Episode 109: It is difficult for BRICS to create a new world currency
The BRICS new world currency may not happen after all, or will we live long enough to see the fall of the American dollar?
India rejects the notion entirely, while South Africa maintains that a shared currency would greatly benefit China. Russia, on its end, inclines toward increasing trade with respective national currency. China remains diplomatically quiet on the topic as it pushes for a stronger Chinese Yuan on the global stage.
Despite the frenzy about creating a multipolar financial market or reducing the dollar’s hegemony in global trade, at the time that video was produced, the dollar still accounted for 90% of international forex dealings and 60% of the world’s global reserve.
In conclusion, the BRICS nations are not ready to converge their economy or lose the sovereignty of their national currency, like it happened with the Euro in 1999.
Therefore, the new BRICS world currency may be dead on arrival, or this generation will not live long enough to see the fall of the American dollar.
Dr. Bobb Rousseau
Episode 108: BRICS expansion may be a bad idea
While China and Russia focus on de-dollarization, South Africa, Brazil, and India want maintain their relations with Washington.
If anything, these new admissions might weaken the alliance because it will be hard for BRICS to reach critical economic agreements due to countries’ foreign policy preferences and their differing approaches towards the West.
While China and Russia focus on de-dollarization, South Africa, Brazil, and India want to maintain their relations with Washington. Such diversity could make BRICS incoherent and unable to reach a consensus on anything important.
Moreover, South Africa, as a member of the International Criminal Court, does not support Ukraine’s invasion by Russia. The ICC issued an arrest order against Putin, allowing any country to take him into custody.
A multipolar world is not impossible, but it will take time for the economic world to feel its ripple effects, and maybe, just maybe, our children will live long enough to see the fall of the American dollar.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Episode 107: This is how your government violates your rights
A country where inequality exists cannot be democratic
The same new laws that create new rights for them also limit the ability of the majority to express their opinions without the fear of being labeled as racist, xenophobic, sexist, or homophobic.
Under the banner of achieving equality and social justice, the government shoved new rights down the majority’s throat to compel them to accept, support, and approve lifestyles and ideas that counter their core values.
It is almost impossible to enjoy democracy in a country where the government legally tramples on one’s rights to satisfy another’s rights.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Episode 106: Some Blacks invited police officers who pulled them over to shoot them
Whether you think you are right or you getting pulled over was racially motivated, arguing with police officers is nothing but foolish.
Instead of showing their vehicle registration and insurance card as instructed, they pulled out their cellphone to broadcast how they were about to be shot or beaten because of their aggressiveness.
Then comes the Black Lives Matter movement protesting, focusing on one side of the story and claiming racism, social injustice, and police brutality.
You know what came next: Black people protested, they got angry and they demanded that the police be defunded.
Should they have complied and not played the race card, they would have simply gotten a ticket, which they could have paid or disputed in court.
Whether you think you were right or you getting pulled over was racially motivated, arguing with police officers is nothing but foolish.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Episode 105: Relationship between inflation and federal income tax
Inflation transfers wealth from the people to the government and we the people feed the government just because we work and eat.
An employee whose wage is $30 per hour pays between $3 to $5 on average per hour to the government. This means that the more Americans work, the more the government gets. As inflation grows, the less Americans save.
Experts say that inflation does not occur because businesses increase their prices but because the federal government spends, borrows, and creates too much money.
Therefore, inflation transfers wealth from the people to the government and we the people feed the government just because we work and eat.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast
Episode 102: Un modèle de développement pour Haïti basé sur son avantage compétitif
Haïti n’a pas assez de terres arables pour produire et nourrir toute la nation, voire exporter vers les pays étrangers. Cependant, à cause de son relief, son climat et sa géographie, elle peut être un point central de tourisme et un grand producteur de denrées de haute commodité pour alimenter les pays étrangers. Dans cet épisode, je montre comment Haïti peut se développer économiquement en se focalisant plus sur l’importation au lieu d’investir dans la production nationale. Je suis votre hôte Dr. Bobb Rousseau et sans plus tarder, commençons.
Un pays n’est pas tenu de disposer de capacités de production nationales étendues pour atteindre la prospérité économique, en particulier s’il peut tirer parti de ses attraits géographiques uniques pour développer le tourisme en tant qu’alternative viable aux formes de production traditionnelles ou produire des articles demandés dans d’autres pays.
Les investissements continus d’Haïti dans la production nationale manquent de sens économique logique ; il est moins cher d’importer du riz et d’autres cultures que de les produire localement. Pour réussir économiquement dans ce siècle, Haïti doit abandonner sa production locale au profit d’industries plus lucratives ou entrer sur le marché mondial en augmentant ses budgets d’importation tout en investissant dans des produits haut de gamme ou des produits que d’autres pays veulent.
