Nissan announced that it’ll shut down production in United States and Mexico, around mid-April.
Nissan, just like other Japanese car makers, blames parts shortage, caused by the March 11 disasters.
Nissan will close assembly plants in Tennessee and Mississippi for about one week, as well as two factories in Mexico.
In an unprecedented move, the United States has agreed, in principal, to put U.S. forces under the direct command of South Korea. Details are still being worked out.
Officially the move is to help South Korea in case of attack by North Korea. But isn’t that why our troops are there to begin with? Why do they have to be placed under direct control of the South Koreans? Never in United States history has another country controlled our military forces! Even the Russians didn’t do that after the fall of the Soviet Union. Is it another sign of the decline of the U.S. Empire?
China is sending 10,000 tons of gas, and 10,000 tons of diesel fuel, to help Japan deal with its disasters.
The fuel should be off loaded this weekend, however, Cheng Yonghua, the Chinese Ambassador to Japan, says the Japanese government is actually making it difficult for aid to be sent. Recently NGO relief groups made similar comments.
China has already sent tents, blankets, water, rubber gloves, temporary toilets and shoes. However, more and more people in the areas of devastation say they are not getting any help.
According to Guatemalan Police, 3,000 people took part in lynching three would be coffee thieves.
The police say the residents of La Democracia caught the men trying to take off with a truck load of coffee, then beat, hung and burned the men to death.
The police also say the townsfolk blocked them from stopping the lynching.
People are actually being killed for one of the most popular beverages. Something to think about the next time you sip on that cup o’ joe.
Sweden announced they will be sending aircraft to enforce a no fly zone over Libya. The Swedish parliament voted 240-18 in favor of the plan.
They will send up to eight warplanes, including their JAS 39 Gripen, and a transport plane to join the NATO-led coalition.
This is almost getting to be like World War One, where countries jump in on the fight one after another, until the whole world is at war.
Ali Tarhouni, who claims to be in charge of the Libyan rebels’ finances, announced that Qatar will give rebels money for weapons and other items in exchange for Libya’s oil.
No wonder Qatar got involved with the military action against the Libyan government.
Swissnuclear, a pro nuclear power lobby group in Olten, Switzerland, was bombed on 31 March. Police suspect it was by anti-nuclear activists.
Two women were injured when the package they were opening exploded.
Swissnuclear works to promote the use of nuclear power.
Little Switzerland has five nuclear power plants. The government canceled plans to restart three old plants, after the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
In a move that smacks of guilt after passing the UNSCR 1973 against Libya, the UN has imposed sanctions against the Ivory Coast, and Laurent Gbagbo.
The civil war in Cote d’Ivore (Ivory Coast, a former French colony, or is it now?) has been raging on for much longer than in Libya, yet NOW the UN takes action?
And guess who was pushing for such action, why the same guys as in Libya, the French. It also helps that the African Union has been asking for UN action for a while now. So, when does the bombing start?
In a report issued by the Chinese Navy, it is clear they expect some kind of military confrontation in the future, with the United States.
The report was released March 31. It calls for increasing China’s ability to present a strategic deterrent and launch counterattacks at sea. The report is also clear about who they think they might have to launch counterattacks against: The United States.
Their reasoning is that the United States is reinforcing its regional military alliances, and increasing its involvement in Asian security affairs.
Chinese military officials are hoping their government will increase spending on more high tech weaponry. Welcome to the New Cold War.
The current G20 meeting, in China, is discussing many issues, including the disasters in Japan. But, what seems to be the focus is how to bring China into the SDR, and, China’s desire to remove the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency.
The G20 is made up of bankers and finance officials from 19 countries, and the European Union. Their objective is to come up with finance and banking systems for a global economy.
Because of China’s growing economic strength, the G20 would like to have the Chinese yuan brought into the SDR. That is the Special Drawing Rights fund, which is currently as close as you can get to an international money. It is meant to make huge international transactions easier for members. The SDR replaced gold and silver as standards for international trade in 1969.
China is worried about continued reliance on the U.S. dollar as THE reserve currency for international trade. Many Chinese economist, and other economist around the world, believe the U.S. dollar’s value is overrated, and is unstable. They call the use of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency a “dollar trap”.
“Nations around the world have no way of restricting dollar issuance by the Federal Reserve. The current international monetary system lacks both stability and fairness.”- Xu Hongcai, deputy director at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges
Basically China wants a new international reserve currency, no more U.S. dollar. This will play into the hands of those who want a true international form of money.