Tag Archives: india

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: China to start using Yuan for International Loans, BRICS will dump the U.S. dollar, Hillary Clinton demands China prove its intentions! The end of U.S. dollar dominance begins March 29!

“We will discuss the creation of structures and mechanisms for lending in local currencies in order to maximize economic and financial transactions between the countries that are members of the accord.”-statement from Brazil’s development bank BNDES

The BRICS are about to lead a new Revolution; no more U.S. dollar!  It’s being spearheaded by the Chinese Development Bank.

BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are about to institute a new World Lending system that will not require the use of the U.S. dollar!

Reports say the new system will be signed into operation by BRICS members on March 29, 2012.  It will deal in not only the Chinese Yuan, but in local money as well.  Currently most international lending systems require loans to be made in U.S. dollars.  That’s because the major lenders, the IMF and World Bank, are actually run by the United States.

In response (yet not really explained by the main stream U.S. media why Clinton is making such a statement) U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is demanding China explain itself: “Given the historic challenges to security and stability posed by rising powers, they do have a special obligation to demonstrate in concrete ways that they are going to pursue a constructive path.”

Clinton’s statement shows just how paranoid the U.S. government is of China.  But, oh well, surveys show many of the citizens of the U.S. are also paranoid of China!  This new international lending agreement with the BRICS will only prove to the paranoids that they are justified in their fear.

 

 

 

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

Who Owns the Moon? United States declares no fly zone over the Moon, The New Space Race is On! Space War next?

There’s a new space race, thanks in part to Google’s Lunar X Prize, but also because the Moon is indeed full of mineral wealth.

But the new race is not for exploration, it’s for exploitation. The Moon has titanium, trace amounts of water, and rare minerals used in high tech electronics: “In our case it’d be people prospecting for the best places to mine the water, or mine the metals…”-David Gump, Astrobotic Technology

China has a lunar satellite in orbit, and hopes to put an unmanned explorer on the Moon by 2013.  India also has a satellite orbiting the Moon.

You might think Republican Newt Gingrich is crazy with his plans for U.S. domination of the Moon, but he’s not too far off from official policy!

NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) issued a report (dated July 20, 2011) titled How to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts.

It’s not just about artifacts brought back from the Moon, but it recommends that the Apollo sites on the Moon should be declared “no fly zones”, and that the U.S. must make every effort to get back to the Moon: “…we’re coming into an age of exploitation…because of the changing environment, and much more use of space by other groups…we’re beginning to think about it.”– Robert Kelso, author of NASA report

The U.S. government has also declared that the United States is the only country that should have exclusive access to the Moon, simply because it was the first to put people on the Moon!

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Incompetence & World War 3: United States increasingly isolated over Sanctions against Iran. India and Japan still buying Iranian oil. South Korea gets exemption

“India’s decision to walk out of step with the international community on Iran isn’t just a slap in the face for the U.S. – it raises questions about its ability to lead. The Indian government’s ill-advised statement last week that it will continue to purchase oil from Iran is a major setback for the U.S. attempt to isolate the Iranian government…”-Nicholas Burns, former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs

India joins a growing list of countries basically telling the U.S., and U.K., to go stuff themselves.  Indian government officials are working with Indian companies to create a system that will let them pay for Iranian oil with Indian rupees.

In Japan, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell, says they will continue buying Iranian oil despite pressure from the U.S. government. Showa Shell Sekiyu KK is Japan’s 5th largest refinery, and uses 100,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil.  Officials say they are affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell, but they operate independently and have their own contracts with Iran.  This is also why Iran has not stopped oil shipments to Japan (Royal Dutch Shell is a British/U.S./Dutch controlled company).

Then there’s South Korea, which has managed to convince U.S. lawmakers to exempt more than 2,000 Korean companies from the sanctions.  Not only that, but South Korea’s Woori Bank, and the Industrial Bank of Korea, do business directly with Iran Central Bank.  Their transactions are done in Korean money, thus avoiding the U.S. petro-dollar.

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

Pale Green Horse & Rat Fever: Cases are on the rise around the World. Doctors die and government efforts to kill rats has failed. Return of the Black Death?

“May I formally as Commissioner for Health in Rivers State declare that there is Lassa fever epidemic in the State and we must do all we can to tackle the challenge.”-Sampson Parker, Port Harcourt State Commissioner for Health

At the end of 2011, two people died of Lassa (aka Laffa) viral hemorrhagic fever in the African country of Ghana.  It was a first for that country.

Now more than a dozen people have died in the civil war torn African country of Nigeria.  At the end of January 2012, African media reports said there might be an outbreak in the northern areas of Nigeria, one doctor had died.  Reports published on February 15, said another doctor and a nurse died, along with 13 people.

The medical center in Nigeria’s Taraba state has been overwhelmed with cases, and shut down.

