Category Archives: International

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 15 June – 18 June. Cops abusing laws! More troop deaths! $1 billion+ more taxpayer dollars! Mujahideen attacks getting bigger!

18 June 2012

Afghan troops turned their guns on each other in Kunar Province. One soldier was killed, the shooter escaped.

In Kandahar Province, in the Zhari district, three Afghan police attacked U.S. personnel, killing one and wounding nine.  ISAF is investigating: “The International Security Assistance Force confirms that three individuals in Afghan police uniforms turned their weapons against coalition service members….killing one ISAF service member.”

The Danish Army Operational Command confirmed that one of their occupation troops was seriously wounded by a mine.  Denmark is helping the U.S. occupy Afghanistan, with troops in Helmand Province.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of the Interior claims they killed a “leader” in Parwan Province.

In Kapisa Province a suicide bomber blew himself up in a market place, killing six people and wounding 17.  Local officials say the target was a police officer who survived the blast.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said another U.S. led occupier was killed, in southern Afghanistan when he was shot by Mujahideen.  ISAF does not give out anymore info.

The United Nations will help Pakistan to force 150,000 Afghan refuges back into Afghanistan.  The puppet government of Afghanistan has been treating returning refugees as if they were illegal immigrants, even kicking them out of their homes and putting them in concentration camps.

One excuse the Afghan government uses for treating the returned refugees so bad, is that they lack “documentation”.  The UN is pushing to get 150,000 back into Afghanistan this year, because the identification papers for those refugees are set to expire.

17 June 2012

United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence reported another British occupier was killed, this time in Helmand Province “…killed by enemy action…”  They said he was killed on 15 June 2012.

Afghan Mujahideen claim to have shot down a U.S. drone in Afghanistan’s Paktia Province.  U.S. led ISAF/NATO claim the drone crashed due to technical problems.

The Afghan government has admitted that Afghan cops are abusing the laws.  Many cops have been using their authority as an excuse to commit traffic crimes and even more serious crimes.

At least 50 traffic accidents were actually caused by police in the past three months! The result is that the Interior Ministry will create an internal police force to police the existing police force!!!

In Paktika Province a rocket hit a house, killing six people.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense reports three of their soldiers killed, 11 wounded, by attacks from Mujahideen.  The attacks took place in Wardak, Logar, Heart, Faryab and Helmand provinces.

There were reports of heavy fighting between Afghan forces and Mujahideen in Kunduz Province.   The fighting began when a local police chief was assassinated.

Afghan Interior Ministry claims to have killed 42 Mujahideen, wounded one and captured 37, in battles in Nangarhar, Laghman, Balkh, Kandahar, Helmand, Khost and Ghazni provinces.

ISAF claims to have captured another “leader” in Kandahar Province.

16 June 2012

The United States Army revealed that U.S. taxpayers will spend more money in Afghanistan.  This time it’s $712 million USD for 52 water and electrical projects.

On top of that, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) reported they will re-start a program to spend several hundreds of millions more taxpayer dollars, buying the Afghan air force training and COIN (counter insurgency) aircraft!

In Farah Province, four Italian occupying troops were wounded by an explosion.

Afghan defense ministry reports three Afghan national army soldiers were killed and seven wounded, in battles in Nuristan, Paktia, Logar, Ghazni and Helmand provinces.

In Uruzgan Province, at least three cops were killed, one wounded, when they drove over a mine.

In Paktika Province, local officials report a major battle that left 34 Mujahideen dead.  The battles took place in four districts of Paktika.

15 June 2012

ISAF reports one U.S. led occupier killed in eastern Afghanistan. Another U.S. led occupier was killed in southern Afghanistan.

In Kandahar Province, at least 11 people were killed, 11 wounded, after a motorcycle exploded in a market place.

In Nangarhar Province, at least three cops were killed, one wounded, after they drove over a mine.

ISAF claims they killed a “commander” and several Mujahideen in Paktika Province.

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Despite making a profit Nissan will cut production, blames inflation!

21 June 2012, Japan’s Nissan Motor is cutting production in Japan.

Starting next month Nissan will end production of four models of cars in Japan. It amounts to 15% of Nissan’s Japanese production.

The move comes after Nissan reported a profit of $4.29 billion USD for the Japanese year ending in March.  Company officials say the production cut is meant to offset surging production costs, and declining car sales in Japan.

The rising value of the yen is also making it more difficult to sell cars made in Japan to other countries.

Nissan officials say they will try to keep workers employed by assigning new jobs to them.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Idiots: Japan oil industry says U.S. & EU oil sanctions against Iran will not affect global oil supply!

“For the time being we will be able to continue smoothly transporting Iranian oil to Japan. I would like to thank the government and all parties concerned for their efforts.”-Yasushi Kimura, Petroleum Association of Japan

21 June 2012, Yasushi Kimura, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan, basically said the U.S. and European oil sanctions against Iran are impotent!

