APEC 2008 - Economies to take Economic and Financial Measures to face World Crisis

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Lima, Nov. 23 (ANDINA).- The 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) agreed today to take economic and financial measures to solve the world financial crisis, as it is stated on the Declaration of Lima, issued today by APEC leaders. “We welcomed the monetary and fiscal stimulus provided by APEC member economies and will take all necessary economic and financial measures to resolve this crisis, taking the necessary actions to offer hope to those most in need”, indicates the Declaration. Yesterday, Japan offered to grant loans for up to 100 billion dollars to the emerging economies through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order that they can overcome the financial crisis that restricts the credit lines of the international banking. China also announced recently that it will grant a fiscal estimulus of 586 billion dollars to maintain its domestic demand, and therefore a growth of at least eight percent a year, percentage that according the World Bank will help to avoid that the commodities’ prices drop in the international market. Likewise, in previous days, Korea announced an extra package of expenditure of 9.3 billion dollars and tax benefits. The financial market strengthening of the region was emphasized as a measure to advance in the regional economic integration. "We emphasized the importance of strengthening financial markets in the region and welcomed the capacity building activities initiated by APEC Finance Ministers to reform capital markets", says the Declaration. According to the Declaration, the present world financial crisis is one of the most serious economic challenges that economies have ever faced, so they will act decisively to face the imminent global economic slowdown. Main paragraphs of this declaration are :

FINANCIAL CRISIS AND TRADE LIBERALIZATION. The current financial crisis is one of the most serious challenges we have faced ever. Act swiftly and decisively to deal with the impending global economic slowdown. We salute the fiscal and monetary stimulus provided by APEC economies and we will take all economic and financial measures necessary to resolve this crisis. Our determination to resolve the global economic situation which is deteriorating and support a rapid, ambitious and balanced conclusion of the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda of the WTO (World Trade Organization) as outlined in a separate statement issued at the summit.

FREE TRADE AREA APEC. Last year we agreed an ambitious agenda in the long term to strengthen regional economic integration. We welcome the progress reported in 2008 by ministers and officials to achieve this goal. We support the work plan 2009 for the agenda of Regional Economic Integration (REI) to build on the achievements of this year at REI and accelerate efforts in all areas of this agenda. Our goal of free trade and investment and transparency will be achieved through a series of reform measures combined with unilateral liberalization bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. In this regard we welcome the progress made in reviewing the prospects and options for a possible free trade area in Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) as a long-term perspective. We note the council of ministers that although an FTAAP would probably be economically beneficial for the region, its creation also presents challenges. We instruct ministers and officials to take more steps in the consideration of perspectives and options for a possible FTAAP, including making a more analytical work on the economic impact of an FTAAP. In addition to instruct officials to take initiatives designed to promote greater convergence between the economies in key areas of the portfolio of APEC trade and investment, including areas such as customs administration, trade facilitation and border services.

FOOD SAFETY. We are deeply concerned about the impact that volatile prices of food combined with food shortages in some developing economies are having and our achievements in poverty reduction and the increase in real income in the past decade. The poor are particularly vulnerable to higher prices for groceries. We support a fully coordinated response and a comprehensive strategy to address this issue through the Comprehensive Framework for Action developed by the Task Force on Global Food Crisis UN. A rapid, ambitious and balanced conclusion of the negotiations of the Doha Round would bring about substantial improvements in market access and reduce distortions in global agricultural trade.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR). We agreed that because of rising expectations among consumers, investors and entrepreneurs on global sustainable and responsible business practices, volunteer activities that make up the RSC will remain an important aspect in the business of the 21st century. We encourage companies to incorporate CSR in their business strategies to address social concerns, labor and environmental issues. The development of CSR in the region depend on the different domestic economic, social and cultural rights. Agree to promote CSR practices in APEC economies on a voluntary basis to supplement public policies that promote sustainable development.

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION. Corruption in the public and private sectors is a serious threat to social and economic development in the region. We recognize that when criminal entities operate illegally with corrupt officials from public and private sectors, the result is a culture of impunity and financial exploitation of the legitimate economy. We agree to strengthen our collective will to combat corruption and illegal transnational networks to promote good governance, supporting public-private partnerships, promoting market integrity and transparent financial systems. We recognize that the criminalization of corruption may facilitate greater regional cooperation.

