Whoever feels rich people have too much influence in politics should continue to read, the others too. According to data from the national corruption office, the newly sworn in 36 head strong government of Thailand consists mainly of US$-millionaires. Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of former Prime Minister and media champion Thaksin Shinawatra (overthrown in…
Arab Protests – United Arab Emirates Hire Blackwaters for Training Mercenary Army
The protest in the Arab world, having already ousted three presidents (Tunisia, Egypt and factually, though not formally Yemen) and seriously challenging another two (Libya and Syria) must be worrying the Arab gulf states. Sure, oil prices and corresponding rents are soaring and the gulf monarchies can and do try to just buy off any…
Coal Power – Micronesia Disputes Czech Power Plant
The Czech republic, which relies on coal for more than 60 percent of its power generation, plans to build one of the biggest coal power stations in Europe. Its CO2 emissions will be 40 times bigger than the total CO2 emissions of the whole state of Micronesia. The small state, situated mostly just one meter…
US-Deficit – Big Tax Breaks for Big Oil
Two figures are relentlessly increasing in the US: The budget deficit, which will reach staggering 1500 billion dollars in 2011and the benefits of oil companies, helped by federal tax-breaks of some 20 billions per year. On the one hand the oil industry causes huge environmental and societal risks (who still remembers and cares about the…
TV – Syrian Government Channel Shows Violence Against Demonstrators
The violent crackdown of Syrian security forces against demonstrators are, let’s say diplomatically, not extensively covered by the public television channels. It is all the more noteworthy that the regime’s television recently showed a video in which arrested young men were severely mistreated by police forces. Noteworthy are also the following events: Western media picks…
Saving Energy – Costing More
If there is a message to learn from the recent nuclear meltdown in Fukushima and the ongoing climate warming on which everybody could agree, it would probably be the insight that electricity is a scarce and more and more valuable good. Considering that, you would naturally assume that efficient energy use is promoted and rewarded…
Nuclear Energy – Conservaties Take a Stand for Cost Transparency
At the same time as in Japan the core of the nuclear plant of Fukushima is melting, German and Swiss right wing politician’s positions concerning nuclear energy are faltering. It is close to revolutionary that one of the leading newspaper publishes an article speaking of significant externalized (unaccounted) costs of nuclear power, hidden public subsidies…
Enough – We Want to be Free
Today I present a manifesto from the youth blocked in the Gaza strip. Even without comment their situation and frustration is absolutely understandable and without any doubt note-worthy! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community! We…
Nuclear Industry in Switzerland – Most Expensive Campaign Ever
In 2013 Switzerland will have a national referendum whether to construct new nuclear power plants. Billions Swiss Francs of cheap benefits for the nuclear industry are at stake and therefore the industry invests heavily in order to preemptively persuade Swiss voters from their point of view. Years before the decision, the big nuclear companies employ…
Terrorism – Not War of Religion but Struggle for Land
The reaction of the USA to the 09/11 terror attacks on New York was swift. First, it divided the world in black and white, against us or with us, good or evil, Christian or Muslim, advanced or backward, free or suppressive. Second, persuaded to act in pure self-defense it hit back, determined to defeat evil,…
Transparency – USA Requires Corporations to Declare Money Flows to Developing Countries
Earnings stemming of natural resources frequently don’t benefit the local populations but are grabbed by officials, ministers, presidents including their (usually big) families, friends, clans, study colleagues, tribes etc. Preventing this phenomenon also know as the “resource curse” is the aim of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Participating states and corporations engage in publicly…
Dubai – Studying in Another Universe
At the same time as Europe is debating scholarships, university fees, taxing academics and student debts, Dubai’s students not only live on another continent but at least financially, in another universe. The campus has its own freeway and the parking lots are packed with all kinds of luxury cars – not of professors, but with…
British Education – Taxing Academics Instead of Charging Students
Facing massive budget cuts, England’s administration gets creative. Instead of further increasing university fees – already the highest in Europe – the ministry of education is thinking about radically changing the system, eliminating fees altogether and introducing a life-long university tax for successful graduates. Like this, socially disadvantaged students could study much more easily, high-income…
Military Expenditure – Increasing Faster Than Security
In a time of economic crisis and tight budgets one might think that military expenditure – at least in countries without real threat – would decrease. It sounds logical and it’s very wrong. In the year of the worst recession since 1930, the states increased their “security” expenditures by 5.9% to impressive 1531 billion US-dollars….
EU-Expansion – Is the EU Ready For Turkey?
Is Turkey ready for joining the EU? Some politicians categorically deny it, others prefer to postpone the delicate answer and nobody dares asking the people about it. However, the question is probably not the decisive one. If reforms continue – slowly or rapidly – Turkey will be technically ready one day and even the most…
Spain – Translating Speeches Even Though Deputes Have Common Language
For some time now, Spain isn’t a centralistic country anymore. Several autonomy agreements have given considerable power to the regions and fundamentally changed the way of Spanish statehood. Now, the parliament is making another step and is planning to accept speeches in all recognized local languages (Basque, Catalan, Galiciano and Valenciano). This is the prize…
Japan – Bureaucrats Are To Publicly Defend Their Budgets
Japan’s bureaucrats are very powerful. Contrary to changing governments, they safely stay in their jobs for decades and have more than enough time to network and to make sure their budgets, pensions and lucrative allocations are safe. Politicians rely on a good standing with the administration if they want to achieve anything and utterly fail…
Obama – Many Republicans Believe in Conspiracy Theories
In the US gossips are running high and particularly republicans have sometimes difficulties to properly identify conspiracy theories as – pretty bad – political propaganda. Consequently 57% of republicans believe that Obama is a Muslim (for them most probably the incarnation of evil), 51% consider Obama to be willing to turn over US-sovereignty to a…
Tax-System – Nuisance Without Hope of Reform
On April 15 US-citizens had to declare their taxes. Apparently a very complicated endeavor – the tax code encompasses 70’000 pages and US society spends 7.6 billion hours (both paid and unpaid) to get the declaration right (or wrong as cynics might add). This time equivalents to almost 4 million people working year round –…
Poland – Proofing political maturity
In one short moment Poland lost a plane full of its political, economical and spiritual leaders. This shock however did not lead to chaos and instability. The institutional power-succession setting worked flawlessly, the designed people took on their responsibility and the nation joined ranks. Poland proofed to be not only economically (the only big EU-country…
