Tag Archives: economy

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Romney’s Bain Capital at it again, this time it’s Alcoa vs Glencore!

Mitt Romney claims he’ll create “12 million” jobs as president of the United States, but his own creation, Bain Capital, is still hard at work destroying jobs.

This time it’s Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America) Incorporated, the number three aluminum producer in the world!

Today, 01 September 2012, Alcoa began shutting down its Italian operation on the island of Sardinia, despite weeks of protests by their employees, including on camera suicide attempts.

In the U.S. state of Texas, Alcoa sold land and assets from its Rockdale operation.  Smelting has been reduced, and two production lines closed.  Alcoa has reduced the number of Rockdale employees to about 70.

Why is Alcoa shutting down operations around the world, laying off thousands of employees, when back in July 2012 it claimed it’s sales were up more than expected due to increased demand for aluminum?

But that’ just it, demand is up, but prices are down, that’s right industrial metal prices are crashing!  So how does Alcoa deal with that? “I want to make one thing crystal clear here, the market is working…..people are moving forward with curtailing [production] and responding by slower build as we see in China and that’s clearly a function of the low LME [London Metal Exchange] pricing that we currently have in the market.”-Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO Alcoa

So the wise corporate leaders, in their greed, increased production so much that there is now too much metal on the market causing prices to crash, killing their hopes for high profits.  But who gets hurt? Why the lowly employees, of course.

(The number one aluminum company Rusal, and the number two, Rio Tinto, are also cutting back on production. Small companies are in trouble, credit wise, with the Too Big to Fail Banks, so expect hundreds of thousands of aluminum industry employees around the world to become unemployed!)

Reuters has just reported that Swiss investment giant (the biggest in the world), Glencore, wants to buy Alcoa’s Sardinia mining operation.  Here’s the Bain Capital connection.  Bain Capital is considered a ‘cornerstone investor’ in the world’s biggest investment company, Glencore!

The reason why the general public is only now hearing about the world’s largest investment company, Glencore, is that it finally went public with an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in May 2011.  Other investment companies bought into Glencore, such as Aabar, BlackRock Fund, Credit Suisse, Fidelity Investment Fund, UBS, Zijin Mining and others.  The IPO was handled by Too Big to Fail Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.

Here’s another trivial Romney connection to Alcoa; George Romney, Mitt’s father, worked for Alcoa as a lobbyist in the 1940s.

Alcoa is too big to be totally destroyed by vulture, I mean venture, capitalists (like Bain Capital), but it is being forced to sell off little bits of itself here and there.  And investors love it when people lose their jobs, stock prices for Alcoa Inc have been going up!  And Mitt Romney says he’ll do for America what he did with Bain Capital.

 

International, U.S.

Political Incompetence: Non Aligned Movement; proof that U.S. leadership is delusional!

“….every American can be proud that the United States is safer, the United States is stronger, and the United States is more respected in the world!”-Barack Obama, President of the United States, 31 August 2012 Fort Bragg speech

“…two third of the world countries at the highest level in Tehran and their consensus over Iran’s responsibility for coordinating the international policies of 120 world countries is a clear indication of the United States’ strategic isolation on the scene of world relations.”-Saeed Jalili, Supreme National Security Council of Iran, 31 August 2012, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“…Iran and Sri Lanka’s experiences show that resistance against colonialists and hegemons is possible!”-Mahinda Percy Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“The Algerian government, along with the Islamic Republic of Iran, will use all its power to materialize NAM’s goals.”-Abdelaziz Ziari, Speaker of Algeria’s National Assembly, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“I am confident this is a solid foundation for building a modern system of international relations, which respects the right of every country for its own path of development, cultural and historical identity.” also “We are ready to further expand interaction with the Non Aligned Movement in the interests of peace and prosperity. I wish you every success and fruitful work.” -Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, printed greeting sent to 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“The United States and the Western powers are accompanied by devilishness, corruption and insecurity wherever they arrive….All of us are required to feel responsible vis-à-vis the bullying and imposition of the big powers and stand against them!”-Seyed Ali Khamenei, current Ayatollah of the Islamic Revolution, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“Your wise ideas about unity and resistance are completely palatable to us.”-Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“Iran enjoys an ancient human civilization and a long historical antecedent and as one of the founders of the UN is famous for pursuing its key role in its initiative, specially creating a Middle East region free from any type of nuclear weapons and the dialogue among civilizations.”-Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“Viet Nam shares the view of other NAM member countries, as contained in the Draft Final Document, that the present global scenario largely derives from the continuing unequal terms of trade, lack of cooperation from developed countries, coercive and unilateral measures imposed by some of them and the use of force or threat of use of force.”-Pham Binh Minh, Foreign Minister of Viet Nam, 31 August 2012, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“….the construction of a multipolar and multicentric world, for which it’s necessary to unite forces and break political ties that have trapped us in neocolonial systems for years.”-Nicolas Maduro, Foreign Minister of Venezuela, 16th Non Aligned Movement summit

