The European Union Times |
- Russia threatens to cut gas to Europe if Ukraine doesn’t pay debt
- Greece to ban hymns, carols and Church liturgies
- Australian government opens up to unlimited immigration
- Ecuador expels 20 US military staff over espionage fears
- Ukraine sends 15,000 troops near Russian border
|
Posted: 27 Apr 2014 06:30 AM PDT
 Russia says Ukraine’s failure to pay its growing gas debt may impact gas delivery to European countries. Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday that Moscow may be forced to cut off natural gas supplies to Europe over Ukraine’s mounting unpaid gas debt. According to Novak, Ukraine currently owes Russia over USD 2.230 billion in unpaid gas bills and the debt is to rise, as the figure does not include 1.3 billion for deliveries made in April. The Russian Energy Ministry also said Ukraine’s debt could lead to a situation where not enough gas would be pumped into Ukrainian underground storage facilities, which could then result in an undersupply of gas to Southeastern Europe. Russia provides about half of Ukraine’s gas and 30 percent of Europe’s total gas demand with major pipelines on the Ukrainian territory. The Russian Energy Minister’s comments came after Novak together with Russia’s Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and other Russian officials met with representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Moldova. During the meeting, the parties discussed other gas transportation ways to European consumers, primarily the South Stream project. Gazprom’s 45-billion-dollar South Stream project is expected to transport gas from Russia to the EU member states of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Hungary, as well as Serbia via the Black Sea. The line is due to open in 2015 and will reach its full capacity by then to deliver 64 billion cubic meters of gas, accounting for 15 percent of Europe’s gas needs. Source           |
|
Posted: 27 Apr 2014 06:15 AM PDT
 For several years, a campaign has been launched by dark circles, for the elimination of eulogies (hymns) of Good Friday, which refer to the crucifiers of our Lord. Until now, despite extreme pressure, the heads of Orthodoxy have stood their ground. However, with the new “anti-racism” law that is pushed for vote in parliament, by the servants of the God-killers, Samaras’s (pseudo) government – and with the blessing of all the systemic parties – will mandate the removal of the hymns, we may witness priests being arrested after the liturgy of Good Friday, for “spreading racial hate messages”, and this may be followed by lawsuits from international Zionist groups and their local organizations! Therefore, we present, perhaps for the last time, the Good Friday prayers, before they are deemed illegal “by order of Samaras”. Beside Christmas carols, New Year’s carols, and those of the feast of the Epiphany, there are also our traditional Good Friday carols. Commonly referred to as “The Laments of Mary”. We present this part of it to you for the last time this year, because this time next year it will be illegal in our Orthodox Greece! For you see, even our traditions, will be affected by the so called “antiracism” act! “With all that was attempted against the Lord by the Jews, it is as if they brought down upon themselves that day, of which the prophet foretold: this will be a day of vengeance for the Lord. That is what happened to them, who thought they could exterminate the Lord. This is what they caused at their own expense, shouting against the Lord. This is what they were convicted of, while trying to judge the Lord. With their wickedness and laid waste to themselves and their homes and now are without a city. They have won their cohabitation with the demons.” – Athanasius the Great Source      |
|
Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:05 AM PDT
 The Australian government, has surprised few people by continuing to fight on behalf of business against working Australians. So far, it’s been rather victorious, overseeing many Australians being put out of work, or should that be, ‘liberated’ from employment. The Liberals latest booting to the Aussie worker is to expand the 457 visa scheme via loopholes. A loophole existed, which allowed employers to hire more foreign workers than they applied for. The Labor government closed the loophole in 2013 after it had been exploited by companies in the mining, IT and construction industries. The program, designed to address a skills shortage, is sold to Australians as being limited solely to positions which cannot be filled by local talent, a last resort. A torrent of anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise and it is very clear that the 457 visa program is anything but what it is said to be. Reports of it being used to undercut local talent abound. The Liberal government want to cut red tape, by removing scrutiny or penalties for hiring additional foreign workers above and beyond what was applied for. In other words, the Liberal party is decriminalising this practice, and deliberately turning a blind eye. This will allow business to hire potentially unlimited number of foreign workers in place of Australians. You can be sure that they will take advantage of this. With unemployment at 6%, and projected to increase until 2016-2017, this will only make things worse for us. The Age reports… A discussion paper in 2012 also found there was no restriction to the number of 457 workers a company could nominate once a sponsorship is approved. In the same year, mining magnate Gina Rinehart famously warned that Australians needed to work harder to compete with Africans who will work for less than $2 a day. Yet in June, the boss of Ms Rinehart’s Roy Hill iron ore project, Barry Fitzgerald, backed away