Le commerce mondial permet aux pays d’importer des produits étrangers qui, autrement, coûteraient trop cher à produire au niveau national. Dans divers cas, importer est plus rentable que d’investir dans la production locale.
Haïti achète la majeure partie de son riz aux États-Unis et reçoit de gros troncs sous forme de dons de la Chine et de Taïwan. En conséquence, un sac de riz produit localement est plus cher que le riz importé en raison de l’agriculture mécanisée inexistante, des systèmes d’irrigation obsolètes et des chaînes d’approvisionnement inefficaces qui réduisent l’efficacité et augmentent les coûts de production, entraînant des prix plus élevés pour les produits locaux.
Les agriculteurs haïtiens ne produisent pas assez de riz pour concurrencer l’abondance de riz étranger sur le marché haïtien. Par conséquent, pour qu’Haïti soit compétitive, les agriculteurs doivent augmenter leur production de riz pour réaliser des économies d’échelle pour les vendre moins cher ou au même prix que le riz importé. Le gouvernement haïtien pourrait également cesser d’accepter les dons de riz de la Chine et de Taïwan et fixer des quotas et des tarifs sur le riz américain pour forcer les entreprises américaines à augmenter leur prix.
Pour équilibrer l’équation, Haïti doit identifier ses avantages compétitifs et développer une stratégie orientée vers l’exportation. Au lieu d’essayer de produire chaque culture au niveau national, il devrait se concentrer sur les cultures qui prospèrent dans son climat et sa géographie et que d’autres pays consomment mais ne produisent pas. Par exemple, Haïti pourrait investir dans la fabrication de café de haute qualité, de fruits tropicaux et d’autres produits agricoles uniques qui ont une demande sur les marchés étrangers. Cela permettrait non seulement de capitaliser sur ses ressources naturelles, mais aussi de créer des opportunités d’emploi et d’augmenter les recettes en devises. En se spécialisant dans ces produits, le pays peut atteindre une productivité plus élevée et de meilleurs prix sur le marché international.
Plusieurs pays comme Maurice, les Bahamas, Guam, Chypre, la Jamaïque et les Maldives ont partiellement ou totalement abandonné leur production locale au profit du tourisme en tant qu’alternative viable aux formes de production traditionnelles. De plus, des pays comme la Corée du Sud, autrefois fortement dépendante de l’agriculture, est passée aux industries de haute technologie et est devenue un leader mondial de la technologie et de l’innovation. De même, le Japon est passé d’une société agricole à une centrale industrielle pendant la restauration Meiji à la fin du XIXe siècle.
Ces exemples mettent en évidence les avantages potentiels de la réallocation des ressources des secteurs traditionnels vers des industries ayant un potentiel de croissance et une rentabilité plus élevés. En Haïti, l’orientation des ressources vers des secteurs tels que la sous-traitance, la technologie ou la manufacture pourrait générer de meilleurs rendements économiques que de tenter de concurrencer des produits agricoles importés moins chers.
Alors que le coût de l’agriculture nationale peut être élevé en raison de divers facteurs, notamment des économies d’échelle plus faibles et des pratiques agricoles obsolètes, Haïti doit apprendre des exemples de pays qui ont réussi à déplacer leur attention de l’agriculture vers d’autres industries et reconnaître ses avantages comparatifs pour adopter une politique d’exportation pour améliorer ses perspectives économiques et créer un avenir plus durable.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast
www.apostroph.app
Episode 101: How specific groups change gender’s biological definition
Gender is no longer a static concept rooted solely in biology. It has evolved into a profoundly personal and dynamic expression of identity. Because someone is gay does not mean he identifies himself as a man and because someone is a lesbian does not mean she identifies herself as a woman. Thus, the use of the pronouns “they and their ” for those who feel sexually fluid, she for a man feeling to be trapped in a woman’s body or he for a woman feeling she should be a man.
In the past, gender was primarily understood through a simplified lens of physical features, seeing individuals based on their biological characteristics. Terms like “gay” and “lesbian” were used to label individuals based on their perceived alignment with traditional gender roles. However, in contemporary society, gender has evolved beyond these narrow definitions. It is now a vast and diverse tapestry of human experiences, where individuals aspire to be publicly recognized as the gender they identify with, rather than the one that was revealed at birth.
At the core of this paradigm shift lies the notion of gender expression and gender identity. Gender expression is a profound and deeply-felt sense of being male, female, or non-binary whereas gender identity is an outward manifestation of one’s inner self, which can vary across a spectrum of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny.
