A great deal happening, so straight to it.
We begin with a peculiarly belated recognition from The Hill:
Obama: ‘Profoundly unequal’ economy a ‘fundamental threat’
President Obama on Wednesday declared that addressing income inequality would be the focus of “all” of the White House’s efforts “for the rest of my presidency.”
In a sweeping address that touched on raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure and ending tax breaks for the wealthy, Obama warned that the American economy has become “profoundly unequal,” declaring economic mobility the “challenge of our time.”
From the New York Times, more inequality on the way:
Pension Ruling in Detroit Echoes West to California
A judge’s decision in Michigan is resonating all the way to California.
The ruling by Judge Steven W. Rhodes, who is presiding in Detroit’s bankruptcy case, that public pensions are not protected from cuts could alter the course of bankrupt cities like Stockton and San Bernardino, Calif., that had been operating under the assumption that pensions were untouchable.
From Mother Jones, a good idea:
Elizabeth Warren: Big Banks Should Reveal Their Donations to Influential Think Tanks
On Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the biggest US banks to disclose their donations to think tanks, which influence laws that affect them.
Under current law, banks and other corporations are not required to publicly report their contributions to think tanks. That means that lawmakers who use think tank data and analysis to shape laws and regulations designed to police banks do not know how much bank money influences that research.
From Salon, confirmation:
GOP debunked on food stamps: Everything they say about SNAP is wrong
Forget the nonsense about them breeding dependency. Food stamps increase self-sufficiency, research shows
From CNN, a well-connected not-so-newcomer:
Obama’s uncle wins immigration battle, gets OK to stay in U.S.
Onyango Okech Obama – an uncle of President Barack Obama who has been in the United States illegally for decades – has gotten a federal court’s OK to stay in his adopted country, according to an attorney representing the uncle.
Federal immigration Judge Leonard I. Shapiro in Massachusetts agreed without argument Tuesday to allow the uncle, who has been living and working in U.S. for 50 years, to stay and obtain a green card, said attorney Margaret Wong.
The Guardian covers Kochs:
ALEC calls for penalties on ‘freerider’ homeowners in assault on clean energy
Documents reveal conservative group’s anti-green agenda
Strategy to charge people who install their own solar panels
Environmentalists accuse Alec of protecting utility firms’ profits
From International Business Times, ars gratia, and all that:
Detroit Institute Of Arts Vows To Prevent City From Auctioning Its Collection To Pay Creditors
Declared eligible for the largest-ever municipal bankruptcy Tuesday, Detroit has found itself in the spotlight of the art world with onlookers concerned that a portion of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ precious collection may be headed to the auction block to satisfy creditors of the financially distressed city.
From Reuters, more belated action to come:
Exclusive: U.S. plans new bank fraud cases in early 2014 – attorney general
The U.S. Justice Department plans to bring civil mortgage fraud cases against several financial institutions early in 2014, using as a template the case that ended last month in JPMorgan Chase & Co’s (JPM.N) $13 billion settlement, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday.
In an interview with Reuters, Holder would not say which companies or how many could face lawsuits but said the Justice Department was in contact with them and it was hard to say whether the talks would lead to settlements.
Bloomberg Businessweek covers another side of the banking world:
A Third of Bank Tellers Rely on Government Assistance, Study Says
Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley calculate that almost a third of all bank tellers receive some form of government assistance, according to the Washington Post. That includes $534 million for health insurance through Medicaid and coverage for low-income children, $250 million in tax credits for low and moderate earners, and more than $100 million in food stamps. They qualify for government aid because, on average, the country’s half a million tellers earn about $25,790 a year, or $12.40 an hour (if they work a 40-hour work week), according to the most recent government data. That’s less than similar administrative jobs, and tellers are also more likely to be part-time employees.
From Reuters, just doin’ business:
Wal-Mart pays lawyer fees for dozens of executives in bribery probe
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is paying for lawyers to represent more than 30 of its executives involved in a foreign corruption investigation, according to people familiar with the matter, an unusually high number that shows the depth of the federal probe.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Wal-Mart paid bribes in Mexico to obtain permits to open new stores there, and whether executives covered up an internal inquiry into the payments. The department is also looking into possible misconduct by the world’s largest retailer in Brazil, China and India.
