Thursday, October 24, 2013

Chemical Weapon Destruction Deadline to be Met

A spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) stated earlier this week that the deadline for destroying all equipment used in the making of chemical weapons will likely be met. This deadline is set for November 1, and marks a milestone in the efforts to relieve tension within the country's borders. Inspectors for the OPCW have visited 18 of the 23 chemical weapons sites have have stated that the Syrian government is being very cooperative. Norway has considered the request of the OPCW to destroy the Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons, nearly 50 tons of mustard gas and 500 tons of nerve agent precursors. An official destruction plan will be decided upon at a meeting for the OPCW executive council in Hague this November.

The immense progress that has taken place in regard to the removal of chemical weapons from Syria shows that the syrian government has been cooperative throughout the removal process and will most likely continue their cooperation throughout the rest of the process. Though it is still unclear where exactly the weapons are being taken or where they are being destroyed, the efforts by the OPCW and countries such as Norway has shown that an international agreement is in the near future. Overall, the efforts of the OPCW and the Syrian government to remove the weapons shows that the issue is moving in a positive direction and strong efforts are being made to relieve tension in syria.

Borger, Julian. (2013) Syria Deadline for Chemical Weapons Destruction Will be Met, Says OPCW. The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/23/syria-deadline-chemical-weapons-opcw.

Surprise, Surprise.

It seems that the Fukushima nuclear power plant near the Okuma town is in a constant battle with Japan’s weather forecast. The power plant is “bracing itself for Typhoon Francisco, set to hit the country this weekend”. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) plans to avoid a disaster by moving the contaminated water into underground storage pools previously deemed unsafe due to leaks. Unfortunately time has left no alternative options and workers are preparing for their most dangerous cleanup operation yet attempting to remove “400 tons of spent fuel from Reactor No. 4.”

What’s the deal TEPCO? In earlier posts we mentioned that the time for another disaster was sooner than later, and here we are scrambling to figure out the next move to prevent radiation leaks. We’ve witnessed disaster with moving the water to underground storage pools after the leaks occurred earlier this year, how do we know this won’t happen again? The costs of the disaster are starting to batter Japan’s economy but more importantly, we have an increasingly urgent need to prevent severe radiological disaster. The lightest tremors could trigger catastrophic leaks; let’s hope Typhoon Francisco doesn’t devastate the power plant before TEPCO finds legitimate ways to fix it.

Fukushima moves radioactive water as it braces for typhoon francisco. (October, 2013 24). Retrieved from http://rt.com/news/fukushima-typhoon-radioactive-water-658/

Johnson, A. (October, 2013 17). Typhoon francisco, following wipha's deadly path, drenches guam on its way to japan. Retrieved from http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/17/21015024-typhoon-francisco-following-wiphas-deadly-path-drenches-guam-on-its-way-to-japan?lite

Friday, October 18, 2013

Chinese intrests in American Real Estate

While the popping of the housing bubble in 2008 was devastating to many Americans, it presented a golden opportunity to those who had the capitol to purchase the low-priced real estate. This event could not have happened at a better time for the People’s Republic of China, who were on a quest to procure the most valuable resources the world has to offer. While China currently is attempting to purchase property in major countries around the world, its number one focus is the United States. Having invested over $1.4 Billion on American property, mainly in San Francisco, New York and Houston, China’s next largest investment are is Hong Kong, where China spent $489 Million. While Chinese investors say the rate of return is not as high as other areas, the American markets provide stability to their portfolios.

Overall, this is a smart move for the Middle Kingdom; not only are they investing in assets that have nowhere else to go but up, but also in the American Dollar, which continues to be one of the most stable currencies in the global market. This rings especially true in cities like San Francisco, where the housing market has raised by 30% this past quarter. Although this arrangement is beneficial to Chine investors, it is detrimental to those pursuing the American dream of home ownership. As of this current time though, individuals continue to rent these properties at these heightened profits, fueling the current investors profits as well as enticing the desire of future investments from more Chinese.

