Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Evil U.S.A.: Catholic Pope denounces decades old U.S. sanctions against Cuba

On March 28, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI says the 50 years old U.S. “Restrictive economic measures imposed from outside the country unfairly burden its people.” of Cuba.

The Pope made his comments after a three day visit to Cuba.  Vatican officials have denounced the U.S. sanctions in the past.

The United States ordered the sanctions in 1960, after Cuba’s Revolution overthrew the repressive U.S. supported Batista regime.  After 50 years you’d think U.S. officials would realize that sanctions do not work!  After all, many U.S. corporations missed out on trade deals when Cuba opened its business doors to foreign investments (and don’t forget the oil that’s been discovered just off the shores of the island country).

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Evil Elites & What Economic Recovery? Bank of England says Royal events bankrupting British taxpayers! Proof the Elites are the true Welfare bums!

March 27, 2012, the Bank of England’s governor, Mervyn King, warned the U.K. House of Lords that upcoming celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee could bankrupt the kingdom.

King said the celebrations come at the worst time, an economic recession. He also pointed out that it was the expense of last year’s Royal Wedding that actually killed any hope of economic recovery!

The anti-Royal Family group, Republic, revealed that every year it costs U.K. taxpayers 202 million pounds (about $326 million USD) to support the Evil Elite Royals, and that’s not counting their taxpayer funded Royal celebrations!

This proves that the Royal elites are an economic burden, not benefit, upon the people!!!  They are nothing but ultimate welfare parasites!

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Evil Elites & the War on Individual Property Owners: Roswell Georgia man blows himself up as Police come for his home

March 26, 2012, after almost a decade of fighting bogus city code enforcement claims a Roswell, Georgia, man blew himself up as police tried to steal him from his home.

Here is video of the explosion that took place inside his home.

The man had battled bogus code claims, and won several court battles, but for some reason the city officials had it out for him.  Finally they forced his mortgage holder to illegally foreclose on his home.

Go here for detailed info on the man’s long struggle against the bogus Law Elites, and realize you could be next!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Evil & What Economic Recovery? U.S. Alcoa to close factories worlwide, thousands of people to lose jobs. It’s all because Alcoa wants higher Aluminum prices

March 27, 2012, Sardinian workers are protesting the planned closing of Alcoa’s Portovesme aluminum smelter on the island of Sardinia.  The move could cost Italy the loss of at least 1,500 jobs.

U.S. media last reported that U.S. based Alcoa was making a deal with union workers to keep the factory open, however, European media says that ain’t so.

In fact three potential investors are now suing Alcoa.  The Italian government has been demanding Alcoa keep their factory open.  The Spanish government is also upset because Aloca has plans to reduce smelter operations there.

This is evidence that Corporate America is partly to blame for the continuing economic disaster in Europe!  But it’s not just Europeans losing their jobs, Alcoa is hitting Australians as well.

In Geelong, Australia, Alcoa says it’s closing down operations there, because it doesn’t want to pay its electricity bill!  Alcoa wants a deal from the Australian government, and utility suppliers, in order to keep its Point Henry smelter open.

Alcoa also blames the pending closing of their Australian smelter on the need for $100 million AUD (Australian Dollars) to upgrade the smelter to meet environmental regulations.  600 people could lose their jobs.

But the real reason for the closings of all these Aloca operations worldwide, is that the price of aluminum is not high enough for Alcoa executives.

Recently Alcoa officials said the recent drop in aluminum prices “…will result in a global aluminum industry deficit of 600,000 metric tons in 2012.” Why would that be?  Because the aluminum industry will cut back production until aluminum prices go back up. That means closing down factories, creating thousands more unemployed people.

Interestingly, despite aluminum prices being low, on March 1, 2012, Alcoa announced they were actually raising prices (by 5%) on some of their aluminum products!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Obama attacks Argentina with Tariffs, another case of shooting yourself in the foot!

On March 26, 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama declared a trade war with Argentina.  This comes two days after Argentina sponsored a mission to increase trade relations with the U.S.

Obama says Argentine companies own two U.S. companies, Azurix and Blue Ridge, $300 million USD.  Obama dropped Argentina from “trade preferences”, which essentially put the South American country on the same standing as North Korea and Syria.

