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The John James Newsletter 62
The John James Newsletter 62
30 May 2015– Positano
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hearGeorge Orwell
Stupid Australia: Brain drain leaves economy less able to competeThe country that brought you refrigerators, black-box flight recorders, bionic ears and Wi-Fi will cut its research budget by 7 per cent over the next 12 months, and another 10 per cent in the following three years. At the same time it’s offering tax cuts and write-offs in its budget this month for small firms to buy equipment like espresso machines and lawnmowers as the centerpiece of a plan to build a ‘stronger and more prosperous Australia’.http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/stupid-australia-brain-drain-leaves-economy-less-able-to-compete-51750
“Rebuilding America’s Defenses”An influential policy document outlines a plan for American hegemony, pinpointing “problem areas” of the world and suggesting regime change of unfavourable governments so that eventually the whole world will be unified under the banner of American democracy.http://newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf. Failure of the US coup d’État in MacedoniaMacedonia has just neutralised an armed group whose sponsors had been under surveillance for at least eight months. This has prevented an attempted coup, planned by Washington for the 17th of May. The aim was to spread the chaos already infecting Ukraine into Macedonia in order to stall the passage of a Russian gas pipeline to the EU.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41969.htm A Revolution For MacedoniaThe National Endowment for Democracy (US) funds NGOs in countries targeted by Washington for political destabilisation who then develop cadres of idealistic students and disgruntled politicians and set them against the existing government. Washington spent $5 billion in Ukraine grooming politicians and creating NGOs so that when Viktor Yanukovich refused to align Ukraine with Washington’s interests, Washington unleashed its Fifth Columns, and Yanukovich’s government was overthrown with violence. Now the same fate may be in store for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgystan, and (for the moment) Macedonia.http://www.countercurrents.org/roberts230515.htm
What if Putin is Telling the Truth?Russian intelligence has known for almost two decades that the terror in Chechnya and in the Caucasus in the early 1990’s was actively backed by the CIA to destroy Russia as a functioning sovereign state. Today this agenda has been expanded to the neo-nazi coup in Ukraine and financial sanctions.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41886.htm
Happiness is Having Own Submarine-launched Ballistic MissilePyongyang’s nukes have always been to ward off a US-South Korean invasion – an operation that the two allies practice every fall, producing violent tantrums from Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un knows Iraq and Libya would not have been invaded if they had had nuclear weapons. The Kim dynasty’s days would be numbered without them.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41881.htm
Is the US planning a “Gulf of Tonkin” incident in the South China Sea?The historic parallels are chilling.https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/05/18/pers-m18.html An already tense and dangerous situation in the South China Sea threatens to become even worse as the US considers plans to initiate systematic military patrols in that volatile area. http://nationalinterest.org/feature/america-about-make-fatal-mistake-the-south-china-sea-12905 US Bombers to Australia??Washington would “be placing additional air force assets in Australia, including B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft. We will have a very strong presence throughout the region to back our commitments to our allies, to protect our diplomacy on the South China Sea.”http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41892.htm One more Unintended Consequence of US interference in the Ukraine and the SpratleysChina rapidly upgrading nuclear arsenal with MIRVed missilesThe move comes decades after Beijing acquired the technology, indicating a strategy change.http://rt.com/news/259417-china-mirv-missile-upgrade/
Fossil fuels subsidised by $10m a minuteThe IMF calls the revelation “shocking” and says the figure is “extremely robust”. The $5.3tn subsidy estimated for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments.http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/18/fossil-fuel-companies-getting-10m-a-minute-in-subsidies-says-imf?CMP=share_btn_tw
As Iran forswears the Bomb the Saudis get it. As the Saudis “Promise to Match Iran’s Nuclear Power” who then steps in to protect Iran? Russia? China? Treaties of support will tie this up and, as in 1914, war is possible. Saudis May Purchase Pakistani Atomic Bomb“Nuclear weapons programs are extremely expensive and there’s no question that a lot of the funding of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program was provided by Saudi Arabia,”http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41890.htm Intelligence agents and diplomats have claimed Riyadh has had nuclear weapons since 1998 kept in a secret underground compound several miles from Riyadh capital.http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41850.htm Nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery Saudi Arabia ‘can get nuclear weapons from Pakistan’: Nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for deliverhttp://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-can-get-nuclear-weapons-from-pakistan-1.1252773