HUMAN SECURITY. Pledge our full cooperation to ensure that the flow of people, goods and investments remain safe and open and that markets operate without interruption. We urge ministers and officials of APEC to continue to contribute to ensuring the economy, trade, investment and financial systems in the region against terrorist attacks or misuse of money laundering using the trade. We welcome the ongoing efforts of the international community to combat piracy and armed assault in marine waters. The frequency and intensity of natural disasters linked to the distortion of weather patterns in the region is increasing. We agreed that significant challenges in this area are growing in complexity and require increased international cooperation. It takes a greater risk reduction, disaster preparedness for emergencies and expansion of local capacities for disaster management. We support efforts to prepare the economy for the accelerated recovery of areas affected by disasters.

CLIMATE CHANGE, CLEAN ENERGY SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT. Successfully confront climate change will be crucial for new generations. Climate change must be addressed on a global basis, through international cooperation under the Framework Convention on Climate Change United Nations (UNFCCC) in 2009. Reducing poverty will probably be more difficult in developing economies more vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. We support an effective long-term cooperation beyond 2012 paa combat climate change under the UNFCCC, according to the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Recognizing that climate change could impede the ability of economies to achieve sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty, we strongly support international cooperation and capacity building for mitigation and adaptation goals to be pursued in the same way. We also call for additional and coordinated efforts to better understand the vulnerabilities caused by the impact of climate change on our oceans and their resources to develop strategies for access to energy resources adequate, reliable, clean and that they can afford is vital to sustain economic prosperity in the region. We reaffirm our commitment to support the energy needs of regional economies by promoting open energy markets and free trade and investment in energy. These markets are crucial for the development of renewable energy and the spread of low-emission energy technologies.

INSTITUTIONAL REFORM. We pledge to strengthen the institutional process of APEC to ensure that it maintains its capacity to respond in a rapidly changing global environment. We welcome the progress in the appointment of an Executive Director of APEC Secretariat for a fixed period. We welcome the offer by Indonesia to host (the summit) APEC in 2013 and the invitation of the prime minister of Singapore to meet again in Singapore in 2009.

( Comment of Oscar Granda )

No doubt, recover the CONFIDENCE in the financial systems is the key to overcome this Global Economic Crisis. More dangerous that the financial Crisis generated in USA, is the panic transmited, the psychological shock and the fear to the people around the world. Presidents and Chairmans must recover the confidence in "the system" to their peoples and take the necessary steps, towards revive the global economy.

Crisis? What crisis? Dubai Hotel to throw US$ 20 mln Party

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DUBAI (AFP) Dubai is throwing a multi-million-dollar extravaganza on Thursday to launch a luxury hotel on an artificial palm-shaped island, despite the bite from the global financial crisis.
More than 2,000 world celebrities are due to attend the event which has been dubbed by the local press as "the party of the decade."

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, actors Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington, and former basketball great Michael Jordan are expected to walk the red carpet at the 1.5-billion-dollar "Atlantis, The Palm" hotel.

The evening will peak with a fireworks display that will be "seven times larger than this year's Olympic Games opening ceremony" in Beijing and will be "visible from space", according to the event organisers.

The event will cost a hefty 20 million dollars, said Sol Kerzner, the South African billionnaire, hotel and gambling tycoon, who is organising the bash.

"We built something that's quite extraordinary. We've got to tell the world about it," Kerzner told AFP about the lavish hotel which was built through a joint venture with giant local developer Nakheel.

Nakheel, which is controlled by the Dubai government, has built some of the most iconic projects that have put the Gulf emirate on the world map, including a cluster of islands making the shape of the world.

Located at the trunk-top of the Palm Jumeirah, one of three palm-shaped islands, Atlantis occupies the entire central part of a huge breakwater.
The 1,539-room hotel is made up of two pale rose towers, which are linked by a bridge which houses a 35,000-dollar-a-night suite.

Management says there is a waiting list of guests for the suite.
The Dubai hotel is inspired by the original Atlantis that Kerzner built in the Bahamas but is not
an average 5-star hotel.

It boasts the largest waterpark in the Middle East and a gigantic aquarium in which 65,000 fish, along with an enormous whale shark, swim in 11 million litres of water.