From My Budget 360, reality:
Top 10 percent of US households control nearly 75 percent of all wealth – Average Americans pretend to be temporarily embarrassed millionaires by going further into debt.
Channel NewsAsia Singapore with upbeat numerals:
US trade gap shrinks to US$40.6b in October
The US trade deficit narrowed to $40.6 billion in October on a strong rise in exports, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.
And from the Los Angeles Times, where you can “drive right up and put a great big hot dog in your face”:
First Wienerschnitzel, symbol of L.A. car culture, now a landmark
North of the border with the Toronto Globe and Mail:
Bank of Canada frets over low inflation, cites retail competition
Disinflation has become the Bank of Canada’s new worry as the central bank again left its key rate unchanged at 1 per cent.
The bank pointed to a persistent and unexpected drop in inflation caused by excess supply in the economy and heightened competition in the retail sector, where an influx of new U.S. chains is shaking up the industry.
CBC News drops a media ax:
Sun Media announces 200 layoffs
‘Cost containment’ continues at parent company Quebecor Media
And National Post has the latest Toronto mayoral folly:
Rob Ford may have offered $5,000 and car for ‘crack video’: new police documents
One of the men suspected of peddling the “crack video” of Mr. Ford said he also had pictures of the mayor “doing the hezza,” usually used as a slang term for heroin;
The New York Times covers Banksters Behaving Badly:
E.U. Imposes $2.3 Billion in Fines Over Rate-Rigging Scandal
Joining a chorus of regulators worldwide, the European Union fined a group of global financial institutions — including for the first time two American banks — a combined 1.7 billion euros to settle charges they colluded to fix benchmark interest rates.
The widely anticipated settlement, worth about $2.3 billion and announced by European Union antitrust officials on Wednesday, is the largest combined penalty ever levied by European competition authorities and marks the culmination of an investigation that dates back more than two years.
From New Europe, feeble numbers:
In the EU28 GDP increased by 0.2 per cent
Second estimate in Eurozone’s GDP
Eurozone’s GDP only grew by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2013 compared with the second, recording a 0.4 per cent fall compared with the same quarter in 2012.
From Salon, a neoliberal desideratum nears completion:
Austerity is Americanizing European labor markets
Workers throughout Europe are losing their rights as their nations race to reduce the costs of labor
On to Britain with an ultimatum from the London Telegraph:
Goldman Sachs would ‘drastically’ cut its London office if the UK quits the EU
The Independent covers a national shame:
Food poverty in UK has reached level of ‘public health emergency’, warn experts
Hunger in Britain has reached the level of a “public health emergency” and the Government may be covering up the extent to which austerity and welfare cuts are adding to the problem, leading experts have said.
In a letter to the British Medical Journal, a group of doctors and senior academics from the Medical Research Council and two leading universities said that the effect of Government policies on vulnerable people’s ability to afford food needed to be “urgently” monitored.
And the BBC News covers another austerian move:
Autumn Statement: Plan to raise state pension age sooner
The date when people must be 68 to draw a state pension – formerly scheduled for 2046 – will be brought forward to the mid-2030s, Chancellor George Osborne will announce later.
Plans to be announced in Mr Osborne’s Autumn Statement mean the age could rise again to 69 by the late 2040s.
On to Sweden with TheLocal.se:
Sweden’s health system ‘worst in the Nordics’
Long queues to see a doctor and get treatment in Sweden have dragged the country far down a European ranking of healthcare providers, with Sweden now the worst among its Nordic neighbours despite efforts to cut waiting times.
TheLocal.se again, with another gain for the far right:
Sweden Democrats gain most in key voter survey
Sweden’s two largest political parties suffered drops in voter support, the country’s most-watched opinion poll revealed on Wednesday, while the far-fight Sweden Democrats solidified their position as Sweden’s third-largest party.