from using foreign workers on 457 visas, saying he was confident he could find the staff locally. Before the cap was introduced in 2013, the number of 457 visas was quickly rising. In the financial year 2009/10 there were 67,980 visas granted. By 2012/13 there were 126,350 visas granted, statistics from the Department of Immigration show. The 457 visa worker scheme has all but destroyed the IT industry in Australia, replacing local talent with cheaper imports of dubious talent. It has provided industry with tax payer subsidised labour. The “living away from home allowance” available to some 457 visa workers means that their rent and food is tax deductible. Some 457 visa workers report having more or less, all their living expenses tax deductible. The Australian worker cannot compete with that. Abbott appears to be determined to destroy not just the unions, but the Australian middle class. To these neo-conservatives, the Australian nation is not much more than a resource for their favoured rich backers. The people of Australia are seen in the same manner as the dirt in the ground which is sold to China, just a resource, which can be replaced or cast aside. Lack of national loyalty by governments and by some business’s (many business owners, generally small or medium business still operate ethically) is causing a decline in living standards, and the slow dissolution of the Australian nation. 457 visa workers, whether from India, China, Ireland or Italy are by and large, not needed. With growing unemployment, the local labour is there, and many unemployed or underemployed Australians are more than willing to work, given the opportunity. Business, particularly big business, has little interest in these people, and prefer the government ship in ready trained and indentured foreign workers, and leave the tax bill to build the additional infrastructure to us. The 457 visa worker program should be scaled back to only those positions where it is in the interest of national integrity. The program should not be used to allow a business to grow, business must grow according to the market, nor should it be used as a substitute for training local talent. Only in cases where urgent infrastructure is needed, and local talent is not a possibility, should guest workers be considered. Guest worker programs for any other reason invariably involve greater social and economic cost than benefit. Why Visa Workers?  Over the last few decades, employer expectations and demands have become more stringent. A generation or two ago, unskilled or inexperienced workers, generally, found it easier to obtain employment. It was possible to simply walk into a factory and be hired on the spot. Job security and longevity meant more on the job training and specialisation. With deteriorating employment conditions and greater competition for work, employers have increased their demands. Employers began demanding prior experience, not just for senior level positions, but entry level and unskilled positions too. It is not almost impossible to find a job where no previous experience is required. The paradox is, one cannot get experience unless one gets a job first, but to get a job you need experience. Employers don’t want to take on the cost of training or having an employee get up to speed, so they expect another company to turn inexperienced workers into experienced ones. But with all companies doing this, it creates a conundrum. One can even see job ads for graduate positions, requiring previous experience! The second issue is fewer employers provide on the job training, partly to reduce costs and partly because casualisation of the workforce means a lower return on investment in training staff. Trained staff are more likely to leave for a full time position for another company. If this is what staff will do, why train? The third issue, is that employers often have unrealistic, often ridiculous requirements and criteria for potential recruits. Looking at job advertisements for professional positions, the range of experience and skills required for many positions, is often very specific, covering a broad range of disciplines, ruling out any candidate except those which had a very specific and varied multidisciplinary career path. The employer then complains about not being able to find suitable staff, thereby creating the impression there is a “skill shortage”, when in reality, the employer is simply being unreasonable to expect someone who meets their eclectic criteria. A proposal Dropping the supply of foreign labour will force local business to change their demands. Contrary to what Abbott and the Liberal party state, the issue regarding 457 visa workers isn’t that Australian workers aren’t competitive or innovative, they are, but that employers aren’t competitive, innovative or flexible. By dropping their supply of labour, business will then be forced to relax standards. The current paradox is that employers find it hard to get staff, despite a potentially large pool of potential candidates who are a near fit. Rather than dismiss the pool of ‘near enough’ candidates, the lack of foreign options will force employers to take ‘near enough’ candidates and fill in the skills gap themselves. Contrary to business fears that this will result or poorer quality outcomes, it will more likely result in a more skilled, more capable workforce as employed people are skilled up. These skills will be transferable and overall, results in a more capable and product workforce, which should offset the small costs in training. The benefits from training local labour are generally under-appreciated by employers. Conservative employment conditions are making Australian uncompetitive.  