Fung, E. (n.d.). Chinese Property Investors Widen Footprint in U.S. - WSJ.com. The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News & Video - Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303983904579094723756080610
Rapoza, K. (n.d.). Chinese To Spend Billions On American Real Estate - Forbes. Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Retrieved October 19, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2013/07/10/chinese-to-spend-billions-on-american-real-estate/

The Costly Death Struggle in Mexico

This week’s news is more than a little shocking. I start off with news that according to the Examiner, more than 80,000 people have died due to the Mexican War on Drugs. This number is still growing and the article puts it in comparison by using the Vietnam War as an example. 58,000 Americans died in the Vietnam War, so the 80,000 that have been killed is comparable now to a full fledged war, that carries large historical value. This eight year long war currently has no end in site; while the Mexican government still looks for solutions. Currently, President Pena Nieto is looking to reduce homicides and prevent crime, and although he has not taken a stance against (or for) legalizing marijuana, this issue still arises in Mexico City. According to the Time article, “North America’s Largest City Moves to Legalize Pot” it is said that legislators are looking to legalize pot, so they can regulate the high consumption in the city. There are many political figureheads who are publicly for this option, including former President Vicente Fox. Hernández of Cupihd says, “This is not an issue of left against right. Many in the political class are coming to realize that something has to be done.”

Hernandez is right, the time for a change is now, the increasing number of deaths and displacement of the Mexican people needs to end. This will only happen if surrounding nations will grow to lead a revolution against this ongoing war. The Mexican legislators in support of the bill to pass marijuana state that it would set a precedence on how to go about regulating marijuana, so that way the rest of the country can follow and then too hopefully larger nations will join in. The Mexican drug war, has caused some trepidation for those crossing borders since there is so much violence, but the lack of action by the Mexican and American governments will only continue to harm this process. We will continue to see the death toll rise, until a fundamental change is made in the way combatting this war.

Kouri, Jim. (2013,October, 17)."Number of Mexicans killed in drug war surpasses that of Yanks killed in Vietnam". Examiner. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/number-of-mexicans-killed-drug-war-surpasses-that-of-yanks-killed-vietnam

Grillo, Ioan. (2013, October 17). “North America’s Largest City Moves to Legalize Pot”. TIME. Retrieved from http://world.time.com/2013/10/14/north-americas-largest-city-moves-to-legalize-pot/#ixzz2i2OEp1uq.

China in Canada

It is worth notice that much of China’s investment went into roads, bridges, factories and ports, all of which helped propel China’s economic ranking past the U.K., Germany, and Japan within the past decade. Over the recent few years, Chinese firms kept coming to North America, but they tended to tiptoe in, buying up small energy firms, minority stakes in bigger companies or working interest in specific projects. Canada's economic reliance on the U.S. has ebbed for decades amid sporadic efforts to diversify. But weak demand from a prolonged economic downturn south of the border has accelerated the move, sending Canadian companies looking for new markets. Since China also required commodities like coking coal, a key steel-making ingredient, this benefited Canadian commodity producers. The Vancouver-based company ships about 15 to 20 per cent of the 25 million tonnes of coking coal it produces annually to China, according to analysts. For example, Ford Motor Co. said on Wednesday that its second-quarter results were boosted by a strong performance in the Asia-Pacific, including China. At the same time, China is the biggest potash consumer in the world. In March, Igor Medge , the vice president of AgriKalum, a Saskatoon-based potash-mining start-up, was trolling for around $2 billion in financing at a Toronto mining conference swarming with Chinese executives and government officials.