TheLocal.no covers another sign of dark feelings rising:
Foreign criminals who return face two years’ jail
Norway is set next week to vote in a ten-fold increase in the penalty for deported foreign criminals who illegally return to the country, VG newspaper has reported.
According to the proposal the penalty for breaking an expulsion order is to be increased from 35 days in prison to a maximum of two years.
On to Germany, and a Banksters Behaving Badly headline from Spiegel:
Rate Scandal: Deutsche Bank’s First Big Fine Won’t Be Its Last
Subprime mortgages, currency tricks, interest rate fixing: Wherever supervisory authorities have probed crooked deals of the past, Deutsche Bank comes up. Now Germany’s biggest bank has had to pay its first big fine. It won’t be the last.
Al Jazeera America covers terror from a quarter with deep roots:
Neo-Nazis may have been behind hundreds of unsolved German murders
Police launch review into killings first linked to immigrant groups, now thought to have involved the far right
And EUobserver has yet another instance of anti-Roma sentiments stirred up by demagogues:
German conservatives stir up ‘welfare tourism’ row
Several German conservatives are following the footsteps of their British colleagues, stoking fears about “welfare tourism” by Romanian and Bulgarians.
From Spiegel, the Americanization of German politics:
The Deal Makers: Coalition Deal Shows Rising Clout of Lobbyists
As the dust settled in Berlin, one group came out of last week’s coalition deal an unequivocal winner: Germany’s lobbyists. When it comes to shaping policy, corporate interests are wielding ever more influence on national politics.
On to France and a frayed icon from Spiegel:
Disneyland Paris: Europe’s Magic Kingdom Loses Its Magic
Disneyland Paris is currently besieged by unflattering headlines and faltering finances. Now an attempted suicide by a park employee is drawing attention to its labor practices. French unions are furious and an outspoken Belgian visitor is campaigning for big changes.
TheLocal.ch notes Swiss spending:
Swiss ready to spend more this Christmas
Swiss consumers retain a cautious outlook for the economy but are ready to spend a little more this Christmas than in the previous year, according to the 2013 Christmas retail survey by accounting and consulting company Deloitte.
The survey shows that Swiss households are budgeting an average of 807 francs (€656 or $893) for this yuletide season, up three percent from a year ago.
On to Spain, and a mob scene outside of Valencia via the London Telegraph:
IKEA gets 20,000 applications for just 400 jobs amid Spanish unemployment crisis
IKEA store’s computer servers crash after it gets 20,000 online applications for 400 jobs in just three days
TheLocal.es offers a dire assessment from a major player:
‘Spain won’t recover from crisis until 2033′
It will take Spain two decades, or until 2033, to see pre-crisis unemployment and growth levels, consultants PWC argue in a new report.
While Spain’s gross domestic product will grow 42 percent by 2033, or higher than the 26 percent of Germany and France’s 33 percent, the country won’t see pre-crisis growth levels until 2033, the PWC report argues.
A contrary view from BBC News:
Spain’s economic outlook improving, says Moody’s ratings agency
Ratings agency Moody’s has raised its outlook for Spain’s economy from “negative” to “stable”.
Moody’s said there had been a real improvement in the economy and government finances.
El País covers a neoliberal dream legally stricken:
Court rules one-year trial work contract without compensation illegal
Judgment applied to case of a laborer who was dismissed eight days before the 12-month period ended
thinkSPAIN conveys a reprimand:
Spain’s 600,000-euro fines for unauthorised demonstrations ‘problematic’, and austerity ‘a threat to human rights’, says European Commissioner
COUNCIL of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Nils Muiznieks says Spain’s controversial Public Safety Law is ‘highly problematic’ and that if it ‘goes any further’, he will ‘take it up with authorities’ in the country.
From El País, secession alliance:
Catalan pro-sovereignty parties seek deal for united ballot front
ERC will consider joint candidacy for EU parliamentary elections if independence vote goes ahead
The Portugal News covers the sale of a cherished piece of the commons:
Maximum price for CTT post office privatisation
The price of shares in the privatisation of CTT, the Portuguese postal service operator, has been set at €5.52, according to a statement from the CMVM stock market regulator.
