Daily Headline – 08/04/13

Is China lined up for economic collapse?

As the developed world is still suffering from the 2007 global economic crisis with austerity the weapon of choice by the ruling elite around the world is China, who though has not been immune to the global effects as demand for Chinese manufacturing declined slightly as belts were tightened, lining itself up for the same?

Chinese banks have long been ‘cooking the books’ and it’s getting worse, credit for loans is available to those with bad credit on an unprecedented scale in China. Just the same as was in the US that kicked off the global recession.

The problem is not just how much risk there is in the Chinese banking sector but ‘risky loans’ being shifted to the lightly regulated ‘shadow banking’ institutions – mainly trust companies, brokerages and insurance companies.

According to Reuters:
Trust assets increased 55 percent in 2012 to 7.5 trillion yuan ($1.21 trillion), according to the China Trustee Association, while funds entrusted to brokerages by banks soared more than fivefold to 1.61 trillion yuan.

Capitalism doesn’t work, western capitalism or Chinese capitalism, it doesn’t matter. Banking, finance and ‘the markets’ are always a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Daily Headline – 06/04/13

Korean peninsula update

The Korean peninsula still dominates the global media in a one-sided look at the issue, the evil North Korea against the innocent US/South Korea. It’s almost as ridiculous as North Korea’s propaganda!

In the latest developments North Korea has told the embassies in Pyongyang that, in the event of war, it cannot guarantee their safety and that they should strongly consider evacuating the country, it has asked to be notified whether they are staying or going by the 10th April.
The US has moved missile defence systems to new locations including Guam and in a statement said that is is ready for any eventuality.

North Korea is guilty of lacking democracy, incompetent management, developing nuclear technology and a space program and as such pretty much just has China as a trading partner with sanctions coming from all corners of the globe. The US has a nuclear program, has used nuclear weapons against civilians and has a phoney two-party state ‘democracy’.
If you box someone into a corner, the only rational response is to lash out, from a caged animal to a country.

North Korea shouldn’t have nuclear weapons but should it be under such economic sanctions?
Are North Koreans actions and words justified? Have you ever thought about understanding the situation from their perspective?

No war, no nuclear weapons, it is the innocent, the working class who suffer.

Guess the missing word!

China chases __________

Guess the news headline, humorous answers welcome!

Daily Headline – 26/02/13

China’s environmental impact

A study on Chinese soil pollution by Chinas leading environmental watchdog will not be released by the ministry of environmental protection in its entirety.

The ministry of environmental protection said that is would not release all the data due to security reasons. Surely a cover for the horrific scale of environmental damage going on in China.

China’s official data already exposes huge environmental damage with the groundwater of two thirds of cities marked as severely polluted and two-fifths of rivers are tainted.

Beijing

Last month air pollution in China’s capital Beijing reached hazardous to human health levels as confirmed both by China and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Environmental awareness is rapidly increasing in China and hopefully the latest development will add pressure on the government to do something about it.

Non-news

By Leon J Williams

The media is talking about the latest Chinese military hacking of the US, this time targeting US infrastructure.

How is this news?

Country’s military cyber departments are always hacking each other, stealing information and/or infecting systems with viruses etc and then in turn those governments deny it.

Daily/weekly occurrences are not news!

Unless something significant happens on the cyber warfare front put a sock in it!

Daily Headline – 12/02/13

North Korea tests nuclear bomb

Working for the Advancement of North Korean Energy Research

North Korea tests a nuclear weapon, the US does nothing. Someone mentions in a pentagon corridor that Iraq might have WMD, the US invades.

What’s the difference?

The skeptic says: Iraq has oil
The realist says: Chinese soldiers will kill US soldiers (again)
The optimist says: The US is a peaceful nation

North Korea said it would test a small nuclear bomb after the UN added further sanctions and it did just that this morning (3am GMT).

The situation so far…

Dec-11 Kim Jong-un becomes the leader of DPRK
Dec-11 EU adds sanction against DPRK
Dec-12 DPRK successfully launches a space rocket carrying a satellite
Jan-13 US/UN increases sanctions against DPRK
Jan-13 ROK successfully launches a space rocket carrying a satellite
Feb-13 DPRK successfully carries out 3rd nuclear test

Following this mornings nuclear test the UN’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it was a “clear and grave violation” of UN resolutions and that it was “deeply destabilising”.

The UN will meet at 2pm (GMT) to decide what action should be taken.

Daily Headline – 26/01/13

Apple suppliers employing children

In true globalisation style the computer giant Apple searches for profits. Apple sets up contracts to make/supply parts far and wide for cheap labour, to maximise profits.

