Day 152: Linux proves Profit Motive does not Provide the Best Result

One of the main arguments that has been put forward in terms of why we have to hold on to a profit-based economic system, is that - apparently - people are not motivated to perform to the best of their ability if there is no form of monetary reward attached to it.

If that were the case, then who can explain the Linux phenomenon?

The Linux operating system and software are assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. It means that everyone who is capable and interested can be a part of designing the products and it can be freely used, modified and re-distributed by anyone.

It's done by volunteers for the betterment of everyone. So - then the question: does it produce good results? Well -the following should answer that question:

"The Linux kernel was originally developed as free kernel for Intel x86-based personal computers. It has since been ported to more computer hardware platforms than any other kernel. Linux based operating systems are the leading operating system type on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers and supercomputers: more than 90% of today's 500 fastest supercomputers run some variant of Linux, including the 10 fastest. Linux also runs on embedded systems (devices where the operating system is typically built into the firmware and highly tailored to the system) such as mobile phones, tablet computers, network routers, televisions and video game consoles; the Android system in wide use on mobile devices is built on the Linux kernel."

The best computers on Earth run on some variant of Linux - that says something, right? I mean - computer technology is one of the main points we see as important in terms of 'advancements' in technology and most of these advancements are made by volunteers. That completely debunks the idea that you need to pay people and need an environment of competition for people to be creative and driven to achieve excellence.

Within the current system we've simply been brainwashed into believing that we shouldn't do anything unless we can get some type of monetary or material reward out of it. And you can prove to yourself that this is in fact brainwashing by looking back at your childhood - where you looked at what you wanted to be in the world - whether it was a farmer, a hair dresser, a doctor or a librarian - where you didn't factor in the point of money and wealth - because that didn't form part of your motivation. You simply looked at what you would enjoy doing and where you'd like to contribute and what you'd like to participate in. It's only when you got older that you started becoming lazy, because your passions were no longer considered and you were just expected to fall in line and 'get with the program'. In such a context, laziness is a form of giving up on yourself - because you see that the system does not really care about you and you see no way of changing that point - therefore, you become lethargic and decide to 'rebel' in a way - through only doing the bare minimum. And to get people to do the bare minimum - they bribe you with money - making it so that: if you don't do the bare minimum, you simply don't get money and you simply can't survive.

So - in changing the system from a worker-manufacturing system to a life-support system - these problems will mostly become irrelevant. For more perspective on this point, I suggest reading the Labour section on the Equal Money Wiki.

Related articles

• Day 220: The Greatest Cult in History
• Day 116: Is Brainwashing Possible?
• Day 141: Even the Rain: Water Politics - Catastroika
• Day 233: Speak System, Speak!!! - ADC - Part 80
• Day 131: The Justice System - also a Scam?

Read More

Day 146: The True Price of your Cheap Clothes in NeoApartheid

In Bangladesh, 100 workers were killed in a factory fire. Yes - this was one of the factories we all know about where clothes shops in the West have their clothes made by people working extremely long hours for basically no wages - I mean, can you call $43 a monthly wage?

Labour conditions and security measures in these factories are barely every up to standard. Due to short-term contracts with the clothing retailers, the factories are not certain whether they can afford making investments to upgrade their facilities and improve workers' safety.

Why these factories exist is because people all over the world have become slaves to money. Money decides whether you have food, a roof over your head, an education, a life. The same goes for people in Bangladesh - except, there is not much money to go around - therefore, anything they can get their hands on, they'll take - therefore, implicitly accepting a life of slavery, because in some twisted way: slavery is seen as better than death.

But what is more - these types of factories exist because clothing retailers that sell clothes at cheap prices, simply need slaves to make them in order to turn a profit. The true cost of the clothes you buy is not reflected in their cheap prices. The true cost of your clothes includes everything labourers such as the factory workers in Bangladesh have to give up to make these clothes for you in the worst conditions as this event shows.

The retail shops are able to escape accountability due to the claim that they often don't know which factories make their clothes. The simplest lie in the book: "But I didn't know!"