In the Nigerian port city of Port Harcourt, the State Commissioner for Health declared Nigeria to be suffering an epidemic of Lassa fever.  Efforts by the Nigerian government to contain the Lassa epidemic will be difficult, since the country is being torn by a violent civil war.  War actually helps spread the disease.

I’d just like to point out that the Untied States has been slowly increasing troop deployments to Africa, and there is no vaccine for Lassa!

Travel across the Indian Ocean to India, and you’ll discover outbreaks of rat fever there as well.  In the Ernakulam district, on the extreme southwestern tip of India, the government is losing a race to distribute rat poison to fight the infected rats.

Ernakulam district has 85 panchayats, or village level governing bodies.  They were supposed to get the rat poison at the end of last year.  According to Indian media reports, as of January 2012, 47 of the 85 panchayats got the poison, but even worse, only four of those actually distributed it to residents.

That’s because in India the panchayats have to pay up front for the so called government help: “We have been promptly delivering the pesticides wherever possible. We have distributed over three lakh packets to the 47 panchayats.
But in the absence of distribution, funds were not released and only four panchayats have been able to pay for the pesticide. It was owing to this that we temporarily stopped distribution.”-P Gopalakrishnan, Inspection and Quality Control

On top of that, the rat poison being offered has a three month shelf life, which means they are racing against time to find the funds to pay for the so called government program.  The Ernakulam district has already had several hundred cases, and several deaths due to the rat fever.

To make matters worse, Southeast Asia, where India is located, does not have laboratories that can handle such deadly diseases.  In a few months time, India will be the first country in Southeast Asia to have such a lab. It’s called the National Institute of Virology’s bio-safety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory, and the study of Lassa is one of it’s top priorities.

But don’t think we in the West are better off (well we are, but not by much). According to the San Antonio Express, the U.S. state of Texas has one of the very few labs that study diseases like Lassa.

It’s the Texas Biomedical Research Institute’s bio-safety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory.  They are currently working to develop vaccines for Ebola, Marburg and Lassa.

That’s the rub, there is no treatment for these diseases.

The Black Death was spread by fleas infected with bacteria. Those fleas lived on rats. Those rats spread around the world by hitching rides on camel caravans along the Silk Road, and on merchant ships.  Wars and famines also helped to spread the rats.

There were many times in history when a Black Death plague hit the World.  Hypothesis say it was probably different bacteria each time, science has not been able to positively pin the blame on any one bacteria (Yersinia Pestis is the current favorite).  But this latest Black Death Rat Fever, called Lassa fever, is not a bacteria, it is a virus, and therefore can not be treated with antibiotics.

“You have to be vigilant. You have to educate first responders on the strange diseases that start appearing in the emergency room. And you have to keep developing countermeasures. That’s all you can do at this point.”-Jean Patterson, Texas BioMed

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Pale Green Horse & Global Food Crisis: Nepal, India & Vietnam getting hit hard by H5N1. Vietnam says What Global Warming?

The H5N1 virus isn’t just killing people, it’s killing off the food people eat.

A week ago Nepal said it would have to kill off 4,000 poultry because of H5N1.  Well, already 8,000 poultry have died, because the virus is spreading so fast!

India says yet another poultry farm there has been hit with H5N1.  The virus itself killed off more than 5,000 birds at one farm!  Local officials have ordered the killing of all poultry within a three kilometer (1.8 miles) radius of the farm, that means tens of thousands of birds meant to feed humans will be gotten rid of.

In Vietnam, officials there are blaming the unusually cold weather on the spread of H5N1, as well as the undocumented importation of poultry.

So far nearly 300 birds died from the virus, while nearly 4,000 where put down.  At least two people in Vietnam have died from H5N1.

Vietnamese officials say they can not trace where most of the imported poultry are coming from.  They say many of the birds were brought into Vietnam, illegally, during the Lunar New Year celebrations.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3 & Government/Economic Incompetence: Iran will stop buying products from Europe and the United States! Working with China and India to trade oil for gold!

“According to one of the main clauses, the Islamic Republic of Iran will halt all oil exports to European countries as long as they continue to ban oil imports from Iran. Another clause obliges the government to forbid imports of all goods from countries which have imposed sanctions on our country.”-Nasser Soudani, Majlis (parliament) Energy Committee

January 28, Iranian lawmakers have finalized a bill that would freeze all oil shipments to Europe.  But the bill would also place an embargo on any products being sold to Iran from countries that have joined the U.S./EU oil embargo against Iran!

This shows the Iranians have realized that the U.S. and EU are not in a good economic position to impose embargoes.  They are taking advantage of that and  will not only stop all oil shipments to oil starved Europe, but with stop buying products from countries who embargo Iranian oil.

The Iranians created a petroleum trade institution that does not use U.S. dollars. It’s very successful, and part of why Iran has become so wealthy.  Not only do they not take U.S. dollars, but they actually accept barter for oil, such as trading raw oil for refined fuel.

