Category Archives: International

International, U.S.

Canada Sucks! USPS resumes shipping to Canada, Canadian government forces postal workers back to work with new law

The United States Postal Service announced it will resume shipping to Canada, on June 28.  The announcement followed the creation of a new law in Canada, which forces striking workers back to their jobs.

The USPS warns that there will be delays in getting mail to Canada, because a huge backlog of mail has built up.

The USPS stopped shipping to Canada after Canada Post locked out its union workers.  The Canadian government just passed a new law which makes it a criminal offense to strike.  Canada’s postal workers (called “posties”) now have the choices of going back to work, quitting or pay huge fines.

Members of Canada’s New Democratic Party admit it’s all about destroying workers rights: “…an indication of what’s to come for other public service workers who are unionized. … It’s also a signal from the Conservatives to all employers—in a union setting or otherwise—that it’s an open bar. They can start going after the acquired rights of their workers.”-Thomas Mulcair, Deputy NDP leader

The new law targets posties only, and is in effect until the end of a new four year contract that will be mandated by the Canadian government.  Any postal worker who does not comply can face a $1,000 per day fine, and union officials could be hit with $50,000 per day fines.

The new contract will greatly reduce wages and benefits for Canada’s posties.

International

What arrogance! Israel demands that Denmark allow Israeli forces to patrol Danish airports

The Israeli government has stopped all flights from Denmark, because Danish officials refuse to allow Israeli security forces to patrol Denmark’s airports and aircraft.

A new airlines was created to fly from Copenhagen to Tel Aviv.  Israel says they now consider the airline, and Danish airports ‘Israeli Security Zones’.

Denmark offered to let unarmed Israeli security agents to work alongside Danish agents, but Israeli officials refused, demanding that Israeli security agents must work alone and armed.

Danish officials said that would violate their human rights policies.  The new Copenhagen-Tel Aviv flights were supposed to begin July 4.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

No Economic Recovery for the U.S.: Toyota launches new car in India

Toyota announced the premier of a new car, not in the United States, but India!

The new car is a small low priced car called the Etios Liva.  It’s smaller than most Toyota sedans.  The price is about U.S.$9,000.

Toyota also announced that India was becoming its fastest growing car market.  The number of Toyotas sold in India, last year, was double the number sold five years ago.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

No Economic Recovery for the U.S.: Nissan says U.S. no longer target car market, the money is in South America, China, India & Russia

Nissan/Renault announced they plan to expand their global market share by 8% (an increase of about 10 million cars by 2017).  How are they going to do that? Definitely not by selling more cars in the United States.

Nissan/Renault says it will expand sales in China, India and Brazil.  They will boost production in China and India, and build a new factory in Brazil, that will produce 200,000 cars per year.

They will also buy more than 50% stake in Russian car maker Avtovaz.

 

International, U.S.

Study shows naturally skinny people develop Type 2 Diabetes

The Nature Genetics Journal reporting that the “lean gene” not only keeps people skinny but causes type 2 diabetes.

Conventional thinking by health officials is that obese (fat) and sedentary (lazy) people are the most at risk for type 2 diabetes (despite the fact that the majority of diabetics live in China and India, where there isn’t that many fat or lazy people).

A study of the IRS1 gene revealed that not only does it keep people skinny by burning up fat, but it also increases heart disease and type 2 diabetes by 20%.  Scientists weren’t expecting that result.  The study proves that just because you’re naturally skinny doesn’t mean you’re healthy.

International, Opinion, U.S.

Global diabetes exploding, health officials continue to blame fat people, yet the majority of diabetics not fat

The Lancet Journal reporting that despite efforts to stop diabetes, world rates have only gone up.   There are now 347 million people considered diabetic.

The United States and Russia clam 36 million of those diabetics, but China and India beat the U.S. and Russia by 100 million.  China and India have 138 million diabetics.

UN World Health Organization officials were not expecting such a high number of diabetics.  They had estimated about 285 million, not 347 million that the study came up with.

Type 2 diabetes is the fastest growing form, and is always blamed on being fat and lazy.  But there’s a problem with that reasoning: 138 million diabetics in China and India, where not that many people are fat or lazy!

Anyone who understands the diet of most people in China and India, and knows how hard they work, should question the standard reasons for getting type 2 diabetes.  There must be something else going on to cause this explosion of diabetes.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama about to send $145 million in military aid to Africa, $200 million for Yemen

Last week the Pentagon presented Congress with a plan to provide African countries with up to $145 million in military aid.  The aid, in money and equipment, is for so called counter terrorism operations.

The $145 million, to be split between several African countries, doesn’t compare to what just one country got last year.  Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula, got $155 million in aid last year, paid for by taxpayers.  And this year the Pentagon wants give Yemen $200 million!

Out of the $145 million in military aid going to African countries, only $600,000 is for ‘human rights training’.

 

International

Government Incompetence: Natural disaster policies actually made things worse, so much for Japan being the most prepared nation in the world

An independent panel, investigating the Japanese government’s policies, regarding natural disasters, has found many faults that actually made things worse after the March 11 disasters.

Two primary faults were pointed out at a press conference.

One was the lack of an evacuation policy.  It seems the government never expected to have to evacuate survivors.  The panel said in the future, evacuation plans must be a pillar of dealing with natural disaster.

The second major fault (pun intended) was that the government ignored geographical evidence of 9.0 earthquakes, and hundred feet high tsunamis along Japan’s coastline.  The result was that buildings and seawalls along the coastline were not built strong enough.

Also, the panel discovered that most of the government’s hazard maps and historical tsunami data are totally wrong.

The independent panel will now research ways for the Japanese government to come up with a functional natural disaster preparedness plan.

International, Opinion

France traces deadly E Coli strain to British seed company

Efforts to find the origins of a deadly e.coli strain (that some scientist say was engineered in a lab) continues, as more people get sick.

France has eight people in the hospital.  Seven of them ate sprouts at an open house party.  The sprouts were not grown in Germany, but in France.  The seeds for those sprouts came from a company in the United Kingdom, a company called Thompson & Morgan.

Understanding how e.coli works makes it difficult to suspect seeds, however, if this strain of e.coli was engineered in a lab, then anything is possible.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? World Banks tightening their grip on money

On Saturday, June 25, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announced that all major international banks, and central banks (like the U.S. Federal Reserve) are going to increase their capital reserves.

This means they are going to hold onto more money and issue less loans.  Some banks refer to capital reserves as putting their money to ‘rest’ (aka bank reserves, desired reserves).

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision refused to give a list of which banks will be holding back on their money.  This is an indication that the major international, and central banks do not expect any short term improvement in the world economies.

The increase in capital reserves is to help banks handle monetary emergencies, like traditional “runs on banks”.  Just how long does the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision think the economy will suck?  The new tighter control on money will be implemented in phases, becoming fully in effect in 2018.  Mmmm, it’s 2011 now, uh oh!