As the definition of gender evolves, so do come new groups whose members seek to be acknowledged, accepted, and treated with dignity, compassion, and humanity. Proponents protest against sexual discrimination and thus forcing state and federal lawmakers to enact policies that change core and traditional practices like bathroom use, mariage, housing, and healthcare services, to name just a few.
In conclusion, gender is no longer a static concept rooted solely in biology. It has evolved into a profoundly personal and dynamic expression of identity. Because someone is gay does not mean he identifies himself as a man and because someone is a lesbian does not mean she identifies herself as a woman. Thus, the use of the pronouns “they and their ” for those who feel sexually fluid, she for a man feeling to be trapped in a woman’s body or he for a woman feeling she should be a man.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast
Episode 99: Trump’s 3rd indictment violates all Americans’ First Amendment rights to petition the government.
There is no evidence that there was irregularities in the 2020 elections, but there is no evidence either that there was no irregularities in them. Yet, the government indicts various Americans on charges of false statements and conspiracy to try to overturn the results.
Trump could not produce any evidence that the election could have been fraudulent. Therefore, he asked state legislatures to investigate. The latter did nothing about it, so he petitioned the government for a redress of grievances. His actions align with the First Amendment, authorizing any American to address state or federal governments to get a redress of what they believe may be illegal, immoral, or violated traditional norms. Neither of these instances investigated that, and Trump continued his claim to force the government to act. Instead, the government tramples his fundamental right under the First Amendment by indicting him on four charges. Paralllely, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers marched toward Capitol Hill to ask for redress, and we all know by now how the march went down.
Because he was questioning the integrity of the American electoral system since several states allowed many residents to vote without proper identification, the U.S judicial system accused him of conspiring to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.
“Conspiring” means Trump concerted with other people to overturn the election. There is no evidence that Trump put that riot together or led the protest to attempt to obstruct the Jan. 6 electoral vote count. It is hearsay or circumstantial at best. Jack Smith, the special counsel, purported that Trump’s efforts to press state and federal officials to act was a conspiracy to deny people the right to vote; thus, the term “disenfranchise.”
Seeking redress or asking officials to investigate to make Americans regain confidence in the electoral system is in no way synonymous with preventing people from voting or discarding the people’s vote. Mind you that most Americans question, still question, and socially cast their doubt about the 2020 result. Therefore, it was public knowledge that Trump, as president, was using his authority to direct his subordinates to assume their duties.
Trump pleaded not guilty. However, shall the court, up to the Supreme Court for that matter, find him liable, that would set a bad political precedent where any American, evoking their First Amendment rights of bringing their grievances against the government to the government, would be accused of conspiring and defrauding the government.
In the case against Trump, where the government is the accuser, judge, and jury, reading through the indictment, there is an insufficiency of evidence to connect the prove beyond reasonable doubt that Trump’s actions to seek redress and clarification to bring back order and faith in the system falls into the category of conspiracy.
To rest my case, when it comes to the liability of a president, former or current, such competence lies in the hands of the Supreme Court.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast
Epizòd 100: Li koute anpil kòb pou on imigran vin legal Ozetazini
Un Haïtien qui rentre aux USA avec un visa ou par les frontières mexicaines paiera $315 pour avoir une carte de travail, $545 pour le TPS ou $0 pour la demande d’asile politique, mais il paiera sans doute $1225 pour la demande de la résidence permanente et $725 pour devenir citoyen américain.
La plupart des immigrants qui viennent aux États-Unis sont issus de milieux défavorisés. Cependant, qu’ils entrent dans le pays avec un visa ou traversent la frontière mexicaine, leur quête d’une vie meilleure en Amérique est marquée par des coûts financiers extrêmes.
Un visa touristique et tout programme humanitaire permettent aux immigrants de vivre aux États-Unis pendant une période limitée. Cependant, entrer dans le pays par les frontières les permet d’y vivre de manière conditionnelle en attendant qu’une décision sur leur demande d’asile politique soit prise.
La loi sur l’immigration américaine exige que les immigrants, cherchant à obtenir la résidence légale et la citoyenneté américaine, appliquent pour obtenir un tel statut. A moins qu’ils se marient à un résident légal ou à un Américain, les titulaires de visa demanderont le statut de protection temporaire (TPS) ou l’asile politique. Ceux qui traversent la frontière demanderont l’asile politique. Quelque soit la voie qu’ils empruntent et même après leur mariage, appliquer pour obtenir la résidence conditionnelle, la résidence légale et la citoyenneté, est financièrement ardue et onéreuse.
