Category Archives: Business/Economics

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

Dengue Fever: Brazil worst hit, Pakistan launches campaign, Dengue survives cold temps, Bolivia on Red Alert, UN says efforts to fight disease failing, energy saving light bulbs spreading disease

“I consider Rio de Janeiro runs the risk of one of the worst epidemics, in number of cases of dengue in its history.”-Alexandre Padilha, Health Minister of Brazil

Brazil’s tourist city of Rio de Janeiro is being hit hard by type 4 Dengue fever.  So far there are more than 3,000 confirmed cases!  However, the rest of Brazil is actually seeing a huge 62% drop in cases (keep in mind that last year Brazil had 106,373 cases).

Across the world, Pakistani health officials (Rawalpindi Development Authority, Water and Sanitation Agency, the Parks and Horticulture Authority and the Health Department) have gone to war to prevent an outbreak of hemorrhagic Dengue fever.

Pesticides are being sprayed, and residents are being told how to fight the dengue carrying mosquitoes. A health official in Punjab said they now know that the dengue virus can be spread in cold winter temps.

Back over to South America, in Bolivia, the city of Santa Cruz confirmed 157 cases of dengue.  There are another 820 suspected cases. They have declared a red alert.

Also on February 25, the UN’s World Heath Organization reported that after 50 years of fighting the disease, cases of dengue in Thailand and Sri Lanka have only increased!

“The floods actually interrupted the Aeges aegypti’s life cycle and has resulted in a reduction in dengue.”-Sanphet Mahamard, Communicable Disease Control Department of Thailand

However, Thai officials say the massive flooding, at the end of 2011, has actually destroyed the breeding grounds of many of the dengue carrying mosquitoes.  So thanks to Mother Earth, they are already seeing a 36% drop in dengue cases (keep in mind that as of January 2012 Thailand has seen more than 1,000 cases and one death).

In Sri Lanka, officials are so determined to reduce dengue cases that they’re even going after business owners who don’t control mosquitoes on their property!

The Chief Technical Engineer of the railway yard of Sri Lanka Railways was fined, and is in prison, after 20 employees got sick, and one employee died, from dengue fever. Investigators discovered that railway officials did not conduct anti-mosquito programs on their property.

There is no vaccine (although Mexico is testing one of their own vaccines), and it turns out the mosquito eggs can survive a full year, even in cold temperatures.  Also, research showed that the mosquitoes are attracted to the light of energy saving florescent light bulbs.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Germany straight up tells Greece to get out of the European Union

“Outside the European monetary union, Greece’s chances of regenerating itself and becoming competitive are definitely bigger than if it remained inside the eurozone.”-Hans-Peter Friedrich, Interior Minister of Germany

Germany’s Interior Minister told Der Spiegel that while the EU should not kick out Greece, it should give Greece incentives to leave “that they cannot turn down.”

However, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, says she is opposed to Greece leaving the eurozone.  This shows going divisions among Germany’s government, regarding Greece’s financial problems.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: CELAC & BRICS tells IMF no more money until you reform, no help for Europe until IMF reforms

“The emerging markets will only help once two conditions are met…they reinforce the firewall, which means doing more than what they’re doing with the European fund of stability… and on top of that….they carry out the reform of the International Monetary Fund.”-Guido Mantega, Finance Minister of Brazil

CELAC (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, or Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are telling the U.S. based IMF that if it wants any more money to help Europe, it needs to clean up its act!

One of the reforms CELAC & BRICS are demanding is that they have more say in how the IMF is managed.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: France announces the European Union will steal the money from Syria’s Central Bank

“Starting from Monday, we will take new strong measures, notably a freezing of the assets of the Syrian Central Bank.”-Alan Juppe, Foreign Minister of France

Another “unbiased” announcement made as the Friends of Syria conference commenced: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is calling on all countries to steal Syrian assets and boycott oil from the country.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: Japan demands exemption from U.S. oil embargo against Iran, prepares for short U.S. war with Iran

“…officials are working hard in order to win a waiver from the sanctions by the end of this month.”-Osamu Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary for Japan’s Prime Minister

Since January, 2012, Japan has been trying to get an exemption from the U.S. oil sanctions against Iran.  Japan’s economy depends on it.