With the first day of trading in the shares due on Thursday, the price turns out to be at the very top end of the price range set for the shares available to the public, which the government had said would be in the range of €4.10 and €5.52 earlier in November.
Italy next, and Bunga Bunga resurgence from New Europe:
Berlusconi considering running as a Bulgarian MEP
The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is considering running in Bulgaria for the 2014 European elections.
According to the Italian media, Berlusconi is thinking to run as a candidate for the European Parliament by taking advantage of the EU law, which allows every EU citizen to run in any EU country in the European elections. The controversial Italian politician, who is banned from holding public office in Italy is also considering running in Hungary or Estonia.
Europe Online has another Bunga Bunga tale:
Berlusconi’s poodle a hit with Russia’s Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin is smitten with Silvio Berlusconi’s adopted white poodle, pictures published Wednesday show.
Putin paid Berlusconi a two-and-a-half-hour visit on November 26, a day before the Italian conservative leader and former prime minister was expelled from parliament due to a tax fraud conviction.
EUbusiness covers intolerance rising:
Italy minister hit by racist slurs warns over populism
Italy’s first black minister Cecile Kyenge, who has been deluged with racist slurs since her appointment in April, urged Europe’s leaders on Wednesday not to spread populism or use it to win votes.
“There has a been a rise in episodes of racism in many countries, probably linked to the economic crisis but also to a lack of knowledge about what European values really stand for,” Kyenge said at a press conference.
After the jump, the Greek meltdown continues, India fights for food, Chinese neoliberalism deepens, Japanese uncertainty vexes, the latest chapter of Fukushimapocalypse Now!, and more. . .
We begin Greek coverage on an upbeat note from Xinhua:
Greek PM upbeat on prospects of economy ahead of fresh talks with lenders
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras appeared upbeat on the prospects of the ailing national economy on Tuesday ahead of a new round of talks with international lenders later in December on the terms of the release of further aid to Athens.
“The country is nearing recovery, after five years of deep recession,” he stressed after a meeting on Tuesday evening with his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg, who praised efforts to exit the severe three-year debt crisis.
But Macropolis points to deeper problems:
Time running out for coalition to find formula on home foreclosures
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras received timely words of encouragement from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday but his government still finds itself in a tricky position ahead of the troika’s return to Athens later this month, when a final decision will have to be taken on home foreclosures.
Samaras returns to Athens for a vote on the 2014 budget on Saturday night and another on the unified property tax next week but it is the foreclosures issue that is likely to nag away at him for the next few days. It is one of several loose ends Greece has to tie up but may prove the most tricky.
Greek Reporter covers defiance by necessity:
FT: The Greek Government Defies Troika
For the first time, The Financial Times noticed a shift in Greece’s stance against troika since the beginning of the rescue program. Greece appeared tougher after submitting the 2014 budget without the approval of the lenders and “has become a source of increasing worry and frustration for EU officials.”
According to the article published in the FT “The government wants to avoid implementing the four separate measures it has already signed up to: lifting a ban on home foreclosures, shutting a loss-making state arms manufacturer, introducing a broad-based real estate tax and allowing mass dismissals of workers in private companies.”
From ANSAmed, a Troikarch’s demand:
Greece: IMF wants VAT on food service to rise again to 23%
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pushing for the value-added tax (VAT) on Greek food services to return to 23%, Greek press reports said. On 1 August the VAT rate on food service in Greece went down from 23 to 13%.
According to press reports, the measure was deemed ineffective by the IMF as the VAT decrease failed to show the awaited results (increase in jobs or a reduction in prices), during the five-month trial period. The IMF warned that state coffers will be deprived of 200-300 million euros if the VAT rate does not rise again to 23%
From Greek Reporter, a courageous administrator takes a stand:
Pelegrinis Supports the Administrative Employee Strike
Earlier this morning, the Rector of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens Theodosis Pelegrinis, spoke at Propylaea, the location of the university’s main building. Pelegrinis is the Rector who was being handed over to the Supreme Disciplinary Council by the Minister of Education.
