Portugal has taken on bail out loans from the International Monetary Fund and European Union. The loans total $115 billion.
This makes Portugal the third European economy to become a lame duck, after Greece and Ireland. Portugal still has to pay back old loans, $5 billion worth, by June 15, or risk default.
25 years after the deadly nuclear accident at the Chernobyl plant, the Ukraine is still struggling to deal with the disaster.
This week is Black Week, the official anniversary of the nuclear accident, which happened on 26 April 1986. 31 people were killed, as a direct result of the disaster, and many more have suffered cancers, and children being born with defects.
The amazing thing is that clean up efforts continue, and the Ukraine is struggling to pay for it. Officials are trying to raise U.S.$ 1 billion for future clean up projects.
The German government announced that they will end the use of nuclear power plants as soon as possible.
Germany is prepared to spend the money necessary to make renewable clean energy sources their main power supply by 2020. Germany will keep its coal and natural gas fire electrical plants in operation.
The U.S. based World Bank says international food prices have entered the “danger zone”, and are heading towards the “tipping point”.
World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, blames in on several things.
People in countries where the economies are good, are buying more meat. The problem is that increasing meat production means more grain crops going to ranchers, instead of food for people. Crops used for bio-fuels, instead of food, is also a problem.
Then there’s a supply system problem; it’s taking longer to rebuild stocks of basic food ingredients, once they are used up. This is made worse by the fact that many countries are facing lower crop production mainly because of climate change (cold wx, flooding and drought).
Add to that oil. Petroleum is used for fertilizers, pesticides, etc, and that is adding to the cost of food production.
One country, China, is so scared of lack of food that they’re buying up huge tracts of land in Africa for food production.
Zoellick says this is a long term problem, we’re only at the beginning of higher food prices. Also, while countries with more money to buy food are seeing higher prices, the poorer countries are paying far more for their food.
Zoellick says just since last year the higher prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty. He predicts another 10% increase in food prices will push another 10 million people into poverty.
Volkswagen has been considering taking over Japan’s Isuzu, in a joint venture with Germany’s truck maker MAN. They’re a little hesitant after the 11 March 2011 disasters.
VW is also working on a partnership with Suzuki. The German car maker has cited cultural differences as problems getting into the Japanese market, but now has to consider the damaged ‘just in time’ production practices in Japan, which is causing the current severe parts shortages.
Toyota is suspending production at all its European factories.
Plants in Britain, France, Turkey and Poland will be closed for several days on April 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and May 2.
Toyota also said they have yet to decide what they’ll do after that. The parts supply problem in Japan does not show signs of lessening. Toyota might be force to continue with sporadic factory shut downs, with all its plants.
Thanks to the nuclear crisis, rice planting has been banned in Japan.
The problem is that the areas directly affected by the 11 March 2011 quake, actually sunk. Add to that the tsunami destroyed the sea walls. Now high tides have been flooding the land with ocean water contaminated with cesium-137 (as I warned in an earlier posting). There is also airborne cesium being detected, falling onto the ground.
The Japanese government will now test farm soils for cesium contamination. Any farm found to have cesium will be banned from planting. Cesium contamination is why Chernobyl city is still uninhabitable almost 30 years after that nuclear accident in Soviet Ukraine.
Rice planting normally begins by May. Rice is important to Japan: 8.5 million tons of rice were produced in 2010, and almost all of it stayed in Japan. The current situation will now make Japan dependent on foreign sources of rice.
Cesium is still found in soil in Germany, Austria and France 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Chernobyl is 1,160 kilometers (720 miles) from Germany.
Claimed to be the largest concrete spraying trucks in the world, they will be on their way to Japan, after upgrades in California and South Carolina.
The two trucks are made in Germany, for spraying concrete for skyscrapers.
Kelly Blickle, a spokeswoman at Putzmeister America Inc., says similar types of trucks were also used on Chernobyl in 1986.
Officially the trucks will be spraying water, but if necessary, can spray concrete to entomb the reactors.
Almost from day one of the so called revolution in Libya, President Obama said “It’s time for Gaddafi to go.” He didn’t say that about Mubarak, not for several weeks of the Egyptian Revolution anyway.
Obama has said many times he wanted Gaddafi out. Then Gaddafi’s compound is bombed by coalition forces, and the official statement from coalition leaders is that they were not trying to bomb Gaddafi. That’s one dumb smart bomb then.
Here is what Obama said today: “Now, I also have stated that it is U.S. policy that Gadhafi needs to go.” President Obama has basically admitted that trying to get rid of Gaddafi IS what he’s trying to do. Obama then goes on to admit that UNSCR 1973 does not allow him to do that: “But when it comes to the military action, we are doing so in support of U.N. Resolution 1973 that specifically talks about humanitarian efforts, and we are going to make sure we stick to that mandate.”
Obama also says he’s hoping that other “tools” will be used to allow the Libyan people to kick Gaddafi out. Remember, UNSCR 1973 is supposed to be about protecting peaceful civilians, not regime change. Lies. lies and more lies!
As a result of the ongoing disaster in Japan, General Motors suspended all nonessential spending and global travel, a GM spokesman announced.
In addition, GM will suspend production in Spain, and cancel two shifts in Germany.
Even a small supplier of products that are fed to a bigger supplier that feeds the automaker’s assembly plants can delay or halt vehicle production.
Think of the “always a bigger fish” example, but in reverse. If there are no little fish to eat, what can the bigger fish do?