The project was conceived at a time before the global economic crisis began biting the Gulf emirate.

But Kerzner says he is optimistic about the future, adding that he designed the hotel "for the medium to longer term."

The hotel opened unofficially on September 24 and has had an occupancy rate of 80 percent, Kerzner said. "We don't know how long it's going to take for the economy around the world to take off again," he added.

The financial meltdown has affected Dubai and other Gulf emirates.
The local stock market has crashed, losing two thirds of its value since the beginning of the year, and Dubai's real estate sector, a major driving force of domestic economy, has begun to stutter.

Even Nakheel, Kerzner's partner in the Atlantis, announced on Monday that it would scale down its activities.

The bulk of Dubai's tourists come from European countries, mainly Britain, which also have been hard hit by the crisis, and this could have a direct impact on Atlantis.
Kerzner, 73, acquired his fame and fortune in the 1970s and 1980s by building hotels and casinos in South Africa, including the prestigious resort Sun City.

He appears to share with Dubai the same taste for challenges and larger-than-life projects, which might explain the partnership between this Jewish businessman and the Arab sheikhs who rule this Gulf emirate.

(Comment of Oscar Granda)

More dangerous that the financial Crisis generated in USA, is the panic transmited, the psychological shock and the fear to the people around the world. Presidents and Chairmans must recover the confidence in "the system" to their peoples and take the necessary steps, towards reviving their economies and thus revive the global economy.

USA, Crisis at Sight. The Begining of The End ?

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"The United States will lose its Worldwide Dominance in the coming Years" Theotonio dos Santos. He warned that the worst for the capitalist economy is to come. Interview Alfredo Vanini

Teacher-Dos Santos, the U.S. financial crisis is an internal crisis of the capitalist system that has collapsed estrepitosamente. It was revised again in Europe and the U.S. thesis of Keynes, of Schumpeter, including Rosa Luxemburg. Is it the end of Adam Smith and the return of other great economists?

-I can answer from my own vision of economic theory. I have worked hard in recent years within the perspective of the long waves of Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev and his idea of periods of fifty, sixty years, during which the first 25 are ascent and descent of the other 25. This idea was first worked by Kondratiev in 1922 when he worked in the direction of the Institute of Statistical Studies of the Soviet Union. He discovered this phenomenon and sought an explanation in terms of technological and financial. The relationship technology and finance are the two key elements he found associated with these cycles. There is a whole stream of Schumpeterian working on these considerations.

Schumpeter absorbed very well the studies of Kondratiev and disclosed in a book entitled The major economic cycles long. There he joined other even shorter cycles: four, ten years as the mode of operation of capitalism. Within this vision, in the twentieth century are a period of decline that starts from the years 1914-1918, and was until 1945. After the second world war occurs again a period of promotion. Then begins the so-called "golden period" of capitalism that goes until 1967. There he starts again a negative wave with a big fall of capitalist growth.

Crisis-which has its peak in 1973. But after that time, the United States does not recomposed its economy? -Look, the decline of U.S. starts very slowly in 1967. Definitely the Vietnam War has much to do because it ends with the extremely favorable position that took the U.S. after the war in Europe. In 1950 the U.S. had 50% of the global economy, while today they are reduced to 16% or so.

-The war seems to play an important role in the consolidation of global hegemony. -The cyclical movements are associated with power centers. First we had the hegemony Portuguese and Spanish (ages 17 and 18), then the Dutch and the British and finally the United States that took the lead during the First World War and consolidates its hegemony after the Second. These centers are open-hegemonic historical between 150 and 200 years. But the cycle of American hegemony, and here we agree it all, it will be a shorter cycle.

- What exactly happens in 1967 with the U.S. economy? In 1967, establishing basic situations of destabilization: one to maintain the imperial system (and war is a key element) is inevitable that there will be a fiscal deficit. But while there is also a trade deficit because the U.S. fails to establish itself as a predominantly exporting country. In 1969 he moves from country to the importer and exporter of creditor to debtor country, mainly because of the fiscal deficit. All this affects the third key element is that the dollar coin that restructured the world economy after the Bretton Woods agreements: the dollar today no longer has the conditions to remain as a global reference currency because the dollar before a guaranteed convertibility with gold . Since 1971 the U.S. abandon finally this equivalence and we enter a phase called "snake" in which the currencies move without a definite direction.