In addition, employers may become less risk adverse, and be willing to take chances on candidates who while not experienced, may have other potential. Employers will hopefully realise that taking a less conservative approach to employment can be quite beneficial. The government should increase training opportunities, in particular for tertiary education and TAFE and other training opportunities for adults to re-skill. Incentives for companies who offer on the job training and tighter regulation of the recruitment industry. Lastly, the government should not pander to business demands for importing labour, when viable options in Australia are present. Business’s themselves should realise that they are part of a nation not separate to it and owe a loyalty just like employees and the elected government do, to the national community in which it resides. Clearly training the sons and daughters of your national family is the correct thing to do, rather than ignore them and take foreigners just to save a dollar. Australia through the hard work of its settling stock and other migrants later from Europe developed, built , died in 2 World Wars to ensure this nation endured. It is the collective personal sacrifices of our ancestors and those of us alive today that has created an environment with rule of law and little corruption (compared to Asia) that enables business to operate and flourish in the first place. Source      |
|
Posted: 27 Apr 2014 02:32 AM PDT
 Ecuador has ordered 20 US military staff working at the US Embassy in Quito to leave the country by the end of the month. US embassy spokesman Jeffrey Weinshenker said on Thursday that the group was ordered to halt work on April 7, The Associated Press reported. Officials in Washington say the 20 people have not yet left the South American country. They say the expulsion does not affect the embassy’s military attaché. In January, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa publicly complained that the US had too many military officers in the country. At that time, he said he planned to order some to leave. Many observers say that the action was taken over concerns about US espionage. Relations between the US and Ecuador have been strained in recent years, even before Correa granted political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in June 2012 in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Assange gained international prominence in 2010 when WikiLeaks began publishing thousands of confidential US diplomatic cables, which embarrassed the US government. The website has also published hundreds of thousands of classified US documents relating to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ecuador had previously forced out several US diplomats including then-ambassador Heather Hodges in 2011. Source      |
|
Posted: 27 Apr 2014 02:13 AM PDT
 This satellite image dated April 25 shows Ukrainian armored vehicles positioned near the city of Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine.RIA Novosti on Saturday published satellite images showing the buildup of troops near the eastern Ukrainian anti-government stronghold of Slavyansk. The photos, which are said to have been taken during the latest stage of the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” ordered by Kiev, are dated April 24-25. The images appear to show part of military hardware used for the current Ukrainian troops’ objective of “isolating” Slavyansk. This photo says that a group of 21 APCs are visible at the time of observation (center). It shows the northern outskirts of Slavyansk where an animal feed stuff factory is located (lower center).  Another group of 22 APCs is said to have been spotted 4 kilometers to the west of Slavyansk at the territory of a dairy farm. Ten tanks and 11 BMDs (airborne combat vehicles) are visible in another segment of the farm’s territory pictured above.  Groups of APCs can also be seen amassed on the western outskirts of Slavyansk.  A Russian Defense Ministry source commenting on the photos to RIA Novosti said that they show only a fraction of the force encircling the city. According to the source, 160 tanks, 230 APCs and BMDs, and at least 150 artillery and rocket systems, including “Grad” and “Smerch” multiple rocket launchers, have been deployed to the area. A total of 15,000 troops are positioned near Slavyansk, he said. The size of the force is “incommensurable” to that of the city’s self-defense, the source said, adding that it would be enough “to raze the city to the ground with all its residents.” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Thursday said the large buildup of Ukraine troops, as well as war games and additional deployments of armed forces to the NATO states in the region have “forced” Russia to respond with military drills of its own. “The order to use force against civilians has already been given, and if this military machine is not stopped, the amount of casualties will only grow,” Shoigu said during an official meeting in Moscow. Self-defense activists believe that Russia’s move has dissuaded the coup-imposed Kiev authorities from storming Slavyansk, with troops only raiding checkpoints on the outskirts of the city and then retreating. However, Ukrainian acting defense minister, Mikhail Koval, on Saturday asserted that the military operation continues as planned “although its pace is not high.” Speaking to journalists on the activity of the Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, Koval also contradicted earlier claims of border violations coming from Kiev and Washington. The Russian aircraft spotted flying along the Ukrainian border were transport airplanes, not fighter jets, and they never crossed the borderline, he said. Also, the closest distance that the Russian troops came to the Ukrainian border was 2-3 kilometers, he revealed. Source     |
