Mohamed Morsy’s Trail Sparks Civil Unrest

In the wake of ousted leader Mohamed Morsy’s trial, protests demanding Morsy’s reinstatement spring up around the country. The former president is now standing trial for allegations of inciting violence during December clashes. Currently, one of the most prominent concerns regarding the trial is the legitimacy of the court. Concerns whether or not Morsy will stand a fair trial reflect the political instability in Egypt. As Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa el-Din stated “Egyptians are suffering,” and to “make no mistake about this: Egyptians are suffering as a result of the policies that were adopted particularly during the year of the reign of ex-President Morsy.”

Egypt is going through a lot of changes at this point in time. Many of the changes are in anticipations of a more democratic state. With the trail of Morsy commemorating, Egyptian civilians hope to put times of extreme government oppression behind them. Having said this, as long as Egyptian leaders keep their eyes fixed on commencement of brighter democratic ideology, the political and economic state of Egypt should experience recovery.

1. Lee, Ian (2013, November 4). Egypt: Mohamed Morsy trail set to start. CNN. November 9, 2013, from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/03/world/africa/egypt-morsy-trial/index.html?iref=allsearch

Technology and the Drug War

In the week that has just passed, my attention was drawn to three websites. The first two give accounts of some current events (though the underlying issues are not new), while the third puts into perspective something we have already reported upon, namely, the increasing use by the drug cartels of Internet social networking resources and capacities.

Let’s start with the first two. CNN reports on the latest episode in the grab’em/let’em go of Mexican drug lords. This time it has to do with Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero and how the Mexican and US government seem to have completely different agendas here. Well, that’s nothing new. If ever the two governments did really get it together and work from the same script, it might be a different story. This is so much like some first world colonial government and culture dealing with a poorer, more alienated one that has a completely different agenda. Here’s the link:

 http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/world/americas/mexico-us-reward-caro-quintero/

And speaking about how dysfunctional the US-Mexican relationship is, we have a new meaning to give to the term “undermine” (like in undermining any hope of progress by releasing drug kingpins). CBS reports that a cross-border area linking Tijuana and San Diego has actually been excavated and prepared as a tunnel way for the drug traffickers. This also shows just how ineffective the so-called war on drugs is. Pretty soon (in six years) we will be at the 100^th anniversary of the Volstead Act (passed in 1919): that stroke of American legislative genius and self-righteousness that gave rise to the Roaring Twenties era of prohibition. Will we never learn? Legalize the stuff, and let’s end this farce. Want more? Here’s the link:   

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57610202/major-drug-tunnel-found-on-u.s.-mexico-border-3-arrested/

Finally, you must read this last article (link below) on how the drug cartels are using the Internet social networking capacities. This is not just some crazed bunch of poor kids using their new found money to play with another set of new toys. From the analysis provided on the tracking techniques used to target users interfering or criticizing their activities to the capacity of encryption they posses to hide their messages, with the drug cartels in these instances we are dealing with some heavily intelligent and sophisticated (at least technically) people. The encryption technique mentioned in the article, “Onion” routing, was after all developed for use in the US Navy. How much money does it take the buy the services this caliber of expert, and how many of these experts, one might well ask, come from the US or other countries outside of Mexico. Plenty one could imagine quite a good number (including ex-military) given the money involved. It is all part of supply and demand: classic market economics at work. It worked in the earlier Prohibition Era (so that they finally repealed the Volstead Act in 1933) and it is working again today, some ninety-plus years later.

http://www.vice.com/read/mexicos-drug-cartels-are-using-the-internet-to-get-up-to-mischief

Near the End of Syria's Stockpile

According to state activists on November 7th Syrian troops took over an important rebel-held town, Sbeineh, south of Damascus thus cutting off all of their supply routes .  This was a crucial act as Sbeineh, was one of the most important rebel positions near Damascus.  Along with this news, it has been verified, through footage from sealed cameras that 21 out of the 23 chemical weapon sites have been verified, however, the remaining two were too dangerous to come into contact with. 

            Syria has agreed to destroy its chemical weapons by mid-2014.  However, was discovered that about 1290 tons of chemical weapons and nerve agents as well as 1230 unfilled chemical munitions were are still left to be destroyed.  Syria claims that the OPCW headquarters has made advances this week to destroy the weapons.  They plan to have all plans to eliminate chemical weapons finalized by November 15^th.

"Syria Army Retakes Key Rebel Enclave near Damascus." BBC News. BBC, 11 July 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

Rallies and Riots Against the IMF and EU Economic Leaders in Greece.

Earlier this week, IMF and EU economic inspectors weren't greeted with open arms and smiles. Instead they were greeted with fists, and scowls. Riot police had to push back anti-austerity protesters to let the inspectors pass through to their vehicles. Demonstrators screamed slogans such as "take your bailout and get out of here!" The IMF's chief inspector to the Greek Crisis, had to duck and dodge as a man through coins at him. The protests grew in ferocity as some IMF inspectors had to be snuck out the back door. This will be the sixth year that Greece has been in a recession, with unemployment creeping towards 30%. Demonstrators that took to the streets were angry after more public sector funds had been dismissed after "the troika" had stated that the funds needed to be allocated elsewhere. Greeks have lost nearly 40% of their disposable income, possibly making this generation a lost cause. With no money towards leisure, most Greeks have to save their money just to live. But the quality of living isn't even that good anymore. The officals in Athens state that structural reforms, and "targeted measures" could easily seal the €500m. However the IMF, EU, and European Central Bank contend that the debt is in fact four times larger, and can only be resoled with more budget cuts and austerity measures.    

