Today’s edition is shorter than usual, but there’s still lots happening,
We begin with the American interface of the economic and the environmental via The Guardian:
Conservative groups spend up to $1bn a year to fight action on climate change
Author: ‘I call it the climate-change counter movement’
Study focuses on groups opposing US political action
Conservative groups may have spent up to $1bn a year on the effort to deny science and oppose action on climate change, according to the first extensive study into the anatomy of the anti-climate effort.
The anti-climate effort has been largely underwritten by conservative billionaires, often working through secretive funding networks. They have displaced corporations as the prime supporters of 91 think tanks, advocacy groups and industry associations which have worked to block action on climate change. Such financial support has hardened conservative opposition to climate policy, ultimately dooming any chances of action from Congress to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, the study found.
From TheLocal.de, a German infusion:
Aldi plans multi-billion US expansion
German discount supermarket chain Aldi has said it will invest $3 billion (€2.2 billion) in expanding its presence in the United States over the next five years.
“Aldi today announced a five-year strategic plan to open 650 new stores across” the US, the group said in a statement on Friday.
Aldi already operates nearly 1,300 stores in 32 states in the US and describes itself as the “leading low-price grocer.”
And from the Philadelphia Daily News, a wiseguy with friends in high places:
How did reputed mob figure land major city contract in Philly?
RONALD GALATI, a South Philly fraudster and reputed mob associate at the center of a triple murder-for-hire investigation, has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from a lucrative contract to repair and maintain Philadelphia Police Department vehicles, the Daily News has learned.
Galati, 63, identified by authorities as a onetime associate of mobsters Joey Merlino and George Borgesi, was able to land the contract despite a 1994 racketeering conviction for turning one of his auto-body garages into what federal prosecutors described as a “shop of fraud.”
Yesterday, a marked police car was parked inside Galati’s shop, American Collision & Automotive Center, on 20th Street near McKean. Records show that the city paid his company more than $400,000 in fiscal year 2012 alone. The contract began in 2011 and runs through June, a city official said.
Galati, whose name has surfaced in the ongoing racketeering retrial of Borgesi and reputed mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi, was arrested Friday on allegations that he hired hit men to kill his daughter’s boyfriend and a body-shop operator and his son.
Off the Britain and High [Street] anxiety from The Independent:
Retailers panic and slash prices amid low sales
Vast swathes of stores hit the panic button after one of the slowest Christmases on record
Retailers have slashed their prices this weekend in the hope that shoppers will finally flood Britain’s high streets today after one of the slowest Christmases on record.
With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday this year, the traditional cat-and-mouse fight between shoppers and retailers has been pushed right to the wire with an extra weekend seeing customers waiting to see if stores will start discounting early.
And it seems like the shoppers have won, with vast swathes of stores hitting the panic button and slashing prices in a desperate attempt to shift their wares.
The Guardian disses:
Bulgaria issues fierce rebuke to David Cameron over migrants
UK faces isolation, president warns, as prime minister is accused of ‘pandering to nationalists’
The president of Bulgaria has made a stinging intervention in the UK’s immigration debate, attacking what he calls David Cameron’s attempts to pander to nationalists – and warning the PM to consider how history will judge him.
From Sky News, cruel Yule:
Christmas Debts ‘Won’t Be Cleared Until June’
The average family is going to take on debts this Christmas that will take until June to pay off, it has been claimed.
The Trades Union Congress has carried out research that shows that the typical family will add £685 to its borrowing by the time the festive season is over. That will take a family on an average income 24 weeks to pay off, the labour organisation claims.
Ireland next, with corporate reed run amok from Independent.ie:
Airtricity hikes prices after tripling profits
BUMPER profits by Ireland’s energy companies were in the spotlight once again yesterday after it emerged that Airtricity hiked costs for consumers just months after tripling its annual profits.
