Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday, 24 April 2014

The European Union Times


Posted: 23 Apr 2014 02:57 AM PDT

Contrary to popular ‘green’ beliefs, a study funded by the US federal government argues that corn-based biofuels are actually worse for the environment than gasoline, as they emit more greenhouse gasses and deplete soil carbon.
The $500,000 peer-reviewed analysis by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, published in an issue of the journal Nature Climate Change, claims that cellulosic biofuels like ethanol, produced from residue, the byproduct of harvested corn (left-over leaves, cobs etc.) lead to a 7-percent increase in emissions, as well as 62 grams above the 60-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions stipulated in the law on energy targets of 2007.
This is a setback for those lobbying for cleaner fuels, who wish to combat climate change. The federal government has been trying to push through mandates for increasing ethanol production to promote the idea of clean alternatives to gasoline. They invested over $1 billion in federal funds to support cellulosic biofuel research. But ethanol-based fuel alternatives have so far been a more expensive, cumbersome venture.
This should make farmers happy, as soil erosion has always been a problem, as well as the issue of retaining residue for nourishing and preserving soil quality.
According to experts in the field, the research is long overdue and is the first attempt to quantify the effect of ethanol-based biofuel on carbon depletion in soil. It looked at production in 12 Corn Belt states.
The key conclusion is that when left to be absorbed naturally by the soil, the leaves, stalks and cobs are more beneficial for the soil than when it is later burned as fuel and the residue gives off carbon into the atmosphere. As a result, the study concludes the process contributes to global warming.
“If less residue is removed, there is less decrease in soil carbon, but it results in a smaller biofuel energy yield,” Adam Liska, the professor in charge of the study said, adding that the results of the study were in line with his expectations and that he’s “amazed [the findings have] not come out more solidly until now.”
As a preventive measure against depriving the soil of carbon it gets from corn residue – and to reduce carbon emissions – the research suggests planting more crops to give the earth the carbon it needs; it also talks of using alternative feed stocks and sources of residue, as well as harnessing more electricity from carbon-fuel stations, as opposed to coal-operated ones.
The study received a swift response from government officials and oil businesses, who say the research is flawed, as it uses scenarios that are firstly too simplistic, because they don’t account for variations in carbon depletion from soil in a given field; secondly, they are seen as too extreme in overestimating how much residue is removed.
According to Jan Koninckx, who is the global business director for bio refineries at DuPont, a chemical company, “no responsible farmer or business would ever employ [the study’s suggestions], because it would ruin both the land and the long-term supply of feedstock. It makes no agronomic or business sense.”
But Liska believes that this is, in fact, the first study that got the carbon depletion math as close to the truth as possible.
And, as professor David Tilman of the University of Minnesota said in support of the study: “It will be very hard to make a biofuel that has a better greenhouse gas impact than gasoline using corn residue,” as cited by The Associated Press.
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Posted: 23 Apr 2014 02:42 AM PDT

A conference on Internet governance is set to start in Brazil in the wake of revelations about global spying activities by the United States.
Representatives from around the world will attend the two-day NETMundial summit, which begins in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo on Wednesday.
They are expected to set out principles for governing the Internet. Reports also say that some of the countries taking part in the conference are planning to call for the creation of an international body to oversee the Internet’s technical functions.
The US is currently supervising the World Wide Web, but many countries feel betrayed following the disclosures about US online surveillance activities.
On Tuesday, Brazil’s Senate passed a law, amounting to a web user’s bill of rights. The legislation, dubbed Brazil’s “Internet Constitution,” sets out principles, rights and duties for both internet users and service providers.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is planned to sign the bill into law and present it in the conference on Wednesday.
The new law was passed following revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on personal communications of Brazilians, including those of Rousseff.
In September last year, Brazil’s Globo television network said that emails, phone calls and text messages of Rousseff had been the target of the NSA’s espionage activities.
This came three months after American whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked two top secret US government spying programs, which revealed that the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data.
The scandal took even broader dimensions later, when the former NSA contractor revealed information about the organization’s espionage activities targeting “friendly countries.”
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Posted: 23 Apr 2014 02:37 AM PDT