“We have not yet reached an agreement in principle, although we have deepened mutual understanding.”-Koichiro Gemba, Foreign Minister of Japan

Since there is no progress in getting the exemption, Japan is now preping for a possible war in the Persian Gulf, which would cut off 10% of their oil supplies.

Foreign Minister Gemba claims Japan is making preparations that would make any cut off of oil, due to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, have little affect on Japan’s industries. But that’s because Gemba believes any war with Iran would be short.  Does he know something we don’t?

Gemba explained that Japan has 200 days of oil reserves and 70 days worth of liquid natural gas.  Apparently Japan was told (during their negotiations to get exempted from the U.S. oil sanctions?) by U.S. officials not to worry about a long war.

Gemba added that the Japanese government is going over various scenarios to reduce the impact the war will have on people’s daily lives.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Yet another airline ends service in Idaho

Frontier Airlines has ended its Boise to Denver route.  In the past two years the airline temporarily stopped service due to a seasonal drop in passengers, but they officially announced they will not restart service, for 2012.

For the past two years, the seasonal drop in business happens in winter, and Frontier restarts flights in April.  Passenger numbers have been steadily dropping since 2007, and Frontier decided it wasn’t worth it to restart the Boise-Denver route for 2012.

Back in December, 2011, SeaPort Airlines announced they were ending their Idaho Falls-Boise route.  Not enough sales were the official reason.  That claim was news to Idaho Falls airport airlines director Len Nelson, who said: “We were really, really disappointed to see them leave. We were just starting to fill the airplanes up. Out of nine seats, we were filling it a lot of times, and averaging five, six passengers a flight.” Nelson’s reasoning is out of touch.  Filling five to six seats, out of nine, is not enough for an airline to justify the route.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: Gaddafi is gone, yet Obama continues sanctions against Libya. It’s a personal vendetta

Nobel prize winner, U.S. President Barack Obama, is extending sanctions against Libya, even though the person supposedly responsible for the sanctions is dead!

In February 2011, Obama placed “emergency” sanctions against Gaddafi.  But Gaddafi was beaten and finally shot to death towards the end of last year.

On February 23, 2012, Obama claimed: “The situation in Libya continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

Those “extraordinary” threats are the surviving members of Gaddafi’s family.  So this sounds personal, as if the leadership of the United States wants all the male members of the Gaddafi family dead, just like what happened to the Hussein family in Iraq.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: United States imposes sanctions on Japan, U.S. been doing business with Yakuza

February 23, 2012, the United States imposes sanctions against the Yamaguchi-gumi.

The U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets held in the United States by the organized crime family. The U.S. has also banned the Yamaguchi-gumi from doing anymore business in the United States.

While this sounds good, it should raise the question: “How long has the U.S. knowingly done business with the Japanese Yakuza?” And I wounder if freezing their assets is just a tricky way to raise cash for a broke U.S. government?  The Obama administration estimates they have billions in their U.S. accounts!

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

More suicides at Chinese Slave Wage Factory Cities

Chinese media reporting that a man jumped to his death on February 18, and a woman did the same on February 15.  The local government officials claim they are investigating.

The two slave wage employees worked at Nanshan International Stationery.  The man had been trapped their for eight years!  Many people in the United States don’t realize these Chinese factory cities are literally walled in cities.  When you sign a contract to work there you’re stuck inside.

Nanshan International Stationery has Western investors, through Hong Kong.  Officials at the factory said “personal problems” were the cause of the suicides. Yeah, I agree that eight years trapped in a factory city would cause personal problems!

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Black Horse & What Economic Recovery? Greeks right about sinister plots against them, yet again the latest Bail Out is put on hold!

How many times is this gonna happen: World finance leaders announce a done deal for a Greek bail out loan, only to retract it not even 24 hours later.

Yet again European Union leaders, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are using excuses to hold back the latest 130 billion Euro loan.

“Greece has obviously made significant efforts, and now we need to continue the work and that the entirety of the elements, particularly furnished by the other parties, are also put into place.”–Christine Lagarde, IMF

The IMF’s Christine Lagarde said, February 21, 2012, that the new loan deal is now going to be scrutinized by the IMF, and a decision to approve, or not, will be made by the second week of March!

Many Greeks believe their country is deliberately being destroyed economically.

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”