Category Archives: International

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

Europeans surround EU Parliament, demanding to know where their taxes went to

Recently in Brussels, Belgium, the EU parliament was surrounded by about 20,000 protesters. They wanted to know where the taxes they paid went to.

“This money was made to be used for social security. It was meant to be used for social health, not to help the banks.”-Serge Monsieur, protester

Governments across Europe are dealing with what they claim is no money for their budgets. Europeans pay outrageously high taxes. Just look at their sales tax, in some countries it’s more than 20%! And now more war, this time against Libya.

Protesters say in the past few years they’ve seen the social programs, that they thought their taxes were going to, being slashed and burned.  Jobs keep disappearing. Yet, there seems to be plenty of money for bank bailouts, government bailouts and war.

Isn’t that happening here in the United States? Wake up people!

International

No more Daylight savings for Russia

“the need to adapt [to the time change] is connected with stress and illnesses.”-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

This spring is the last time Russia will change its clocks. Come October they’ll be no daylight savings to deal with. In 1981 the Soviet Union started a daylight savings program. Russia continued the program, but more and more health studies, in Russia, are pointing to daylight savings as a cause of stress. Other scientists question those studies.

That fact is that, even here in the United States, a lot of people hate daylight savings.

In the U.S. the idea of daylight savings has been around since Benjamin Franklin. Since 1916 many countries have been experimenting with it.  And many of them think it’s time to get rid of it.

Business/Economics, International

Britain facing larger and more violent protests, thanks to budget cuts and war with Libya

Thousands of people took to the streets in London, on March 26. Police were attacked with paint bombs and ammonia bombs.  Businesses were attacked, even delivery trucks.  The Cause? Huge budget cuts for schools and health care, and War.

“It’s been ten years now that we’ve been intervening in wars. We had the war in Afghanistan, then we had Iraq, now suddenly is a third theater of war. At the same time [the British government] says it hasn’t got enough money for the welfare that people in this country need. And they say everybody has to make sacrifices. Well may be we should not be spending 800,000 pounds per missile. How many libraries, how many nurseries, how many young people sent to school we could fund?”-Lindsey German, protester

CNN has incorrectly reported that the protests were organized by trade unions. The truth is that Saturday’s protests had been planned for a while. The trade unions decided to join in after the U.K. government decided to attack Libya. Saturday’s protest was made up of people from college students to health care providers to skilled laborers. What all the protesters want to know is; if the government doesn’t have the money for schools and hospitals, or to promote job growth, where is the money coming from for the war against Libya?

Police say they arrested 157 people. 35 people, including 5 police officers, were injured.

Fukushima, International

Official Tsunami evacuation point was Death Trap, warnings were made

In an area of Sendai city, in north east Honshu, Japan, there are survivors who are glad they refused to go to the official tsunami evacuation point, an elementary school.  They are alive, but most of the people at the elementary school are not.

Based on computer modeling, disaster officials designated the elementary school as safe from tsunami.  The computer model said tsunamis would not reach so far inland, so the school was safe.  One survivor said he never understood that because the school is near sea level, he ran to a road that was much higher than the school, and survived. He says the tsunami went over the school’s second floor, people were inside.

A scientist, named Otomo (? think that’s his name), has been warning people for at least a year about the faulty claims by disaster officials.  Otomo uses geologic evidence, which shows that tsunamis did indeed reach far inland, past the school.  Officials ignored Otomo’s warnings.

This is an example of high tech ignorance, and arrogance.

International

Major Earthquake fault line shifts 98 feet

The 9.0 quake and tsunami that hit north east Honshu, on March 11, was the result of the fault line shifting 30 meters (98.4 feet).

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the event started off Miyagi Prefecture with activity stretching 200km (124 miles) north, and then 150km (93 miles) south of Iwate Prefecture.  Next, a 100km (62 miles) section moved off Ibaraki Prefecture.

More simply put: 450km (279.6 miles) of fault line moved a distance of 30m (98.4 feet) in 3 minutes.

International

Iran delivers food to Miyagi, Japan

Iranian Ambassador to Tokyo, Abbas Araqchi, announced that the first cargo of Iran’s humanitarian aid for Japan has arrived.

The aid consists of 50,000 canned fish and beans. Araqchi says he and the Iranian Deputy Head of International Red Crescent Society, Mahmoud Mozaffari, will be on hand when the food is delivered to Miyagi Prefecture.

Iran will be sending another shipment next week.

Fukushima, International

List of countries banning food from Japan grows

Most Asian countries have banned food from specific Japanese prefectures, some Asian countries banned all food from Japan.

The United States has banned products from radiation zones.

The European Union is the latest group of countries to announce testing and bans of foods from 12 Japanese prefectures.

The food ban will probably not affect Japan’s export business, unlike electronics and cars, because food products make up only 1% of Japan’s exports.  Where it will hurt most for Japan, is domestically.  Japan will now have to import more food to make up for any loss at home.

International

Two weeks after 9.0 Quake, there are still towns that have NOT been helped

NHK reporters made their way to several towns that have NOT received any, or very little, help after the 9.0 quake/tsunami.

What they found is what you’d expect to see after a devastating war.  Only a few dozen people in each town working together to survive. In most towns people find food by scavenging through the destroyed buildings.  They say the Japanese military came and went, leaving hardly any supplies for them, it’s like they were forgotten by the rescue crews.  In one town the people are so angry with the government that they made it clear to the reporters, in a loud way, that the government has done nothing for them.  In another town the people made a steam house to keep warm. They used parts they scavenged from their destroyed town, and when asked how they were heating it, one man said he’s burning what’s left of his house.

Something interesting that reporters and rescue crews are finding, most of the survivors are older people, no kids, no young adults.