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday delivered ​​a report to the deputies of the State Duma on the work of the government in 2013. The report from the head of the cabinet lasted for one hour, ten minutes and was interrupted by applause eight times.
In his speech, the Prime Minister spoke about the achievements and challenges in the activities of the government, announced the plans and forecasts for the future. The first part of the speech was devoted to the influence of possible sanctions and restrictions imposed by the U.S. and Europe on the Russian economy. As the prime minister said, the process would not affect the Russians. Medvedev also touched upon topical issues of Russia’s domestic policies – labor migration issues and bureaucracy.
During his speech, Medvedev would ask himself questions and give answers to them. “Will our citizens suffer from these notorious sanctions? We will not allow our citizens to become hostages to political games,” said the prime minister. According to him, it took the world long to become global and learn to agree on most important international issues and develop common rules of the game.
“Today, some of the basic values ​​of global peace – such as, for example, freedom of movement, are being questioned,” complained the head of the government, remembering how the whole world witnessed absurd visa restrictions based on professional or even gender factors.
The prime minister said that it was possible, of course, to continue to exchange “black lists,” but it would be an absolute dead end. He recalled that Russian citizens had already experienced restrictions not only in terms of visas: foreign partners disabled some Russian banks from international payment systems. One can still learn lessons from these difficulties, said Medvedev. “For us, this is an additional incentive to create the national payment system, which would little depend on the international situation and operate smoothly across the country,” said Medvedev.
The actions of the West will not affect Russia’s defense capability, said the head of the Russian government. According to him, Russia, on the contrary, will strengthen the position on the global arms market after the imposition of sanctions. “Can our defense and security suffer? They will not suffer,” said the prime minister.
“The defense sector has always been our national pride. In recent years, the defense industry has got up on its feet, and we will not let it suffer as a result of someone’s hostile actions,” said Medvedev.
“Russia does not depend on imports in manufacturing many kinds of military products. The ability of our country to make quality modern weapons raises no doubts with many foreign counties. Russia ranks second in the world in terms of arms exports, and we intend to strengthen our position on the global arms market,” said Medvedev.
“Russia intends to strengthen her position on the market not only by building closer ties with our traditional partners, the largest of which are China and India, but also by establishing new ones – with the countries of Latin America and Africa.”
The government will pay attention to industry, which may suffer because of the situation in Ukraine, said Medvedev. He assured that “certain sectors of mechanical engineering, which largely depend on international cooperation with companies in Ukraine, will receive additional support from the government.”
Medvedev said that the Russian government was not going to change economic and economic policies. “I consider it wrong to rush from side to side,” – said Medvedev. According to him, “artificial constraints on international projects will equally affect all participants of cooperation. “We can handle the situation on our own and we will win eventually,” Medvedev assured the MPs. “In our hands, there is a necessary set of tools that allows us to develop steadily, even in harsh conditions,” said Medvedev.
Commenting on the results of the work of the government, Dmitry Medvedev drew attention to positive indicators of economic growth, industrial production, lower inflation and unemployment. He pointed out the success of population policies, stressing out that “for the first time in 20 years, the birth rate in the country has grown by 20,500.” He also pointed out the modernization of health care and regional systems of education, raising wages for the public sector and the pension reform.
The Prime Minister paid attention to the success of the Olympics in Sochi, as well as plans for the development of culture.
Responding to questions from MPs about Ukraine’s debt for gas, the Prime Minister accused the neighboring country of systematic theft of natural gas. According to Medvedev, Russia in the near future will activate the system of advance payments for gas. “That is, the amount of gas that we will be supplying will be equal to how much Ukraine pays us for gas. In other words, it’s gas vs. money,” said the prime minister.
According to Medvedev, it “will be a tough, although an absolutely fair decision.” “Therefore, our task is to diversify the routes of Russian gas supplies and force others to pay their bills,” he added.
“The gas market is arranged in such a way that one delivers the contracted gas based on the take-or-pay principle, where long-term contracts are the main basic foundation for our gas cooperation with Europe. For us, they are valuable because they formulate supply conditions for a long period,” said Medvedev, stressing out the profitability factor of such contracts.
The Prime Minister noted that Russia has always had gas problems with Ukraine. “These problems did not arise today, and, unfortunately, almost any Ukrainian leadership, no matter who the president or the prime minister was, continued the same line to misuse the Russian gas. Very often, this is, in fact, straightforward banal theft. They still continue the line not to pay for gas. This line continues today,” Medvedev stated.
“The names of Ukrainian leaders have been changing rapidly, but the policy remains the same: “We wait, then pay, negotiate with them, get the Europeans involved, the Americans have come out with the so-called new gas. All this is pure bluff,” said the head of the Cabinet, noting that the debt of 2 billion 200 million dollars remains, and the volume of non-payments grows.
As for restrictions on the export of Russian goods, Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would be defending its rights, in particular, through courts and the World Trade Organization.
“For 17 years, we were actually kept in the hallway, where we argued that we deserved the right to enter the world trading community, that we meet its standards. Now we have a full right to demand other WTO member countries should observe the regulations with respect to Russian goods,” said the head of the Russian government. Medvedev was talking about the negotiations about Russia’s entry into the WTO that lasted for nearly 20 years and completed in late 2011.
“There is no need to be shy here. If it is reasonable and legal, we can show our teeth. “We will appeal to courts, including the authority to resolve disputes in the WTO,” said Medvedev.
In early April, Kiev announced the withdrawal of a number of Russian products from sale. The black list included confectionery, cheese and fish products made in Russia. In response, Russia banned imports of dairy products of six Ukrainian companies. Afterwards, the geography of bans was expanded. On April 7, specialists of the Russian Federal Service on Surveillance for Consumer Rights announced that there was lead found in a batch of chicken sausages imported from the U.S. Russia also banned the deliveries of frozen beef from Australia, as well as finished meat products from Poland and Lithuania.
Proceeding to internal problems of the country, Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia needed a modern state machine. He offered the MPs to consider a possibility to cut the number of officials by ten percent.
He recalled that some time ago he already made a decision to reduce the number of officials by 20 percent. When serving as president, in 2010, he ordered to reduce the staff of federal, regional and municipal agencies.
The prime minister also spoke about another intense internal Russian problem – the migration policy. Medvedev said that Russia needed a diverse qualitative composition on foreign labor.
The prime minister acknowledged that migration issues often raises anxiety and even condemnation with Russian citizens. According to Medvedev, Russia needs not only highly qualified specialists. “We need innovators, but let’s be honest – we need janitors too. No one wants to work as janitors here, like in any other country. The welfare level rose, and no one wants to engage into unskilled labor,” he said. At the same time, all foreign workers must be adapted to the Russian society, they should speak Russian and not endorse their habits on locals, Medvedev said.
As for the development of the Crimea, it should in no way be conducted at the expense of other regions, Medvedev stated.
“Of course, the Crimea and Sevastopol mean great joy and new opportunities for the development of our country. But we must not allow a situation where the development of the Crimea will be conducted at the expense of the development of other regions. This would be the worst way to discredit the great decisions that were taken this year,” said Medvedev.
He assured that for the development of the Crimea and Sevastopol, additional sources of funding would be found and no region would lose anything.
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Posted: 23 Apr 2014 02:18 AM PDT