11 factories that Apple uses as suppliers have been found to employ children (under 16s) with the worst cases coming from China.

Surely Apple must be aware that when they use suppliers from developing countries that examples like this will certainly happen, the lack of standards in developing countries is what helps wages stay so low. This is the precise reason why Apple goes to these countries, to keep costs down and profits up, this is why they use Chinese labour instead of American labour or British labour.

This is globalisation, this is capitalism.

For more on this story click here.

Daily Headline – 25/01/13

Tensions high on the Korean peninsula

Following on from North Korea’s successful satellite launch last month the UN has imposed more economic sanctions.

In response to this action North Korea have upped the ante by threatening to conduct more nuclear tests, targeted at the US.

The US and North Korea have major trust issues with each other and both are justified in this. North Korea is a family run dictatorship that has attacked South Korea before and the US is to date the only country that has used nuclear weapons killing almost 250,000 people, men, women and children. The US has also been to war with more countries that anyone else since the end of WW2.

So will the Korean War of 1950-53 (which has technically not ended) resume? Who will strike first? And which countries will get involved?

Of course North Korea and South Korea will fight each other but who else…
The US could see this very real nuclear threat as an opportunity to finish off the previous failed attempt to take over North Korea and remove its leadership while gaining the backing of the UN.
Japan, which is a big supporter of the US and vehemently anti-North Korea could be on hand to lend some support though their role may be limited to logistics.
In support of the North, last time around, China came to the rescue however China has also started to voice concerns about the North. While it’s possible that China could decide to remain neutral should war break out. I would say that it’s more likely that China will send in the troops again seeing that being given a choice between Kim Jong-un or the US on their border they will choose Kim Jong-un.
Last time around Russia lended some support to the North, mostly aerial, I think that this is less likely (but still possible of course). Things politically have changed in Russia since the early 50’s and support for the North seems to be over (at least compared to then).

Winners/losers/outcome

Well much like the last time it all depends on China, if China supports the North with military fire power and troops on the ground a win is possible for the North and Korea will once again be united. If China doesn’t get involved then a South Korean/US victory is certain and the country will also be united again.

Either way, just like the last time war broke out on the Korean peninsula, millions of people would be likely to lose their lives, mostly civilians.

Millions in melting glacier danger

By Leon J Williams

Fresh water could be in short supply or non-existent as glaciers in the Andes mountain range continue to disappear.

The BBC reports:

The glaciers, which provide fresh water for tens of millions in South America, are retreating at their fastest rate in the past 300 years.

The study included data on about half of all Andean glaciers and blamed the melting on an average temperature rise of 0.7C from 1950-1994.

Is this the result of man-made pollution or part of a natural long-term trend?

Either way one thing is for sure, the effects of this will have a massive impact on millions of people and something must be done to curtail the consequences.

Co2

Countries around the world are clearly not doing enough to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions with the US polluting 17.67 tons per capita (one of the worlds highest) and China polluting a total of 7.7 million tons (the worlds highest).

Global Co2 emissions fell from 2008-2009 by 0.3% will this pathetic rate of improvement prove to be too little too late?

Will US interference ever end?

By Leon J Williams

As you may or may not be aware there is a dispute over some islands in the East China sea the dispute is between China and Japan over the legal ownership. Of course, as per usual, the US has to get involved, this time by angering China the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the islands belong to Japan and that the US would oppose anything to the contrary.

Why does the US insist on getting involved in other countries business, whether that country is on their doorstep (like Cuba) or the other side of the planet (like VietNam or Iraq)?

There are countless examples of US interference, be it militarily, economically, verbally or a combination.

Some of the most notable examples of US interference since the end of WW2 include:

1950-53 – The Korean war – North & South Korea go to war, US sends in the troops to support South Korea to keep the country divided.

1959-75 – The VietNam war – North & South VietNam go to war, US sends in the troops to support South VietNam to keep the country divided.

1961 – Cuba – Failed invasion of Cuba.

1962-75 – Laos – Military support against Communist forces.

1965 – Dominican Republic – US back military dictatorship against popular forces.

1983 – Grenada – US invades.

1988-90 – Panama – US sends in the troops.

1991-96 – Iraq – Iraq and Kuwait go to war, US supports Kuwait.

1992-95 – Somalia – US sends in the troops, famous for the disaster at Mogadishu.

1994-95 – Haiti – Embargo and US troops sent in.

1999 – Serbia – Bombing campaign of Serbia

2001 – Afghanistan – Invasion, ongoing.

2003-2011 – Iraq – Invasion and overthrow of government.

There are almost countless examples of US interference and these are just the more notable ones, the US has been to war more times than any other country on the planet since the end of WW2.

Will it ever end?