As we continue the international debates about austerity vs. stimulus, we should all keep in mind that certain budget items remain sacrosanct. One of the special budget items is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter plane currently being developed by Lockheed. The plane was first proposed in 2001 and, despite billions of dollars being spent on it, there are no operational planes currently in the air. Each of these planes is estimated to cost about $165 million, and over 2,000 of them are being proposed for the military. It is likely that over $400 billion will be spent on the planes.
The situation in Cyprus continues to unfold. The banking holiday has been extended until Thursday to avoid panic, but it’s not clear why: the tax has already been imposed on the deposits so withdrawing money will not save anyone a single dime. Many, however, are waking up to the fact that ordinary depositors are being asked to sacrifice in order to preserve Cyprus’s status as an offshore banking site for illicit Russian money. The troika is arguing that the tax is an extraordinary event, and one not to be repeated in any other banking system. We’ll see if the European publics believe them There was no run on any other banks in Europe today so calm may be the order of the day. On the other hand, you can listen to this very angry British taxi driver [WARNING: this chap has a very foul mouth–don’t listen to the video if there are others around you who might be offended]
Gender equality is a profound stimulus to economic development. Recent studies have indicated that the lack of equality in India has chopped off about 4% annually of the Indian GNP. For a country in which women have achieved a high degree of political success, the lack of gender equality among ordinary women in India is striking.
World Politics News 
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