Category Archives: International

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

Some Economic Recovery? Idaho’s $1 billion per year meat industry will get boost from Japan!

06 November 2012, the Japanese Health Ministry decided to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports.  Seven years ago Japan banned U.S. beef from cows older than 20 months, because of the Mad Cow disease.

They will now take beef from cows as old as 30 months.  There is one condition, the brain and spinal column must be removed.

Japan is a major buyer of beef from the U.S. state of Idaho, and even with the 20 month age restriction, sales to Japan has helped Idaho's meat industry make about $1 billion USD per year ($2.5 million of that is from exports of beef)!

Japanese health officials say they’re raising the age restriction because there has been no Mad Cow reported in the U.S. for ten years.  Unfortunately that is not true, back in April it was confirmed that a cow in the U.S. state of California had the disease.

The real reason is probably economic: Japanese officials claim that more than 90% of U.S. beef exports to the rest of the world are from cows 30 months of age or younger, and their decision to increase their age restriction will help drop the outrageously high beef prices in Japan: “They say U.S. beef prices will come down about 20%, once the ban is eased and imports increase. I think our customers will be happy.”-Grocery store manager in Japan

Another reason could be that U.S. officials, backed by the U.S. beef industry, has been threatening to retaliate by restricting the sale of Japanese beef in the U.S.

 

 

 

International, U.S.

What Democracy? United States has “…worst election processes in the world”! Venezuela has “best” system in the world! Former U.S. President says so!

“We’ve learned a lot about Democracy in Latin America, and they have made a lot of progress….The elections in Venezuela, although some people have criticized the result….there’s no doubt in our mind….that he [Hugo Chavez] won fairly and squarely…As a matter a fact, of the 92 elections we’ve monitored, I would say the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world!…..Mexico had their first honest election and the Carter Center was the only monitor invited in….all the other countries in Latin America, except for one [Venezuela]….and another one in North America [United States]….has public financing of all the election process.  If you qualify to run for public office you get public financing, and outside money does not affect the outcome of the election……The United States election process is shot through now with, I’d say, financial corruption.  We have one of the worst election processes in the world.“-Former U.S. President, true Christian and international election observer Jimmy Carter, 11 September 2012 annual Carter Center “Conversation”, in response to question about election monitoring in Latin America

The former president was talking about the more than 90 countries that his organization, The Carter Center, has worked to observe elections, to make sure they are fair.

The month after Carter made his statements about U.S. democracy, the U.S. states of Texas and Iowa announced they would arrest international election observers that entered polling places.

Carter says the main problem is private financing of campaigns for public office.  He explained there was a time when candidates used only public financing to run for office: “You know how much [privately sourced] money I raised when I ran against Gerald Ford [1976 U.S. Presidential elections]? Zero!…. You know how much [privately sourced] money I raised to run against Ronald Reagan [1980 U.S. Presidential elections]? Zero! We got public financing for the elections. You know how much [privately sourced] money’s gonna be raised this year in the United States for the President, and the Senate and House elections?  Six billion dollars!…..And that money comes from people who, now under the Supreme Court ruling, don’t have to be identified….and a lot of it can come from corporations partially owned by foreigners.”

Carter said the only way the election process can begin to be fixed is if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its “stupid decision”, and there is a return to public financing of national campaigns.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Corporate Incompetence: Two nuclear reactors shut down due to thousands of faulty parts! Three more reactors to follow!

05 November 2012, two nuclear power reactors in Korea, south, have been shut down due to the discovery of thousands of potentially faulty parts.

Government officials (Knowledge Economy Ministry) say they discovered that at least eight parts suppliers have been lying about the reliability of those parts.  Officials suspect that at least 5,233 bad parts are being used in five nuclear reactors.

The parts include things like fuses and switches.  Officials say they are not parts directly related to the nuclear reactors and their radioactive fuel.  However, the reactor shut downs will greatly impact electric power supply in the Republic of Korea, officials say it will take several months to replace all the parts.

I did not find any reports indicating if the faulty parts might have been the cause of two emergency shut downs back in August.  Korea (south) currently has 23 nuclear reactors in operation. They hope to have 39 by the Gregorian/Western/Christian calender year 2030.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3 & What Economic Recovery? Mazda sees massive sales drop in China, two months in a row! Ends night time production with Ford and Changan!

05 November 2012, Japan’s Mazda reports massive sales drop in one of the richest countries in the world; China.   Mazda sales dropped 35% in September, and 44.9% in October, compared to the same months in 2011.

Mazda officials are blaming the drop on a boycott of Japanese goods by Chinese consumers. This is because of Japan nationalizing an island (with plans for militarization) in the East China Sea.

Mazda has now cut its 2012 sales expectations in half.   The night shift at a car factory in Nanjing will be ended.  The Nanjing factory is a joint venture with U.S. Ford and China’s Changan Automobile.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 30 October – 01 November 2012. Cops attack each other, over a woman! Mujahideen allowed to run for President! UAE sues Afghanistan! Mujahideen rescue kidnapping victims! Cops kill Red Coats! Australia to increase troops after saying they were leaving! King Copper in Afghanistan!