NeoAparheid not only refers to the fact that the money decides what you have access to and that the elite will do anything to manipulate the flow of money to their own advantage - but also to the fact that those who have will distance themselves from those who have not - all trying to wash the blood off their hands through ignorance. We're all familiar with the experience of turning our gaze from a beggar on the street just to not face the disgrace of inequality that is accepted in the world and how we have absolutely no valid justification as to why we have enough money to get by and even afford a level of luxury, while others have nothing at all. The same happens when we buy cheap clothes in a shop. We revel in an experience of excitement and victory - because 'my friends will LOVE THESE and that was such a GOOD DEAL!' But we conveniently ignore the obvious truth in looking at the physical labour that is involved in the production of the clothes as well as getting them all the way to you - and then comparing these physical facts to the cheap price - there is an obvious discrepancy where you're not paying the full price to properly cover all the costs - and thus - someone else is paying for your clothes - not because they want to, but because they have no other choice.

Turning a blind eye doesn't make the problem go away. Donating to charity doesn't make the problem go away. The only way to solve the problem is through radically redesigning our economic and political system that adheres to a Constitution that ensures all interactions and decisions are always conducted according to the Principle of Equality and What's Best for All.

Assist us in designing a Real Solution at www.equalmoney.org!

Read More

Day 138: USA - Land of Liberty and Democracy?

Although the USA is often seen as the land of liberty and democracy, its federal election procedure is completely incompetent:

"The United States is an exceptional nation, but it is not always exceptional for good. The American voting system too is an exception: It is the most error-prone, the most susceptible to fraud, the most vulnerable to unfairness and one of the least technologically sophisticated on earth."

An ideal democratic election procedure looks as follows:
- You know the results as soon as the polls close
- Votes are counted electronically
- Every district and state has the same rules and the same organised procedure for voting
- The voting procedure is managed by an independent electoral agency

How does the USA perform on these parameters?

State and local laws cause big distinctions in terms of how elections are held in each region, making national standards impossible. In some states you don't even have to present your ID when you vote. Other nations use completely outdated technology and equipment. An example here were the 200 elections in St. Louis, Missouri. Because no investment was done to improve outdated equipment, creating long delays on voting day. At poll-closing time, people were still cuing to cast their vote all over the city. Because many inhabitants of St. Louis are democratic, Al Gore asked a judge to extend voting time with three hours in St. Louis. The judge granted this request. The Republicans however, appealed and the decision was revoked.

Yes - that's right -there is no independent election body that supervises the elections and politicians are able to interfere by asking possibly partisan local judges to make exceptions on their behalf. But parties' interference does not stop there. Politicians often schedule voting in a way that is in their advantage and in the disadvantage of the opponent. Voting places are moved around for the same reason. Elections themselves are just an extension of parties' campaigns.

So - the US scores badly on all four of the above-mentioned parameters. Now add to this that voting day always falls on a Tuesday, a working day, making it hard for many to actually cast their vote - and: international election observers present to make sure that the elections are conducted in a democratic way - were banned from nine nations - of which some threatened with arrest.

Democracy means that the country is run by the people and for the people. Considering the ridiculousness of the facts that people only get to cast their vote once every four years, that election campaigns are all about who's got the most money to run the best campaign and who has the best poker-face in making promises they never intend to keep and then the scandalously inadequate voting procedures - just how are the American population governing themselves?

Sources:
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/14/americas-election-process-an-international-embarrassment/?iref=allsearch
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/05/opinion/frum-election-chaos/index.html

Related articles

• Day 108: Virtual Democracies
• Day 137: Greece: The Birth and Death of Democracy
• Day 105: Human Liberties
• Day 102: Liberalism
• Day 104: We have to Protect our Freedom!

Read More

Day 136: We're Free, but We're Wussies in the Face of Authority

I'm sure you've probably heard about the psychological test that was conducted 50 years ago in relation to human morality. The test-subjects were told that they were participating in a test on educational techniques and whether individuals learn better if they receive punishment after getting an answer wrong. At the beginning, the test-subject meets with the person playing the professor and the person playing another test-subject. There is a rigged draw to decide who will be the learner and who will be the teacher. The actor playing the other test-subject is always the learner and the actual test-subject is the teacher. The test-subject sees the fake test-subject being strapped to a chair and hooked up on the one end of a machine that administers electric shocks. The 'teacher' hears the 'learner' say to the 'professor' that he has heart problems, upon which the 'professor' replies that the shocks might be painful, but not harmful.