- With Clinton there was a slight recovery in the U.S. financial system? Between 1993-94, starting a process of recovery. What happened is that the Clinton administration resumed economic growth to moderate rates and basically on a very important technological base. Clinton left a fiscal surplus of roughly $ 300 billion, for education and health sector. But George Bush, after his first year, already had a deficit of more than 100 billion. And today the deficit is huge, especially with the Iraq war, which involves very high costs.

-Head to the crisis and the notion of economic periods, what is its year of origin? -We started in 1987 with the fall of the dollar by 40%. Then recovers when European and Japanese banks bought dollars with the intention to raise it again and reduce the impact so violent this fall. But at the beginning of 1990 the interest rate reached 18% drops to 4%. With Clinton recovering productive investment. During this period Japan goes into crisis. Therefore, the economy begins to generate more local crises: Mexico (1992), Brazil (1994), Asia (1997), Russia (1998), Brazil again (1999) and Argentina (2000). All these crises, in such a short period, occurring within this huge bubble. When everything starts to recover, occurs the U.S. crisis exploded in 2001. It gets the same system of artificial prices and speculation of large false speculation.

- What is today the scene of the U.S. crisis? Do you may get out of it? Today is looking for liquidity that do not have, since all countries are debtors. The U.S. will then continue borrowing to deliver resources to their banks by helping them to survive. We are going to have a solution to the crisis, but with three significant costs: the growth rates are no longer able to be as high as in previous periods because all the funding is already committed to the financial sector. Second, the financial sector will remain very large and significant and that should hold it is the state, but this support, as is seeing now, it will be very dramatic. And thirdly, the dollar fell as coin because they can not stand. And will continue to fall. USA Today is a country with a huge crisis that continues to heavily indebted. All this should be completed in about seven years, with a truly dramatic crisis that will drag the entire global system.

-The idea of James Tobin for a tax on speculative capital flows was interesting but never materialized. Do you have been adopted in 1972, the year he proposed, would have avoided this current crisis? Not-so as to avoid the crisis, but it would have been able to do much to reduce the impact of poverty, which is the most terrifying face of this global system that generates such huge resources in the hands of a small group of the financial sector to prevent these resources intended to serve more than 50% of the world's population living in poverty. You have said publicly a few days ago that this crisis is a good opportunity for the countries of the so-called Third World.

-It 's that can be strengthened, either by their raw materials (whose prices will fall, but not both), either by their large financial reserves. Certain countries are able to accumulate resources. And the Chinese who are emerging as leaders of this trend, and begin to require restructuring the global financial system, as it did not want to commit to the present. This fight is going to go little by little become more significant over the next seven, eight years. And when the next crisis occurs, it is very likely that American hegemony suffer a catastrophically. Hardly the U.S. will be able to maintain itself as the hegemonic country. The centers will move towards hegemonic China, Brazil, Russia and India. It is expected that these four are seriously the most important countries in twenty years.

- What has happened in Argentina with the AFPs? Neo-liberals say that this is a theft of state in bankruptcy. - Where did you get the idea that Argentina is bankrupt? Argentina is now in very good situation. Just over $ 40 billion in reserves. It is clearly an intervention to protect the money of the people. The AFPs are on the verge of bankruptcy. What some called for him to the Argentine government is that it helps, but that does not take responsibility. Which is absurd, precisely what is happening in the U.S., delivering resources to the banks when the state has no money. That is to say that this money will come from U.S. citizens who pay the mistakes of the real culprits of the crisis. Argentina has acted in accordance with an idea that Europe is something in common, namely that in crisis, the state intervenes and takes responsibility. Pretend that it does not, is the real theft, burglary private: the State steals money from people to give to some incompetent. The of los spoilsport

- "The Capital" of Marx is again selling like hotcakes today. But, given its enormous complexity, it is likely that few understand what Why Marxist economists, less dense, it should be read today so vital? There are several. One is French Francois Chesnais, useful for understanding how the financial system. Another is François Morin, also French, which goes along the lines of Chesnais. A great Marxist economist who has investigated the role of the Third World as an active player in the financial world is the Egyptian economist Samir Amin. Although not an economist, should be taken to Immanuel Wallerstein.