“…to make sure America is still a place where tomorrow is always better than yesterday, that is what our politics should be about. And that is what we are deciding this election.”-Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida, 30 August 2012, Republican National Convention

“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.” –Mitt Romney, U.S. republican presidential candidate, January 2012

U.S.

Obamacare, Romneycare: More proof the Republicans and Democrats are just two sides of the same coin!

From Robert I. Field, PhD, JD, MPH www.philly.com:

Mitt Romney says his Massachusetts health reform plan is much better than Obama’s. He claims it’s different in important ways.

If there are big differences, it’s difficult to find them.

In an interview last week with a Denver TV station, Romney cited the key features that differentiate his reform approach from Obama’s.

He declared, “My healthcare plan I put in place in my state has everyone insured, but we didn’t go out and raise taxes on people and have a unelected board tell people what kind of healthcare they can have.”

Let’s do some quick fact checking.

Does Romneycare have everyone insured? Close, but not fully there. The plan cut the state’s rate of uninsurance by almost half. As of 2010, the rate was just over 6% for the nonelderly population, the lowest of any state. That’s a huge accomplishment, but there is still a ways to go before everyone has coverage.

Did Romneycare raise taxes? No, but the state didn’t need to. It covered the cost of reform with larger payments that it negotiated from the federal government for its Medicaid program. [In other words, Massachusetts’ Romneycare is actually a huge burden on all taxpayers throughout the United States!]

Does Romneycare have an unelected board that tells people what kinds of healthcare they can have? It does. The Massachusetts Connector Authority serves as the state’s insurance exchange. It sets standards for the types of plans that may be sold, thereby determining the kind of access residents will have to healthcare services.

Is Obamacare any different? Not really.

 It will extend coverage to 30 million more people, which will reduce the country’s rate of uninsurance by about half to roughly 8 percent. Not too different from Romneycare.

 It does raise taxes in a number of ways, including new levies on tanning salons, medical devices, and high-end insurance policies. But, unlike Massachusetts, it doesn’t have a higher level of government to turn to for help, so it needs a new source of revenue to cover the cost.

 It does let unelected officials determine what kind of insurance people can receive by setting standards for coverage under the state exchanges that will sell it. Just like Romneycare.

 Romney’s comment about an unelected board was probably also a reference to a new board that Obamacare created called the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). It recommends cost-cutting measures under Medicare. Romney, along with several fellow Republicans, has complained about the scope of its power. But Romneycare is a state-based program while Medicare is purely federal. It couldn’t have included an IPAB or any other measure concerning Medicare, even if Romney had wanted it to.

 After all is said and done, these aspects of the plans are relatively minor, anyway. In their underlying structure, Obamacare and Romneycare are almost identical.

 Both expand coverage in the same three ways. They reform the market for individual insurance by creating exchanges to sell it, subsidizing those with low incomes, and mandating that everyone maintain coverage in some form. They expand Medicaid to cover more people. And they penalize employers who don’t offer coverage to their workers.

 Romney and his fellow Republicans should be proud that Obama copied their health reform approach. Instead of drawing false distinctions between the two plans, they should boast of leading on health reform and leaving Obama and Democrats to follow.

 Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let’s not forget that Romneycare also penalizes those who can’t afford insurance, just like Obamacare does. Romneycare has also destroyed mom & pop businesses.

Watch the Need to Know report, The Massachusetts mandate, here.

Watch the PBS Newshour report, Four Years After Health Reform, an Update on Care in Massachusetts, here.

There are other similar reports, but for some reason the videos don’t work, or you get a 404 error message.

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. allies attend Iran led NAM. Condemn the United States, condemn the United Nations! Demand U.S. assassination drone strikes stop!

