Tag Archives: korea

Fukushima

Global Food Crisis: Increase in number of Fish from Japan testing positive for Radiation Contamination, proof that Fukushima is spewing even more radiation!

“The frequency of radiation detection appears to be rising as two reactors at the Fukushima plant are currently leaking radiation.”-unnamed South Korean official

March 8, 2012, South Korea’s Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency says fish from Japan are still contaminated with radiation, almost one year after the March 2011 nuclear disaster.

Korean officials say they’ve detected cesium in 32 recent shipments of fish from Japan.  They say that’s a 50% increase from tests done on 21 prior shipments!

South Korea has been constantly monitoring fish shipments from Japan, ever since the March nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.  They say radiation levels are still under international “safe” limit guidelines, however, it has increased in the past few months of 2011!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

College student? Need Job? Japan needs You!

On February 25, 2012, a record number of Japanese companies held a conference to hire foreign college students.

145 companies held a conference in Tokyo, which attracted more than 3,000 students from China, South Korea and other Asian countries.

A rep for an auto parts maker said his company wants half of its new workers to be international students, especially since it is planning to increase operations outside of Japan.

Many hopeful college students were told that they should learn honorific Japanese expressions which are essential for conducting business in Japan.

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.

World War 3: Iran builds two more attack submarines, will target U.S. aircraft carriers

“…if an ordinary submarine can sit in the Persian Gulf’s bed it would be the worst threat to the enemy. That is one of the U.S. concerns since Iranian submarines are noiseless and can easily evade detection as they are equipped with the sonar evading technology…When the submarine sits on the seabed it can easily target and hit an aircraft carrier traversing in the nearby region.”-Rear Admiral Farhad Amiri

February 9, 2012, Iran announced it has completed two more high tech attack mini submarines, designed to patrol the Persian Gulf.  They claim the submarines are 100% built in Iran.

The Ghadir class mini submarines are small (some say they look like a submarine made by North Korea), and can fire Hoot supercavitating rocket powered torpedoes, which are far too fast for a ship to avoid.  Those torpedoes could be based on the Soviet rocket torpedoes developed during the Cold War.

The latest subs will join at least three other subs that were completed in 2009.  Here’s pics of them.  Iran has not revealed how many of the mini subs they have, but USAToday estimates they have 12 mini subs (and three big Russian designed submarines).

 

International, U.S.

What Global Warming? Europe & Asia suffer freezing WX, at least 420 Europeans freeze to death, even North Africa affected

“It’s awful. I had to walk two hours through freezing temperatures just to get to the metro. The area is full of trees that have fallen on cars but no one’s come to help us.”-Federico Maneski, Rome, Italy

While North America is experiencing a warmer than normal winter, Europe and Asia are breaking records.  From record snowfall in Japan and Korea, to record low temps in Europe.

Japan and South Korea had reported record snowfall, and record freezing temps, but not as freezing as the temps in Europe.

As of February 6, at least 420 Europeans, mostly homeless people, have frozen to death!  Finland has hit -40 Celsius (-104 Fahrenheit)!   The deaths of people who do not have access to heat sources range from France, Italy, Poland, Romania to Ukraine.

In Serbia, an area of 70,000 people has been cut off by record snowfall.  Police and military units have to use helicopters to fly in supplies.  In Croatia, a woman gave birth to a daughter with the help of her neighbors in her village, because the road to the hospital was blocked by snow. She named her daughter Snjezana, which means Snow White in Croatian.

The freezing temps have even hit the North African country of Algeria.  16 people were killed when their cars slid off ice covered roads.

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Black Horse & World War 3: China makes big, secret, gesture of support for new North Korean leader

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

A South Korean spy group, who posed as tourists in North Korea, say they have photos of convoys of trucks from China, heading into North Korea.

They asked a truck driver what they were hauling and he said it was rice.  North Korea is known to have trouble with not enough food for its people, but China’s shipment of tons and tons of rice is unusual.

The South Korean group said the trucks came and went for 10 days.  Normally China does not send any rice shipments until spring or fall, not in winter.

Analysts think the early rice shipment is a sign to the new North Korean leader that he has the full support of China.  Also, North Korea has recently asked for resumption of food aid from the United States, as part of returning to negotiations, so maybe China is telling him not to worry about food from the U.S., good old Uncle Sino will take care of that.  And who knows, maybe what was in the trucks wasn’t rice?