Accounts just filed by the energy company show it more than tripled its 2013 pre-tax profits to €45.8m. The British-owned firm attributed the profit surge to lower energy costs and an increase in customers as well as fewer acquisition costs. But just months after the financial year ended, Airtricity hiked up the cost of energy for those same customers. Electricity prices were increased by 3.5pc from November 1 and gas prices jumped by 2pc from October 1. It also hiked prices in 2012, adding 4.7pc on its electricity prices and an 8pc increase on gas prices in October 2012.
DutchNews.nl disillusions:
One in four PvdA supporters ‘will never vote for the party again’
Many supporters of the two coalition parties – the right-wing VVD and Labour party PvdA – are unhappy with the current political situation and say they may well not vote again for the party, the NRC reported at the weekend.
Research by Ipsos shows just 40% of the people who voted Labour in September 2012 are almost certain to vote for the party at another election, the NRC said. The same applies to 60% of free-market Liberals supporters.
On top of that one in four 2012 Labour voters say they will never vote for the party again, Ipsos says. Some 17% of VVD voters will also boycott the party in future.
On to Germany and a story with heart from Deutsche Welle:
Man denied heart due to lack of German gets compensation
When one hospital denied a man a heart transplant based on his lack of language skills, he took them to court. Three years later, they’ve agreed to pay damages, and new rules regarding transplants are set to be drawn.
France next, and another case infusion from South China Morning Post:
More Chinese cash flowing into French vineyards
The number of mainland investors pouring millions of dollars into French vineyards has risen sharply in recent years, but the trend has divided locals.
Critics are calling for wineries to remain under French control, while supporters have welcomed the injection of funds to rebuild infrastructure.
Between 2009 and 2012, the number of estates in the famous wine-producing region of Bordeaux owned by Chinese investors jumped from two to 25. The figure is now about 50.
From TheLocal.fr, corporadoes draw lines:
Multinationals put France ‘under serveillance’
Top executives from 50 foreign multinational corporations in France rung the alarm bells this week claiming the country’s business environment is pushing foreign investors away. They appealed for the Socialist government to take action.
The heads of the French wings of such giants as HP, Accenture, Microsoft and Volkswagen, say they have had increasing difficulty convincing their parent companies based abroad to invest in France.
In a commentary, published by business journal Les Echos and signed jointly by the execs, the multinational bigwigs urge changes to improve the business climate, while warning that France is “under observation”, suggesting that current activities could be curtailed if not shut down unless the situation improves.
On to Spain and historic retreat from El País:
Government approves most restrictive abortion laws since return of democracy
Justice minister announces that terminations in cases of deformity of fetus will no longer be allowed
Legislation means an end to access to the procedure on demand up to 14 weeks into term
As was expected, the Cabinet on Friday approved a series of controversial modifications to Spain’s current abortion law, which was passed by the Socialists in 2010 and was the subject of harsh criticism from the conservative Popular Party (PP) when it was in the opposition.
Speaking at a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón announced the changes to the current statute, which return to the requirements outlined in a 1985 law, and will only allow abortions under two conditions: if the baby presents a risk to the health of the mother, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape.
thinkSPAIN covers the response:
Mass protests against ‘restrictive’ abortion law reform
THOUSANDS of women have been protesting in the streets throughout the country for the last two days over the abortion law reform passed on Friday.
They say it is ‘an attack’ on their rights to ‘freely decide’ whether or not they wish to become mothers.
Members of the socialist opposition – including secretary-general Elena Valenciano – say women are going to be ‘forced to give birth’ whether they want to or not.
And the government’s refusal to allow pregnancy terminations on the grounds of disabilities or deformities of the foetus ‘condemns’ women to a life as a 24-hour carer, often when their children are adults and until the end of their natural lives.
El País juices up:
Rajoy promises consumers won’t see “unjustified” electricity rate rises
Government to review bills after invalidating wholesale tender due to suspicion of collusion
Government opens inquiry into proposed electricity hikes
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday that the government would soon be reviewing electricity rates after Spain’s anti-trust authority, the CNMC, invalidated the result of a wholesale auction that took place on Thursday and would have meant a huge hike in consumers’ bills.