The two U.S. companies are owed money, but Argentine officials say every time they try to make a payment those U.S. companies refuse the terms of payment: “The U.S. trade authorities did not accept our proposal to resolve the disagreement of interpretation on the rules of ICSID [International Center Settlement of Investment Disputes]…”-Hector Timerman, Argentine Foreign Ministry

Obama’s decision goes into effect in 60 days.  Argentina is a member of CELAC, maybe that’s the real motivation behind Obama’s action?  The imposition of high U.S. tariffs on Argentina will affect at least $18 million USD in business with U.S. companies!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Evil Elites & the War on Drugs: Evidence the Queen of England is a drug dealer, U.K. bank regulator says so! This comes as the U.S. cracks down on suspicious bank accounts of lowly individuals in the name of the War on Terror

On March 21, 2012, a candidate running for the office of President of France, told interviewers that: “No, not all her fortune. There are many other sources, but it’s a series of trafficking operations within which, yes, there were drugs.”-Jacques Cheminade

Now, March 26, 2012, the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) is backing up Cheminade’s claims against the Queen!  The FSA says the Royal family is involved in what looks like money laundering and possibly drug trafficking!

The FSA fined Coutts, which is the official bank of the Royal family, 8.75 million pounds ($13.8 million USD), for failing to prevent money laundering among other things: “The failings at Coutts were serious, systemic and were allowed to persist for almost three years. They resulted in an unacceptable risk of Coutts handling the proceeds of crime.”– Financial Services Authority statement

Coutts is a division of RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland).  RBS officials say they’ve tried to comply with years of FSA regulations: “Since the FSA first raised its concerns, we have implemented a number of improvements to prevent any recurrence of these failings. Regulatory reforms continue apace.”-Rory Tapner, RBS

The thing is the FSA brought up the issue of money laundering, which would include the possibility of drug dealing, back in 2007!  FSA says about 75% of Coutts accounts are suspicious.  FSA also says about 75% of all British banks fail to check the legitimacy of their clients deposits!

Coutts began in 1692, and had clients such as Charles Dickens, William Pitt, the Duke of Wellington, David Livingstone, P.T. Barnum, Frederick Chopin and King George III.   If you don’t think the Royal family could be involved in drug dealing go study the Opium Wars.

The United Kingdom is supposed to be an ally of the U.S. in the so called War on Terror.  Part of that ‘War’ includes fighting money laundering and drug trafficking, because it supposedly funds terrorists.  This is more proof that the elites are actually running the money laundering and drug trafficking operations, while screwing us commoners over!  They are the real terrorists!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: Argentina raises prices, Quantas uses cooking oil to fuel planes, Sinopec looking to rival U.S. shale oil production

Daniel Cameron, Argentina’s Energy Secretary, is proposing to raise the price of Argentine oil exports to $63 per barrel.  Currently Argentina sells their oil at $42 per barrel.

Decades ago the Argentine government froze their export oil prices.  Now oil production is way down, because it’s not worth it to the Argentine oil companies.

To make the economic situation worse, Argentina imports most of its refined fuel, and that’s been going up, in price as well as volume.  Cameron wants to increase their export oil prices to offset the growing demand and cost of imported fuel, and to build up reserve funds in Argentina’s Central Bank.

The Australian airline Quantas, will be using a mix of kerosene based jet fuel, and used cooking oil.

Two of their airliners will be using the mixed fuel.  It’s being supplied by a Dutch company called SkyNRG.

Don’t be too concerned, the turbine (jet engine) is a glorified diesel engine.  In 1893 Rudolph Diesel designed the diesel engine specifically to run on peanut, or vegetable oil.  He succeed, however he was sued by Rockefeller’s Standard Oil.

Today’s diesel fuel is actually Petrodiesel, meaning fuel for diesel engines made from petroleum, not plant oils.

So, turbines and piston diesel engines should run fine on cooking oil, unless they were specifically made to run on Petrodiesel only (and don’t forget the bogus U.S. EPA rules that force you to use Petrodiesel in your diesel powered vehicle).

Virgin Airways Australia is also about to run their airliners on plant based fuels.  The fuel will be based on a type of Eucalyptus, called a Mallee tree in Western Australia.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) will increase oil production and natural gas extraction.  This is partly because their profits dropped by 23% in their fourth business quarter.

The drop in profits came as corporate officials tried to shift from producing fuel, to buying fuel from other refiners.  Officials said Sinopec refining operations were actually costing more than refiners in other countries.

Sinopec is also exploring possible shale oil in western China, which could rival shale oil production in the United States.

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Incompetence: More U.S. citizens renounce their citizenship, American exodus continues, if you leave you are now a terrorist

“What we have seen is a substantial change in mentality among the overseas community in the past two years. Before, no one would dare mention to other Americans that they were even thinking of renouncing their U.S. nationality. Now, it is an openly discussed issue.”-Jackie Bugnion, American Citizens Abroad 

Since 2008 the numbers of U.S. citizens rejecting their citizenship has only gone up.