International

Red Horse & False War on Drugs in Mexico: 13,000 people killed in the first 9 months of 2011. Prepare for U.S. invasion

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.

The Mexican attorney general released an official death toll for the first nine months of 2011. It’s 11% higher than the same time in 2010.  2010’s death toll was 70% higher than 2009!  So far the official death toll in the so called Mexican war on drugs is 45,515! That’s not a war on drugs, that’s an all out civil war!

In May, 2011, I wrote that what was going on in Mexico was actually a civil war between the pro-U.S. government, and ultra right wing nationalist.  One reason is that the majority of people getting killed are not drug dealers or police, but migrant workers from Central American countries, as well as a few tourists from the United States!

In a 1998 book (called The Next War), co-authored by former U.S. Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan, Caspar Weinberger listed which countries the United States was going to go to war with (so far he’s been right, one being Iraq, the other [most likely] being Iran), and that includes Mexico!

“…an American expeditionary force invades Mexico to topple a corrupt and recalcitrant drug-running regime…”-Amazon book review

Weinberger’s scenarios are based on actual Department of Defense war scenarios.  In the case of Mexico, the scenario says that nationalist drug lords take over Mexico and begin nationalizing the oil industry (which the U.S. oil companies had worked so hard to take over).  Under the pretext of stopping masses of refugees flowing into the U.S., and to restore democracy, the United States invades Mexico.  The invasion is launched from Texas.

By the way, Weinberger also says we are going to attack Russia, Korea and Japan.  The 1998 book also talks about cyber warfare and Arab uprisings (what is now called The Arab Spring in the West).  Mmmm, are our leaders using this book as a guide?

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

World War 3: Finland allows Patriot missiles to sail to South Korea

After an investigation, Finnish officials decided to let a British registered ship sail to South Korea, with it’s cargo of 69 Patriot missiles.

On December 21, Finnish port authorities discovered improperly packed, and labeled, Patriot missiles and explosive acid on the ship M/S Thor Liberty.   The explosives were exposed to the elements, and the missiles were labeled “fireworks”.

It turns out the German government had sold some of its Patriot missiles to South Korea.  The Germans demanded the Finns let the cargo go.

The two top officers of the ship were charged with safety violations.  The cargo was repacked safely and the ship was allowed to sail with its crew (the Finns originally wanted to hold and try the crew in court, but something changed their minds).

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

World War 3: Finland seizes U.S. made Patriot missiles, Germany says legitimate cargo bound for South Korea

“We have impounded the explosives and missiles and asked the Defense Ministry to transport and store them.”-Petri Lounatmaa, Finnish Customs

Finland has cleared an Isle of Man (a British Crown Dependency) registered ship, but only after taking the 69 Patriot missiles and 160 pounds of explosives.

German officials are upset. They claim the missiles came from German inventory, and were properly declared for shipment to South Korea.  Finnish officials basically say Gemany is lying: “Of course, there are legal transports of weapons or defense material (through Finland), but in this case the cargo was marked as containing fireworks. That is quite unusual.”-Paivi Rasanen, Interior Minister of Finland

Finnish port authorities say the 160 pounds of explosives, mainly picric acid (a nitrate based explosive which is also used in fireworks),  were stacked on pallets fully exposed to the elements.  Knowing what it was they began to open crates and that’s when they found the Patriot missiles.  The missiles were in crates marked “fireworks”!

The Finnish government has properly stored the explosives along with the missiles.  Finland is keeping the missiles and explosives, pending further investigation.

The ship, M/S Thor Liberty, is free to sail, but the 11 crew, including the captain, are in custody: “She can sail, but customs is still holding the cargo and the (detained) crew isn’t allowed to leave Finland.”-Markku Koskinen, Port of Kotka

 

International, U.S.

North Korea: Kim Jon Il dies, South Korea puts military on alert

North Korean government media reporting that North Korea’s leader Kim Jon Il has died.  He was 69 years old (some reports say he as 70).

North Korea’s state-run KCNA says he died of “great mental and physical strain” and a heart attack.  He was on a train touring North Korea.

South Korea has put their military forces on alert.