In Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, Svastikah means "it is well" i.e. it is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. ( "sv", good and "asti", to be.....to be good ). It is related to things of good fortune, because it means, to be happy, the cause of life and the manifestations of life movement. It has been in continuous use in Hinduism for over 7,000 years  and has been adopted by Buddhism and Jainism. Other cultures, the Celts, Greeks, Hittites, Asian, African and European and Native Americans have also used it. 

        The four limbs denote 1. the four Vedas (knowledge), Rig, Yasur, Sama and Atharva....the sermons, hymns, mantras, songs of praise, used during religious ceremonies, symbolizing auspiciousness (Shakti). 2. The four goals of life ( denoting prosperity); 3. the four stages of life ( signifying good fortune); the four directions of space ( symbolizing divine omnipresence); the four seasons ( symbolizing the cyclic nature of time); and the four yugas of world cycle ( symbolizing the natural evolution of the universe, the four stages of Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages ).
     There is the incessant movement of the universe, continuously bring forth new things. This goes for the earth too, which is in constant rotation, as are the sun, all the planets and the heaven. Svastikah is the sign of rebirth i.e. Samsara.
      Buddhism has adopted the svastikah and calls it Manji.....the  Whirlwind. It represents Dharma, universal harmony and the balance of opposites. The vertical axis represent the  joining of heaven and earth. The horizontal axis represent the connection of yin and yang and the four arms, represent movement of the whirling force created by the interaction of these elements. 
                               Meaning of Left and Right facing                                                  
    these  are the Feminine and Masculine aspects of the Divine Symbol...the Svastikah. When facing left, it is the Omote or front facing Manji, denoting Love and Mercy. Facing right, it represent Strength and Intelligence and is called the rear-facing Manji. 
    The svastikah has always bee a sign of the positive, of prosperity, of good fortune, of the good  and it has been a part of our life since time immemorial, central in our philosophy, our religion and our life. It has always been with us and will always be the symbol of our divine consciousness, our connection to the elements, to time, to nature and Samsara.
     So you Nazis, Skinheads and others of similar ilk, hands off!!

    Pres. Mohamed Morsi has thrown the gauntlet. He has ordered the "dissolved"legislature to reconvene. Generals in response have replied by stating that they are confident that all "state institutions" would respect the constitution and the law, putting itself squarely on the side of the constitution and the law. This is interesting, given that the Generals are working hand-in hand with the Supreme Constitutional Court which had voided the last election and allowing the Generals to dissolve the legislature in the first place.
     So far the parliament has not reconvened. There may be a compromise in the offing. It is this, let parluiament meet and dissolve itself and call for new election. This will allow Morsi and the Generals to save face. Failing this, a bloody confrontation between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Military is inevitable.
     A "BATTLE ROYAL" has been shaping up between these two "elephants" over the years. The military has too much at stake. It cannot be seen as giving in to the Brotherhood. Also it has to consider the billoins in investments in all facets of Egyptian society, and of course the billions from the USA in militray aid ( the US would prefer the military to the Brotherhood to be in power.). The military would also like to recoup the prestige that it has lost over the past year.

     In Britain, 91 Conservative MPs have refused to go along with a reform of the House of Lords, which is a key demand of their coalition partner the Liberal Democrats. This threatens the government of David Cameron and he was livid , lambasting and pointing fingers at the rebels, an action that was deemed as "disgraceful" by one Conservative MP.
    The Conservative Party has done very badly in local elections held recently,; Cameron has been under attack for his close association to the Murdochs; there have been calls by some members to take a stronger stance on Europe and the economy continue to falter.
     The heat is  on and unless Cameron is able to placate these rebels (and this is not likely) and strike a deal with coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, ( some kind of "give" in another area), his government may last. He definitely does not want an election and the Lib.Dem are enjoying their first taste of power in a lond time, s 

