Sunday
headlines
##
Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards ##
Italy will
include prostitution and illegal drug sales in the gross
domestic product calculation this year, a boost for
its chronically stagnant economy and Prime Minister Matteo
Renzi’s effort to meet deficit targets.
In
recent weeks officials have said the government is considering
making it obligatory for state-owned companies to
receive payment for key exports in roubles, rather than in
dollars as at present.
The
Spanish government is currently engaged in a desperate bid to offload
one of the country’s recently bailed out, nationalised,
and supposedly now fully restored savings banks, Catalunya Caixa
— the ill-fated offspring of the post-crisis merger of
Caixa Catalunya with two smaller Catalonian saving banks, Caixa
Terrassa and Caixa Manresa. The problem is that no one wants it.
##
Airline Death Spiral ##
The
Conservative government is considering letting air operators fly with
fewer flight attendants, drawing backlash from airline crews
who say passenger safety is taking a back seat to corporate
profits.
##
Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Japan
and China on Sunday accused each other's air forces of dangerous
behavior over the East China Sea, with Japan saying Chinese
aircraft had come within a few dozen meters of its warplanes.
##
Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
##
Energy/resources ##
With
more than 50 percent of the current industry workforce eligible to
retire in 2015, the energy sector desperately needs to
address major gaps in workforce knowledge and experience if
it is to meet its aggressive growth goals.
Iran
is loading eight LPG cargoes totaling 317,000 mt in May for export to
Asia, the biggest monthly volume since resuming shipments in May
2013 following an eight-month halt on concerns over an EU ban on
shipping insurance, shipping and trade sources said Friday.
As
it turns out, the company’s production costs were too high to
compete commercially. After only four years in operation,
it filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its Carthage, Mo.,
plant in 2009.
##
Got food? ##
##
Environment/health ##
How
Nanotechnology Could Reengineer Us (infographic)
##
Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##
##
Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Crippling
fossil fuel dependency, climate volatility, rocketing debt levels are
propelling protests, radicalising the state
On
an individual level, we try to avoid exertion, stress and
crisis, and on a larger systemic level, our institutions
devote enormous resources to minimizing systemic volatility and
suppressing dissent.
When
they pull up to a gas station these days, Detroit drivers are
looking beyond the price per gallon at a far more
threatening concern: carjackers. The armed auto
thieves have become so common here that parts of the bankrupt
metropolis are referred to as "Carjack City," and
many motorists fear getting out of their vehicles even for a few
moments to fill a tank.
##
Japan ##
The
government is considering giving prime ministers a free hand in
mobilizing the Self-Defense Forces to respond swiftly to “gray-zone”
incidents, government sources said Sunday.
Successive
Cabinets have refused to release details of firsthand accounts
of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, despite an understanding by a
government investigation committee that the information from 772
interviewees could be made public.
Around
half of the 9,790 pedestrian bridges built over roads and
managed by the national, prefectural or municipal governments
are over 40 years old, and removal of these bridges is outpacing
the construction of new ones, a Mainichi survey suggests.
##
China ##
Now
here's what I call a solution! -- RF
More
than 30 Chinese cities, excluding Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou
and Shenzhen, plan to relax restrictions imposed on housing
purchases because of the slowdown in the country's real estate
market.
##
UK ##
Britain
borrowed £11.5bn in April, up 21% on last year, as interest
repayments hit £1bn a week.
More
than one in 10 new Army recruits are boy soldiers of just 16
years old, according to the latest figures released by
the Ministry of Defence. And more than one in four of all new
Army recruits are under 18 – too young to be sent into combat.
##
US ##
David
Barron, who co-authored memo authorizing drone killing of U.S.
citizen, "now one step away from the Supreme Court."
Once
the go-to activity for corporate bonding, the sport is suffering
from an exodus of players, a lack of interest among millennials
and the mass closure of courses.
An
economic tsunami is rumbling toward Pennsylvania. Unless it can
be averted, it will do great harm to communities all across the
state. Many people will face massive tax increases. Others will
have fewer police officers and firefighters to protect them.
Housing
and food expenses absorb more than half of low-income Americans’
annual spending. Even the wealthiest Americans devote a
sizable share of their spending to keeping a roof over their heads
and food in their refrigerators.
And
finally...
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