Smith, Helena . "Greek protesters rally against IMF and EU inspection." the Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/05/greek-protesters-rally-against-imf-eu-inspection>.

China: Underdog? Or just one of the rest?

             Chinese economic good fortunes have Western economies feeling “increasingly uncomfortable”, and indeed they are good fortunes. Their purchase late this May of the United States’ Smithfield Foods and the French Club Med asserts the Chinese as an economic force in both developing and developed countries. Araujo and Cardenal identify “the aggressive worldwide push of Chinese state capitalism” as threatening the West’s competitive edge, and perhaps more importantly, their jobs. This, however, is not the empowering story of the underdog claiming what is rightfully deserved like we have heard before. The authors not-so-subtly hint that the practices that have allowed the Chinese to grow this powerful; e.g. hidden subsidies, cheap financing, and exploiting resources, are not as honorable as once thought.

            In my opinion, this article is particularly interesting because many countries and organizations praised China earlier this year for bringing good development policies to the Third World, contrasting the exploitative practices enacted by predominantly Western developed countries. This article would paint the image that it is impossible to rival the powerful economies of today without “getting your hands dirty” in the process. Though I am positive China does not care that I find this extremely disheartening, there is something to be said about sustainability and human rights. Shoddy practices yield failing economies as I believe the current economic crisis can provide example of. The externalities involved in exploiting resources and cheap financing will have to be addressed; every economist knows there’s no such thing as a free lunch. My faith rests in policy makers who will stop ignoring the full consequence of these actions.

So there’s my two cents and then some. I hope you share your thoughts, opinions, and questions! Thanks for reading

Works Cited

Araujo, H., & Cardenal, J. P. (1 June 2013). China’s Economic Empire. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/opinion/sunday/chinas-economic-empire.html

 

Toxic Island

Earlier this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a photo showing a piece of a "massive, Texas-sized 'island' of toxic debris" making its way from Japan to the United States, causing a major response from the American west coast.



After the outburst, the NOAA has clarified that while there were once approximately 5 million tons of floating debris, 70 percent of it has since sunk. The NOAA released a statement, saying, "At this point, nearly three years after the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, whatever debris remains floating is very spread out. It is spread out so much that you could fly a plane over the Pacific Ocean and not see any debris since it is spread over a huge area, and most of the debris is small, hard-to-see objects."

With that said, however, many believe that there will be debris - toxic and non toxic or 'normal' - coming in through to Canadian and U.S. shores within the next few years. According to John Chapman, a scientist at Oregon State University Marine Science Center, "We’re finding that all kinds of Japanese organisms are growing on the debris. We've found over 165 non-native species so far.... we’d never seen [some of these species] here, and we don’t particularly want [them] here.

"While there likely is some debris still floating at sea, the North Pacific is an enormous area, and it's hard to tell exactly where the debris is or how much is left. A significant amount of debris has already arrived on the U.S. and Canadian shores, and it will likely to continue arriving in the same scattered way over the next several years," the agency said."

Even though there isn't the so called "toxic island" floating our way, there's no sure way to know what could be attached to the normal debris that is landing on our shores. 

Bennet-Smith, M. (2013, November 07).  Everyone Calm Down: A Texas-Sized 'Island  of Toxic Tsumani Debris Is Not Headed For The U.S.  Retrieved from 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/06/japanese-tusnami-debris-island-    us_n_4226562.html

Tanquintic-Misa, Esther. (2013, November 07). NOAA Douses Fears of Fukushima Tsunami Debris Heading to the United States. Retrieved from http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/520178/20131107/noaa-fukushima-tsunami-debris.htm#.UnxO2Pmkozy.

"There WILL be a White Flag Above Dai-Chi..."

Up to this point, Japan can no longer be in denial of the leaking containers and inability to alleviate the disaster on its own. Just recently, TEPCO President Naomi Hirose has agreed to accept the United States' help and discuss tactics to remove fuel rods from the storage pool with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. TEPCO has also appointed a former U.S. regulator who led the cleanup of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the United States as an adviser. Since March 2011, Japan has been reluctant to accept foreign help, and with the the radioactive water leaks increasing, Japan has no choice but be willing to reach out and ask for the help they need. Hopefully the group effort will control these tanks because if not, we can predict major adverse health effects. 

Thankfully, TEPCO has shown progress in cleaning up Fukushima. That's being optimistic. Realistically, removing fuel rods from one of the four reactor buildings damaged in the crisis is not only extremely dangerous, the decommissioning process, which includes taking these fuel rods from the cooling pool, is estimated to take decades. With the U.S. joining forces with Japan to contribute global nuclear power and shared technology, hopefully the process of stabilizing and decommissioning the plant will be much more efficient and safer. 
Next week, a U.S.-Japan commission "to strengthen co-operation in civil nuclear research and development, as well as Fukushima cleanup, emergency response, and regulatory issues," will meet in Washington.

References: Yamaguchi, M.  "Fukushima nuclear plant operator to work with u.s. in cleanup effort" .CTV News. 1 Nov. 2013. Web 01 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/fukushima-nuclear-plant-operator-to-work-with-u-s-in-cleanup-effort-1.1523949>