     Partido de la Revolucion Mexicana (PRI) has won the Presidency with 38% of the vote, with the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD),( which split from the PRI in 1989, because of the growing corruption and cronyism in PRI). winning 31% and the governimg PAN with onl 25% of the votes. Lopez Abrador of PRD, is refusing to concede, claiming to have data showing a different result.
     Enrique Pena Nieto has claimed victory and promises to "change course" and called for "unity of all Mexicans" and to begin immediately public wiorks like roads and bridges. He also promised to continue the "war" on drugs, violence and kidnapping, targeting local problems and noting that the USA is the largest consumer of drugs from Mexico and the largest sellers of guns to Mexico. He will not pursue the same all-out war policy on the drud cartel, as outgoing presidenttCalderon which has led to more than 50,000 deaths. 
     PRI has been out of power for 12 years, after dominating power for the previous 79 years. It was founded by Plutarco Elias Calles on March 4, 1929 out of a group of unions, peasnats org. regional parties and most importantly military factions fighting for power. He called it Partido Nacional Revolucionario and he controlled the party and the country until Lazaro Cardenas became president and changed the name of the party to Partido de la Revolucion Mexicana on 30th, March 1938. It was Cardenas who nationalised the oil industry and several other industries, (American and European) and set up social institutions for the poor. He also arrested dozens of Calles' associates and deported some to the USA. The Americans did not like this but he became Mexico's most liked leader, but also for his reforms, his integrity and his work on behalf of the peasants. The name of the party was changed to PRI-- Partido Revolucion Institucional on January 18, 1946 by the the president Manuel Avila Camacho and has retained that name but in 1989, the left-wing of the party had had enough of the corruption and stagnation and split-off to form the PRD.
     PRI had become besotted with power and was calcified. It had run out of ideas, had no vision for the changing world (The Cold War and the bloody liberation struggles in Latin America was ending), and resorted to electoral fraud and voter suppression to win elections.
     The practice of "el dedazo", "tapping of the finger", whereby the out-going president named his successor was continued and only succeeded in maintaining the cronyism that had robbed the country and the party of the best "minds for governing" in favour of the ever-growing of retinue of patronage and self-serving office-holders, incompetent and unfit, who filled their pockets while the great majority of the people live in misery. In the 1990s NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement, with USA and Canada), was signed and a "bail-out" arranged by the Clinton administration, but that meant that Mexican resources, including its oil and gas was now no longer protected from American grasp. The signing of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) introduced further free trade  and made many in the "inner circle" to become very wealthy. The drug trade, a classic example of capitalism's demand and supply was first exploited by the Colombians, but after some of their leading "drug lords" were killed, Mexican "interests"stepped in and with an ever-increasing American appetite and the nearby border, the drug trade flourished.  Peasnts revolted in places like Chiapas and violent protests in the cities, helped bring down PRI in 2000. They also lost the election of 2006.
     The telegenic Nieto and his very popular "soap-opera star"-wife, Angela Rivera will undoubtedly cause a stir for a while, but then he has to deliver. In 2006, Lopez Obrador lost the election to Calderon by less than one per cent of the vote and protests paralyzed Mexico City for more than a month. He is again claiming foul and with PRI's past history of voter suppression, corruption and electoral fraud. it doee not take too much to believe that it can happen again. 
     Parts of the country are already "war zones". as as result of Calderon's crack down. Poverty is on the rise ( govt. estimate that 47% of the 112 million Mexicans are poor) and the "cartels" are still operating and violence is everywhere. Grim, Grim, Grim 
                      Update........Update......5/7/12

      Electoral authorities have ordered recount of 78,012 out of 143,000 ballot boxes. Lopez Obrador who lost in 2006 by 1% has claimed massive fraud., irregularities at 113,855 polling places, vote-buying ( thousands of grocery stores coupons given out) and imbalance in reporting by semi-monopolized TV industry. 
    The spectre of fraud once again hangs over PRI.This adds to the already beleaguered country's problems....Poverty, Violence, Drugs Cartels  etc