During his speech he said, “I don’t know if I will be here tomorrow, but I am proud of the university employees who are giving society a lesson in how to fight.” Then, he accused the Ministry of Education of treating the universities autocratically rather than correcting mistakes and punishing the employees with new mistakes.
From Kathimerini English, threats of rolling heads target a major healthcare provider:
Georgiadis threatens to speed up mobility after EOPYY medics extend strike
A growing dispute between doctors at EOPYY, Greece’s largest healthcare provider, and the Health Ministry intensified Wednesday, with the ministry threatening to immediately enforce a mobility scheme of forced transfers and layoffs after doctors voted to extend their strike action through December 13.
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said he would give the doctors until next Wednesday, when Parliament’s social affairs committee is next scheduled to convene, to join government officials for talks. If they fail to do so, Georgiadis told the committee Wednesday, decisions will be taken in their absence. “The reforms will happen a lot quicker,” the minister said.
EnetEnglish.gr covers another austerian public health symptom:
Thousands of children unvaccinated, aid organisation warns
Médecins du Monde clinics hav vaccinated 6,000 impoverished children this year alone
Greece is very close to ‘tearing down the vaccination barrier’, says Nikitas Kanakis, who heads the Greek section of the international humanitarian aid organisation Médecins du Monde
And from Greek Reporter, irony:
Employees of Tax Department Accused for Tax Evasion
The Internal Audit Service of the Finance Ministry, after an investigation of the income declarations of 93 employees of the tax department, revealed several cases of tax evasion.
Many officials of the tax department had “forgotten” to declare expensive cars and houses, while others were hiding large amounts of money by transferring them abroad.
Meanwhile, Golden Dawn is back in the news. First with this from Neos Kosmos:
Golden Dawn leader refused appeal for release
The Council of Appeals Court Judges rejected an appeal by Golden Dawn leader for his release from prison, where he is in custody pending trial on criminal charges
The Council of Appeals Court Judges rejected an appeal by Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos for his release from Korydallos Prison, where he is in custody pending trial on criminal charges.
Neos Kosmos again:
Migrant’s murder included in Golden Dawn case
Another 12 people are likely to be added to the list of Golden Dawn supporters suspected of committing a range of crimes
Another 12 people are likely to be added to the list of Golden Dawn supporters suspected of committing a range of crimes, which is due to include the murder of a Pakistani immigrant that had not been officially linked to the neo-Nazi party until now, Kathimerini has learned.
On to the Ukraine with EUbusiness:
Pressure mounts on Ukraine’s leader as Westerwelle flies in
Pressure mounted on Ukraine’s leader Viktor Yanukovych on Wednesday as Germany’s foreign minister met pro-European demonstrators on Kiev’s Independence Square, and America’s top diplomat said Ukrainians deserved the chance to choose their own future.
Three of Ukraine’s former presidents also threw their weight behind mass protests against the government’s rejection of an EU pact, as thousands kept up a permanent presence in the heart of the capital Kiev.
More from euronews:
Ukraine: thousands continue demonstrations in Kyiv for 14th night
Thousands of people continued to rally in Kyiv for the 14th night in a row, angry at the Ukranian government’s decision to freeze ties with the EU and get closer to Russia.
The Prime Minister warned the opposition to end its blockade of government buildings and threatened the west of the country, which has gone on general strike, that it could be left without federal funding.
From Russia, with a traditional gesture from RIA Novosti:
from Putin Supports Mass Amnesty Proposal
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday expressed his support for granting amnesty to perhaps tens of thousands of Russian prisoners in honor of the 20th anniversary of the country’s constitution.
Latin America next with a transformation from the Rio Times:
Number of Cars in Brazil Doubles in 10 Years
The number of cars on the country’s roads is set to top 80 million in 2013.
