Yesterday President Obama signed a $59 billion measure, which provides money for 30,000 additional troops for the surge in Afghanistan. It has become apparent that many innocent lives have been lost in Afghanistan however the main media does seem to be suppressing any and all graphical evidence of these deaths.
Further to a report published on Youtube in March 2009 highlighting how potentially over $100 Billion of reconstruction money has disappeared, the BBC today covered the issue highlighting 96% of the money has disappeared.
A US federal watchdog has criticised the US military for failing to account properly for billions of dollars it received to help rebuild Iraq.
The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction says the US Department of Defence is unable to account properly for 96% of the money.
Out of just over $9bn (£5.8bn), $8.7bn is unaccounted for, the inspector says.
The US military said the funds were not necessarily missing, but that spending records might have been archived.
In a response attached to the report, it said attempting to account for the money might require “significant archival retrieval efforts”.
Reconstruction money
Much of the money came from the sale of Iraqi oil and gas.
Some frozen Saddam Hussein-era assets were also sold off.
The funds in question were administered by the US Department of Defence between 2004 and 2007, and were earmarked for reconstruction projects.
But, the report says, a lack of proper accounting makes it impossible to say exactly what happened to most of the money.
This is not the first time that allegations of missing billions have surfaced in relation to the US-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath.
No-one from the Iraqi government was immediately available for comment.
Link to BBC story covering the issue.
According to the Co-op group, expenditure on ethical goods and services has grown almost threefold in the past 10 years, the Co-operative Bank declared today (30 December 2009) as it publishes its tenth annual report into green spending. Overall the ethical market in the UK was worth £36 billion in 2008 compared to £13.5 billion in 1999.
Whilst most sectors have outstripped the market, which has seen overall consumer spending increase by 58 per cent in the 10-year period, Fairtrade has enjoyed phenomenal success with sales up 30 fold. Sales of Fairtrade goods and produce, that give a premium to growers and producers in developing countries, were just £22 million back in 1999 but last year that figure had grown to £635 million and it is expected that during 2010 Fairtrade purchases will break the £1 billion barrier for the first time.
The data also shows that sales of energy efficient electrical appliances and boilers, which have grown 12 fold and nine times respectively, have also seen exceptional growth while the mature financial services market has seen ethical banking and investments triple over the course of the decade.
Spending on sustainable products and services over the past decade has increased tenfold, with each UK household now spending on average £251 per annum on green items. Expenditure on environmentally friendly products and services such as energy efficient appliances, green energy and carbon offsetting is £6,417 million. However this still represents less than one per cent of total household expenditure.
Although the report shows that the idea of ethical purchasing is now well established amongst many consumers, there is still a long way to go if we are all going to adopt the low carbon lifestyle needed to avoid cataclysmic climate change. The growth in energy efficient products such as boilers, white goods and more recently light bulbs, has been underpinned by Government intervention.
In order for the UK to reduce its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 there will need to be a step-change in take-up of low carbon technologies, and this will need a new contract between business, government and the consumer.
The story emerged today that the missising Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri has surfaced at the Pakistani Embassy in the USA. It was belived by the Tehran Governemnt that Mr Amiri was kidnapped by the CIA over a year ago, however this has been strongly denied by the US. Video footage of Mr Amiri was released at several intervals during his disapearrance and sent out contradictory messages over his whereabouts and the involvement of the CIA in the situation. Mr Amiri was said to have worked as a researcher at a university in Tehran, however it is belived that he was involved in the country’s atomic energy organisation and implicated in their controversial nuclear programme.
The third video, in which Mr Amiri dismisses claims that he is living freely in America contains footage that states “I am not free here and I am not permitted to contact my family. If something happens and I do not return home alive, the US government will be responsible.”
There are two opposing views in this story and as outsiders it is difficult to decipher the real reasons behind Mr Amiri’s whereabouts in the US. Irani sources maintain he was kidnapped and the US continue to claim that he was in fact working for them and revealing potentially important information about the Iranian nuclear weapons programme. Whatever side of the story is true, the case of Mr Amiri is set to cause embarrassment to the US spy agencies as details of his involvement emerge.
Cases such as these highlight the little knowledge made available to the public over what really goes on behind the scenes in regard to relations between the US and the Middle East and the implications that entail. Would being in the know protect us any further? or is it best to let organisations such as the CIA and MI5 etc get on with it?
Update: 15th July 2010
According to the BBC, Mr Amiri said he was placed under intense pressure by his interrogators to co-operate in the first months following his alleged kidnapping.
“I was under the harshest mental and physical torture,” he said, adding that Israeli agents had been present during the interrogations and that the CIA had offered him $50m to remain in the US.
“The Americans wanted me to say that I defected to America of my own will to use me for revealing some false information about Iran’s nuclear work. But with God’s will, I resisted.”
Mr Amiri offered no evidence, but said he would eventually.
