrup or a half packet of natural stevia to just lightly sweeten my coffee. If you like your coffee black with no sweetener at all, that's the healthiest way.
If you're getting your coffee at a coffee shop, make sure to avoid all of those fancy specialty coffees (lattes, frappuccinos, etc) as they are almost ALWAYS loaded with extra sugars or artificial sweeteners. Some of those fancy coffee drinks at Starbucks or other coffee shops can have 300-400 calories in just one coffee! Definitely not good for your body.
2. You also need to AVOID any of those crappy artificial creamers (liquid or powder), which are usually made with corn syrup solids and hydrogenated oils (harmful trans fats). Instead, use a little bit of REAL cream (organic grass-fed if you can find it).
Or, better yet, what I've been using for a while now is coconut milk/cream as a much healthier creamer alternative. I get this by buying cans of organic coconut milk, and then after opening the can (shake the can well before opening), I store the coconut milk in the fridge in a container. Note that the cans of coconut milk are much creamier and better as a coffee creamer than those cartons of "coconut milk drink" which are just watered down coconut milk.
The thick creamy coconut milk is the healthiest option for coffee creamer because it's loaded with super healthysaturated fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which boost your immune system and your metabolism! Plus, coconut milk in coffee is just plain delicious! It's the best healthy creamer option by far.
3. If you want to load your coffee up with more healthy antioxidants and good taste, consider trying some added cinnamon to your coffee (cinnamon can help control blood sugar and has many other health benefits). It's also really tasty in coffee!
I also sometimes like to add a teaspoon of organic cocoa powder (non-sweetened) to my coffee to make my own sort of mocha coffee (but without the loads of sugar in a typical mocha you'd get at the coffee shop). The added cocoa powder also gives you great taste and a good dose of extra healthy antioxidants (and cocoa is also known for helping to lower blood pressure!)
I personally only drink coffee about 3-4 times per week, because I'm sensitive to caffeine and don't want to get addicted to caffeine like some people are. I see people that drink 3-4 cups per day that get a massive headache if they don't have their daily coffee due to caffeine withdrawal. I choose to avoid this addiction by only drinking it about 3-4 times a week, and I drink various teas most other days, which are much lower in caffeine.
But despite the caffeine content, there is loads of data that show health benefits to coffee. Make sure to read this article about the unique compounds in coffee that can improve your health and reduce your risk of disease.
Jan said...Almost makes me wanna drink coffe the way you describe it with the coconut milk...Would be far better than coke....
Erin Maureen said...Never thought about adding coconut milk. Sounds way better than my watered down skim...
Bongo said...No one is taking my coffee and artificial sweetener from me..LOLOL..As always...XOXOXOXO
forjenssake said...Interesting I will have to try this once I replace my coffeemaker. I have been meaning to change to coconut oil for cooking too.
Cinnamon is great for helping to stabilize blood sugar but, it also increases appetite. Something people with blood sugar/insulin issues need to be aware of and keep track of.
When I was on my calorie restricted diet I drank my coffee black, sugar and creamer definitely is a coffee drinkers downfall.
Cinnamon is great for helping to stabilize blood sugar but, it also increases appetite. Something people with blood sugar/insulin issues need to be aware of and keep track of.
When I was on my calorie restricted diet I drank my coffee black, sugar and creamer definitely is a coffee drinkers downfall.
Roy Durham said...more coffee, as with all foods moderation is the best way to stay healthy. i drink mine black. god bless
Thursday, September 29, 2011
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