“One of the topics that’s being raised amongst NAM member states is the changes that are necessary in the UN, Security Council and also other UN affiliated bodies.”-Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman

29 August 2012, the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has been underway for three days in Iran, and some very important officials have shown up, including allies (as well as enemies) of the United States.

“The summit is being held in Tehran at a time when Western countries are facing major financial and social crises. This indicates that the source of global management is suffering from weaknesses and deficiencies. There’s a need for new innovations and initiatives in order to improve the situation in the international domain.”-Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Attendees include:  United Nations Secretary, Ban Ki-moon.  Prime Minister of Iraq,  Nouri al-Maliki. President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa.  Ruler of United Arab Emirates’ Umm Al Quwain state, Sheikh Saud bin Rashid al-Mu’alla.  President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir.  Chairman of the State Council of Oman, Yahya bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri.  Palestinian Authority Chief, Mahmoud Abbas.  Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar. Indonesian Foreign Minister, Marty Natalegawa.  Head of Arab Relations of Lebanon‘s Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Ezzedin.  President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.  President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi.   Senegal’s Foreign Minister, Alioune Badara Cissé.  Envoy from Russia, Konstantin Shuvalov.  Korea (north) Foriegn Minister, Pak Ui-chun.   India Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.  And many more heads of state.

“…the wave of Islamic Awakenings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has led to major developments. Countries where people have a greater role for determining their destiny, they are in fact seeking to cut their dependence on the major powers.”-Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Egypt will turn over the presidency of NAM to Iran.  Iran will now head NAM for the next three years.

“…the existing crises indicate that these few, specific countries [United States, United Kingdom, etc] are not able to run the affairs of the world, and also they are not able to run the international organizations.”-Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced that a workgroup for Palestine will be formed at the United Nations in New York, U.S.A.: “Heavy pressures should be put on the Zionist regime….and practical suggestions should be offered.”

“The Zionist regime is the source of all regional and international threats.
In line with the issue of the Islamic Awakening, these pro-Zionist Americans did not manage to block this wave of Islamic Awakening and it feels that it has been harmed by the independence seeking waves of this region and also it’s going to lose the supporters of the Zionist regime.”-Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman

Another issue is the use of assassination drones by the United States: “…Pakistan’s position is clear today and has been clear in the past. Our position is that this is something which is counter-productive. It is unlawful. It is illegal, and therefore they must cease.”-Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister

NAM is an international organization with 120 member countries.  The movement stands for “national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism and all forms of foreign aggression”-Fidel Castro, Havana Declaration, 1979 NAM summit

 

Fukushima, International

Eating in Japan: Beware disease & radiation. International standards don’t exist! Are you worse off in the United States?

For the past few years Japan has been struggling with food problems, from diseases to radiation contamination.

The latest problem is an outbreak of E Coli in imported Chinese pickled cabbage. At least six people have died, 100 people are sick. The outbreak seams to be contained to northern Japan.

Since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster rice from northern Honshu has been found to be contaminated with radiation.  However, 28 August 2012, Fukushima Prefecture has cleared this year’s rice crop for sale.  The rice was harvested last week.  The Prefecture claims it will check all 360,000 tons of harvested rice for radiation contamination.

However, news is not good for fish.  Just in the past 24 hours the Japanese government banned the sale of Pacific cod.  The fish were caught 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the GE designed reactors in Fukushima.  When the fish were tested in port, they were found to be contaminated with twice the Japanese government’s current safe levels for cesium.

A week ago Tokyo Electric Power Company said they found fish near the nuclear plant that had a record 258 times the safe levels for cesium!

An even bigger concern is fresh water fish.  It’s been discovered that on average Japanese fresh water fish, caught in northern Honshu, are far more radioactive than salt water fish.

Recently, and sneakily, the central government of Japan changed the radiation safe limits for food, so that foods that were considered unsafe, are now safe.  Prior to the change the maximum safe limit was 370 becquerels per kilogram of cesium, now the maximum safe limit is 600 becquerels!  So even if you’re told the food is officially safe…..

Many other Asian countries, that rely on food from Japan, are crying foul.

Just two weeks ago Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety (CFS) discovered that oatmeal from Japan was contaminated with cesium 137.  CFS officials stated the amount of cesium was less than that of a chest x-ray, but made the announcement as part of their daily Food Surveillance Program of food coming from Japan.

But get this, Japan’s new radiation safety standards are still more strict than the Codex Alimentarius.