The shift is sharpest here in Western Canada, rich in resources and closer to China. Last year for the first time ever, British Columbia sent more exports to the Pacific Rim than to the U.S. Chinese investors have beat out U.S. investors in Canada's oil patch every year since 2009, pumping $12.8 billion into companies and projects since then. What’s more, Chinese companies started to pour billions into Canadian energy companies. In late 2008, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, said it would buy Canada's Tanganyika Oil Co., which had most of its production in Syria, for $2 billion. A year later, Sinopec struck again, buying Addax Petroleum, another Canadian-listed firm with operations in Iraq and West Africa, for $7.2 billion. China is progressively expanding her influence in North America by investing in resource and energy industry. It is apparent that “diversification” is her fundamental, strategic objective, to get the resources from where they are to where they are wanted.

1. The Wall Street Journal, 2013. Resource-Rich Canada Looks to China for Growth http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304177104577311921156382152 (accessed May 13, 2013).

2. The Wall Street Journal, 2013. Canada’s Growing China Trade Connection http://live.wsj.com/video/canada-growing-china-trade-connection/C5EC68E9-3404-4344-A5B7-D94C4888D0D3.html#!C5EC68E9-3404-4344-A5B7-D94C4888D0D3

Greek Corruption

Rousfeti. Or Bribes. A word well known in the Greek language these days. Almost nothing gets down without a bribe, from politicians to teachers, to priests. The name of the game is money. A study conducted by the Brookings Institute discovered that bribery and corruption are major issues regarding the economic crisis in Greece. 8% of its GDP is lost to bribery. That’s about €20 billion a year. ($27 billion.) Former Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou stated, "Our basic problem is systemic corruption.” In 2009, 13.5% of Greek households paid a bribe of some sort on average of about €1355, from doctor’s appointments, to driver’s licenses. According to Transparency International Greece is the most corrupted country in all the 27 countries in the European Union. Corruption hurts the public finances in small ways, which eventually lead to huge consequences. When money is cheated out of taxes it expands the government deficit, because the money isn't used to the public’s needs or wants.

One of the biggest scandals in the history of Greece is that of the former defense minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos. It is a very rare case of a high profile official being faced with charges and being sentenced. The former minister is charged with corruption as he accepted bribes of at least 26 million dollars for the purchases of submarines and other military equipment and laundering the money through offshore accounts and by buying property. After a 5 months long trial, and a year and a half in custody, Akis Tsochatzopoulos was found guilty, along with 16 other co-defendants including his wife, daughter, ex-wife and cousins, and was sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Sources:

business-20605869

"BBC News - Greece 'most corrupt' EU country, new survey reveals." BBC - Homepage. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20605869

Walker, Marcus . "Corruption, Cronyism Fuel Greek Debt Mess - WSJ.com." The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News &

Thursday, October 17, 2013

A blind eye, or a slap on the wrist?

Last week on October 9th U.S. officials "announced a modest and temporary freeze"on military aid to Egypt. Senior Obama administration officials told reporters "this is not meant to permanent," implying that if Egypt was to restore a democratic government as soon as possible then it would restore the aid being held back. The aid not being withheld funds counterterrorism programs and security measures along the Sinai Peninsula, a haven for "extremist." The untouched aid also includes "programs to train and educate Egyptian military officials in the United States; the delivery of spare parts for many American-supplied weapons; and aid for health care, education and the promotion of business in Egypt." U.S. officials, however, were skeptical about the cutbacks in aid to Egypt, fearing that it would jeopardize the peace treaty of 1979 with Israel. Israel is also concerned about the cut in funding to Egypt's military in fear that tension between the two nations will break out in another brutal conflict.

In my personal opinion i believe the United States should completely stop funding Egypt's military. The reasons behind why the government does aid Egypt are clear and reasonable; however, with the recent events that have taken place since Morsi's removal from power, it is hard to say if the U.S. is doing the right thing by supporting a government that has denied its citizens their basic rights. The aid provided by the United States is "deeply unpopular with the Egyptian public." So why should we keep funding a government whose constituents do not approve of the support being given by another state. If the United States wants to send a message to it's allies about military coups, this is not the way to send it.

Sources:

Gordon, Michael R. and Landler, Mark. (2013, October 9). In Crackdown Response, U.S. Temporarily Freezes Some Military Aid to Egypt. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/

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