“The government is working on a procedure to fix an alternative price to that of the auction,” Rajoy told a news conference. “The matter will be resolved before the end of the year.”
Lisbon next with action from the Portugal News:
Riot police called in at schools after teacher protests
Portuguese riot police were called to a school in Almada on the south bank of the Tagus on Wednesday following an attempted invasion of the institution on a day of the teachers’ assessment tests.
The police troops were called by the local officers who had been alerted by the school.
The school said the protestors were “very aggressive” as they had broken all the windows in the school frontage. Nevertheless, the teachers’ assessment was going ahead, the school said.
After the jump, Greek debaclery, Turkish troubles, Belarus and Azerbaijan privatize, Abu Dhabi misery, Latin American privatizations, Cuban gestures, Chinese speculators, Japanese urban woes and gangsters, environmental agonies, and the latest edition of Fukushimapocalypse Now!. . .
Our first Greek item, on with a German twist, comes from Carscoops:
BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Opel Investigated for Tax Fraud in Greece
In a somewhat strange twist of events since it’s usually the Europeans, and in particularly, the Germans, who have been dubious about Greek tax authorities and practices, news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the Mediterranean country’s inspectors are investigating three major German carmakers for possible tax fraud.
Theodoros Floratos, the head of Greece’s Financial and Economic Crime Unit (SDOE) confirmed the report that said the carmakers being under investigation are BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Opel.
The reason why SDOE is looking into these companies is that it suspects the aforementioned German carmakers are delivering their vehicles to their respective partners in Greece at extremely low factory prices, which the government uses as a base for a number of taxes – the lower the factory price, the less taxes paid to the country.
Kathimerini English hews the Troika’s line:
Coalition squeezes through votes on property tax, foreclosures
The coalition survived two crucial votes in Parliament on Sunday, with MPs passing a unified property tax and approving a partial lifting of restrictions on home foreclosures, but this came at a price as a New Democracy lawmaker was ousted from his parliamentary group for failing to back the legislation, thereby further eroding the government’s majority.
The property tax bill only received the support of 152 lawmakers as New Democracy deputy Vyron Polydoras voted against it and another MP, PASOK’s Apostolos Kaklamanis, did not take part in the ballot. The latter reportedly missed the vote because of illness.
There was relief within the government that the property tax, crucial to the coalition’s fiscal plans as it seeks to raise more than 2.5 billion euros next year, passed through Parliament. This was tempered by the fact that the coalition’s majority has been reduced to just three seats.
Macropolis isolates:
As EU presidency approaches, poll suggests Greeks are most isolated within Union
Greece is due to take over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union on January 1 but just days before it does so a new poll has suggested that of the citizens in all 28 member states, Greeks feel least confident about the Union’s future and are the most detached from the bloc.
There is some irony in the fact that the Eurobarometer survey, carried out for the European Commission, should highlight in such an emphatic way Greeks’ growing disenchantment with the EU less than two weeks before their country takes over the presidency.
Keep Talking Greece expels:
Greek coalition government expels one MP due to “unified property tax” voting
PM Samaras’ party Nea Dimokratia needed some forty minutes to expel Vyron Polidoras from the party after the former minister voted No to “unified property tax” bill.
Greek Reporter disrupts:
Golden Dawn Attacks Mayor of Piraeus
Golden Dawn have once again exploited the desperation of thousands of people who lined up for food. Members of the far-right party were this morning distributing food “just for Greeks” near their offices. The Mayor of Piraeus, Greece, Vassilis Michaloliakos had banned their planned use of the Municipal Theater Square for the stunt.
While the food distribution was in progress, reporters asked Mr. Michaliakos to make a statement. When he exited the City Hall, Golden Dawn members verbally attacked him.
The original plan was for the distribution to take place in the Municipal Theater Square in Piraeus. However, the Mayor banned its use, saying that it was shameful and ridiculous and would only result in the humiliation of people. Golden Dawn in its most recent announcement, verbally attacked Mr. Michaloliakos, claiming that he is “the mayor who turned Piraeus into Islamabad.”