01 November 2012

ISAF said: “A U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service member died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today.”

More than 100 women applied to be the first females to attend the British style Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA).  Only 30 will be picked.

In Ghazni Province, two headless bodies were found.  Police say they have no clues as to who did it.

31 October 2012

In Uruzgan Province, cops (? not sure, source info not clear about this) manning two check points went to war with each other over a woman! Local officials report one group of cops at one check point became concerned when a woman was held up at another check point. A gun fight erupted, with one group running into the mountains.  “Foreign” troops were called in and they detained that group.

The Afghan presidential elections will be held 05 April 2014, the same year the U.S./NATO is supposed to withdraw.  It was also announced that former Taliban government/Mujahideen will be allowed to run for president: “We are even prepared to pave the ground for the armed opposition, be it the Taliban or Hezb-i-Islami, to participate in the election, either as voters or candidates. There will be no discrimination.”-Fazil Ahmad Manawi, Afghan Independent Election Commission

In Kandahar Province, six people, including children, were killed after the vehicle they were in ran over a landmine.

In Helmand Province, seven women and one man were killed by an explosion. Local police believe the bomb was meant for a U.S./NATO convoy that was using the same route.

United Arab Emirates sued Ariana Airlines of Afghanistan for $10 million USD.  UAE courts ruled on the lawsuit a month ago, only now are Afghan airlines officials hearing about it. The case involves the leasing of aircraft, which the UAE airlines says were never returned to them after the lease expired.  The Afghan airlines says the aircraft actually came from a airlines called Pamir Airways, and that the aircraft were returned to Pamir Airways.

In Ghor Province, Mujahideen rescued three kidnapping victims, through negotiation.  The deal involves the settling of a murder case where three students were killed.  However, there are still ten men being held.  The mass kidnapping took place after 13 men were sent to remove the bodies of victims of a massive suicide bombing.

Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced that more Diggers were needed in Afghanistan. Her explanation is that in order to withdraw Diggers from Afghanistan they first needed to increase their numbers: “As we begin detailed planning for its final phases, which of course remain some time off, it is likely that we will identify the need for some additional personnel and resources to complete those final phases of practical extraction and repatriation.”

30 October 2012

Afghan officials are accusing the Red Coat British military of covering up the murder of Afghan civilians by Red Coat personnel.  This comes as five Royal Marines are on trial for just such a case.

In Helmand Province, and Afghan cop got revenge for such Red Coat shenanigans by shooting and killing two British personnel.

In Kunar Province, local government officials are again claiming that Pakistan has launched more than 100 artillery rounds into their province. Amazingly no one was hurt.

In Sar-e-Pul Province, it was announced that large scale mining operations for copper are about to get underway. The Balkhab copper mine is one of the largest copper reserves in the world.  Bids from international mining companies are being reviewed: “The bidding process for Balkhab copper reserve is finalized and the international proposals are being assessed by Afghan mines ministry. Afghan government will announce its decision regarding the winner in the near future.”-Wahidullah Shahrani, Ministry of Mines

The winning bidder will begin mine operations in 2013.  Besides oil, minerals/metals like copper are a driving force behind western foreign policies.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence, World War 3 & What Economic Recovery? United States not even part the top ten most prosperous countries! War on Terror makes the U.S. insecure!

According to the Legatum Institute, the United States not only is not the most prosperous country anymore, it’s not even in the top ten!

The United States was considered the 10th most prosperous last year, but in 2012 the U.S. is now ranked 12th overall!

The Legatum Institute ranks 142 nations in eight sub-indexes: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, education, health, safety and security, personal freedom and social capital.

According to their 2012 Prosperity Index, the U.S. now ranks 2nd in health, 5th in education, 10th in governance, 10th in social capital, 12th in entrepreneurship and opportunity, 14th in personal freedom, 20th in economy, and despite more than a decade of War on Terror 27th in safety and security (seems the war has actually made the U.S. more unsafe)!

The top 10 most prosperous countries are: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland.  (notice that most of these are in Europe where the economy is supposed to be worse than the U.S., many of these countries have strong labor unions and more worker rights than the U.S.)

International, U.S.

U.K. High Court considers U.S. rendition and detaining of “enemy combatants” a War Crime!

“The, presumably forcible, transfer of Mr Rahmatullah from Iraq to Afghanistan is, at least prima facie, a breach of article 49. On that account alone, his continued detention post-transfer is unlawful…….Instead he has been imprisoned by the U.S.A., which takes a different view of the requirements of international law, and accepts no limitations on its right to detain in these circumstances….”-written statement from Supreme Court judges, Lord Carnwath and Lady Hale.

“The U.K. government has nowhere left to turn. The highest court in the country has expressed serious concerns that grave war crimes may have been committed as a result of which a police investigation must be initiated without delay.”-Kat Craig, a legal director of activist organization Reprieve

“The government’s attempts to row back on centuries of constitutional development and restrict the reach of habeas corpus has been rejected by the highest court in the land!”-Jamie Beagent, attorney representing a man who was renditioned out of Iraq in 2004, and is still under U.S. control at Bagram Prison, Afghanistan

On 31 October 2012, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that the ongoing rendition of so called enemy combatants by the United States, is a war crime!