Would also recommend reading "Adam Smith in Beijing", Giovanni Arreghi important book in which he discusses the Chinese economy and recalls that it wanted Smith as the model in the 18th century. And there is no doubt that reading to what I consider the most discussed contemporary economist, Frank André Gunther, sadly passed away recently, who wrote a critical book entitled "Re-Orient."

( Comments of Oscar Granda)

Through the history of humans, we have seen many empires. All come to a stage of peak, but no matter the political model to adopt, also come to their stage of decay. Perhaps we are witnessing today, the beginning of the end of the North-American empire, USA. Only the time will tell ... Maybe, the important thing is that the political model adopted, prioritizes the welfare of human beings, building a world with opportunities for all.

Sex in the Morning is Better

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From Cadena Global. A study reveals that making love in the morning about three times a week strengthens defenses, raises morale and improves the functioning of the body.

Riiiing! It sounds the alarm. Most couples, sleepy get up, get into the shower, a quick breakfast and go running to work. Most do not know if it lifted a little earlier and take a good dust, although it is quick, his health improved so substantially.

Or at least that is what I said a study conducted in London by Queen's University Belfast and published in the magazine New Scientist: good morning sex, practiced at least three times a week, improves the functioning of various bodies and significantly increases the quality of life.

Advertising The study also reveals that making love in the mornings to antibodies multiplies and strengthens give immune protection to the human body and help in its fight against the microorganisms that attack, as well as improve circulation and reduce blood pressure and therefore The risk of heart attack.

Copulation healing Among other things, the study underlines the fact that practice of good morning sex is an exercise that burns about 3,000 calories per hour and thus lowers the risk of diabetes, in addition to strengthening bones and muscles and relieve ailments such as arthritis or migraine.

In addition to healthy, those who do love to start the day will be more handsome, as the orgasm increases estrogen levels and hormones directly related to the brightness and smoothness of the skin and hair health.

As for the benefits to the male gender in particular, the study claims that the London men produce more testosterone if they have sex morning, which strengthens bones and prevents osteoporosis.

Without a condom less depression ... As for females, a study by the State University of New York conducted among 300 students, found that those who make love in the morning (without condoms) to improve significantly their morale and are less prone to fall into a depression.

This shows once again the power of anxiolytic semen. Another recent study, conducted by the Yale School of Medicine, also strongly sex morning, ensuring that protects women against endometriosis (emergence and growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus).

So, nothing against depression, illness and bad roll, or Prozac, no vitamins, no bagpipes, a good morning session of sex three times a week and life will return to smile.
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( Comment of Oscar Granda )
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Maybe true or false ??? ... it will be better, you check. Try it !

"LIVE" 36 YEARS LATER

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The 16 survivors of the Uruguayan air crash in the Andes met, 36 years later, to tell its history, which has been reported in a shocking book By Moises Avila Roldan.

The special envoy by EL Comercio "Nobody piloted?" Gustavo Zerbino was walking restless by the plane. He was uneasy and breathable. That's why he joined, and walked towards the cockpit. He found talking to the pilots, and taking mirándose mate. Given his concerns, they replied that they did not have to worry about, then traveled on a ship last generation, with an "automatic pilot who walks almost alone." Did little to the Fairchild 517 of the Uruguayan Air Force had taken off from the airport Plumerillo, in Mendoza, Argentina, where he arrived from Montevideo, in technical stopover, to continue its course towards Santiago de Chile.

The ship was carrying 45 people, including crew and passengers, most of them members of the selection of amateur rugby in the Stella Maris College Old Christians. Minutes before taking off from Mendoza, Gustavo had been approached to chat with the wife of Dr. Francisco Nicola, a doctor of choice, to say that had the feeling that the airplane was going to fall. His intention was to receive a sentence of mind. Far from doing so, Esther assured him that he thought the same thing. While not commented on with anyone else, were not the only ones with that feeling. Liliana, wife of Javier Methol, a couple of friends of the players, also had told his wife that he was afraid. He was upset with her.