Iran has become a major producer of refined fuel in the Middle East.  In fact, in February, 2011, Iran stopped buying refined fuel from other countries!  On January 14, 2012, Iran announced they now make their own jet fuel.

A German political analysts told Russian media that Iran has learned how to succeed under sanctions: “All the present faithful customers to Iran oil are set to continue buying this oil, and they will find a way, rest assured. This is the signal I get from Tehran.  I was personally present when the deputy economics minister of Iran was talking to a foreign society in Berlin, and the gentleman said very openly to the shocked audience ‘OK. You don’t want to buy our goods. Well, the Chinese do.’”-Christoph R. Hörstel

Now Israeli media are reporting that Iran, India, China and several other countries are working on a oil for gold trade deal.  The deal would allow countries to avoid going through U.S. and European banks to buy Iranian petroleum products!

Also, on January 26, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated: “Today, we have attained a status that we need not sell oil to Europe, and we are following our path determinedly.”

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: India reporting new strain of H5N1

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

According to the Indian National Institute of Virology (NIV), a new strain of H5N1 is responsible for the deaths of more than 500 crows.

The crows died three months ago, and test results have finally come in.  It’s an H5N1 strain never seen in India before, and might have come from Vietnam: “We have compared it to the strains from Vietnam, Indonesia and other places in Asia and found similarities with the Vietnam strain.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

The last version of H5N1 that hit India is called Clade 2.2.  This new Vietnam like strain is called Clade 2.3.2.1.  Understanding the versions are important: “Since the strain is a new form of bird flu, we have to be very careful. Once the virus is characterized and gene sequencing done we will be able to gauge the impact on bird health and then label as highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

In Vietnam H5N1 has already killed one Vietnamese man this year.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

What Economic Recovery? Japan desperate for cash, will sell off famous bullet train, to India

The Japanese government is in need of some cash (no wonder since they’ve been making promises of financial aid to other countries).  But they’re so desperate that they’ll even sell off a famous bullet train.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has instructed his cabinet, and Japanese business leaders, to sell Japan’s infrastructure to India, including the Shinkansen bullet train system.

It’s not quite what it sounds like.  What Prime Minister Noda means is that Japan is going to sell the technologies behind their infrastructure to other countries, especially India.  Indian officials have expressed a desire to build a bullet train system similar to what Japan has.

Noda told Japanese officials that global competition is becoming intense and that the Japanese government must do all they can to promote the sale of Japanese infrastructure technologies to other countries.

 

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

World War 3: Canada pulls out of Kyoto environmental pact, blames U.S. & China. Durban Deal a failure? Japan may be forced to follow Canada’s lead.

“The Kyoto Protocol does not include the world’s two largest emitters, the United States and China, therefore it can not work!”-Peter Kent, Environment Minister of Canada

Canada is the first country to officially exit from the Kyoto environmental protocols.  This follows the end of the second round of ‘Kyoto’ (aka COP 17) talks in South Africa.

The COP 17 talks acknowledged that the goals set at Kyoto would most likely not be met, and they extended the deadline for those goals to 2018.  This latest round of talks is being referred to as the ‘Durban Deal’.

Edna Molewa, UN Water and Environmental Affairs Minister, called the Durban deal a “watershed” moment.  However, Canada is raining on that moment, and Japan has been warning of leaving the Kyoto Protocol as well.

“The Kyoto Protocol is not the right path.”-Masahiko Horie, envoy from Japan

Japan can no longer meet all the agreed upon goals because of the fact that 85% of their nuclear plants are shut down, or damaged.  Even before the loss of so many nuclear plants (for various reasons) Japan was still the number 5 polluter in the world!  Think what will happen as they switch back to electricity generated by coal and petroleum fueled power plants.

The following countries either refuse to take part, have quit, or are threatening to quit the Kyoto Protocol: Brazil, India, New Zealand, Russia, Japan, Canada, China (number 1 polluter) and the United States (number 2 polluter).

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: “Long live China, long live Pakistan!”, new battle cry heard in Pakistan

On November 24, just one day before U.S./NATO helicopters attacked and killed at least 24 Pakistani soldiers, Chinese and Pakistani forces concluded a massive joint war game in Punjab Province.

During the Cold War, China and Pakistan were close allies, it looks like they still are.

Punjab province is one of the largest geographically, and has about 56% of Pakistan’s population.  It borders India, and is very close to the border areas of Afghanistan.

The joint China/Pakistan war games involved 540 troops, mainly airborne units. It’s the fourth joint China/Pakistan exercise since 2006.

China is Pakistan’s number one military backer.

The reason for the Chinese supporting Pakistan is the same as during the Cold War; to counter the growing power of India.

Pakistani officials say it will help them deal with the U.S.: “It’s not a zero-sum game. You further strengthen your relations with China, then you increase your importance. You use this as a leverage to improve your relationship with the U.S.”-Talat Masood, retired Pakistani general