Le coût pour demander le statut de protection temporaire (TPS) est de $545, ce qui comprend les frais de dossier et les frais de documentation. La demande de résidence permanente légale, communément appelée carte verte, coûte $1225, y compris les frais de traitement du gouvernement, les examens médicaux et, dans certains cas, les services biométriques. La demande de citoyenneté, qui est la dernière étape du parcours d’immigration pour beaucoup, coûte $725. Bien qu’il existe une dispense de frais, les chances d’obtenir une telle dispense sont plus que négligeables. En attendant une décision finale sur leur cas, pour travailler ou continuer à travailler dans le pays, ils doivent avoir et maintenir une carte de permis de travail dont la demande coûte $315 par application.
Ces coûts créent une pression financière pour les immigrants et leurs familles, entraînant de longues périodes d’attente car ils épargnent pour les fonds nécessaires. Les coûts totaux supportés par les immigrants tout au long de leur processus d’ajustement de statut peuvent s’élever à des centaines de dollars, le rendant inaccessible à de nombreux immigrants à faible revenu. Cela retarde ou compromet aussi même leur parcours vers un statut légal.
Le processus est extrêmement difficile, compte tenu des lois complexes et en constante évolution. Leur manque d’anglais et la qualité des services à la clientèle du bureau de l’immigration obligent de nombreux immigrants à recruter les services juridiques pour traiter et acheminer leur dossier. Ces coûts inabordables les dissuadent de chercher de l’aide professionnelle, ce qui rend leur processus de demandes encore plus intimidant et risqué.
Les prix élevés que les immigrants paient pour appliquer pout le TPS, la résidence et la citoyenneté appellent à un besoin urgent d’une réforme globale de l’immigration pour alléger les charges financières, rationaliser le processus de demande et créer des voies plus accessibles vers un statut juridique. Un acte sur l’ajustement de statut des immigrants est nécessaire pour fournir des services juridiques accessibles et abordables aux immigrants, supprimer la limite de résidence pour le TPS et les programmes humanitaires, éliminer les frais de d’application et permettre aux immigrants de bénéficier des mêmes avantages que tout autre résident ou citoyen légal en bénéficient pendant que leur demande est en cours d’examen.
Bob Rousseau, PhD
Podcast Apostrophe
Episode 98: The big lie about the origin of Blacks, descendants of slaves
Blacks are claiming an origin that they cannot prove or do not even attempt to validate, and the belief that they are Africans is based on historical accounts that fail to explore the full story of Black slavery and the diverse origins of Black people.
First, let me tell you the difference between “are from” and “come from.” Saying that a person is from a place means that person was born there, whereas saying that a person comes from a place means that person moves from that place to another place. A person may come from a country without being from or born in that country. The place a person is from never changes, but that person may come from several regions before reaching their actual destination. As a clear example, many immigrants are from Haiti but they come to the United States from Chile and Mexico, respectively.
History begins tracing the origin of Blacks, descendants of slaves from the triangular traffic or the ebony tree trade. They omitted many years of black identity and civilization. The blacks the Colons brought to America were already in slavery in Africa. Better yet, their ancestors were already there as they fled to Africa from Jericho and Canaan respectively, present-day Palestine, where they were previously slaves. They came to Palestine from their original land, Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, which they left to go offer their services in exchange for food, shelter, and education.
Let me be the first one to tell you that not all black Africans were slaves, and not all black people are descendants of slaves. Also, Blacks were not the first slaves the world had known; white people were slaves way before black people were. Moreover, did you know that the blacks that the history books peg as dumb, brute, and uncivilized were highly educated? They just had hard times fitting in because they could not understand the language of the country they were brought in and also their masters transformed slavery from a free will labor into a dehumanizing endeavor.
The Blacks who came to America could have been born in Africa. Still, referring to genealogical artifacts, the term origin is synonymous with ancestral, meaning that black ancestors were not born in Africa as the history book tells it. Therefore, today’s blacks, who admit their ancestors were slaves, are not Africans but straight-up middle easterners.
Blacks are claiming an origin that they cannot prove or do not even attempt to validate, and the belief that they are Africans is based on historical accounts that fail to explore the full story of Black slavery and the diverse origins of Black people. These historians were too lazy to go past Africa to study the fascinating tale of Black slavery and black people.
In summary, the answer to the historical origin of today’s Black people, whose fathers were enslaved, is simple; they are from the Middle East. However, the answer to where they come from is even simpler; they come from Africa, and Africa is not the motherland.
To catch history lying about the origin of Black identity, purchase the book “Non-africanism of Blacks, descendants of slaves, and Haitian voodoo ” on Amazon.
Bobb Rousseau, PhD
Apostrophe Podcast