It was 1:20 in the afternoon and the plane started to cross the Andes Mountains. Ran 1972. Friday October 13 1972. THE ACCIDENT "Gentlemen, aprontémonos, because we are going to dance for a while." Fairchild's pilots detected a front storm while crossing the ridge, preferring to alert its passengers to avoid the inconvenience. But on the plane everything was a joke. For many of the passengers was his first outing of Uruguay, and were overwhelmed by the euphoria. "Ole, ole," were the cries of the boys after the first shocks to the plane. "Please Atens belts can be distributed so that no dead bodies," said one of them, generating the collective hilarity. But the second cut remezón them the joy of coup. Two of the crew of the ship running from side to side with the navigation chart in their hands.

The beautiful spectacle of the snowy mountains seen from the windows was about to become a horror film. One of 71 interminable days. Out of control, the Fairchild hit with the peaks of mountains, broke and fell between the rocks and ice. Then, everything was in the most absolute silence.

The meeting 36 years have passed since the tragedy happened in the Andes, one of the most remembered in the history of aviation. And this is the first time someone succeeds in bringing the 16 people who survived the accident, so they have not said anything that in due course. While many details are known through the book and movie "Live", this was put together with the testimony of a few.

In this case, the journalist Paul Vierci, former companion of school for most survivors, convinced everyone. "Why after all this time, because they feel the need to give back to society what it gave them a second chance to live. This is the denouement, the end point to this story," he explains. All stories, one by one, are in "The Society of The Snow", a book that Vierci introduced recently in Montevideo, accompanied by all his players. Part of these testimonies were in the documentary "I come from a plane that fell in the mountains" of Gonzalo Arijón.

JUMP TO AN EMPTY. Eating with the bodies of the deceased was, according to testimony, as a leap into the void that everyone decided to give. Some with more conviction, and others because they had no other choice. "They gave us their muscles to keep walking, and that's what we had assumed everyone," explained Gustavo Zerbino. Some of the 'rugbistas' say it was something similar to a communion. The delivery of the body and blood of his friends to give them life. They also were offered as food if they played to die. It was his way of contributing to the rest lived. Some of the bodies had to be eaten completely, taking advantage of all the organs and the vitamins they contain, to stand. Even the calcium from the bones. There was a time when one of the survivors came to feel hungry to see the wounds of one of their comrades.

THE FINAL ISSUE Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa were both members of the "society" which had to venture out and go for help. Armed with meat wrapped in eight middle, along with Tintin Vizintín left, walking toward the west, with the compass that had been extracted from the cockpit of the plane. Vizintín had to return to the fuselage, leaving its supplies to the two who were continuing. After walking for ten days, avoiding mountains of more than 4 thousand meters in height, were found with the mule Chilean Sergio Catalan. The mule and the climbers were separated by the bed of a river. It was night and told them that the Chilean again the next day, to see what they needed. At dawn, Catalan arrived with a sheet of paper. The wrapped in a rock and tied it in a pencil, to write Canessa and Parrado. "I come from a plane that fell in the mountains. I am Uruguayan. Ten days ago we're walking. I have a friend shot up. On board were 14 people injured. We have to get out of here fast and we do not know how. We have no food. We are weak. When we are going to look up? Please, we can not walk, where are we? "Was the text that came back into the hands of the mule.

Catalan them made a sign with his finger and left winging toward the top of the Carabineros, who remained as a half day on horseback. Then, who would own Parrado, aboard a helicopter, guided the Chilean pilots to the exact place where their friends. To see them, nor the hardest soldier could contain the tears. It was like witnessing a resurrection.

THE DRAMA OF FAMILIES Many families are not stopped searching for their children. One of them was the father of Carlitos Paez, Don Carlos Paez Vilaró, who received notice that he had survived the crash just as he was about to embark on Santiago back to Montevideo, in a search of his travels. Neither stopped to do the father of Roberto Canessa, least of all mothers. A day before his departure, the mother of Daniel Fernandez had prepared a dessert that her son liked him so much, strawberry tart. "Save it to me in the freezer as that on Monday when they return," he said.

Two and a half months later, on Dec. 24, when he returned, rescued from the mountains, his mother took out the cake of the 'freezer', intact, because it had not allowed anyone to play, and reminded him that he had dessert served in the table. The second death The survivors had a radio with batteries listening to the morning, especially when the newscast. It was through her that, on the tenth day of the accident, they learned that they are no longer wanted. Parrado and Canessa when they went to seek help, they heard these names on the news, along with the word survivor, but the signal was lost, and they did not know whether they had emerged alive or dead. So which came a clear signal to the Ave Maria by Schubert. For them, was enough to know that they were saved.