Government figures released last week confirm what motorists have understood for several years: the roadways are suffocating under the sheer weight of cars, taxis and buses. The National Department of Traffic (Denatran) statistics show that over the last ten years, the number of cars in Brazil has increased 123 percent, while road investment continues to lag a long way behind.
The Rio Times again, with unfortunate meme contagion:
Brazilian Black Friday Sales Up 50 Percent: Daily
Report shows some shoppers complained of long waiting times and online discounts being unavailable.
MercoPress with news of compliance condoned:
Message of support from US to Argentina’s latest international financial decisions
United States praised Argentina for its latest commitment to the payment of a debt worth more than 600 million dollars to five companies in exchange for the ending of legal action. The message was transmitted by the US most senior representative in Argentina Kevin Sullivan, in a brief encounter with cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich, according to reports in Ambito Financiero.
Off to Asia, first with a regional story from the Financial Express:
Demand skyrocketing, India, Japan eye joint tenders for cheaper liquefied natural gas
India and Japan are stepping up the pressure for cheaper LNG with potential joint tenders as two of the world’s biggest gas buyers try to ease the pain of high prices and rising demand.
Next, Australia, with tough times for a national icon from BBC News:
Qantas shares tumble on shock profit warning and job cuts
Shares in Qantas sank more than 15% after the Australian airline issued a surprise profit warning and announced 1,000 job cuts.
The airline said trading conditions had seen a “marked deterioration” amid tougher competition and slowing demand.
On to India and an ultimatum from Commerce Minister Anand Sharma delivers an ultimatum, via Press Trust of India:
Food security non-negotiable, Sharma tells WTO
In a strongly-worded message to WTO members, India today said the food security issue was “non-negotiable” and the country also managed support for its stand from several nations from Africa and Latin America.
“Agriculture sustains millions of subsistence farmers. Their interests must be secured. Food security is essential for over four billion people of the world. For India, food security is non-negotiable.”
The Hindu follows up:
As was expected, on Day 2 of the Ninth World Trade Organisation Ministerial in Bali, a deal seemed out of reach, with India favouring failure of the summit over a compromise.
Addressing the Plenary, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma not only stated that India could not accept the due restraint provision in its current form but also that “we consider it premature to lend support to an inconclusive trade facilitation agreement.”
A respite in Bangkok from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
As Thai protests pause, eyes turn to king
After days of violent anti-government protests in the capital, Thailand is waiting for clues on what King Bhumibol Adulyadej has to say about the situation.
China next, with the specter of change from Channel NewsAsia Singapore:
Hong Kong government opens debate on full democracy
The Hong Kong government on Wednesday opened a long-awaited public consultation on ways to elect the city’s future leader, amid growing fears increased intervention by China will prevent genuine political reform.
From SINA English, neoliberalizing:
China looks for further reform in 2014
The country will seek steady and stable growth next year, pushing reforms through in all areas of the economy and society and speeding up economic restructuring and public service infrastructure development, the statement said.
More reforms will be carried out to increase domestic consumption, open up the market, push forward urbanization, as well as develop modern agriculture, service and green energy sectors, it said.
People’s Daily covers part of the agenda:
New urbanization plan on the way
A new national urbanization plan will be released and implemented next year, according to a statement from the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China.
And what awaits beneficiaries of the new urbanism? From Sina English, reporting on that most urban of Chinese cities:
White collars top suicide risk group in Shanghai
White collar workers are more vulnerable than others to commit suicides and need immediate intervention, according to an agency that runs a crisis hotline in Shanghai.
Office workers accounted for the largest number of callers from January to November, followed by the unemployed, blue collar workers, public servants and teachers.
But Shanghai’s also notable for something else, reports South China Morning Post:
Shanghai teens still world’s best at reading, maths, science in Pisa survey
Mainland city’s 15-year-olds the best at reading, maths and science, global survey finds, but HK youngsters are snapping at their heels
A troubling number from People’s Daily:
About 75% of disabled Chinese unemployed
Xenocorporate challenge from Xinhua:
Foreign auto makers profiteering in China: state TV
China’s state broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), has accused some foreign auto makers, including Land Rover, Subaru and Audi, of profiteering and called for revision of auto market regulations.
