Israel: ‘Women for sale’

How does it sound when we hear that besides a bookstore, a designer clothing store, there is a woman for sale store. Shocking? This unusual window display shocked shoppers at a busy Tel Aviv mall last week when amongst a chain of shops, they came across a group of young women standing in a storefront. It is reported that women have price tags on them, which show details about there height, weight and age. These tags also represent there country of origins and dimensions.

It is claimed by the organizers that the campaign is designed to bring awareness to women trafficking. It majorly aims to collect enough signatures to pressure the Israeli justice ministry to back legislation that makes it a crime for men to go to prostitutes. It is declared by the organizers that "The legislation against the prostitutes' customers will bring a reduction in the demand for prostitution and it will be a less lucrative business for crime organizations”. Perhaps this would in turn will bring reduction in the trafficking of women. Keidar the organization owner said othe past decade; about 10,000 women have been trafficked into Israel in what Keidar calls "modern slavery.” The women are locked, beaten, raped, starved and forced to receive 15-30 men a day 365 days a year, according to the local attorney. About three years ago, Israeli police greatly reduced women trafficking by pouring resources into the problem. Security forces have also helped by stepping up patrols on the Israeli-Egyptian border as a result of al Qaeda presence in the Sinai.This 300-kilometer border was the main route for smuggling women into Israel, Keidar said.” This legislation against the customers will bring a further reduction in trafficking and with a little more pressure we can make this go away," Keidar said. 

I believe this is women exploitation, in the weirdest form. It’s humiliation of women all around the world. I am a young female and when I heard about this, I could just feel degradation and no respect for the identity of women. This perhaps shows us another form of highlighting sex trafficking. What worst is next expected….

Unpredictable Death of Paul

"Octopus Paul"

Octopus Paul was famous for his for his tale tentacles that predicted the outcome of many of the World cup matches and indeed the final has been red carded at the hands of fate. British-born aquarium inhabitant at Sea Life in Oberhausen, western Germany was discovered dead in his aquarium in the early hours of the morning. It is reported that he passed away during the night. The management at Oberhausen Sea Life Centre have expressed deep regret over his death and are devastated by the tragic departure of their resident oracle. Paul achieved global fame and recognition in 2010 by accurately predicting the outcome of eight World Cup football matches including the final earlier this year. He sent the Germans packing in the semi final upset much to the dismay and anger of German fans.

 Paul’s preferred method of soothsaying was wrapping his tentacles around either one of the two plastic boxes that caught his fancy (both containing food and respective national flags of the prospective teams). The odds for getting eight predictions right were reportedly 1 in 256. Totally unbelievable it was! Paul was also at one point heavily sought after by Goldman Sachs which was reportedly offering a USD 4 million per year package for Paul to head its propriety trading book (PoliteMarketBlogSpot.com). Despite his fan following, Paul had also invited rebuke from the likes of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who accused the entire soothsaying venture as a charade and a means of ‘spreading western propaganda and superstition”. Though Paul may have rounded up many in the opposition camp and many would have liked to have him for dinner instead of correctly predicting the controversial outcomes of crucial games, the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre has “ruled out foul play”. He became a hero for people.

In honor of the legend, a monument will be erected at the aquarium which sheltered him. It may not be far from the truth if bidders began a search for a list of Paul’s heirs who may possibly possess a similar gift. In the famous words of Smashing Pumpkins, could this be a case of “the beginning is the end is the beginning”? Let’s wait and watch how the cookie crumbles.

Pakistan's textile industry on the edge!

The Pakistani textile industry depends on domestic agriculture to supply its raw materials. Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer in the world, primarily because of its plentiful, native cotton supply; the textile industry is central to the Pakistani economy and is both a source of employment and income and a source of exports. Pakistan's industrialization began in the 1950s with the textile industry at its center. Today, textiles account for 38 percent of total manufacturing and 8 percent of GDP.

However, what we see is that Pakistan’s textile exporters are warning the government that the country’s key foreign exchange spinners have reached the brink of disaster due to the energy crisis and if timely measures are not taken to arrest this trend, regression is perniciously falling down. What we are that Pakistan’s economy is primarily dependent upon its textile industry, its major competitors include China, India and Turkey, however the cost of power is high in Pakistan only. Thus, such a downfall for the Pakistani’s textile industry is not effective. The promises that were made by the previous government in the year2005 should thus be implemented now as well, for further development in the textile industry. According to a source, textile-buying orders worth 700 million dollars are at stake because of load shedding and limited gas supply in the processing factories around the country.

Textile exports earn Pakistan around 10 billion dollars per an-um, which is highest single group’s contribution to the country’s total exports of 19-to-20 billion dollars. Gas load shedding in factories implies an obstacle in the entire value addition chain, observes Ijaz Khokhar, Central Chairman of Pakistan’s Ready-made garments manufacturers and exporters association. The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association is the organization that regulates the textile industry, which is currently facing a number of challenges, including the need to improve quality.

Commonwealth Games 2010 to have a vast economic impact on India

The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event, held every four years. This will be the first time India will host the games and only the second time that the event will take place in Asia. This time the Commonwealth Games 2010 which are currently being held in Delhi have been surrounded by controversies ranging from corruption, inadequate facilities, infrastructure related mishaps and hygiene issues. However, after the massive success of the opening ceremony and the quick-fixes by the authorities, the buzz around most of these issues have died down and athletes are now focused on playing and winning medals for their own country.

Commonwealth Games 2010 set to create over two million jobs and have an economic impact of over USD 4,940 million on the Indian economy. These statistics are reported to be three times higher than the impact on Australia during the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. What a massive impact on the Indian economy. The organizing committee also claims that the Games will encourage and enhance the sporting spirit among Indians and boost sport related activities among students, apart from providing better infrastructure and international recognition for the city of Delhi and the country. In order to involve the Indian business community in the promotion of sports in India, the organizing committee has also set up a Commonwealth Business Club India (CBCI). However as in the case of every initiative the negative sides of the Games have been pointed out by Hazard Center, an NGO, which claims that the city’s residents would have to pay a high price for the infrastructure and development carried out for the Games in the form of increase in prices of land and basic commodities. They claim that every country which has hosted Games related events has fallen into deep debts due to them and that India will not be an exception. However it must be said that Commonwealth Games 2010 opened doors for the Indian economy in terms of greater economic and social development. Delhi being the capital of India, a rich city thus gets another chance of achieving better economic status.