Sunday, January 27, 2013
News Links, January 27-28, 2013
## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards ##
China Cosco Expects Annual Loss, Faces Share Trading Limit
"China Cosco Holdings Co. (1919), the nation's biggest shipping company, is facing trading restrictions on its shares after saying it expects to post a 'substantial' loss in 2012."
China Cosco Expects Annual Loss, Faces Share Trading Limit
"China Cosco Holdings Co. (1919), the nation's biggest shipping company, is facing trading restrictions on its shares after saying it expects to post a 'substantial' loss in 2012."
Italy central bank approves Monte Paschi bailout request
"Italy's central bank on Saturday gave its approval to a request by scandal hit bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena for 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of state loans, the latest step in the battle to revive the ailing bank."
"Italy's central bank on Saturday gave its approval to a request by scandal hit bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena for 3.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) of state loans, the latest step in the battle to revive the ailing bank."
"The firm now rates Cyprus's sovereign ratings at B, three steps shy of default and five notches into junk territory, from double-B-minus. The outlook is negative."
The Middle East needs $100 bn for Infrastructure projects
## Airline Death Spiral ##
Costs force up airfares in 2013
## Airline Death Spiral ##
Costs force up airfares in 2013
Lufthansa to reduce Russian network from April
"Lufthansa German Airlines will cancel flights from Frankfurt to two Russian cities—Kazan and Perm—from April 1. The carrier has flown these routes for 15 years, but said increases in fuel prices, airport taxes, and other fees have made these routes unprofitable."
"Lufthansa German Airlines will cancel flights from Frankfurt to two Russian cities—Kazan and Perm—from April 1. The carrier has flown these routes for 15 years, but said increases in fuel prices, airport taxes, and other fees have made these routes unprofitable."
Did plane fumes kill these British Airways pilots?
"TWO British Airways pilots have died within four days of each other after complaining about being exposed to toxic oil fumes on passenger planes."
No infrastructure, airlines unable to import fuel (India)
"TWO British Airways pilots have died within four days of each other after complaining about being exposed to toxic oil fumes on passenger planes."
No infrastructure, airlines unable to import fuel (India)
## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Pakistan - a failed state on a tinderbox
Iraqi lawmakers pass law to block Maliki from third term
"Iraq's parliament passed a law on Saturday intended to block Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki from a third term, as the Shi'ite premier faced growing pressure from mass Sunni street protests."
"Iraq's parliament passed a law on Saturday intended to block Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki from a third term, as the Shi'ite premier faced growing pressure from mass Sunni street protests."
Attackers blow up main oil pipeline in Yemen: officials
"Unidentified attackers blew up Yemen's main oil pipeline, forcing the country to shut down one of its most lucrative sources of income, government and tribal sources said on Saturday."
"Unidentified attackers blew up Yemen's main oil pipeline, forcing the country to shut down one of its most lucrative sources of income, government and tribal sources said on Saturday."
Budget Crisis Impact Laid Out By U.S. Navy
"A drastic cutback in the number of strike group deployments. Aircraft flying hours in the Middle East cut by more than half. Naval operations stopped around Latin America and reduced in the Pacific. Four of the fleet's nine air wings shut down starting in March. Two carrier strike group deployments "extended indefinitely." Only partial training for two more strike groups."
"A drastic cutback in the number of strike group deployments. Aircraft flying hours in the Middle East cut by more than half. Naval operations stopped around Latin America and reduced in the Pacific. Four of the fleet's nine air wings shut down starting in March. Two carrier strike group deployments "extended indefinitely." Only partial training for two more strike groups."
U.S. Delegation Visits Taiwan Base Amid Subs Speculation
"A U.S. congressional group paid a rare visit to a Taiwan naval base on Jan. 27, a military source said, raising speculation about efforts to revive a U.S. deal to provide the island with eight submarines."
"A U.S. congressional group paid a rare visit to a Taiwan naval base on Jan. 27, a military source said, raising speculation about efforts to revive a U.S. deal to provide the island with eight submarines."
## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
Egypt deploys troops in Suez amid deadly clashes
Okinawans continue protest in Tokyo against US military presence
Greeks protest transport workers' pay cuts
Greeks protest transport workers' pay cuts
## Energy/resources ##
More fuel misery for frustrated motorists in Northern Emirates (UEA)
"After more than a year of long queues and empty fuel tanks, motorists in Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain are facing even more misery with the news that fuel supplies to four more petrol stations are being stopped."
Keppel Profit Shrinks as Rivals Squeeze Margins
"Keppel Corp.(BN4.SG), the world's biggest oil rig builder by volumes, on Thursday reported a 22% fall in fourth-quarter net profit as competition from rival yards in China and South Korea eroded its pricing power."
"After more than a year of long queues and empty fuel tanks, motorists in Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain are facing even more misery with the news that fuel supplies to four more petrol stations are being stopped."
Keppel Profit Shrinks as Rivals Squeeze Margins
"Keppel Corp.(BN4.SG), the world's biggest oil rig builder by volumes, on Thursday reported a 22% fall in fourth-quarter net profit as competition from rival yards in China and South Korea eroded its pricing power."
Propane shortage in Upper Michigan
"Michigan's governor has declared a state of energy emergency because of a propane shortage in the Upper Peninsula."
"Michigan's governor has declared a state of energy emergency because of a propane shortage in the Upper Peninsula."
Woodland Heists: Rising Energy Costs Drive Up Forest Thievery (Germany)
"With energy costs escalating, more Germans are turning to wood burning stoves for heat. That, though, has also led to a rise in tree theft in the country's forests. Woodsmen have become more watchful."