A common rear end accident costs the owner of an imported Range Rover100,000 yuan (16,313 U.S. dollars) to fix, because of expensive parts on which the manufacturer has a monopoly, while the car costs a little over 1 million yuan.
From South China Morning Post, a pol comes calling, pre-edition:
Biden wants Japan, China to have communication channel over air defence zone
US No 2 says Beijing and Tokyo need system to avoid an incident over East China Sea escalating
And the after-edition, also via the South China Morning Post:
Xi and Biden silent on air defence zone after talks
US Vice-President Joe Biden expressed his country’s misgivings about China’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in lengthy talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing yesterday.
A senior US official said: “The vice-president laid out our position in detail. He indicated that we don’t recognise the zone, that we have deep concerns.”
The South China Morning Post one more time, with a tweak:
More than half of Americans dissatisfied with Obama’s China policy: research
According to the findings released on Wednesday, about 52 per cent of Americans feel dissatisfied with how Obama is dealing with China, compared with 30 per cent who believe his policies are satisfactory.
And a consequence from Want China Times:
Chinese fund sells off Japanese investments in retaliation
The Chinese government may withdraw investments in Japan as a way to retaliate against the United States and Japan for opposing China’s newly established air defense identification zone. A shareholder listed as SSBT OD05 Omnibus China Treaty 808150, which is widely considered a Chinese sovereign fund, has reduced its Japanese investment by 600 billion yen (US$5.8 billion) between March and September this year, according to our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily and the Tokyo-based Sankei Shimbun.
On to Tokyo with a carrot-and-stick approach from the Japan Times:
Stimulus package to ease tax hike impact to be worth ¥18.6 trillion
Japan’s economic stimulus package to ease the potential negative impact of next April’s sales tax hike will be worth around ¥18.6 trillion, with fresh central government spending totaling ¥5.5 trillion, sources said Wednesday.
The latest stimulus package would be as large as the one worth around ¥20 trillion mapped out in January, in an attempt to perk up Japan’s lethargic economy beset by deflation.
The Mainichi covers Banksters Behaving. . .well, the way they do:
Deutsche Securities spent millions of yen wining and dining pension fund execs: source
Global banking and securities giant Deutsche Securities Inc. is suspected of violating Japanese finance law after sales representatives for the German firm repeatedly wined and dined executives from a number of corporate pension funds, inside sources have told the Mainichi Shimbun.
Pension funds purchase large volumes of securities, and their staff are considered civil servants under the Employees’ Pension Insurance Act.
The Mainichi covers the Americanization of Japanese politics:
Ex-minister gets 3 mil. yen from scandal-hit hospital group: ex-aide
Former farm minister Masahiko Yamada had received 3 million yen in cash from Tokushukai hospital group hit by an election fund scandal, just before the December 2012 lower house election in which he lost, his former aide said Wednesday.
The revelation is the latest in the Tokushukai money scandal that has also thrust Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose into the controversy as he admitted last month to receiving 50 million yen from Tokushukai before running in last December’s gubernatorial election.
More from the Mainichi:
Tokyo governor holds fundraising party as loan scandal rages
Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose went ahead with a Dec. 3 political fundraising party amid a scandal in which he accepted a 50 million yen loan from the scandal-rocked Tokushukai hospital group, arousing doubts even among his supporters.
Some 500 guests attended the 20,000-yen-a-ticket event in Tokyo mounted by the governor’s “Inose Naoki no kai” fundraising organization, which likely pulled in more than 10 million yen on the afternoon. Organizers forbid audio or video recordings, but according to sources in the room Inose spoke for just over an hour, beginning with a written apology stating he was “very sorry for causing so much anxiety and trouble” over the Tokushukai loan.
The Japan Times covers another ritual:
IPOs on pace to grow 20% in ‘13
Initial public offerings in 2013 are on track to grow some 20 percent from the previous year amid a buoyant stock market thanks partly to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies.