Kathimerini English takes the leftist lead:
New poll gives SYRIZA clear lead over New Democracy
An opinion poll published by Efimerida ton Syntakton on Saturday gave SYRIZA a 2.5 percentage point lead over New Democracy.
The poll by Pulse put the opposition party on 22.5 percent and the conservatives on 20 percent. Golden Dawn remained third with 11.5 percent and was followed by PASOK and the Communist Party on 5.5 percent each.
Independent Greeks came next with 4.5 percent, while Democratic Left is right on the threshold for entering Parliament with 3 percent.
Xinhua privatizes in Belarus:
Belarus offers Rosneft option to partake in oil refinery giant privatization
Belarusia has proposed to Russian oil producer Rosneft to take part in the privatization of one of its two large oil refineries, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Pyotr Prokopovich said on Friday.
Belarus has offered Rosneft an option to increase its stake in the Mozyr oil refinery on the condition that Rosneft doubles output at the plant, Prokopovich said in an address to parliament.
“One of the conditions for privatization is to increase oil refining to 20 million tonnes (per year) by 2020″ from the current capacity of 11 million tonnes annually, he said.
A rare trip to Azerbaijan with yet another privatization from EUbusiness:
Azerbaijan seals deal for Greek gas distributor DESFA
Azerbaijan’s state gas operator SOCAR on Saturday finalised an agreement to buy 66 percent of Greek gas distributor DESFA, the Greek privatisation agency said.
The sale is part of Greece’s state asset sale programme that stems from its EU-IMF bailout obligations.
The contract was signed in the presence of Greek Energy Minister Yannis Maniatis and SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev. SOCAR will pay 400 million euros ($546 million) for DESFA, the company that handles Greece’s gas transmission system, the agency said.
Turkey next, with a crackdown from BBC News:
Turkey corruption inquiry: Ministers’ sons charged
The sons of two Turkish government ministers have been charged in connection with a huge corruption investigation.
The head of the state-owned bank and at least a dozen other people also face charges.
The suspects are accused of abusing their power by taking or facilitating bribes.
Euronews responds:
Turkey: Erdogan denounces corruption probe as ‘dirty game’
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the high-level corruption probe that has led to dozens of arrests – including the sons of two of his government ministers.
Erdogan called it a “smear campaign” against his government and a “dirty game.”
The Guardian takes us to Abu Dhabi and misery:
Conditions for Abu Dhabi’s migrant workers ‘shame the west’
Calls for urgent labour reform after Observer reveals construction workers face destitution, internment and deportation
Trade unions, human rights activists and politicians have called for urgent labour reforms to protect the thousands of migrant workers building a complex of five-star hotels and museums on Saadiyat Island in the United Arab Emirates, including a new Louvre and the world’s largest Guggenheim.
Latin America next, and a plea from a Castro from BBC News:
Cuba’s Raul Castro calls for ‘civilised relations’ with US
Cuban President Raul Castro has called for “civilised relations” with the United States, saying the two countries should respect their differences.
President Castro said the US should drop its demand for regime change on the communist-run island.
From MercoPress, the privatization blues:
Uruguay Economy minister resigns over scandal involving flag air carrier Pluna
Uruguay’s economy minister Fernando Lorenzo resigned on Saturday in the face of questions over the alleged irregular sale of government-owned airplanes following the closure of Pluna, the country’s flag carrier, President Jose Mujica announced at a brief press conference, with no questions taken, next to Vice president Danilo Astori.
And BBC News has still more privatization:
Mexican president signs controversial oil and gas law
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has signed a controversial law that allows foreign companies to drill for oil for the first time since the sector was nationalised in 1938.
The legislation was passed by Congress on 13 December and ratified by a majority of Mexican states. President Pena Nieto says the reform will help Mexico attract the investment needed to boost its falling oil output.
On to China and investment choices from Want China Times:
Fund products top investment choices for Chinese: survey
The survey, released Friday by East Money, an internet finance webportal, showed 68.68% of respondents had invested in fund products, while 66.83% have invested in stocks.