The 'teacher' is then brought to another room, where the side of the machine is where the shocks are being administered. The learner has to answer questions and every time he gets the answer wrong, the teacher has to give an electric shock through the machine. The first time it starts at 15V, and every time it keeps going up. The first few times, the teacher doesn't hear any response. After a while, he hears the recorded voice of the learner making sounds indicating pain - which increase in intensity as the voltage goes up - after a while even intense screams. At 120V, the teacher hears the learner saying he wants to stop the test, because his heart is acting up, and he's had enough. This is when many of the teachers start hesitating or ask the 'professor' if they shouldn't stop because the 'learner' wants to quit. Dependent on how fervently the 'teacher' objects to continuing, the 'professor' says: 'Please continue'; 'It is essential that you complete the experiment'; 'You don't have a choice'. 50 years ago, about 60% of the people actually continued with the test, even after the 'learner' begged to stop.

In the TV-show 'Curiosity' the question was raised if people were evil and the same test was conducted again. It was conducted on a far smaller scale, and not for the purpose of generating scientific results - but the same conditions were applied as 50 years ago. And guess what - 77% of the people continued administering shocks after 150V, after the 'learner' indicated he couldn't go anymore.

When asking the people why they did - most said that 'well, the professor said I had to' - lol.

We believe ourselves be such moral beings - where we even see the terms 'humane' and 'inhumane' to reflect our moral virtues - but when it comes down to it - we're ready to throw all of it out the window if someone else, a person in position of apparent authority, says we should. Remember - the test-subjects were under the impression that they could have been the one on the other end of the machine, and that it was just luck that placed them in the 'teacher' position - so they were willing to do unto another what they wouldn't want anyone to have done unto them.

As long as we're willing to bow down to a form of authority in the name of fear - we cannot claim to be free. As long as we're afraid of any form of perceived authority - we're their puppets and slaves - and that's exactly what's happening in the world right now. We're being scammed by economists, politicians, media, advertisement - left, right and centre. And then we ask: But why is the world in such a bad condition? Why are all these horrible things happening? Well - it's simple: Because you're a wussie - we're all wussies. But we don't have to be. If we can agree that hurting other people in ways we wouldn't want to be hurt is insane - and if it's fear that would drive us to commit such acts - then we can agree that fear is a sign of insanity. We're not sane when we're fearful - because when we're fearful we just throw our common sense out the door. Now - wouldn't you say then that the first step at Freedom - a value everyone seems to hold so dear - would be to free yourself from your own insanity - from your fear?

Suggest checking out Desteni Lite - it's a free course that will give you the tools on how to free yourself from your own insanity. If you see that there's problems in this world and something needs to be done - then start there. There's no point in making bold statements of change if we won't have the guts to actually implement them. And if any excuses and justifications are coming up as apparent reasons for why you shouldn't go check it out - know that you're just protecting your own insanity and you ARE the evil in this world. I mean, really - what have you got to lose?

Related articles

• Day 111: Is Crying a Sign of Weakness?
• Day 107: Showing my True Colours
• Day 69: Preparing for Armageddon
• Day 69: Fear of Sharing - Part 2
• Day 105: Identity Crisis: What's the Use?

Read More

Day 134: Worldwide FOOD SCAM Exposed!

"Hip, Hip, Hooray! China has experienced an impressive growth in middle-class consumer spending!" That's generally seen as a 'good thing' in economics. But let's just take a moment to see what the consequences have been - or, in other words, what are the Chinese spending their money on? For one - they spend more money on crappy food that's filled with sugar. This is great news for companies like KFC, Coca Cola and McDonalds. The thing is, China has also been experiencing an explosion in Type 2 diabetes - the kind that is linked to bad eating habits, obesity and sedentary lives. So, yes - it kind of sucks for the Chinese, but it's again good news for the pharmaceutical companies - because all diabetes-patients have to be treated, and that means 'big bucks' for the pharmaceutical industry.

The same pattern occurred in America - where Diabetes, obesity and heart conditions have become a major health problem. Why? Same story: too much sugar.

So - what's the deal with sugar? You have to distinguish between glucose, fructose and sucrose. In short - sucrose is what you think of when you hear the word 'sugar' - the stuff you put in pastries or your coffee - and is made up of both glucose and fructose. Glucose is the 'good kind' of sugar, which the human body requires. Fructose is the 'bad kind' - it is a poison to the human body with many harmful effects. Now - most of your processed foods contains 'high fructose corn sugar' - and yes, you guessed it - it means your food is full of fructose - tastes good, but is addictive and toxic.

Now - aren't there scientific studies being done on these types of health-hazards, where, if certain foods have been established to be harmful, it'll have governments place a ban on those foods? Sure, though - as with everything - research requires money and those who fund the research own the results.

