Category Archives: International

International, Opinion, U.S.

How will U.S., U.K. & France fund the attacks on Libya? You!

War isn’t free, and there is no true return on the ‘investment’ into war mongering.  So how are those countries attacking Libya going to fund their operation?  I have a suspicion, but in the case of the United States it’s not oil.

Notice that the lead countries in this act of war are; United States, United Kingdom and France.  All of them are in big financial/economic trouble.   They are all implementing austerity measures to address lack of funding for their governments.  That includes cutting many social programs for their citizens.

The push to attack Libya came fast, especially when compared to how much effort Bush Jr put into pushing for attacking Iraq.  Back then it was thought he rushed the process, but compare that to Obama’s push to attack Libya.  One U.S. congressman said Obama did not consult with Congress, at least Bush Jr did.

This is all suspicious. Especially when it is clear the Libyan protesters are not peaceful, and that in other Arab countries truly peaceful protesters have been killed, yet there is no call by Obama to take out those governments.

Most people around the world believe the attack on Iraq was about oil.  It was, but not for U.S. oil companies.  British Petroleum was awarded the biggest oil contracts in Iraq (by the way BP has been quietly taking over oil operations within the United States). In fact most oil contracts in Iraq did not go to U.S. oil companies.

Why would the U.S. take part in oil grabs if its oil companies are not benefiting? This is proof that the United States has become the bully puppet of the British Commonwealth (aka British Empire).

Notice that the price of oil shoots up when something like this happens.  Our governments are controlled by the corporations. The corporations make big profits when prices go up.  The corporations now use the governments to create situations that cause prices to go up.  Of course the corporations are not 100% reliant on oil sources in North Africa and the Middle East.  In fact BP has been busy taking over oil production in the U.S., and has just made deals with the Russians.  But the price of oil still goes up during war, regardless of where the oil comes from.  So they can shut down oil supply in one area, through war for example, driving up the price, and they will still make hugh profits off their other sources of oil.  Does anybody notice that despite oil companies saying their operating costs keep going up, they continue to report record profits?

So military action may be for the benefit of the oil corporations, but that doesn’t explain how the governments are going to fund the operations.   We the people are going to pay for it.  Through increased taxes, new taxes and cuts to the benefits you’re supposed to be getting in return for your tax payments.  Anybody remember the official reason for the American colonists revolution against the British Empire?  Taxes placed on the American colonists to pay for wars fought by the British Empire, and, lack of representation for the American colonists in the British government.  That’s what created the United States.

Here we area again, paying for wars that benefit the British Empire, and with this latest war our Congress wasn’t even consulted!  Taxation without representation!  Wake up people!

 

International, U.S.

Anti War Protests reving up in Europe and United States

People in the United Kingdom are taking to the streets to protest their government’s involvement in the attacks on Libya.

The Stop the War Coalition says the end result will not be the freedom of Libyans, but control by the western world. They also want to know why their country (U.K. aka Britain) is attacking Libya, supposedly to protect citizens, and has done nothing to stop other countries from attacking peaceful protesters.

In Boston, U.S., Members of Act Now to End War and End Racism were protesting, saying that oil was the only reason that The United States wants to attack Libya.

In Washington DC, more than 100 anti-war protesters, including the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers about Vietnam, were arrested outside the White House.

Protests are taking place on the west coast of the U.S. as well. Some protesters are targeting military recruiters.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel , D-NY, said he was angry that Congress was not consulted before the military strikes. He said he was undecided on whether the military action against Libya was justified.

International, U.S.

Arab League regrets supporting UN resolution against Libya. Emergency meeting called

“What we want is civilians’ protection not shelling more civilians.” said Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League.

Moussa said international military actions have gone beyond any so called no fly zone, and are actually causing more civilian deaths.  This is exactly what critics of the resolution warned of.

French president Sarkozy worked hard to convince the Arab League to support a so called no fly zone. When you read the historic resolution it is clear that it is more than a no fly zone, because it authorizes any/all military action.

The Arab League will now hold an emergency meeting.  This will affect the military action against Libya because several Arab League members are supposed to be taking part in that action.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Another example of being ripped off by Insurance Companies

The 9.0 quake that struck Japan could very easily cost more than $100 billion in damages. Don’t expect that insurance policy to cover it.

Insurance companies might cover as little as $12 billion of losses.

Eqecat, a catastrophe-modeling firm, estimated that the quake may trigger only $12 billion to $25 billion of insured losses.

And the government of the United States wants a health care system totally controlled by the insurance industry?

International

More proof you can’t rely on the government

Kazuhiro Takahashi could be taken for a transient, scavenging for food, but he is just another hungry victim of Japan’s tsunami trying to find food for his family.

“I am so ashamed, but for three days we don’t have enough food. I have no money because my house was washed away by the tsunami and the cash machine is not working.”

Other tsunami survivors dig through smashed-up supermarkets, hoping to find food to supplement the meager government rations. 

“This is so shaming, but I have given up on the government. We cannot rely on them so we have to help ourselves.”

Business/Economics, International

Yakuza beats out Japanese government on disaster response

Hours after the first shock waves hit, several of the largest crime groups in the Japanese mafia, opened their offices to those stranded in Tokyo, and shipped food, water, and blankets to the devastated areas.

The Inagawa-kai (the third largest organized crime group) sent twenty-five trucks filled with diapers, ramen, batteries, flashlights and drinks to the Tohoku region.

The Sumiyoshi-kai (the second-largest crime group) offered refuge to members of the foreign community, which is unheard of amongst the right-wing yakuza.

The Yamaguchi-gumi (largest crime group) opened its offices across the country to the public, and is very quietly sending truckloads of supplies.

International

So far help for Tsunami victims, from other countries, is sparse

Japanese officials have released figures of relief supplies from other countries.

The supplies include 25,000 blankets from Canada, 30,000 packets of boil-in-the-bag fried rice and 230,000 water bottles from South Korea, and 500 power generators from Taiwan.

When you realize that some of the cities that got hit with he quake/tsunami had a million residents, you can see that foreign supplies are not much. In fact, Japan’s public news station, NHK, is constantly asking for donations.