Kimura based his conclusion on the fact that there is plenty of oil supply, and that because of the continued downward spiral of the international economy global demand for oil will drop.

The fact that the United States exempted several countries from their oil sanctions, including Japan, also proves that the U.S. sanctions against Iran are nothing but hot air!

So what were U.S. & European leaders trying to accomplish with their impotent oil sanctions against Iran?

Business/Economics, International

Corporate Evil & What Economic Recovery? Downloaders blamed for downturn, can now expect to spend two years in prison if caught!

20 June 2012, the Upper House of the Japanese Diet passed a tough new anti-downloading law. If your caught ‘illegally’ downloading music or movies you could pay a $25,000 USD fine and/or spend two years in prison!

The law was pushed by the corporate music and movie industry.  The Recording Industry Association of Japan is blaming their economic downturn on downloaders!  I don’t think so!  The new draconian anti-downloading law goes into effect in October 2012.

International, U.S.

World War 3: 15,000 U.S. troops now in Kuwait, preps for Wars to come! Target Iran! Defend Israel! Invade Libya!

“The United States should preserve the model of ‘lily pad’ bases throughout the Gulf, which permits the rapid escalation of military force in case of emergency.”-SFRC report

19 June 2012, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) revealed that there are nearly 15,000 U.S. troops in Kuwait, three times more than in 2003.

The SFRC report also admits that staging troops all over the Middle East was in preparation for wars to come, possibly with Iran: “…the Obama administration is working to update the security architecture of the Persian Gulf to promote
regional stability, provide a counterweight to Iran…”

The report also admits that one of the foreign policy goals of the United States is to support Israel over any other Middle East country: “…the United States should be scrupulous in determining which weapons systems to sell in order to (1) ensure that sales contribute to regional security and do not weaken the position of Israel...”

The SFRC states that military deployments should continue in Afghanistan, as well as begin in Libya: “The U.S. Government should continue to cultivate the capabilities of GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners in select defensive missions, such as missile defense, combat air patrol, and maritime security, while building capacity through deployments in other theaters such as Libya and Afghanistan.”

The problem with the idea of GCC countries sending troops to Afghanistan is that most GCC countries are Arab. Afghanistan is not Arab, it does not border the Persian Gulf and it’s not in the Middle East, it’s in Central Asia! Remember the fiasco in Afghanistan when Jordanian (Arab) troops were sent in?

Then there’s Libya.  Libya may have a dominant Arab population, but it’s not part of the Persian Gulf, it’s not even Middle Eastern, it’s in North Africa. This just proves that U.S. leaders are still ignorant of the way things work in the Middle East.

The SFRC report is titled The Gulf Security Architecture: Partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council, it is available in PDF form.

 

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

Global Economic War: China cuts back on Rare Earths. Expect your new cell phone to cost more!

20 June 2012, China claims to provide 90% of rare earth minerals to the global high tech industries.  Now they’re holding back.

Rare earths are necessary for the high tech gadgets we have.  U.S. and European officials criticized China saying their mining cut backs will cause prices to skyrocket.

China claims they’re cutting back because the mining operations are causing environmental damage.  But could it be retaliation for the Obama administration recently imposing ridiculously high tariffs on Chinese solar power products?

By the way, the tariffs quite possibly were the final nails in the coffin for Hoku Materials in Pocatello, Idaho, which could have provided hundreds of good paying jobs! Thank you Mr. President!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Japan government to insure ships carrying Iraninan oil!

On 1 July 2012, the European Union’s sanctions against Iran kick in.  This includes European shipping insurers (who dominate the market) ending insurance on ships carrying Iranian oil.

20 June 2012, the Japanese Diet has passed a law that allows the government to cover Japanese tanker ships transporting oil from Iran.

The law was unanimously passed by the Upper house, and will provide up to $7.6 billion USD in coverage.  Many Japanese insurance companies expressed concern for providing enough insurance due to the warmongering by the U.S. and EU against Iran.

The government insurance policy goes into effect several days before the EU sanctions on 1 July.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? As I warned, Cosmetic prices up, as are prices for personal care products. No more cow dung for toothpaste!

“Cosmetics were very expensive back then, and a single product could cost the equivalent of a month’s salary for many office ladies.”-Chen Linlin, L’Oréal China

Linlin is talking about the not so good economic decade of the 1930s, but it looks like history is repeating for people (in North America and Europe) who just have to have makeup.

Back on 4 July 2011, I posted how Estee Lauder Group was the first cosmetic company to jack up their prices, and that it would be a trend for the whole industry.

Recently a Forbes article showed that Estee Lauder and L’Oréal are making bank in the Chinese market.  China’s internet cosmetics market is now nine times bigger than that of the United States, a 200% increase since 2006!

Last year cosmetics makers claimed that labor costs, and the costs of resources were the reasons for price increases.  Now, with China draining the supply of cosmetics, demand will ensure that prices will continue to go up.