Low-risk investments such as bank savings and treasury bonds followed in third place with a percentage of 56.29%, while 31.47% of respondents had bought insurance products, the report showed.
Short and medium-term financial investment products provided by banks were the major choice for personal investors. Nearly two-thirds of these products carry a maturity period of 12 months or less.
South China Morning Post looks back, with profit:
Businesses feed off growing nostalgia for Mao Zedong
From red pork dishes to badges and little red books, almost everything bearing the mark of Mao Zedong is popular on the mainland, as businesses try to make money from the man and his controversial legacy.
Off to Tokyo with bad news for cities from the Japan Times:
Regional economic funding to fall 40%
Fiscal 2014 budget includes ¥610 million cut for municipalities
Outlays to bolster regional economies will be slashed by 40 percent in the fiscal 2014 draft budget to ¥610 billion, Finance Minister Taro Aso and internal affairs minister Yoshitaka Shindo agreed Saturday.
The general account budget will meanwhile swell to a record-high ¥95.88 trillion, they said.
Reducing regional outlays for a second consecutive year would shrink tax allocations to local governments by ¥170 billion to around ¥16.89 trillion. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to approve the draft budget Tuesday.
The Japan Times calls the shots:
Abe controls direction of policy debate
Since his return to power last December, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s slick communications team has tried to make buzzwords and catchphrases a hallmark of his administration, using them to frame debate and capture public attention, especially on controversial policies.
First came “Abenomics,” the label for his unorthodox strategy of ending deflation and reviving the economy, followed by the phrase “proactive contributor to peace,” which was used to define his vision for the Japanese military. Most recently, the Abe government has become synonymous with the term “secrecy law.”
In the year that has passed since Abe became prime minister, he has been more active in reworking security and defense policy, an issue that has been close to his heart since his first brief stint in office from 2006 to 2007.
The stage for this contentious transition appeared to be set after the ruling bloc, led by his Liberal Democratic Party, secured control of both houses of the Diet in July. Abe thus won’t face any major hurdles until 2016, when his steering of the nation will be judged in a national election.
Amid his accomplishments have been two constants — his strategy of reshaping public sentiment and his pursuit of stronger state involvement and control, experts say.
And from France 24, yet another wiseguy saga:
Former Japanese beauty queen takes on yakuza
Ikumi Yoshimatsu, former winner of the Miss International contest, has suffered pressure and harassment at the hands of Japan’s yakuza. FRANCE 24 takes a look at her story, and a shifting tide that finds Japanese mafia facing greater scrutiny.
Last year’s Miss International beauty contest winner, Ikumi Yoshimatsu, says she has endured more than a year of pressure from people with ties to the Japanese mafia.
Her story has transformed her into an icon of resistance against Japan’s yakuza (members of the country’s organised crime groups), who have infiltrated Japanese society to what many say is an alarming degree. Since going public with her experiences, Yoshimatsu’s blog has drawn more than a million visitors.
Now, on to Fukushimapocalypse Now!
RT sets another deadly record:
TEPCO detects record radiation at Fukushima’s reactor 2, new leak suspected
TEPCO has found a record 1.9 million becquere
ls per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances at its No.2 reactor. Also radioactive cesium was detected in deeper groundwater at No.4 unit’s well, as fears grow of a new leak into the ocean.
The level of beta ray-emitting radioactivity in groundwater around the crippled Fukushima reactor No. 2 reactor has been rising since November, NHK reported.
Previous the highest level – 1.8 million becquerels (bq/liter), of beta-ray sources per liter – was registered at reactor No.1 on December 13.
NHK WORLD plans:
New cleanup plan set for areas with high radiation
Japanese government officials say the clean-up operation around the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima is 3 years behind schedule. They say they are now aiming to complete the work by March 2017.
Environment Ministry officials said in January last year the decontamination would be finished by March 2014, except in areas with very high radiation levels.
But the clean-up has fallen behind in the restricted zones of 6 out of 11 municipalities.