Who dominates the scene when it comes to research into sugar in the human diet? The Sugar Association. Who is the Sugar Association:
"The Sugar Association, founded by members of the U.S. sugar industry, began in 1943 as the Sugar Research Foundation, dedicated to the scientific study of sugar's role in food and communication of that role to the public. In 1947, the Association assumed its current name. Initially, the Association had two divisions: Sugar Information, Inc. focused on public education and communication; the Sugar Research Foundation developed and supported basic and applied scientific research. The Research Foundation became the World Sugar Research Organisation, Ltd., in 1968. The Sugar Association continues with its mission of educating health professionals, media, government officials and the public about sugar's goodness. "

The 'World Sugar Research Organisation' is created by the very people who profit from sugar being consumed: The sugar industry. Start seeing the problem?

In 1976, executives of the Sugar Association received the Silver Anvil award for excellence in 'the forgoing of public opinion' - which is kind of like an Oscar in the PR world for telling lies. I mean - public opinion is supposed to be what guides policy-making in democracy - and yet, these guys are being applauded for suppressing public opinion in relation to all known facts about sugar.

Their main aim has been to show that there is no conclusive evidence that sugar is harmful to the body and shouldn't be cut out from the diet or restricted in terms of consumption. They've perpetuated a general confusion about all sugar-related health problems that have been identified. How? Through only funding the type of research that promotes sugar (for instance by trying to prove sugar can somehow assist with depression), through funding research only as long as they have no conclusive evidence. For instance, if the scientists indicate that if they have another x amount of weeks to continue their research, they'll be able to provide irrefutable evidence that sugar is harmful - they'll make sure no more funds are made available to the study, so that the results remain somewhat inconclusive. When independent scientists do research, they'll declare the methods and results as being unscientific or meaningless. And so on and so forth.

If you go to their website (http://www.sugar.org/) - on the very first page - you'll immediately see their tactics at work in the little 'flash' messages on the left. I mean - "Sugar has been part of the human diet for 2,000 years" - like that's supposed to mean something. Or - "Sugar makes healthful foods taste good which leads to increased intakes of key vitamins and minerals" - LOL!

Their research on certain sugar-substitutes is actually what had them being banned in the USA! Obviously, if people buy substitutes of sugar instead of the 'real deal' - the sugar industry suffers. So, to take out the competition, they declared certain substitutes as harmful. Later studies showed that these results were bogus too.

So - now y'all liberal economists explain to me how this type of crap - which is obviously caused and perpetuated by the free market and profit-principle - has somewhere an 'invisible hand' in it that makes the outcome what is best for everyone! People are being manipulated, abused and lied to - to the point where the big guys don't care whether you live or die - literally. It's okay for you to eat poison, as long as it makes them money.

As long as we maintain a capitalist, market-driven economy, these scams will continue to dominate our lives and any form of democracy will be meaningless. It's time to destroy the incentive for hidden agendas through a transparent economic system of resource allocation and information distribution, based in the principles of what is truly best for all - which is what the Equal Money System is all about. Go cast your vote and give us your input at www.equalmoney.org!

By the way - there are signs indicating that Africa's consumption spending is on the increase. So - Africans - DON'T SPEND YOUR MONEY ON SUGAR AND PROCESSED FOODS. If you do, you'll end up having to pay ten times as much for covering the costs of your medical bills afterwards!

If you're currently suffering from Diabetes - I suggest reading Paul's Journey to Life for support.

Related articles

• Big Sugar's Sweet Little Lies
• Day 131: The Justice System - also a Scam?
• Day 127: Copyright Scam
• Day 129: Copy Right Scam Revisited
• Day 101: Is my TV a Secret Mind Control Device?

Read More

Day 128: What Is Nature Worth To Us?

Check out this slide-show: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/01/world/gallery/eco-sols-text-nature-economics/index.html

What they're trying to do is to put a price on various parts of the Natural world - like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Thailand's mangrove, Colombia's rainforests, etc.

The idea is to put a monetary value on these natural 'assets' to prove to people that it will be more expensive to destroy them than to preserve them.

The problem is in the way the price-tags are assigned. They are assigned in terms of what direct costs these ecological systems prevent to be unleashed on the economy and in terms of what people think and believe to be valuable/important. For instance - how much do they value having nice green views, or the idea that somewhere far away some tiger is being protected?

