Pope appeals for peace
Pope Francis used his
first Easter Sunday address to call for peace in the world and appealed for a
diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.In his first
"Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message, Francis also
called for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, an end to the civil war in
Syria, and political solutions to conflicts in several African countries.The
former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, who has made defence of nature an
early hallmark of his pontificate, also condemned the "iniquitous
exploitation of natural resources" and urged everyone to be
"guardians" of creation.Francis delivered his message from the
central balcony of St Peter's Basilica - the same spot from where he first
appeared to the world as pope after his election on 13 March - to a crowd
estimated by the Vatican at at least 250 000 people."Peace in Asia, above
all on the Korean peninsula: may disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit
of reconciliation grow," he said, speaking in Italian.State of warNorth Korea said on
Saturday it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea. Tensions
have been high since the North's new young leader Kim Jong-un ordered a third
nuclear weapons test in February, breaching UN sanctions and ignoring warnings
from North Korea's sole major ally, China, not to do so.Francis, who has
brought a more simple and personal style to the papacy, said the message of
Easter is that faith can help people transform their lives by letting
"those desert places in our hearts bloom"."How many deserts,
even today, do human beings need to cross! Above all, the desert within, when
we have no love for God or neighbour, when we fail to realise that we are
guardians of all that the creator has given us and continues to give us,"
he said.Earlier, at a Mass in a square bedecked by more than 40 000 plants and
flowers, the pope wore relatively simple white vestments, as opposed to his
predecessor Benedict, who preferred more elaborate robes.The huge crowd spilled
out of St Peter's Square and into surrounding streets and included many who had
come to see a pope they hope could give a new start to a Church that has been
marred by scandals involving sexual abuse of children and allegations of
corruption."It's a new pope and new beginning," said Tina Hughes, 67,
who came to Rome with her family from Nottingham, England to see the pope. "I think he brings something special. He connects
with people. I feel good about him."Message of peaceFrancis, who took his name in honour of St Francis
of Assisi, who is revered as a symbol of austerity and the importance of the
natural world, said:"Peace in the whole world, still divided by greed
looking for easy gain, wounded by the selfishness which threatens human life
and the family, selfishness that continues in human trafficking, the most
extensive form of slavery in this 21st century."Peace to the whole world,
torn apart by violence linked to drug trafficking and by the iniquitous
exploitation of natural resources! Peace to this our Earth! May the risen Jesus
bring comfort to the victims of natural disasters and make us responsible
guardians of creation."Easter Sunday, the day Christians believe Jesus was
resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion, was the culmination
of four hectic days of activity for the pope, during which he instituted
several novelties.On Holy Thursday, two women were included among the 12 people
whose feet he washed and kissed during a traditional ceremony that had
previously been open only to men.Francis is still living in the same Vatican
guesthouse where he stayed during the conclave that elected him the first
non-European pope in 1 300 years, instead of moving into the regal papal
apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.He has also been inviting ordinary
people to his morning Mass at the guesthouse, including Vatican street sweepers
and gardeners.
North Korea Calls Nuclear Weapons 'The Nation's Life,' Won't Trade Them For 'Billions Of Dollars'
A top North Korean
decision-making body issued a pointed warning Sunday, saying that nuclear
weapons are "the nation's life" and will not be traded even for
"billions of dollars."The comments came in a statement released after
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the plenary meeting of the central
committee of the ruling Workers' Party. The meeting, which set a "new
strategic line" calling for building both a stronger economy and nuclear
arsenal, comes amid a series of near-daily threats from Pyongyang in recent
weeks, including a vow to launch nuclear strikes on the United States and a
warning Saturday that the Korean Peninsula was in a "state of
war."Pyongyang is angry over annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and
a new round of U.N. sanctions that followed its Feb. 12 nuclear test, the country's
third. Analysts see a full-scale North Korean attack as unlikely and say the
threats are more likely efforts to provoke softer policies toward Pyongyang
from a new government in Seoul, to win diplomatic talks with Washington that
could get the North more aid, and to solidify the young North Korean leader's
image and military credentials at home.North Korea made reference to those
outside views in the statement it released through the official Korean Central
News Agency following the plenary meeting.North Korea's nuclear weapons are a
"treasure" not to be traded for "billions of dollars," the
statement said. They "are neither a political bargaining chip nor a thing
for economic dealings to be presented to the place of dialogue or be put on the
table of negotiations aimed at forcing (Pyongyang) to disarm itself," it
said.North Korea's "nuclear armed forces represent the nation's life,
which can never be abandoned as long as the imperialists and nuclear threats
exist on earth," the statement said.North Korea has called the U.S.
