Category Archives: International

Business/Economics, International, Technology

UN warns of return of Bird Flu, Vaccines not working

“Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people’s actions in poultry production and marketing spread it.”–Juan Lubroth, UN Food and Agriculture Organization

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is warning of a new mutant strain of H5N1 (Bird Flu).  They say it’s spreading throughout southern China, and Vietnam.

Current vaccines do not work on this latest strain.

The UN is predicting the mutant H5N1 virus could spread to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Korean and Japan.  The last H5N1 outbreak peaked in 2006.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: After raising prices in U.S., GM lowers prices in China, losing out to VW

“The next 12 months look tough.  Incentives brought forward buying in a very dramatic fashion in 2009, 2010, and now we are seeing a lack of pent-up demand.”-Ashvin Chotai, Intelligence Automotive Asia

General Motors can’t stand the heat of the competition in China, so they’re sacrificing profit margin by dropping their prices, on minivans.

“GM does not rely on the minibus for profit, they only contribute volume.”– Jenny Gu, JD Power & Associates.

GM might not rely on minivan sales for profits in China, but they’re sure taking the competition serious.  GM’s sales of minivans, in China, dropped 3% this year, so far.  That’s important when you realize that China, not the United States, is now GM’s largest auto market.

The minivans that GM sells in China, are made in China, not the U.S.  One in eight vehicle sales in China are minivans.

It looks like VolksWagen is taking up the slack in GM’s lagging Chinese made minivan sales.  GM sold 1.27 million vehicles in China in the first half of this year, compared with VW’s 1.1 million.  This means VW could soon overtake GM’s number one foreign car maker position in China.

 

 

 

 

International

Typhoon Talas on track to blast Japan

Talas has been a slow but steady tropical storm, building strength as it heads towards the center of Honshu.  It’s expected to become a full blown Typhoon on August 30.

The projected path of Talas brings it onshore, on September 1, in south central Honshu, west of Tokyo.  Then it almost splits the island as it heads north to the island of Hokkaido.   Japan is still recovering from the March 11 disasters.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama screws 400 Merchant Marines out of a job

“This has literally flabbergasted the American maritime industry.  The idea was to create American jobs and help the economy.  But all the profit from the sale of the oil has gone to traders and oil companies and all the profit from movement of the oil has gone to foreign shippers and crewmen, and that’s galling.“-Christopher Coakley, The American Waterways Operators

In the name of a national emergency, President Obama has waived U.S. Merchant Marine Law, and is allowing foreign ships to carry U.S. oil supplies.

About a month ago Obama decided that the situation in Libya was threatening world oil supplies, so he decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserves.

Under the U.S. Merchant Marine Act of 1920: “Section 27, better known as the Jones Act, deals with cabotage (i.e., coastal shipping) and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S. flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The purpose of the law is to support the U.S. Maritime industry.”-Wikipedia

Obama decided the situation qualified as a national emergency, which allows him to wave the Jones Act.

According to U.S. merchant marine officials, Obama’s decision cost at least 400 U.S. jobs.

 

International, U.S.

United Police States of America meets United Police Kingdom: Scots horrified that U.S. prison contractor GEO will now run Scottish prison

“The decision to give control of an immigration center in Scotland to a company with so many allegations against them in relation to human rights shows a staggering lack of judgment.  The Scottish people will be horrified by this decision.”-Anas Sarwar, Glasgow Central MP

The GEO Group, a corporation that manages part of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp (GITMO), and manages several private prisons throughout the U.S., has won a contract to run the Dungavel immigrant removal center, in Scotland.

GEO has a record of sexual assaults against prisoners, and their own employees.

Recently guards at South Texas Detention Complex have been accused of forcing women prisoners to have sex with them, or they will be deported.

In 2007, Texas canceled a $9 million contract with GEO, and closed the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, after it was revealed that the children were sexually abused.

One prisoner at GEO’s Willacy County prison, also in Texas, was beaten to death last year.

In October, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against GEO, claiming the company permitted sexual harassment of female employees at their Central Arizona Correctional Facility.

Even Australia stopped doing business with GEO. Contracts were canceled after a series of scandals over rioting, racial abuse of detainees, and sexual assaults on women and children.

Dungavel immigrant removal center was established in 2001, to hold asylum seekers whose applications were rejected. The U.K. Border Agency overseas the operation of the center.  Amazingly British officials are happy with GEO’s track record: “We are satisfied that GEO have delivered this as a tried and tested formula.”-U.K. Border Agency spokesman

GEO officials say their track record has nothing to do with their performance: “No custodial or detention system is immune to incidents and challenges inherent in the management of offender populations, and it would be unfair to judge an organization’s record based on individual incidents rather than its overall record.”-Walter MacGowan, Managing director of GEO UK

 

 

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

Corporate Incompetence: Google knew those Canadian Pharmacy adds were illegal, ran them anyway

Google has agreed to pay $500 million in fines, for running illegal Canadian pharmacy adds.

The U.S. Department of Justice, said it is illegal to mail prescription drugs from outside the country.  Many of the Canadian online pharmacies did not require a prescription either.

Google officials admit they knew what they were doing could get them into trouble, so they set up a fund to pay any fines, if they were caught.

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

Global Economic War: Apple and Samsung fighting in Europe

“Samsung welcomes the Düsseldorf District Court’s decision to suspend the pan-European preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.”– Rachel Jones, Samsung

Early in August Apple filed a complaint with the EU, over the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  Apple claims the Samsung tablet is too similar to the iPad 2.  At first the EU court agreed, but has now allowed the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab in most EU member countries.

One legal analysts, Frank Mueller, says Apple still has a chance to beat Samsung, because the EU laws are too ambiguous, and open to much interpretation.  However, if Apple pursued the case it would “…reinforce a lot of people’s impression that Apple’s enforcement of design-related rights is… overreaching in some areas.”

 

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

Spider Man is for real: The Dutch combine spider webs with human skin, makes bullet proof skin

Human skin has been bio-engineered to include spider silk.  Scientists in the Netherlands then fired a bullet at it.  Turns out it’s bullet proof!

Don’t get too excited, it was only a .22 caliber bullet.  But it shows promise, after all spider’s silk is the strongest thing in nature.

https://youtu.be/iX3LtVuGp4c

The experiment is known as 2.6g 329m/s (a reference to the .22 bullet), and was actually the invention of an artist, Jalila Essaidi.  She was inspired by a U.S. scientist, Randy Lewis, at the University of Utah.

The spider silk came from Utah, it was combined with skin in a Dutch dermatology lab, and Essaidi paid for the experiment.  The spidey skin has spider silk between the dermis and the epidermis.

Essaidi said her main motivation was simply to see if it could be done.  She also fired a few .22 rounds at the spidey skin.  She doesn’t think the spider silk is harmful because it’s biodegradable, so it would degrade over time.  She also thinks that, unfortunately, that would result in loose skin.