Damage Caused by Currency Speculation

The current economic crisis in Europe which started in Iceland, and currently affecting Greece has lead to strong speculation against the Euro.

Currency speculators have no ethics, and their main objective is to maximize profits regardless of what happens to entire nations. Similar damage happened in Asia more than 10 years ago, when currency speculators caused the crash of a number of currencies in South East Asia, which lead to major economic problems for several countries that lasted for many years and caused a lot of misery for millions of people.

The current system of total freedom of currency speculation is simply not sustainable, and the damage it causes has proven to be much higher than the perceived benefits.

A new system is needed, and I recommend that a political decision is taken to freeze currency exchange rates at their current levels for one month, during which a new sustainable system would be designed, agreed and implemented by governments, which would reduce this danger and offer a just alternative system, which is not at the mercy of few merciless tycoons ...

Wisdom should prevail for the well-being of humanity as a whole

Enough chaos and destruction ...

Look at the Bright Side of Life


Life has ups and downs, good times and difficult times, health and illness, calm and distress ...

Looking at the bright side of life is the way to stay optimistic and overcome difficulties. Hard times are always followed by good times, and after every hardship comes ease.

There is a lot of beauty in this world.

Yesterday I was looking out of the window and saw a nice bird on the tree looking at me. It was before sunset, and there were many other birds flying around, but this bird stood there for more than two minutes.

At such moments, one forgets the problems of daily life, and gives a chance to contemplate and remember there is a lot out there to look at, reflect and admire.

A every hardship comes ease, so look at the bright side and don't worry about tomorrow

Short Siestas are Good for Learning

It used to be a custom for many people in Southern Europe, the Med area and hot countries in general, to take a mid-afternoon nap.

I remember many years ago, my father used to come back from work at around 14.30, have lunch, then have a siesta, and wake up fresh again with energy to socialize with family, friends and relatives.

Those were the good old days before the era of globalization and the long working hours it brought with so much pressure and competition. People back then, in the 1960s, used to be much happier than they are today. It was a more humane society, much more humane, less complicated, with a higher quality of life for all members of society. Sons and daughters had much more time and energy to care for their parents and for the elderly and those who needed support. I remember my father used to visit my grandmother, who lived in the same building, twice a day: once in the morning to have his coffee with her before going to work, and once in the evening. Those were the good old days ...

Anyhow, to get back to the main topic, recent scientific research has shown that having a short siesta for less than an hour during the day, and preferably between mid-day and the time of Asr prayers, is good for one's health. It gives energy, revives the mind, and according to this BBC article, it helps the memory in its daily learning process.

This is a summary of the findings:

Dreams can help with learning: Napping after learning something new could help you commit it to memory - as long as you dream - scientists say.

They found that people who dream of a new task perform it better on waking than those who do not sleep or do not dream.

This is the URL for further background

It's interesting to note how in Japan some companies offer their employees special rooms where they may have a short nap during their breaks or lunch hours to help them be more efficient and increase productivity

A siesta is good, but should not be too late in the afternoon, as the right timing is very important. The worst siesta to take is just before sunset ... It also should not be too long ...

You Can Do Two Things at a Time ... But not Three

According to recent scientific research, the human brain can allow you to do two things at the same time, like you can cook and at the same time talk on the phone, but you cannot do a third task like read the newspaper.

When we try to do two things at the same time, each half of the brain focuses on a seperate task, according to French scientist Dr Etienne Koechlin, who said to the BBC that if you have three or more tasks you lose track of one task.

This is the URL for more background: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8622137.stm

So don't overdo it ...

Iceland's Volcano: Food for Thought

An unprecedented event in Europe this week with the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, which has lead to the cancelation of thousands of flights so far.

It is expected that this will continue tomorrow for a fourth day, and the airline losses due to this emergency are estimated at a daily average of $200 million ...

Modern technology has not helped us escape this natural disaster ... We are very weak ...

A New Horizon for Humanity

We need major changes in the business world for a better economy and future for mankind ...

We also need major social changes to help the poor, feed the hungry and cure those who are ill ...

We need major political changes to select better leaders who have human values ...

How can these changes take place?

We need to remain optimistic that a new horizon will come, and that after the darkness of injustices and war the light of justice and peace will shine ...

Remain positive, optimistic and be patient ...

Dawn will come ...

Is Capitalism Collapsing?

The world financial crisis which started in 2007 is getting worse each day, as the economy of most countries around the world face increasing levels of problems.

Unemployment is on the rise, and in a country like Spain it has already reached 20%. What is wrong with the current ractice of global capitalism?

In my opinion, the basic foundations of capitalism is unsustainable on the long run, especially due to its following two pillars:

a) The core objective of investors and business enterprises is profit maximization

b) The financial system is an interest-based system

The first factor leads to greed, and it's part of human nature to want more wealth and to earn more profits. Those who have a million want to make it 10 million, and those who have 10 milion want to make it 100 milion, ... and so on. There is no limit to human greed, and this is dangerous for society, as greed can lead to fraud, corruption and a monopoly practice of business in order to maximize profits. Is it a coincidence that the game we grew to love was called "Monopoly"?

The second factor, interest-based finance, makes the financial system unstable on the long run. Every number of years, a capitalist economy must go through a recession and on the long-run a depression or a major recession like the one the world is going through today. The important question is: Why?

And a summary answer is that an interest-based system expands money supply beyond the size of the real economy. This leads to "bubbles", which are normally found in real estates, stock markets and commodity markets. With time, what happens on the long run is that the size of the financial system becomes several times larger that the size of the real economy, and when one piece of the domino collapses, the whole system fails, as what is taking place today.

There are other factors why today's global capitalism is unsustainable, including its promotion of maximum levels of consumerism for maximum profits. Resources are depleted, our environment gets polluted and standards of life on earth becomes worse.

More reflections on this matter in future posts .....

Cordoba: A City of Civilization & Knowledge

Located in Andalusia, Spain, the city of Cordoba is a unique place to visit. A city with a lot of history and a leading center of knowledge in Europe 1,000 years ago.

My first visit to Cordoba was more than 20 years ago, and it's strange how some places can leave a strong impact.