( Comment from Oscar Granda)

A great history of this air crash in the Andes, where the behavior of human being was probed in all your senses. They survived because they never left die. They LIVE !

Barack Obama - Yes We Can !

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"I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington ... I'm asking you to believe in yours."

On November 4, 2008, Obama was elected the next President of United States of America ( Text of Full Speech from CNN).

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Its been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what youve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you. I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didnt start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didnt do this just to win an election and I know you didnt do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how theyll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change.

And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends and though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldnt vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

(Comment of Oscar Granda)

The message's Obama was able to convince many afro-americans, hispanics, but especially to the bulk of the U.S. citizens and thus was able to achieve win the Republican candidate with great slack. Finnally, Obama was elected and he will be the new president of USA since january 2009. He is a great leader and has generated great sympathy in the world. We wish the best success in its management for the good of U.S. population but for the entire region too.

China & India Change the World - APEC

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By Andres Oppenheimer. The agreement sealed the last week between China and India to dramatically increase its economic relations will have a major impact on Latin America, and will not be something quite positive for the region.

Earlier this week, leaders of the two powers of the world's fastest-growing emerging met in Beijing to end decades of tension and increase their bilateral trade ties.

The prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, and the prime minister of China, Wen Jiabao, announced that by 2010 bilateral trade reached U.S. $ 60.000 billion - far more than the U.S. $ 40,000 million that were expected - and that the two countries begin talks on a preferential trade agreement.

While international summits often produce big promises and then not met, there is reason to take very seriously the commitments between China and India. Since China and India signed a 'strategic partnership' in 2005, bilateral trade has soared. Although the two countries were committed that year to reach a bilateral trade of U.S. $ 20.000 billion in 2008, that figure reached as early as 2006.

"The figures exceeded the forecasts when it comes to the India-China trade," said an editorial in the newspaper "The Times of India" on Wednesday. "It is possible that China will soon become the largest trading partner of India." The growing trade ties between China and India, as well as the free trade agreement signed in 2005 between China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), likely to change the map of world trade. And have a great impact in many Latin American countries that are increasingly dependent on their exports to China.

The good news is that increased trade between China and India produce more economic growth in Asia, which will require increasing amount of oil, copper, iron ore, soybeans and other Latin American raw materials. That would help countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Venezuela, which are the main exporters of raw materials to China in the region. In the past 5 years, Chinese purchases of commodities made in Latin America grow the region's economy to an average of 5% per annum. That has contributed to who is going through its best growth cycle in the past 40 years, according to the UN.

In addition, a growth of the Asian economy will create an even bigger market for all types of Latin American exports, say Asian diplomats. "Bringing India and China and increasing their trade will make both countries more prosperous, and open up more opportunities for Latin America," he said in a telephone interview the ambassador of India in Argentina, R. Viswanathan. "What America needs is growing markets, especially at a time when the U.S. economy is slowing. The situation is very advantageous to the region."

But many economists warn that China and India have complementary economies. China is stronger in manufacturing, while India is in information technology, and that their preferential trade agreements will make it more difficult for Latin American countries to export manufactured goods or technology to the two Asian giants. "The growth of trade between China and India will make it harder to move toward Latin America exports more sophisticated, higher value-added," I said Antoni Estevadeordal, one of the leading economists of the Inter-American Development Bank Washington, DC .

My opinion: I hope I am wrong, but I fear that the growing Asian economic integration will hinder the further export of industrial products in Latin America to Asia, and that will increase the dependence of many Latin American countries for their exports of raw materials, which in many cases produce less jobs and profits that the finished products.

The world is divided into three trading blocs, particularly with regard to exports of heavy products, whose transport is expensive: the bloc of the United States, Canada, Mexico and its neighbors, the European Community, and Asia. And the new agreements between China and India seem to indicate that this division will increase more and more.

(Comment from Oscar Granda)

It is clear that in these times we are witnessing a reordering of global geo-economic. At the gates of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) this month of November 2008 in Peru, Latin American countries must refine our strategies to cope with the strong financial crisis and attract investment to achieve that provides our growth and sustained development.