nuclear arsenal a threat to its existence since the 1950-53 Korean War, which
ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically
at war. Pyongyang justifies its own nuclear pursuit in large part on that perceived
U.S. threat.While analysts call North Korea's threats largely brinkmanship,
there is some fear that a localized skirmish might escalate. Seoul has vowed to respond
harshly should North Korea provoke its military. Naval skirmishes in disputed Yellow Sea waters off the Korean coast have
led to bloody battles several times over the years. Attacks blamed on Pyongyang
in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans.The plenary statement also called for
strengthening the moribund economy, which Kim has put an emphasis on in his
public statements since taking power after the death of his father, Kim Jong
Il, in late 2011. The United Nations says two-thirds of the country's 24
million people face regular food shortages.The statement called for diversified
foreign trade and investment, and a focus on agriculture, light industry and a
"self-reliant nuclear power industry," including a light water
reactor. There was also a call for "the development of space science and
technology," including more satellite launches. North Korea put a satellite into orbit on a long-range rocket in December. The
United Nations called the launch a cover for a banned test of ballistic missile
technology and increased sanctions on the North.The central committee is a top
decision-making body of the North's ruling Workers' Party. The committee is
tasked with organizing and guiding the party's major projects, and its plenary
meeting is usually convened once a year, according to Seoul's Unification
Ministry. South Korean media said the last plenary session was held in 2010 and
that this was the first time Kim Jong Un had presided over the meeting.The
White House says the United States is taking North Korea's threats seriously, but has also noted Pyongyang's history of
"bellicose rhetoric."On Thursday, U.S. military officials
revealed that two B-2 stealth bombers dropped dummy munitions on an uninhabited
South Korean island as part of annual defense drills that Pyongyang sees as rehearsals
for invasion. Hours later, Kim ordered his generals to put rockets on standby
and threatened to strike American targets if provoked.
Markets Sending Unusual Signals
The U.S. equity market had a
great finish to a wonderful first three months of 2013. In logging its best first-quarter performance since 1987 (11 percent), the
Dow set yet another all-time high. For its part, the S&P surged 10 percent,
ending above its previous (2007) record close.The rally reflects
slowly-improving economic conditions, relatively robust corporate profitability
and anticipation of stronger domestic and foreign inflows into the equity
market. Yet this is far from the whole story.Investors need only look at where
some other benchmarks ended the quarter to get a feel for the unprecedented and
artificial nature of today's capital markets. Few would have predicted that the
impressive equity performance would be accompanied by a 10-year U.S. Treasury rate as low
as 1.85 percent, a 10-year German government bond (bund) rate as low as 1.29
percent and gold as high as $1,596 an ounce. Think of this as the markets' way
to signal to investors some key issues for the quarters ahead. The persistence
of this unusual combination of bond, equity and gold prices speaks to how
central banks around the world and the Federal Reserve and European Central
Bank in particular have fueled risk taking in the face of rather sluggish
economic growth, recurrent concerns about European disruptions and lingering
worries about geopolitical risk.In the weeks ahead, we will get a sense of
central banks' willingness to continue to support asset prices pending a
stronger and more comprehensive recovery in economic growth.I suspect that,
notwithstanding some internal opposition, they will signal continued resolve as
a way to enhance via the wealth effect and animal spirits prospects for growth
and jobs. Indeed, the willingness call is a relatively easy one. The much more
difficult call relates to the sustained ability of central banks to maintain
control over the range of competing and conflicting forces.Investors are unable
to refer to historical precedents or reliable models to predict confidently
what lies ahead as:
1. The scope and scale of central bank policy
experimentation are already unprecedented.
2. The imposition of capital control
by a euro zone country (as occurred this week in Cyprus) was deemed so remote
as to be essentially unthinkable.
3. And particularly with what is happening in
Afghanistan, North Korea, Pakistan and Syria even the most experienced analysts
struggle with some of the world's most volatile areas.
Looking ahead, the
validation of prices in risk markets needs the fuller engagement of healthy
balance sheets and more robust economic activity, including what my PIMCO
colleague Saumil Parikh refers to as the transition from "assisted
growth" to "genuine growth."While there is reason to expect that
this will continue to occur gradually in the U.S. absent
political/policy disruption), it will unfortunately not happen in Europe for quite a while. Effective
central bank intervention remains critical to the well being of the equity
market in the quarters ahead. Actions need to be strong enough to offset
Congressional dysfunction and headwinds from abroad. But if too strong, they
would damage for a long time the functioning and integrity of markets.Central
banks did a good job in striking this balance in the first quarter. The hope,
going forward, is that they remain not just willing to do so but also able.