After weeks of search in the Indian Ocean, an investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is considering the possibility that the plane has landed somewhere else, sources say.
Malaysia’s New Strait Times daily on Wednesday quoted sources close to the international investigation team that the investigators are looking at the possibility that the missing jet did not crash into the Indian Ocean and landed safely at an unknown location.
“The thought of it landing somewhere else is not impossible, as we have not found a single debris that could be linked to MH370. However, the possibility of a specific country hiding the plane when more than 20 nations are searching for it, seems absurd,” the sources told the Malaysian newspaper.
It came as more than a dozen planes and ships are still looking for possible debris of the jet in the ocean.
Flight MH370 with 239 people on board was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it suddenly disappeared from air traffic control radars on March 8.
Malaysian officials said on Sunday that the government would look into issuing death certificates for those onboard the plane, needed for their relatives to seek insurance payments, settle debts and other issues.
The relatives of the passengers, however, issued a statement and denounced the government’s move.
“We, the families of MH370, believe that until they have conclusive proof that the plane crashed with no survivors, they have no right to attempt to settle this case with the issuance of death certificates and final payoffs,” a statement of the relatives said.
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Posted: 23 Apr 2014 02:10 AM PDT

US frigate USS Taylor (FFG 50) has entered the Black Sea, according to the US Navy, as the Pentagon announces plans to dispatch some 600 troops to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for military exercises.
The US claims the ship’s entry is “to promote peace and stability in the region.”
“The US Navy routinely operates ships in the Black Sea consistent with the Montreux Convention and International Law. Taylor’s mission is to reassure NATO allies of the US Navy’s commitment to strengthen and improve interoperability while working toward mutual goals in the region,” read a US Navy statement released on Tuesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has previously stated that the US has been violating the Montreux Convention which restricts the number of US vessels operating in the Black Sea and sets a time limit of 21 days for each one.
At the beginning of February, the USS Taylor was initially posted in the Black Sea. However, damages to the warship’s propeller assembly after running aground in the Black Sea caused a spike in tensions between the US and Russia after it caused the ship to exceed the time allotted to its stay by 11 days.
US troops heading to Baltics
The 600 troops are to be sent to Poland and the Baltic states in the coming days in order to offer support to NATO allies which have expressed concern following Crimea’s accession to Russia, the Pentagon stated on Tuesday.
“I’m told they’re infantry level – infantry training exercises,” said Pentagon press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby in a press briefing given on Tuesday. However, he added that he couldn’t provide specifics.
Kirby pointed out that the bilateral exercises were a supplement to the standard military exercises which the countries undertake together and were because of current events in Ukraine.
“The United States takes seriously our obligations under Article 5 of the NATO alliance, even though these aren’t NATO exercises,” Kirby said. “It’s a very tangible representation of our commitment to our security obligations in Europe.”
Last Friday, Poland’s Defense Minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, said that this week Poland and the United States would be announcing the dispatch of ground forces to Poland take part in a two-week land-forces exercise. Some 150 soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza, Italy are to begin the exercises in Wednesday after which similar exercises will follow in the Baltics.
US troops will rotate in and out of all four countries. “We’re looking at trying to keep this rotational presence persistent throughout the rest of this year,” Kirby stated, adding that exercises could potentially expand into other countries.
The measures are being taken as part of a stepped-up effort announced last week by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in order to reassure NATO allied states.
Relations between Russia and the West became strained after an armed coup in February deposed President Viktor Yanukovich following months of protests. Moscow considers the events to have been orchestrated by the EU and the US and does not recognize the post-coup authorities as legitimate.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 12:22