The number of newly listed companies is likely to rise to 58, exceeding the most recent peak of 49 in 2008.
And on to Fukushimapocalypse Now!
JapanToday first, with ill winds blowing:
Typhoons spread Fukushima fallout, study warns
Typhoons that hit Japan each year are helping spread radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the country’s waterways, researchers say.
Contaminated soil gets washed away by the high winds and rain and deposited in streams and rivers, a joint study by France’s Climate and Environmental Science laboratory (LSCE) and Tsukuba University in Japan showed.
Remediation from the Asahi Shimbun:
Japan proposes more steps to store Fukushima water
A government panel proposed additional measures to lessen the radioactive water crisis at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant, saying on Dec. 3 that current plans are not enough to prevent the risk of a disaster.
Officials on the industry ministry’s contaminated water panel also said that the Fukushima No. 1 plant could run out of storage space for contaminated water within two years if current plans are not fully workable.
NHK WORLD discharges:
IAEA: Tritium may have to be discharged into sea
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency say tritium in wastewater at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have to be discharged into the ocean.
The IAEA probe team released a preliminary report on Wednesday on its investigation, started on November 25th, to help in the decommissioning work at the plant. They interviewed government and plant operator officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company and conducted on-site inspections at the plant.
Kudos from JapanToday:
TEPCO wins rare praise from Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee
The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant won rare praise from monitors on Monday for its efforts to decommission the site, but the specialists also said the company still faced steep challenges, particularly in managing contaminated water.
JapanToday again, with a leak:
Glitch hits water decontamination system at Fukushima plant
A trouble-prone system used to decontaminate radioactive water at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant was switched off Sunday because of a chemical leak, the plant’s operator said.
Hydrochloric acid, used to neutralise alkaline water being decontaminated, was found seeping from a pipe joint, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said in a statement. The joint was wrapped in a vinyl bag to contain the leakage, TEPCO said, adding it was investigating the cause of the trouble.
The Japan Times covers extenuating circumstances:
Japan enacts bill to extend nuclear calamity damages claim period
The Diet passed a bill Wednesday to extend the three-year statute of limitations on the right to claim damages to 10 years exclusively for those suffering from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant catastrophe.
NHK WORLD covers another consideration:
New roles for nuclear compensation fund
The Japanese government is considering expanding the functions of a state-backed fund for nuclear crisis compensation to speed up recovery from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
The industry ministry is now considering assigning the fund an additional task. It wants it to set policies and check progress on decommissioning work and radioactive water leak containment.
From the Japan Daily Press, reactionary times ahead:
TEPCO planning to restart all Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactors by 2016
Aside from being the operator of the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is also the operator of the world’s largest nuclear power facility at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. Recently, TEPCO and the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund (NDF) have decided to outline a comprehensive special business plan in which the beleaguered utility will be able to restart all of the seven reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant by around fiscal 2016 to improve its earnings.
The Asahi Shimbun transforms:
Man who saw the future in nuclear energy converts to solar power
A huge banner hanging at the entrance of a shopping area in the evacuated town of Futaba, co-host to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, still reads “Nuclear energy is the energy of a bright future.”
Yuji Onuma created this slogan while in elementary school and won the best prize at a contest organized by the town government in 1987.
Today, Onuma, 37, sees a bright future in a life built around solar power, 1,000 days after being forced to leave his home and his business following the nuclear accident that unfolded on March 11, 2011.
From Bellona, just what you love to hear:
Chernobyl-type reactor survives CPR and goes back online at Leningrad nuclear plant
Workers have repaired swelling and cracking of the graphite moderator at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant’s No 1 reactor – the world’s oldest Chernobyl-style RBMK reactor – and reconnected it to the power grid, Russian nuclear officials said Monday.
And we close on a sad note from Salon:
The Sahara’s experiencing a “catastrophic collapse” of its wildlife
Most of the desert’s wildlife is endangered or extinct