Don’t blame China only, blame South America!  According to a NASDAQ report, the biggest market place for Avon (AVP) products is not the home base of the United States, but South America!

But, the NASDAQ report inadvertently reveals a couple of hidden reasons for the increase in your makeup prices: “AVP has turned its toehold in Latin America into a $1 billion-a-quarter business by spending a fortune on marketing and retailer incentives — if not the outright ‘bribes’ it is accused of distributing in Asia.”

However, when it comes to cosmetics that’re supposed to stop aging, it’s vain women in the United States that still take first place when it comes to anti-aging skin care products.

According to the research company, Mintel, the anti-aging skin care market in the U.S. leads the world with $2.3 billion USD in 2011 sales!

But it doesn’t stop with makeup.  One of my daughters told me that the shampoo she uses is now $2.00 USD more than it was a couple of years ago.

According to reports, the booming economy in India is creating a huge demand for personal care products that most rural people in India didn’t have access to: “In the past we used to use sticks or cow dung ash to clean our teeth. But now, just like urban people, we use a toothbrush and toothpaste. We use shampoo and expensive oils and creams. We have everything in our village that people have in towns and cities.”-Arun Mondal, a rural villager

In Canada the demand for body soap that does not contain harsh fragrances, therefore more environmentally friendly, has a Canadian soap manufacture scrambling and expanding into the retail market.

Paul Gillepsie, owner of Island Essentials wholesale, has so much business that he’s opened a retail store in Victoria, and will expand into Alberta. In 2004 his soap products were carried in 150 Canadian stores, now they’re sold in more than 250 stores.

But can we blame rising prices on rising demand in countries like Canada, China, India, and the countries of South America, and our own United States?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost to U.S. consumers of personal care products has been skyrocketing ever since the 1960s! In the 1960s, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for personal care products was just under 40.  Now, in 2012, it’s at 161 and climbing.

However, looking at the Producer Price Index (PPI), aka U.S. wholesale prices,  shows that costs of intermediate goods (which are necessary for production of finished goods) have gone down from January 2011 to January 2012!

Intermediate goods were at 6.2% in January 2011, and were at 4.2% by January 2012, a 2% drop.  The cost of finished goods were at 3.6% in January 2011, but 12 months later were at 4.1% in January 2012, a half percent increase.

What’s important in the January to January comparison is what happened in the middle of 2011.  The costs of intermediate goods pegged at 11.5% in July 2011!  For finished goods the costs hit 7.1% twice, once in May and once in July 2011.

The spikes in intermediate and finished goods mirrors the cost of raw materials (aka crude materials). Overall, raw materials began January 2011 at 10.9%, and ended the year down more than 6%, at 4.5% in January 2012.  Again, the real killer was the spike in costs in the middle of 2011, topping out at 26.1% in June!

We in the United States are still paying for those spikes in the production costs of making the personal care products we can’t be without (cow dung for toothpaste anyone?).  However, the overriding decider of retail costs is still demand for such products, which seems to increase year after year, exponentially.

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Egyptian military officially takes over, basically declares Martial Law.

18 June 2012, the U.S. supported Egyptian junta has officially taken on the role of government.  The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) have given themselves new constitutional authority, giving them all the powers of an elected government!

On 14 June 2012, the U.S. supported junta dissolved the Egyptian parliament, and basically declared the recent elections invalid!

Some regional news report that the junta’s coup was backed by the United States.  The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was winning elections and the U.S. did not want them to run the Egyptian government.

“Figures reported by local media, including state television, also put Mursi ahead of Shafiq, and the Brotherhood candidate’s supporters have already hailed him as the country’s first democratically elected president.”-Agence France Presse (AFP)

Mursi is the Muslim Brotherhood candidate.  Shafiq is a former Mubarak regime official, and regional reports say the junta made plans, backed by the Obama administration, to make sure Shafiq becomes Egypt’s president.  So much for western style democracy (and par for the course in U.S. foreign policy, just ask Iran)!

Since the 2011 Revolution began, a new constitution needs to be written, however, the SCAF now says it can veto any new constitution.

International, U.S.

World War 3: On same day Obama & Putin discuss Syria, Russia sends in assault ships, the deployment was unplanned & sudden

“Two major amphibious ships, The Nikolai Filchenkov and The Tsezar Kunikov,  are preparing to be dispatched to Tartus outside of their schedule.”-unnamed Russian naval officer

18 June 2012, speculation that the two Russian assault ships are being sent to evacuate Russian citizens living in Syria.

Russia news media, Interfax, says the ships are carrying marines, and are capable of evacuating Russian nationals. According to Interfax, the Tsezar Kunikov can carry 150 marines along with weapon systems including tanks, while the Nikolai Filchenkov can carry up to 1,500 metric tons of cargo and equipment.

The unofficial announcement came as U.S. President Barack Obama, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, began talks concerning UN Security Council action regarding Syria.