Kyodo News notes the ominous:
TEPCO mulls sending managers aged 55 or older to Fukushima
The Asahi Shimbun shifts the burden:
Cabinet approves new approach to rebuilding Fukushima
The Abe Cabinet approved guidelines that take a more realistic approach to rebuilding Fukushima Prefecture after the 2011 nuclear accident, including abandoning the goal of having all evacuees return to their homes.
But the plan, approved on Dec. 20, could raise criticism because taxpayers will bear the brunt of the burden.
Under the plan, the central government will provide additional compensation to evacuees to buy land and homes where they now reside. Compensation for psychological distress will also be paid to evacuees who are uncertain if they can ever return home.
The Guardian nukes Britannia:
Fifty new nuclear plants could be goal in official energy plans
Documents submitted to Department of Energy and Climate Change raise questions regarding future energy policy
Up to 50 nuclear power stations could be built under plans being looked at by the government. The remarkable figure – 10 times the number the government is openly discussing – is revealed in documents submitted to the Department of Energy and Climate Change by one of its own advisory bodies.
RIA Novosti profits radioactively:
Rosatom Boosts Foreign Orders Portfolio to $74 Bln
Russian state nuclear power corporation Rosatom said Saturday it had increased its current foreign orders portfolio to over $74 billion after signing a contract to build a nuclear power plant in Finland.
Rosatom signed on Saturday in Helsinki an expected deal with Finnish nuclear consortium Fennovoima on the construction of a 1,200-megawatt Hanhikivi-1 nuclear reactor in Pyhäjoki, northwest Finland.
The Hanhikivi project cost is estimated at 4-6 billion euros ($5.4-$8 billion), according to the Finnish consortium.
PCWorld pollutes:
U.S., China lead in e-waste, forecast to grow 33% by 2017
The weight of electronic waste worldwide is expected to jump by a third to over 60 million tons annually by 2017, according to a new report.
The report based on data compiled by “Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) Initiative” a partnership of UN organisations, industry, governments, nongovernmental, and science organizations shows that in 2012 China and the United States produced the most e-waste.
While the study found that almost 48.9 million metric tons of used electrical and electronic products was produced last year an average of 15 pounds for each of the world’s seven billion people experts predict this will rise to 65.4 million tons, or the weight equivalent of almost 200 Empire State Buildings, over the next five years.
MarketWatch totals:
Americans spent $5B upgrading iPhones in 2013
Will demand for newer and slightly better phones ever be sated?
This year Americans spent over $5 billion on iPhones only slightly better than the ones they already owned, new research finds.
The average iPhone upgrade costs $151 every two years, which works out to $5.4 billion in upgrades every year, according to the study by SellCell.com, a site that aggregates deals from more than 20 trade-in companies. “We’re a nation of mobile-phone lovers — obsessed with getting a shiny new device,” says Craig Timmins, spokesman for SellCell.com. Apple accounts for 41% of the U.S. smartphone market, according to market research firm ComScore, and iPhone owners pay more than the average price to upgrade ($130). In fact, Americans spend over $11 billion upgrading all types of smartphones annually, and nearly one in four U.S. adults (23%) upgrades his or her phone each year.
The New York Times supplements, painfully:
Spike in Harm to Liver Is Tied to Dietary Aids
Dietary supplements account for nearly 20 percent of drug-related liver injuries that turn up in hospitals, up from 7 percent a decade ago, according to an analysis by a national network of liver specialists. The research included only the most severe cases of liver damage referred to a representative group of hospitals around the country, and the investigators said they were undercounting the actual number of cases.
And for our last item, a gas from Bloomberg:
Cows’ Role in Global Warming Seen Overlooked in Climate Talks
Cattle and other ruminants are probably the biggest human-related source of methane, a gas adding to global warming, and climate negotiators have paid too little attention to livestock, a team of researchers said.
Cows, sheep, goats and buffalo produce “copious amounts” of methane in their digestive systems, Oregon State University wrote in an online press release, citing analysis published in the journal Nature Climate Change today. One of the most effective ways to cut the gas would be to reduce the global population of ruminant livestock, the university said.