Codex Alimentarius is the United Nations’ World Health Organization’s, and Food & Agricultural Organization’s, international food safety standards.  According to reports in the Hong Kong media, the Codex Alimentarius allows up to 1,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium in your food!   (I’ve tried to read the PDF’s from Codex Alimentarius, it’s as if it was written for extraterrestrials, no average human could understand the info!)

By the way, Codex Alimentarius just changed their international food safety rules at the beginning of August 2012.  One suggestion, by participating countries, is that the Codex Alimentarius logo will be displayed on food considered safe.

Vietnam’s Department of Food Hygiene and Safety announced they will start testing baby formula from Japan.  This is because Hong Kong officials reported finding radioactive iodine in Japanese baby formulas.  Hong Kong officials said the amounts were below the Codex Alimentarius limits.

Another interesting development is that six months after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a new International Basic Safety Standards (aka BSS).  Most of what I found on the internet is the old 1996 version.  It is a complicated publication that seems to say a lot without really saying much (see my comment about Codex Alimentarius above)!  Basically the IAEA tells governments to set their own standards!

Oh, and don’t try using a Geiger Counter on your food, it doesn’t work.

So when it comes to radiation contamination in the food we eat, it’s a crap shoot, whether we’re in the United States or Japan.

For cattle raised in southern Japan it seems everything is OK. Radiation hasn’t affected the cows that far south, and, last week U.S. and Japanese officials declared the two year foot & mouth disease of no more concern. Japan is set to resume exporting their beef to the U.S.

Interesting that Japan is resuming beef exports to the U.S., while Australia is now beating out the U.S. as the main supplier of beef to Japan.  In 2003 Japan banned U.S. beef because of Mad Cow (bovine spongiform encephalopathy/BSE).  Since 2006 only U.S. beef from cows younger than 20 months are allowed into Japan.

This year the Japanese government is considering further relaxing the restrictions on U.S. beef imports.

Australia has some of the strictest health standards for their meat industries, and is one reason they’ve escaped problems with Mad Cow.  It’s also why their beef exports are booming.  From July 2011 to July 2012, Australian beef exports to Japan increased 4%, Japanese are now the number one consumers of Australian beef.  But here’s really interesting news, Australian beef exports to the United States, for the same time period, went up 40.2%!

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. overall beef exports to the world have dropped by 15.4% from last year.  Mmm, wonder what’s wrong with the U.S. beef?

Foodborne illness, in Japan, is a more immediate threat (than radiation), according to a memo published on the U.S. Embassy (Tokyo) website.  The memo says the top two reasons for foodborne illness in Japan are improper handling, and improper storing of food.  The third reason is improper cooking of food.

A 2010 study that compared Korea (south) to Japan, showed that Japan had a high rate of foodborne disease (FBD).  The causes are basically the same as stated by the U.S. Embassy memo.

To put it in perspective, how high is the FBD rate in the United States?   According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) numbers, about one in every six people (or 48 million!) get sick with FBD every year in the U.S.

Don’t rely on the central government of Japan for help in determining where to eat.  The discoveries of radiation contaminated food, last year, was made by prefectural and local governments, as well as by businesses, and individuals who paid for the tests out of their own pockets. Most Prefectures, local governments, and even local Japanese businesses, have taken matters into their own hands, providing information on radiation contamination and other health issues regarding food.  So check with the locals when seeking safe food in Japan. It’s a clear example of how a central government is useless.

For U.S. citizens traveling to Japan, who are concerned about being able to get safe food, and who think U.S. food products exported to Japan are safer, the USDA provides information about U.S. food suppliers doing business in other countries, so you might check that out.  But just because it’s from the United States doesn’t mean it’s safe.  Remember the drop in U.S. beef exports?

You can also check out the website Where Food Comes From.

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Evidence Fukushima Daiichi damaged by earthquake, BEFORE tsunami hit. Radioactive water never ending!

27 August 2012, Tokyo Electric power Company (TEPCo) officials announced they need more storage tanks for contaminated water coming from the nuclear reactors.

Since the 11 March 2011 disaster began almost 220,000 tons of contaminated water has been stored, and the GE designed disaster reactors are putting out 400 tons per day!  TEPCo says it’ll run out of storage tanks in three months.

A new order for more tanks will provide TEPCo with storage only until November 2013.  The problem now is no space for more storage tanks, unless nearby forests are felled.