"With energy costs escalating, more Germans are turning to wood burning stoves for heat. That, though, has also led to a rise in tree theft in the country's forests. Woodsmen have become more watchful."
Many people still cling to the mistaken belief that "peak oil" is a scam or a delusion. But peak oil was never about running out of oil. It's about the increasing difficulty of maintaining production levels, and the attendant high prices. Greece aside, even in rich countries like Germany, people are turning to biomass for energy. We might also ask ourselves why infrastructure in developed countries is crumbling. Much of that infrastructure was built when oil cost $10/bbl or less. Now oil costs 10 times as much. Any fool can see the impossibility of rebuilding infrastructure at 10 times the original energy cost. Thus the crumbling will continue until economic paralysis sets in — and we are watching the prelude already. Policymakers and even energy gurus have grossly miscalculated how soon we will have to replace oil, and the sheer magnitude of the replacement requirement. Say goodbye to forests near urban centers. -- RF
World's biggest nuke plant may shut: Japan report
## Infrastructure scavenging ##
Copper thieves cause Omaha phone, Internet outage
## Got food? ##
U.S. Corn Reserve Seen Surging by Allendale on Feed-Use Drop
"U.S. corn stockpiles before this year's harvest will be 45 percent bigger than forecast by the government as high prices curb use by cattle producers and ethanol makers, according to broker Allendale Inc."
## Infrastructure scavenging ##
Copper thieves cause Omaha phone, Internet outage
## Got food? ##
U.S. Corn Reserve Seen Surging by Allendale on Feed-Use Drop
"U.S. corn stockpiles before this year's harvest will be 45 percent bigger than forecast by the government as high prices curb use by cattle producers and ethanol makers, according to broker Allendale Inc."
Tainted Tuna: Why Food Poisoning from Fish Is No Fluke
## Lifestyle Solutions ##
The heart of my home
HOMEGROWN Life: Thanks, E. B. White
## Lifestyle Solutions ##
The heart of my home
HOMEGROWN Life: Thanks, E. B. White
## Environment/health ##
VIDEO: Unsafe conditions at fracking site
"Randy Moyer, who trucked brine from wells to treatment plants and back to wells, now suffers from dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, difficulty breathing, swollen lips and appendages, and a fiery red rash that covered about 50 percent of his body. The Portage resident believes he's sick from the chemicals in fracking fluid and from radiation exposure. He cites unsafe and unregulated working conditions on well sites, no oversight about safety clothing, breathing masks, or chemical suits. The sites are treated like any other construction site, all that's needed is a hardhat and goggles. But when working with radiation and toxic chemicals from deep underground, adverse health effects are never far behind."
Living Without Trees Causes Higher Mortality Rates
"Randy Moyer, who trucked brine from wells to treatment plants and back to wells, now suffers from dizziness, blurred vision, headaches, difficulty breathing, swollen lips and appendages, and a fiery red rash that covered about 50 percent of his body. The Portage resident believes he's sick from the chemicals in fracking fluid and from radiation exposure. He cites unsafe and unregulated working conditions on well sites, no oversight about safety clothing, breathing masks, or chemical suits. The sites are treated like any other construction site, all that's needed is a hardhat and goggles. But when working with radiation and toxic chemicals from deep underground, adverse health effects are never far behind."
Living Without Trees Causes Higher Mortality Rates
Experts urge action on global obesity 'pandemic'
## Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##
## Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Feds investigate Stuxnet leak
"The Obama administration is investigating who leaked classified information about a highly secret cyberwar targeting Iran's nuclear facility, officials said."
Anonymous hackers target US agency site
"The Obama administration is investigating who leaked classified information about a highly secret cyberwar targeting Iran's nuclear facility, officials said."
Anonymous hackers target US agency site
It's one more window on the general systemic failure that dooms all civilizations and societies which worship at the altar of infinite expansion and fall victim to their own hubris. -- RF
New technologies and new gadgets are useless without lots of cheap energy to power them. -- RF
The Global Supply Chain: Our Economy, Security and Health Depends on It
## Japan ##
Read all about it: How Kan-do attitude averted the meltdown of Japan
## Japan ##
Read all about it: How Kan-do attitude averted the meltdown of Japan
Japan to boost military headcount amid china island row
"Japan is set to boost the number of military personnel, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Sunday, as the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tackles a territorial spat with China over East China Sea islets."
"Japan is set to boost the number of military personnel, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said on Sunday, as the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tackles a territorial spat with China over East China Sea islets."
Africa risky but too crucial to leave, say Japanese firms
"Japan's resource-hungry companies in Algeria and beyond cannot contemplate withdrawing from Africa, despite the national trauma engendered by the Sahara hostage siege that claimed 10 Japanese lives, experts say."
"Japan's resource-hungry companies in Algeria and beyond cannot contemplate withdrawing from Africa, despite the national trauma engendered by the Sahara hostage siege that claimed 10 Japanese lives, experts say."
Reconstruction is going basically nowhere, as I've pointed out. Blame it on red tape, but the biggest problems are the high cost of energy and the lack of money. What existed before the disaster will never again be. -- RF
## US ##
Longshoremen's Strike At Port Of NY And NJ Could Devastate US Economy
Naming rights can help take road funds in right direction
The craze for selling naming rights just shows how bad the economic situation has become. -- RF
Debt Grows at Astonishing Rate Even in Texas
Sheriff: 'Take a firearms course, 911 no longer best option'
Sheriff: 'Take a firearms course, 911 no longer best option'
Welcome to Wild West America. -- RF
Black Hawks Used In Military Training Exercise In Miami
Black Hawks Used In Military Training Exercise In Miami