The court opinion came after a group trying to get a man freed from eight years of secret imprisonment failed.  The group called Reprieve, petitioned the British high court to force the United States to make the man available so they can challenge the legality of his imprisonment in court.

The man, from Pakistan, was detained by British troops in Iraq in 2004.  The Red Coats handed him over to U.S. forces, who then secretly sent him to Bagram Prison in Afghanistan.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that no enemy combatant can be taken to another country while detained.  The group Reprieve wants the U.S. to explain why they violated the Geneva Convention, if the man was considered an enemy combatant.

If the man was not considered an enemy then they want to know on what grounds the U.S. continues to detain him (if he’s even still alive).

The U.K. court refused Reprieve’s request to force the British government to demand the United States explain itself, but did agree that the policy of rendition, carried out under a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and U.K., is illegal under international law: “This powerful [U.K.] Supreme Court decision has huge ramifications. Clearly there will now have to be a full criminal investigation. But if the U.S. has ‘dishonored’ its commitment to the U.K. in this case for the first time in 150 years, and continues to violate law as basic as the Geneva Conventions, this also throws other extradition agreements with the U.K. into doubt.”-Clive Stafford Smith, director & founder of Reprieve

International, Opinion, U.S.

What Democracy? United States banning international election observers!

“The threat of criminal sanctions against observers is unacceptable. The United States, like all countries in the OSCE, has an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe its elections.”–Janez Lenarcic,  Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Officials and organizations in the U.S. have always pushed for international election observers (which include election observers such as former President Jimmy Carter, and First Lady Rosalynn Carter) in countries they deem as undemocratic.  Now, several U.S. states are banning observers from witnessing their election process!

The United States is a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). As such, each member must allow international observers to witness each national election.  In fact, the U.S. has allowed such observations since 2002 (beginning under the Bush Jr administration).  OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) officials say this is the first time they have encountered opposition from state level officials!

On 31 October 2012, the state of Iowa announced they will arrest any OSCE ODIHR observer found in polling places. Iowa Secretary of State, Matt Schultz, a Republican, claims Iowa law prevents observation of the election process from closer than 300 feet of the polling place (how convenient, it makes election monitoring ineffective).

Recently Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, a Republican, made the same threat of arrest against observers.

This comes after Officials with the OSCE received letters from the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP and the ACLU, claiming they had evidence of massive election fraud.

As an example: Some reports say an estimated 700,000 U.S. voters will not be allowed to vote because of new voter identification laws.

In the past, U.S. officials have always claimed that any country that has a problem with their elections being monitored must be undemocratic.  Well, now the shoe is on the other foot and it’s U.S. officials that are fighting the monitoring of U.S. elections. So what does that tell you?

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

What Economic Recovery? 3M says sales in the U.S. will continue to fall for years to come! Blames crashing solar power demand in U.S.!

“We will continue our Hefei project, which includes 12 big buildings. I believe, as a clean and stable energy, solar must be promising in the future. I don’t think the behavior of the EU and the U.S. is proper.”-Kenneth Yu, 3M China operations

31 October 2012, U.S. based 3M expects its U.S. sales to fall for the next five to ten years, and they expect China to become their number one market.

In their latest quarterly report, 3M showed a big jump in revenues from Canada and Latin America, up 10.5%.  The United States had increased sales of 2.3%. Sales in Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia were flat.  However, 3M officials think that over the next decade their sales will boom in China.

They say they will streamline their operations, with their consumer and office supplies division looking like it will be drastically cut due to flat profits.  3M will continue investing in future markets.

3M has already invested $1.2 billion USD in China since 1984.  For the next five years the corporation, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is investing $120 million in the solar power industry in China.

3M officials say global demand for solar power products are booming, and China is likely to become the center of the global solar power industry.

As an example of government incompetence, President Barack Obama, with support from the Republican controlled Congress, enacted outrageous tariffs on solar products from China.  It was the death blow to struggling Hoku Materials in Pocatello, Idaho.

The newly built polysilicon factory, in southeast Idaho, had locals hopeful that hundreds of desperately needed good paying jobs would be available.  Hoku’s contracts were with Chinese solar product companies that were directly affected by the tariffs.

Now it looks like U.S. based 3M is jumping ship for better shores in China.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

What Economic Recovery? Sharp projects record loss for 2012!

01 November 2012, yet another Japanese electronics maker announced they are losing money big time, and for the second year in a row.  Sharp predicts it will lose at least $5.6 billion USD by March 2013 (the end of the Japanese fiscal year)!

From April to September 2012 Sharp lost nearly $5 billion, 80% more than they originally predicted!  As other Japanese electronics makers, they blame crashing TV sales.

Sharp officials say they will now layoff 10,000 employees and sell assets.  They’ve also taken on a $4.6 billion bailout loan.