So where is all the water coming from?  Ever since the 11 March 2011 disaster began it was noticed that more water is coming out compared to water being pumped in.

TEPCo officials now say it is groundwater flooding into the basements of the reactors through cracks in the basement walls.  Cracks probably caused by the 9.0 earthquake, not the tsunami.

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Workers at Fukushima Daiichi exceed 5 year radiation limit, in just one year!

24 August 2012, the Japanese Labor Ministry is sounding a warning; Japan is running out of qualified employees for the ongoing nuclear disaster at the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Since 11 March 2011, at least 3,000 people have been working (unsuccessfully) to bring Fukushima Daiichi under control.  As of March 2012, 167 workers were dismissed because they had exceeded radiation exposure limits equal to five years of contamination!!!

In Japan a nuclear industry worker can not exceed 50 millisieverts of radiation per year and 100 millisieverts in 5 years.  The 167 employees dismissed in March of this year, were exposed to more than 100 millisieverts in one year!

But wait, there’s more!  For the three months following April 2012, 79 workers were exposed to more than 20 millisieverts!

The numerous contractors working for Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) say they can not find enough new workers to replace the volume of workers leaving due to contamination.

But some contractors have set their own stricter radiation exposure standards, they are concerned with their employees health and maintaining their employability.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Korean Uljin Areva designed nuclear reactor shuts itself down, investigation as to why

On 23 August 2012, Reactor 1 of the Uljin (aka Ulchin) nuclear power plant in Korea, south, shut itself down.  Officials with the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company do not know why.

A warning signal went off, but there is no radiation leak, according to officials.  Korean media says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is not concerned.

Uljin-1 began operations in 1988 and is a French Framatome (company is now called Areva) type pressurized water reactor (PWR).  The Uljin nuclear plant is considered the 13th largest electricity generating facility in the world, producing nearly 5,900 megawatts.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Class Warfare: Quantitative Easing benefits top 5% of the rich, neutral or negative effect for everyone else! More proof it’s the fault of the Too Big to Fails!

23 August 2012, the Bank of England tried to make it look as though flooding the markets with cash is benefiting everyone. But their own words revealed the truth: “…asset purchases have boosted the value of households’ financial wealth held outside pension funds, although holdings are heavily skewed, with the top 5% of households holding 40% of these assets.”

Quantitative easing is a monetary policy that tries to stimulate the economy by buying up privately held financial assets.  But as the Bank of England (BoE) pointed out, 40% of those assets are owned by only 5% of the people in the United Kingdom!  You can be sure it’s a similar situation in the United States.

The BoE also admitted that traditional ‘savers’ are the ones who’re losing, as interest rates on traditional savings accounts are at record lows.  So much for trying to get people to put money away for a rainy day.

One British company, that offers financial services for people over 50 years of age, pointed out that retirees are the big losers in all this quantitative easing (QE): “…the 21 million over 50s…have been negatively impacted……It is asserted, but not proven, that pension savers are no worse off due to QE gilt buying [gilt is a British term for government bonds], because the value of their pension savings has gone up to offset the fall in the annuity income they will receive when converting their pension fund into a pension income. This assertion is simply not correct and the reality is very different for those recently or soon to be retired.”-Ros Altmann, Saga

The BoE tried to smooth things over by saying the worst that could happen to retirement funds is nothing: “….QE is estimated to have had a broadly neutral impact on the value of the annuity income that can be purchased from a typical personal pension pot invested in a mixture of bonds and equities.”

The British National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) responded by pointing out that if pension funds were already in trouble before the QE started in 2009, and the QE has a neutral impact, then nothing has been improved (except for the rich).  The NAPF states that what has actually happened is that retirement funds are worse off as a result of QE: “…schemes that were already in substantial deficit before the financial crisis are likely to have seen those deficits increased.”

Essentially; quantitative easing only helps the 5% of the people (elites) holding financial assets (such as bonds), it is doing nothing, or actually making things worse, for 95% of the people!!!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Australia’s Quantas reports first loss ever! Will hurt U.S. economy; no more Boeing orders!

23 August 2012, Australia’s Quantas Airways reported its first yearly loss since it was privatized 17 years ago.

Quantas lost $250 million USD from June 2011 to June 2012.  The airline blames the high cost of fuel, coupled with flight cancellations and employee strikes.

The loss means that Quantas will now put on hold a huge order (35 aircraft) for the latest 787 airliners made by U.S. company Boeing.