Tag Archives: europe

International, Opinion

Europe calling refugees “migrants”, proof that war in Libya not about protecting people

According to international law a refugee is a person who’s been forced to leave their home, due to war or other violence in their home country.  They are supposed to be given certain protections under international law.

The Europeans, along with the United States, were so keen on escalating the violence in North Africa (Libya), yet they don’t want to deal with the flood of refugees that are a natural result of war!  Instead the Europeans are calling the people fleeing the war, “migrants”.  In this way the Europeans don’t have the same legal requirements as they would if they called them refugees.

In fact, the Europeans are scrambling to figure out how to get rid of these refugee/migrants. The Europeans are even going so far as to dismantle one of the corner stones of the European Union, free travel across borders.  The EU is now considering adopting a law that would allow them to close their borders.

How hypocritical is this?  The “Western world” launches a war against North African countries, in the name of supporting freedom and democracy, and then they refuse to help any of the people fleeing the violence!

For those people out their who think the military action of U.S. led NATO is still about “protecting civilians”, please explain why refugees, ooops, I mean migrants are being treated like sh*t by the Europeans.

Fukushima, Technology

Black Week in Ukraine, Chernobyl anniversary, still seeking funds with ongoing clean up efforts

25 years after the deadly nuclear accident at the Chernobyl plant, the Ukraine is still struggling to deal with the disaster.

This week is Black Week, the official anniversary of the nuclear accident, which happened on 26 April 1986.  31 people were killed, as a direct result of the disaster, and many more have suffered cancers, and children being born with defects.

The amazing thing is that clean up efforts continue, and the Ukraine is struggling to pay for it.   Officials are trying to raise U.S.$ 1 billion for future clean up projects.

Fukushima, Technology

Germany will dump nuke plants ASAP

The German government announced that they will end the use of nuclear power plants as soon as possible.

Germany is prepared to spend the money necessary to make renewable clean energy sources their main power supply by 2020.  Germany will keep its coal and natural gas fire electrical plants in operation.

International

Food Crisis: World Food prices in “Danger Zone”, creating Mass Poverty

The U.S. based World Bank says international food prices have entered the “danger zone”, and are heading towards the “tipping point”.

World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, blames in on several things.

People in countries where the economies are good, are buying more meat.  The problem is that increasing meat production means more grain crops going to ranchers, instead of food for people.  Crops used for bio-fuels, instead of food,  is also a problem.

Then there’s a supply system problem; it’s taking longer to rebuild stocks of basic food ingredients, once they are used up.  This is made worse by the fact that many countries are facing lower crop production mainly because of climate change (cold wx, flooding and drought).

Add to that oil.  Petroleum is used for fertilizers, pesticides, etc, and that is adding to the cost of food production.

One country, China, is so scared of lack of food that they’re buying up huge tracts of land in Africa for food production.

Zoellick says this is a long term problem, we’re only at the beginning of higher food prices.  Also, while countries with more money to buy food are seeing higher prices, the poorer countries are paying far more for their food.

Zoellick says just since last year the higher prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty.  He predicts another 10% increase in food prices will push another 10 million people into poverty.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Iran strikes back at Europe, refuses to fuel European airlines

“In a retaliatory move, we have stopped providing fuel to European aircraft.”-Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi

For some time several European countries have refused to fuel up Iranian passenger planes that land at their airports.  After repeated requests by Iran, countries like Germany and United Kingdom, still refuse on the grounds that they are following the latest sanctions placed against Iran by President Obama.

Iran now says it will not fuel passenger planes from those countries, that land in Iran.

Germany’s Lufthansa says they will have to come up with a plan, because they can no longer get fuel in Tehran.  Netherland’s KLM says they’re not worried because they fuel up in Greece on their way back from Iran.

The sanctions placed on Iran by Obama do not specifically say that Iranian airlines can not be fueled.

Business/Economics, Fukushima

VW was looking to buy Isuzu, rethink after March 11 disasters

Volkswagen has been considering taking over Japan’s Isuzu, in a joint venture with Germany’s truck maker MAN.  They’re a little hesitant after the 11 March 2011 disasters.

VW is also working on a partnership with Suzuki.  The German car maker has cited cultural differences as problems getting into the Japanese market, but now has to consider the damaged ‘just in time’ production practices in Japan, which is causing the current severe parts shortages.

Fukushima

Toyota halts European production

Toyota is suspending production at all its European factories.

Plants in Britain, France, Turkey and Poland will be closed for several days on April 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and May 2.

Toyota also said they have yet to decide what they’ll do after that.  The parts supply problem in Japan does not show signs of lessening.  Toyota might be force to continue with sporadic factory shut downs, with all its plants.

Fukushima

Rice planting banned in Japan, Cesium to blame

Thanks to the nuclear crisis, rice planting has been banned in Japan.

The problem is that the areas directly affected by the 11 March 2011 quake, actually sunk. Add to that the tsunami destroyed the sea walls. Now high tides have been flooding the land with ocean water contaminated with cesium-137 (as I warned in an earlier posting). There is also airborne cesium being detected, falling onto the ground.

The Japanese government will now test farm soils for cesium contamination. Any farm found to have cesium will be banned from planting. Cesium contamination is why Chernobyl city is still uninhabitable almost 30 years after that nuclear accident in Soviet Ukraine.

Rice planting normally begins by May. Rice is important to Japan: 8.5 million tons of rice were produced in 2010, and almost all of it stayed in Japan. The current situation will now make Japan dependent on foreign sources of rice.

Cesium is still found in soil in Germany, Austria and France 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Chernobyl is 1,160 kilometers (720 miles) from Germany.

Fukushima, Technology

U.S. sending World’s largest Concrete Sprayers to Japan

Claimed to be the largest concrete spraying trucks in the world, they will be on their way to Japan, after upgrades in California and South Carolina.

The two trucks are made in Germany, for spraying concrete for skyscrapers.

Kelly Blickle, a spokeswoman at Putzmeister America Inc., says similar types of trucks were also used on Chernobyl in 1986.

Officially the trucks will be spraying water, but if necessary, can spray concrete to entomb the reactors.

Business/Economics, International, Opinion, U.S.

Europeans surround EU Parliament, demanding to know where their taxes went to

Recently in Brussels, Belgium, the EU parliament was surrounded by about 20,000 protesters. They wanted to know where the taxes they paid went to.

“This money was made to be used for social security. It was meant to be used for social health, not to help the banks.”-Serge Monsieur, protester

Governments across Europe are dealing with what they claim is no money for their budgets. Europeans pay outrageously high taxes. Just look at their sales tax, in some countries it’s more than 20%! And now more war, this time against Libya.

Protesters say in the past few years they’ve seen the social programs, that they thought their taxes were going to, being slashed and burned.  Jobs keep disappearing. Yet, there seems to be plenty of money for bank bailouts, government bailouts and war.

Isn’t that happening here in the United States? Wake up people!