“I have some documents proving that I’ve not been free in the US and have always been under the control of armed agents of US intelligence services”
Shahram Amiri
“I have some documents proving that I’ve not been free in the United States and have always been under the control of armed agents of US intelligence services.”
It was repoted in the Independant Newspaper earlier this week that Britains Landfill sites could run out within just eight years. The UK sends more than 57 million tonnes a year of waste to landfill, with almost 19 million of these coming from Britains households. Under current plans, taxpayers could face fines of up to £180 million in order to lower the levels of waste being sent to landfill and meet common EU targets.
So why is the UK so far behind when it comes to its waste management schemes? According to government statistics, as a nation, only 12% of our household waste is recycled or composted, this is very low compared to other countries in Europe such as Switzerland where over half all waste is recycled and Germany where 48% gets reused.
The reasons for these shocking UK figures are simple, as at present, landfill is simply the cheapest option for waste disposal. Whilst households and industry have few incentives to recycle or to create less waste then these worrying trends will continue.
What can you do as a consumer? Firstly there is the option of choosing products with less packaging. Millions of tonnes of waste are created annually through unnecessary and bulky packaging. Secondly, it is important that you are recycling as much as possible, by using the services provided by the council and even composting in your own backgarden. However, perhaps even more important than recycling is reducing the overall amount of waste you create. This is the principle way to slow the filling of landfill sites in and around the UK and should be more heavily stressed by Government and local councils alike.
Sustainable waste management is being advocated widely by the EU and with the current targets being put in place, Britain should be able to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfill dramatically over the next 10 years. However, we will all need to do our part as citizens and consumers to ensure that these new rules and regulations make a difference, not just to avoid the costly fines that will come with them, but also to ensure the protection of the UK’s landscape from the degredation that accompanies the creation of landfill sites.
The childs overview:
For a comprehensive overview (1.5 hours)
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in most of the processed foods we eat. It is marketed as a natural product, which is natural and is made of corn.
Why are you eating it?
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) claim that HFCS is not a “natural” ingredient due to the high level of processing and the use of at least one genetically modified (GMO) enzyme required to produce it. On January 12, 2007, Cadbury Schweppes agreed to stop calling 7 Up “All Natural”. They now label it “100% Natural Flavors”.
Mercury
A pilot study reported that some high-fructose corn syrup manufactured in the U.S. in 2005 contained trace amounts of mercury. The mercury appeared to come from sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, two chemicals used in the manufacture of high-fructose corn syrup. This mixture used to produce HFCS may have come from plants also specializing in industrial chlorine chlor-alkali using the mercury cell Castner-Kellner process, and may contain traces of mercury if this specific process is utilized. Mercury concentrations in the samples testing positive ranged from 0.012 μg/g to 0.570 μg/g (micrograms per gram). Nine of the twenty samples tested did contain measurable amounts of mercury.
If you’re a bloke, and perhaps a little vain you would probably like to have a six pack. Now the problem is as with most things, no pain no gain. We have all been bombarded with different products from pills, to gadgets to work out routines all looking to make you “the consumer” waste your money and waste the resources to produce and ship that product probably all the way from China to your door…
Well guess what, don’t waste your money.. View the above video and get the lowdown on how to really get a six pack…That’s if you really want one.
The solution is not rocket science, simply eat less and do cardiovascular exercise…That’s it!
The Pope is set to visit Britain in September 2010 and the cost of trip is like to set back taxpayers a whopping £12 million. It is estimated that the total outlay for the four day stay could reach as much as £24 million, with the Catholic Church footing the remainder of the bill. The trip will be Benedict’s first official Papal visit to the UK and will comprise of both pastoral events and formal state business. Security will be stepped up, with the the visit set to spark outrage amongst protestors not only concerned with the gross overspend but the also because of the scandal surrounding child abuse within the Catholic Church and other controversial views.
With the number of malnourished people worldwide standing at just over 1.2 billion and increasing annually, a £12 million price tag for a four day visit seems obsurd, as the money could be put to much better uses. The charity Helen Keller International is working to reduce malnutrition in line with the Millenium development Goal which aims to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. They’re attempting to achieve this via a variety of projects, one of which included the production of ‘self-sustaining food production gardens’ in countries across Asia, at a cost of just $9 (about £6) per garden. These gardens can provide food for whole families as well as creating a source of income. The £12 million being spent by the UK Government on the Pope’s visit could be used to create two million of these gardens and improve the lives of millions of people.
Can this huge sum of money really be justified when there are millions of people worldwide lacking even the basic tools for survival, not forgetting the fact the UK’s government has the largest deficit of all the G20 nations and is currently imposing tight public spending cuts which will doubtless effect a large proportion of its own population?
This is a tongue in cheek video about how the Advertising Industry works. We all should now how consumers are duped into a “consumer culture” where consuming is king and consumption will “make us happy”, but fewer people realise the lengths ad agency will go through to stay in business.