Enlist the Enlightened Super-Rich!
You often hear
progressives bemoaning the massive war chests of the right-wing funders,
particularly after their successful backing of the boisterous Tea Party
movement. But a common mistake made by the left is not adequately focusing on
cultivating their own likeminded super-rich to provide the necessary resources
to advance their own noble causes. It would only take a few enlightened
mega-billionaires to provide the major funding needed to shift power from the
few to the many and to get the ball rolling on long overdue, fundamental
solutions to our country's biggest problems.History shows a precedent. The greatest
civil rights struggles in American history were bankrolled by wealthy,
enlightened benefactors. Gerrit Smith, Joshua Bowen Smith, Arthur and Lewis
Tappan and James G. Birney were some of those who funded the abolitionist
movement using their resources to create organizations like the Anti-Slavery
Society and the Liberty Party, an independent, antislavery third party.
Louisine Havemeyer, Carrie Chapman Catt, Alva Belmont and Julia Ward Howe
contributed their finances to the women's suffrage movement. Catt, the wife of
a wealthy engineer, contributed a million dollars (about $25 million today) to
send out information to newspapers and magazines and to mobilize activists
during the final push to gain the women's right to vote in 1917-1918.In 2013,
we need to tap into that fervor which led to such great progressive victories.
With adequate resources, it is possible to build powerful new constituencies to
make government open and honest and reflective of the prevailing public
sentiment.The difference between charity and justice must be made clear. Soup
kitchens are a vital and humane charity. Justice, on the other hand, looks to
the root of the problem, and asks why the wealthiest places on Earth, such as
the United States, have any starving or hungry people at all. It's true that
many wealthy people donate substantially to charity presently, most
philanthropy does go to charity. But by directing billions of dollars to
preventing deprivation in the first place, the impact could be much greater.A
society with more justice needs less charity. This practical approach has been
proven again and again in the areas of public health and safety. Think of seat
belts, clean air and safe vaccines. Furthermore, more resources are needed in
the much neglected area of corporate accountability. Wall Street and other
commercial interests have met too little resistance to their wrongdoings for
too long. The public sentiment is there, what is needed is the fuel.A vast
frontier of opportunity exists for our political economy to serve the needs of
the many, especially our children, and not just the overpaid executives of
massive corporations. Justice needs financial resources to spread its embrace.
Enlightened, senior super-rich have the power to give our citizens much needed
organization in communities around the country. As an example, back in 2003,
hundreds of retired military, diplomatic and national security officials
publically and separately challenged George W. Bush's drumbeats to invade Iraq. The commercial media
and Congress even the Democratic leadership refused to hear these numerous
experienced and credible antiwar voices.What difference could a wealthy backer
have made to the antiwar movement? Look to George Soros, the wealthy
philanthropist and progressive-cause supporter. During the lead up to the
second Iraq War, his voice was one amongst the opposition. He accurately predicted
the quagmire the United States would find itself in as a result of its march to war. His criticism
received some media coverage, but like the others, it wasn't sustained enough
to counter the months-long propaganda campaign of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.
What Soros failed to do was devote some of his considerable resources to
creating an equal-footed coalition to oppose the warmongers. Soros could have
used that nucleus of three hundred or so retired officials and expanded upon it
with a backup secretariat that coordinated a mass media campaign and placed
full-time organizers in congressional districts to directly challenge senators
and representatives to assert their constitutional duties. To Soros, the $200
million cost of such a campaign would have been a small part of his annual
income. The potential payoff could have saved billions of dollars, millions of
lives and injuries and avoided the sociocide of Iraq.My book, "Only the
Super-rich Can Save Us!" laid out a blueprint for such a movement by the
enlightened super-rich that could actually happen. Using 17 real-life wealthy
Americans in fictional roles, led by Warren Buffett, a massive, well-funded
campaign is launched to galvanize millions of Americans to organize themselves
and restore their problem-solving sovereignty over their government and the
massive corporations that have co-opted too much power and influence in
Washington, D.C. for too long.One thing is clear -- we can't enact great change
without making a serious commitment to civic engagement. Such a commitment can
be jumpstarted right now by a few of our wealthiest citizens -- only they have
the immediate resources necessary to turn the tide against the corporate
oligarchy. Who among them will step forward?