So - the value of nature is only measured in terms of human interests. Intrinsically - the value of an animal's natural habitat is - to him/her - priceless. He/she needs it to survive and without it, well - the animal dies. There's no money you can give the animal that will make the animal say "oh okay, if you give me so many million then you can destroy my habitat."

And, further, can we even put a price on Nature. Let's take the rainforest - without it, the oxygen levels on Earth would rapidly deteriorate to nothing. Now - let's ask: what would it cost to restore the oxygen levels to the optimal ones? We cannot 'make' oxygen - there's no money in the world that would allow us to do the job the rainforest does as well as it does it. Without oxygen, there will be no life on Earth - how much do we value all life on Earth in money-terms? Can we? People think it's impossible to place a price on how much their child is worth - one human life - are we seriously thinking we can put a price on something as important as the rainforest, which is responsible for ALL life on Earth?

We've got some serious re-considerations to do if this is how we decide to take care of the Earth - by putting a price on it's apparent value and then, accordingly, either protect it or destroy it. Who are we kidding? We will not make it without nature, we will not make it without the animal kingdom - we will die - it's really that simple. We are not independent of nature - we are a part of it and we are affected by it. It's time we realise that the only way we'll save ourselves is through taking responsibility for the damage we've done and doing what we can to correct it.

In an Equal Money System, the only Value will be Life - not Human Life - LIFE itself - that which humans don't even understand yet. Accordingly, no animal or plant will be treated with less respect and reverence than the human - and so, we will find our place in the world again - among those who have supported us for millenia, while we have done nothing but attempted to destroy them in return.

Read More

Dag 126: Turning a Blind Eye to Corruption

Corruption is one of the major problems in South Africa. Because the market economy is unable to meet the demands for basic needs - the government has a big role in making sure everyone is provided for. One of the means of financing these services, as we have seen in previous blogs, is the raising of taxes.

The money that is raised by the government is meant to be redistributed to the people of South Africa to combat inequality and dire living conditions. However, many municipalities keep on 'losing their money' where it seems to just disappear into thin air. Public officials working on district or regional levels use their access to these resources to enrich themselves, instead of putting the money where it's supposed to go.

When reading through South African newspapers, you'll constantly find stories of how this or that person has misused their position and thereby inflicted costs on communities in need of help.

To gain more understanding on corruption - here's a few words you may have heard about in the news - with their explanations (Guwa-Ngamlana 2009):

"a) Bribery: bribery involves the promise, offering or giving of a benefit that improperly affects the actions or decisions of a public official. This benefit may accrue to the public official, another person or entity. A variation of this manifestation occurs where a political party or government is offered, promised or given a benefit that improperly affects the actions or decisions of the political party or government.

b) Fraud: this involves actions or behaviour by a public official, other person or entity that fool others into providing a benefit that would not normally accrue to the public official, other persons or entity.

c) Embezzlement: involves theft of resources by persons entrusted with the authority and control of such resources.

d) Extortion: involves coercing a person or entity to provide a benefit to a public official, another person or entity in exchange for acting (or failing to act) in a particular manner.

e) Abuse of power: involves a public official using his/her vested authority to improperly benefit another public official, person or entity (or using the vested authority to improperly discriminate against another person, official or entity).

f) Conflict of interest: involves a public official acting or failing to act on a matter where the public official has an interest or another person or entity that stands in a relationship with the public official, i.e. a public official considers tenders for a contract and awards the tender to a company of which his/her partner is the director.

g) Favouritism: involves the provision of services or resources according to personal affiliations of a public official. An example would be a Mayor ensuring that only persons from his/her political organisation are successful in tenders or in employment.

h) Nepotism: involves a public official ensuring that family members are appointed to public service positions or that family members receive contracts."

One of the major arguments for free market economy is that the government cannot be trusted with the allocation of resources, because politicians and public officials will invariably pursue their personal interests in spite of the costs they inflict on society.

Within an Equal Money System this problem will be circumvented through not giving people the responsibility to allocate resources. Resources allocation will be a highly-automated system with many safety-measures, ensuring that no-one is able to manipulate the flow of resources so that they end up in their own pockets!

Source
Guwa-Ngamlana, N. 2009. http://www.afesis.org.za/Local-Governance-Articles/corruption-at-the-local-government-level-time-to-crack-the-whip, Consulted 29 October 2012.