2008: 235

2009: 743

2010: 1,500+

And these are the people who left the United States and officially rejected their citizenship.  The number of people who still have U.S. citizenship, after leaving,  are in the millions!

The exodus has got government leaders so riled up that they’ve passed tax laws (like FATCA & FBAR) that essentially makes anyone who leaves the United States a tax evading terrorist.

This is redundant because expatriates are already required to pay U.S. taxes even though they live in another country: “The U.S. is the only developed nation in the world that taxes its citizens on income they earn abroad.“-William McGurn, Wall Street Journal

By one count, 5.2 million U.S. citizens live outside the United States, and pay taxes to the United States!

Recently a U.S. citizen, who’s been living in Sweden for 25 years, got hit with a huge FBAR fine: “I was potentially looking at a seven figure fine.”-‘Pamela’

‘Pamela’ also explained how she was treated like a suspected terrorist: “I was treated like a criminal. I was told that even in the Voluntary Disclosure Program it would be assumed I was a ‘willful violator’ of the tax laws and would need to pay 25% of all my overseas assets, based on the highest balance in the sum total of all my bank accounts, retirement accounts, apartment, car, etc. over the last eight years.”

The U.S. government even puts pressure on other countries to go after the U.S. expats: “We have heard of banks calling in mortgages and refusing pension fund and insurance coverage for U.S. citizens.”-Mary Louise Serrato, American Citizens Abroad

Serrato says the U.S. government is even going after people who were born in the U.S., to foreign parents, but then left immediately afterwards never to return: “Many individuals are not even aware that they are American and should be filing, such as Green Card holders and ‘accidental’ Americans (born in the U.S., left when they were three and never returned), children of Americans now living overseas (even if U.S. citizenship was never claimed)!”

“I really can’t believe it! This nice country that I respect, have they gone mad?”-Peter Hallworth, U.K. citizen, who’s two adult sons (raised in Britain) are being forced to pay U.S. taxes because they were born in the United States

U.S. expats living abroad, yet paying U.S. taxes with little or no representation.  Isn’t that what the U.S. Revolution of 1776 was all about?

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

One Year later: Japanese fishing boat found off coast of Canada, first of 3 million tons of debris still heading for North America

“The vessel is considered an obstruction to navigation.”-Transport Canada statement

A 65 meter (210 feet) long fishing boat from Japan was found off Haida Gwaii islands (some reports say Queen Charlotte Islands), about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of Vancouver, Canada.

The fishing boat was washed away from Japan by the March 11, 2011 tsunami.  Senator Maria Cantwell, of the U.S. state of Washington, estimates another 50 days before the ship hits land, and warns it is the first of many more to come: “This 150 feet fishing vessel is the first major West Coast tsunami debris confirmed by Japanese officials. And now, we’ve learned that larger debris could reach our coastlines sooner than expected. With some debris already moving towards the West Coast, we need more data and better science to track and respond to tsunami debris….Coastal residents need to know who is in charge of tsunami debris response, and we need clearer answers now.”

Japan’s Coast Guard has identified the boat as coming from Aomori Prefecture.

Also, Russians found a 20 foot Japanese fishing boat near Midway Atoll.

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

Class Warfare: Elitist Canada to increase the cost of college, again! This time by 75%! University is a “privilege”?

Provinces across Canada have been increasing the cost of college, just as their neighbors to the south (U.S.A.) are doing.

Currently the cheapest place for Canadians to go to college/university is Quebec. As of March 2012, the average yearly cost for attending college in Quebec is $2,519 CAD ($2,539.91 USD).  But provincial officials want a 75% increase over the next five years!

One student pointed out that college students in Quebec have less debt than other Canadians, and implied that forcing young Canadians into debt was the intent:  “Tuition fees are lower in Quebec than the rest of Canada, but so is the student debt, which is a good impact of low tuition fees.”-Hugo Bonin, attending Concordia

Many people are torn over whether college should be made more expensive, or free.  Many with an elitist attitude say it is a “privilege” not a “right”.  Well in actuality it’s neither!  If our business leaders, and government leaders, are constantly harping about the lack of “skilled” employees, and they are constantly pushing grade school students to “Go On” (higher education campaign slogan used by the state government of Idaho, U.S.A.) so that we can be more competitive in the global economy, then it is not a privilege or a right, it is a requirement!

Why should we pay for college (more like getting into massive debt for life) for the benefit of industry and government?  Unless our leaders are lying to us (would they?) it is obvious that higher education is now a requirement, which means if they want qualified workers then they need to pay for the education to create the qualified workers, goddam it!

So how much is the average price of a “privileged” higher education in the rest of Canada?  $5,366 CAD ($5,410.55 USD)!