##
Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards ##
More
than $30 billion in illicit capital flowed out of Saudi Arabia in
2012, facilitating crime and corruption, according to a new
study released by Global Financial Integrity.
##
Airline Death Spiral ##
Air
Do, which links Tokyo to cities in Japan's northernmost prefecture of
Hokkaido in a tie-up with major carrier All Nippon Airways, was
also found lax on aircraft maintenance check-ups.
Guess
what comes after plummeting oil prices. What do the experts say? --
RF
##
Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
The
new terror designation was well received by Ajnad Misr, which
posted a message to its official Twitter page thanking the U.S.
for the "blessing."
##
Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
##
Energy/resources ##
Oil industry
officials told the BBC the more than 40 percent drop in the price
of crude oil is putting the regional energy sector in a state
of emergency.
The
Oil Price Crash of 2014 (analysis)
##
Infrastructure scavenging ##
Dozens of
Metro-North trains were delayed Friday morning after thieves
stole copper cables from tracks in the Bronx late Thursday.
##
Got food? ##
##
Lifestyle Solutions ##
##
Environment/health ##
New
study finds children who ate the most fast food were found to have
poorer scores in tests for maths, science and reading
##
Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##
The
emails also reveal that a RAND corporation senior defense analyst who
consulted on the film went beyond “blessing” and outright
influenced the end of the film, encouraging the CEO of Sony
Entertainment to leave the assassination scene as it was
(in spite of misgivings at Sony) for the sake of encouraging
North Koreans to actually assassinate Kim Jong-Un and depose
his regime when the movie eventually leaks into that country.
Official Washington’s
“group think” on the Ukraine crisis now has a totalitarian feel
to it as “everyone who matters” joins in the ritualistic
stoning of Russian President Putin and takes joy in Russia’s
economic pain, with liberal economist Paul Krugman the
latest to hoist a rock.
##
Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
##
Japan ##
A
Japanese Internet activist and academic is challenging the recently
passed state secrets law by setting up a website aimed at making
it easier for government officials to leak sensitive information to
the media without getting caught.
The
government came up with targets for the fertility rate but
failed to present any specific step to end the population decrease
that could “endanger the sustainability” of Japan.
Ironically,
it is the current socioeconomic system that threaten's Japan's
sustainability. The current population of 127 million far outstrips
the country's ecological carrying capacity. Japan's estimated
population during the Edo Period (1600-1868), when the country
existed in self-imposed isolation and was entirely self-sufficient,
was about 30 million. -- RF
##
China ##
China
has offered more than $3 billion in loans and aid to neighbors
Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos to improve
infrastructure and production, and to fight poverty, state media
reported on Saturday.
China
is steadily pushing ahead with what is seen by many as its "go
south" policy aimed at forging closer relations with
Southeast Asia. This push includes the planned establishment
of an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is to help
finance infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
##
UK ##
British
households will pay nearly 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) to
help guarantee the country's electricity supply in 2018/19,
after a government auction determined who will provide backup
power capacity.
##
US ##
Corporate
landlords are benefiting from the worst U.S. rental-housing shortage
in more than a decade as construction trails demand and
more Americans opt to lease rather than buy.
In
March, a USA TODAY investigation identified thousands of
fugitives who police said they would not pursue if they fled the
state, usually because they did not want to spend the time or
money needed to get them back. The decisions, typically made
in secret, allowed old crimes to go unpunished and offered
fugitives a virtual license to commit new ones, often as close
as in the state next door.
Change
the names and it sounds just like the Japanese countryside. -- RF
Largest
percentage of Americans on food stamps while stock market
disconnects from working class Americans.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.