Category Archives: International

International, U.S.

U.K. & U.S. to announce new joint National Security policy, the Beast evolves

“The co-operation that I see every day in intelligence matters is without parallel in the world.  So is our nuclear co-operation. Our armed forces are working together with intimate closeness”-William Hague, British Foreign Secretary

According to British media, President Obama will make a joint announcement, with Prime Minister David Cameron, concerning a new U.S./U.K. national security policy.

The new “National Security Strategy Board” will meet several times per year, to discuss issues such as terrorism, and the so called Arab Spring revolution.

More details will be given on the May 24 announcement.

International, U.S.

Irish bank bombed as English Queen leaves, Obama greeted by protesters as he arrives

May 22, the day after the Queen of England left Ireland, a Northern Ireland bank was hit by a small bomb.  Three masked men burst into the bank, warning customers they had one hour to leave before the bomb went off. Police say people could have been killed if they were still in the bank when the bomb exploded.

May 23, President Barack Obama arrived in Ireland, where he was greeted by at least one hundred protesters.

“Barack Obama came to power promising change, but in reality he has continued the policies of the Bush era.”-John Molynuex, protester

He is scheduled to visit United Kingdom next, where he will have dinner with the Queen of England (a sure sign that the U.S. is under control of the British Empire).  Thousands of protesters plan to demonstrate outside Buckingham palace while he dines with the Queen.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Global Food Crisis: Drought puts France in state of crisis

French environment minister, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, declared a “crisis situation” because of the ongoing drought.  She explained that current water levels are the same as if it was July, instead of May.

She has ordered a third of all French administrative departments to cut back on water use.  Two-thirds of the country’s groundwater reserves are reported to be below normal.

International, U.S.

Korea investigates U.S. Army base for Agent Orange dumping

Korean media reporting the three U.S. Army veterans have testified that they were ordered to dump 250 55-gallon barrels of Agent Orange on a U.S. base in South Korea.

“They just told us it was going to be used for disposal.”-Steve House, veteran

South Korea’s environment ministry will take soil samples at Camp Carroll in Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang.  The local government wants the United States to pay: “If the news report is true, the U.S. military must take responsibility, pay compensation and conduct regular Korea-U.S. joint inspections.”

International, U.S.

Japanese to pay for part of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster

While British Petroleum fights to pin blame on others for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, they somehow have convinced one of its Japanese business partners to pay for part of it.

MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading firm Mitsui and Company, will pay just over $1 billion to cover damages and clean up.  MOEX is a 10% shareholder of BP.

British Petroleum is struggling to come up with an estimated $40 billion to pay for damages and clean up.

Business/Economics, International

Control of Oil rights behind Scotland’s latest push for Independence

Scotland has oil, lots of it.  And the Scottish people say they’re tired of the English controlling it.  After all they were told they would benefit, but they haven’t.  Scottish rebels point to Norway as an example:  “Scotland and Norway discovered oil at the same time. Some years ago, Scotland was turned into an industrial desert and Norway has transformed its society and its economy, they have billions in the bank, whereas we have seen ours wasted on missiles and weapons of mass destruction and illegal wars.”-Kenny MacAskill, Scottish Justice Minister

The recent Scottish elections saw the Scottish National Party dominate.  The SNP ran on a promise to make Scotland independent: “We have been elected with two mandates: one is to pursue our claim for an independent Scotland in the right for a referendum. Equally, we have been elected as a government to make Scotland a better place and we seek to do that by driving our economy forward and making our country a fairer, greener, safer, wealthier and healthier.”-Kenny MacAskill

International, Opinion, U.S.

Obama to write off $1 billion in Egyptian debt, what about us little people here at home?

President Barak Obama wants to write off $1 billion in debts that Egypt owes the U.S.  Then he wants to give Egypt another $1 billion in credit!

Here’s two reasons taxpayers of the United States should be pissed off:  According to the U.S. Department of State: “U.S. military aid to Egypt totals over $1.3 billion annually.” And: “…the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided over $28 billion in economic and development assistance to Egypt since 1975.”

In other words Egypt is getting a deal that no creditor will give the average U.S. citizen!  Forgive our debts AND give us money?  Obama is playing with our tax money!  Why can’t he use our tax money to give us a break?

Business/Economics, Idaho, International

Canadian oil company equipment stuck in Idaho, Montana suing

Canadian Imperial Oil (a subsidiary Exxon Mobil Corp) has massive equipment, called modules, stuck in Lewiston, Idaho.  They need to get it to their Kearl oil sands project in northern Alberta, Canada.

The problem is their size.  Idaho Transportation Department has yet to approve transportation of the equipment through Idaho, one of the problems is that the modules won’t fit under any overpasses in Idaho.  Oil company officials say they will have to cut them in half.

In Montana, there are lawsuits to stop the transportation through its territory. Montana officials say the size of the Imperial Oil equipment will require burial of overhead power lines, upgrading existing roads and building new turnouts (who’s gonna pay for that?).  Montana environmentalists say the company needs to do an environmental impact assessment.

Imperial Oil is complaining that their construction schedule is being compromised.  Maybe they should have worked this out before hand?

Imperial Oil does not have a good business track record, or a good safety track record.  Recently they’ve apologized for the release of a mile-long plume of sulfur dioxide, in Ontario, Canada.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Flooding along Mississippi adds to Global Food Crisis, and threatens U.S. economy

Voice of America reporting that farms along the Mississippi flood zones are destroyed.  Some farmers were able to harvest some of their crops before the flooding.

Many farmers did not have crops to harvest, but were about to plant, and now that’s not going to happen: “…this is unprecedented because of the amount of water that is backed up and out over areas that normally do not flood.”–Randy Ouzts, Horizon Ag

One of the biggest U.S. exports are crops.  The harvest is shipped to New Orleans, on barges that sail the Mississippi river.  Ouzts says getting the harvested crops out could be a problem: “The issue we are having at the moment is wheat delivery, and also fertilizer and fuel deliveries, and the problem is loading.  The facilities were not built to accommodate this much water.”