France Declares All New Rooftops Must Be Topped With Plants Or Solar PanelsGreen roofs, as they are called, have an isolating effect which helps to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building during the winter or cool it in the summer. They are capable of retaining rainwater and reducing problems with runoff, and also offer birds a place to call home in the urban jungle.http://csglobe.com/france-declares-all-new-rooftops-must-be-topped-with-plants-or-solar-panels
Green power success stories take the wind out of Tony AbbottGermany, the world leader in installing renewable energy, was producing so much electricity from solar, wind and biomass that more than half of the country’s electricity was flowing from these renewable sources. There was so much that the price of electricity fell to zero, and kept falling until it went negative. There were times on April 17 when wholesale electricity in Germany was selling for minus 14.91 euros for a megawatt hour. So it wasn’t free – it was cheaper than free.http://www.smh.com.au/comment/green-power-success-stories-take-the-wind-out-of-tony-abbott-20150526-gh9bd6
Huge Insurance Company Cites Climate Change As Reason For Divesting From CoalLast year, AXA paid over €1 billion globally in weather-related insurance claims, citing climate change as a “core business issue”. “The facts are undeniable. If we think we can live in a world where temperatures would have increased by more than 2C we’re fooling ourselves,” http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/22/3662053/axa-insurance-coal-divestment/
Formaldehyde is just one of 62,000 chemicals that Congress exempted from testing. Only 250 have been tested since.http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2015/04/how-american-industry-skips-some-chemical-safety-checkshttp://www.foreffectivegov.org/node/13411 EU dropped pesticide laws due to US pressure over TTIPUS trade officials pushed EU to shelve action on endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/22/eu-dropped-pesticide-laws-due-to-us-pressure-over-ttip-documents-reveal?CMP=ema_565
Gaza economy ‘on verge of collapse’, with world’s highest unemploymentWorld Bank report says Israeli blockades and war and damaged governance have left 43% of people out of work and the strip facing dangerous financial crisis. The current market in Gaza is not able to offer jobs, leaving a large population in despair, particularly the youth. Of the $3.5bn pledged by the international community for Gaza’s reconstruction, just $1bn, has been disbursed so far.http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/22/gazas-economy-on-verge-of-collapse-jobless-rate-highest-in-world-israel Which Countries Are Failing To Deliver Gaza Aid?Qatar has delivered just 10 percent of the $1 billion it promised, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait between them have handed over just over $50 million of the $900 million they pledged,http://www.countercurrents.org/slemrod220515.htm
‘Disaster after disaster’ hits Marshall Islands as climate change kicks inThree-part series examining the effects of climate change on the Marshall Islands and what is being done to adapt.http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/18/disaster-after-disaster-in-low-lying-marshall-islands.html
Mapping the migrant crisisHow did thousands of Asian migrants come to be stranded at sea with nowhere to go?http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/18/southeast-asias-migrant-crisis-explained-in-maps-rohingya-boats/
Megadeath Until 2008, conservationists appeared to be winning. But in that year the number of rhinos killed in South Africa rose (from 13 in 2007) to 83. By 2011, the horrible tally had risen to 448. It climbed to 668 in 2012, 1004 in 2013 and 1215 in 2014. In the first four months of this year, 393 rhinos have been killed, which is 18% more than in the same period last year.http://www.monbiot.com/2015/05/22/megadeath/
An American-Made Army in Africa the most interesting part of this article is the later analysis of the Sudan situation and its causes in foreign interference.http://www.countercurrents.org/turse180515.htm
Brutal truths about ISIL victoriesThe fight against ISIL is in many ways a fight between the idea of a nation state and the idea of a revolutionary ideological empire. Lessons learned about the intrinsic strengths of revolutionary insurgencies in comparison with the strengths of conventional armies are not being applied. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/05/iraq-truths-isil-victories-ramadi-150519050240243.html Iraq army held 10-to-1 advantage during Ramadi defeatDefense Secretary Ash Carter said the Iraq forces lost their will to fight, despite the fact they “vastly outnumbered the opposing force.” ISIL captured Ramadi on May 17 with 1,000 fighters and are now reinforcing those forces from the west.http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/26/iraq-army-held-advantage-during-ramadi-defeat-sources.html
48 Countries March Against MonsantoGlobal anti-Monsanto protests have been spurred by a recent WHO warning that the company’s signature herbicide “probably” causes cancer. Tens of thousands of activists rallied in more than 400 cities across the world Saturday to protest. http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/48-Countries-March-Against-Monsanto-20150523-0010.html andhttp://fracturedparadigm.com/2013/04/02/boycott-monsanto-a-simple-list-of-companies-to-avoid/#axzz3bFcytGbU