Related articles

• Day 88: Capitalism vs Socialism?
• Day 87: Competition and Efficiency
• Day 89: There ain't no Such thing as a Free Lunch
• Day 137: FREE Choice and True Activism
• Day 115: Like Father, Like Son

Read More

Day 124: Desperate Borrowing Behaviour

Whereas loans used to be mainly for big expenses, such as buying a car or renovating a house - personal finance research unit head, Bernadene de Clercq explains how South Africans have resorted to borrowing from credit providers to pay for food, transport, medical bills, school fees and electricity bills.

Prices of electricity and fuel have increased significantly over the past few years - which is a factor that was not taken into account at the time when loans were taken out. This resulted in a situation where people are now unable to pay back their debts - leaving them little choice but to create more debt in order to provide for themselves.

This is obviously a big problem because no-one can get out of a hole by digging the hole deeper. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that electricity prices are expected to continue rising with an annual increase of 16%, and this for the coming 5 years.

Inability to pay back debts will cause more and more to resort to crime to provide for themselves, which will further jeopardize social and political stability - while appropriate use of the word 'stability' is already questionable.

South Africa is on a dangerous roads - where investors are starting to shy away from investment opportunities, fearing that the economy and state will collapse. A cutting of investment spending in the South African economy will hamper economic growth and further aid its downfall - causing prices to drop, unemployment to grow and crime to rise more...

An Equal Money System will not allow money to determine who gets what, loans will not be necessary, no one will be a slave to debt and entering crime to provide for oneself will no longer come up in anyone's mind. We live in a messy, chaotic world where everything is continuously changing and threatened with instability and even collapse - we don't have to live in a world like this - we are choosing to through the simple thought that 'we can never change what is here'.

This one thought is our God as it dominates our lives and in the name of this one thought, we allow billions to suffer every day - while there is a way - a simple way - educate yourself at www.equalmoney.org and bring out your vote!

Related articles

• Day 94: How is Money Created?
• Day 118: Drop in Agricultural Farmland Threatens South African Food Security
• Day 85: Financing Government Expenditure
• Day 110: Evilution - Neocolonialism
• 106: Structural Adjustment

Read More

Day 120: Europe Not Impressed with EU Nobel Peace Prize

Every year the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the person/group that has done the most in terms of promoting peace and harmony among states. Last year it was awarded to Barak Obama, this year the award went out to.................

The European Union!

What used to be a prestigious and honourable prize, has now become a complete mocking stick, to the point where Europeans themselves think of it as a big joke.

The award went out to the EU for the role it played so many decades ago - but awarding it today is completely out of context, since the European states are experiencing extreme  tensions and conflict.

Here is what the EU recently has achieved in terms of promoting peace and harmony...

"It is debatable whether the EU contributed to peace from 1945 to 1990: the Cold War, the nuclear balance and mutual assured destruction were surely more decisive. The EU contributed nothing to the drawing back of the Iron Curtain or the reunification of Germany, and has unfinished business in Bosnia and Kosovo. Turkey's membership application has been stalled for decades. It has tamely endorsed the American line on Iranian sanctions and was initially on the wrong side of the Arab Spring.

With two nuclear weapon states, it has never taken any lead in disarmament, and some member states have played a far from pacific role in the world. EU protectionism has been hurtful to deve-loping countries. It could have never won any prize for internal democracy; it toppled elected prime ministers in Italy and Greece, and shrinks from referen-ces to the voting public. Ironically, its current president is Cyprus, which has endured conflict and partition for nearly four decades.

The originally well-intentioned eurozone has divided Europe's north from south, and is associated with pain, the blame game and outside interference through the instrumentality of the union. The rich northern economies, led by Germany, are hesitant in aiding the southern members financially strangled by public debt and draconian austerity measures that are creating a backlash in the name of democratic accountability and the resurgence of nationalism."

...Indeed, absolutely NOTHING.

Source: K. Srinivasan, 2012. Award with an agenda: The Nobel peace prize for EU is more about bolstering the European experiment than peace,
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-17/edit-page/34500354_1_nobel-peace-prize-european-union-franco-german-axi, consulted 18/10/2012

Related articles

• Nobel Peace Prize for the European Union: A catalyst for peace in the South Caucasus?
• Who should collect the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the EU?
• ... And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to -- the EU?
• Nobel Peace Prize To European Union Criticized In View Of Gypsy Apartheid‏
• Praise and shock: EU Nobel Peace Prize reactions

Read More