The Rise of the Billionaires. Democracy for sale to the highest bidder?

Recent data shows that the world’s richest people own a larger share of the world’s wealth than ever, making a mockery of the ‘trickle-down’ effect and threatening democracy.

The Oxfam report, “Defending Freedom Against Billionaire Power”, shows how our leaders have sold out democracy to the highest bidders. It indicates that billionaire wealth expanded three times more rapidly in the year following Donald Trump’s November 2024 election than the five-year average that preceded it.

Whilst US billionaires experienced the most dramatic increases, their counterparts worldwide also saw their fortunes surge by double digits. According to The Guardian,

Australian billionaires increased their wealth by almost $600,000 a day on average.

For the first time in history, the planet now hosts more than 3,000 billionaires, marking an unprecedented peak in concentrated wealth. Last October, Elon Musk broke new ground by becoming the world’s first half-trillionaire.

At the same time, a quarter of all people on Earth struggle with hunger. The world is on track to have five trillionaires within a decade, whilst the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990.

Last year’s billionaire wealth gains alone amount to enough money to distribute US$250 to every human being, whilst still leaving these ultra-wealthy individuals over US$500 billion richer than before. The dozen wealthiest billionaires now control more resources than the bottom half of humanity, four billion people.

Rising food Insecurity and poverty

The longtime economic justification for these pro-rich policies, the trickle-down effect, which holds that a rising tide will lift all ships, is dead (as it was on arrival. Editor’s note). Since 2020, progress in alleviating poverty has stalled, with African nations actually seeing poverty rates climb.

By 2022, 3.83 billion people, nearly half of humanity, were living in poverty.

A quarter of the world’s population now experiences moderate to severe food insecurity, representing a 42.6% surge between 2015 and 2024. A nutritious meal cost 30% more in 2024 than it did in 2020. Those living in poverty in poorer nations must dedicate a far larger portion of their income to basic nutrition than their counterparts in wealthier countries. As billionaire wealth multiplies, billions cannot afford to eat.

https://michaelwest.com.au/the-rise-of-the-billionaires-democracy-for-sale-to-the-highest-bidder/

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Hafter former CIA now controlled by Mossad

Pakistan To Send Chinese Warplanes To Libyan Faction Under Gen. Haftar

Pakistan has sealed a deal worth over $4 billion to sell military equipment, including warplanes jointly built with China, to General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, according to a report by Reuters.

The deal could significantly alter the military balance of power in the oil-rich North African country, where Haftar rules over the eastern half and a UN-recognized government led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in Tripoli controls the west.

"Please make your armed forces as strong as possible because armed forces did guarantee the existence of countries," Pakistan military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said in a visit to Benghazi last week, where he met Haftar's son, Saddam. Reuters reported that the arms deal was finalized in that meeting.

"Libya is a land of lions," Munir said in a video clip of his address to Libyan National Army officers, referencing the Libyan Islamic Scholar Omar al-Mukhtar, whose struggle in the 1920-1930s against the Italian occupation of Libya was made famous in the 1981 movie Lion of the Desert starring Anthony Quinn.

A copy of the arms deal seen by Reuters before it was finalized said Haftar's LNA would purchase 16 JF-17 fighter jets, a multirole combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China, along with 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft, used for basic pilot training.

One of the Pakistani officials who spoke with Reuters said the agreement would be spread over two and a half years, with land, sea and air equipment included. Two Pakistani officials said the deal could reach up to $4.6bn - Pakistan's largest in history.

Neither the Tripoli government nor Haftar's forces have a substantial air force. Haftar made a failed bid to conquer Tripoli in 2019 with the backing of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Russia. Turkey intervened to defend the government in Tripoli, sending mercenaries and TB2 drones. Since then, it has stationed thousands of troops in the Western half of Libya and sealed a controversial maritime agreement with the government in Tripoli.

Dbeibeh was nominated prime minister of Libya in 2021 as part of a UN-backed process to prepare the country for elections. Instead, he has consolidated power in his hands and curried favor with powerful militias that control Tripoli to stay in power.

After the NATO-led removal of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya became a theatre for proxy conflict between Gulf states and Turkey. However, those battle lines have blurred in recent years.

Libya's shifting alliances

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pakistan-send-chinese-warplanes-libyan-faction-under-gen-haftar

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