Foreign Service Updates - Turkey Protests - Thailand Deportation - Uighurs, China

TURKEY Issue: = Uighur Muslims: Turkic-speaking, Muslim minority = Uighurs in Xinjiang - at 10 million = China crackdown in region re rising violence - ISLAMIST SEPARATISTS  = Xinjiang region, China Turkey protests = results in: anti-Chinese & anti-Thai demonstration / property damage of Thailand consulate = results in: temporary closure of Thailand’s embassy in Ankara & consulate in Istanbul = Uighurs enter Turkey in hope of settlement = Uighurs 400 - detained Thailand for illegal entry = tussle between Turkey & China re where Uighurs should be settled Thailand = 100 Uighurs were deported to China on Wed Turkey earlier group of 172 Uighur (women & children) sent to Turkey, late June Deportation of Chinese national to China = condemnation: United States rights groups UN Istanbul protest Forcible return to China from: Cambodia Malaysia Pakistan UN says: deportation was a violation of international law see - principle of non-refoulement = prohibition transfer to a place where at risk of rights abuses Thailand: defended the legal status of the repatriation  =  China had “guaranteed their safety” =  “If found innocent they will be released” SOURCE http://nation.com.pk/international/11-Jul-2015/thai-embassy-closed-in-turkey-after-protest-against-deported-uighurs  --------------------- COMMENT TRAVEL WARNING - ASIANS Asian tourist attacked by pro-Uighur protesters in Ankara    Violence, separatism & violent protest (that often sparks like violent protest in other Muslim communities) seems to be a pattern of the Muslim mindset.

SUMMARY - MISC

SUMMARY - MISC #China -- court jails Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti for life for separatism: lawyer [AFP] ... Gee, they didn't deliberate much on that decision ---------------------------------------- Putin wrote Fatty a love letter: #Ukraine's access 2 vital Russian markets if Kiev implements any part of trade agreement w/ #EU in 4 PAIN >> Hey, Fatty ... #Russia's got you by the TARIFFS !! LOL - I love politics & trade. http://tinyurl.com/kgobecp >> EU delayed implementing the trade accord until Dec. 31 2015 ... LOL it's a trick. Hit 'em with gas cut-off 4 winter >> Putin wants three-way negotiations to amend the EU's accord with #Kiev ... Awww, that's no fun/ EU says room 4 compromise. ---------------------------------------- #India MASSIVE >> private firms allotted coal blocks by govts b/w1993 & 2011 have lost their mining rights!! > http://tinyurl.com/n4mdvm7 > Hey, #Poland - India suffering from drastically LOW coal supplies! > Following dec'n govt free 2 auction or allot blocks WOW .. this is #India's Coalgate - 2012 auditor govt under-priced coal mines & gave away as much as $33 billion windfall !! #India - Shares in Indian power & steel producers tanked b/c India's coal decision - http://tinyurl.com/kmkmxpd  - will also impact on LENDERS >> a "complete de-allocation" of the coal blocks will inflate India's IMPORT bill by $3bn (£1.81bn, €2.27bn) >> - IBTimes ---------------------------------------- #Ghana - bans inland importation of rice / losing $22.5m annually - http://tinyurl.com/l4qeqp6      /     http://tinyurl.com/kr6a8d6  ... > large foreign importers get better deal b/c stored at 'bonded warehouses' & duty paid once SOLD / small pay duty on crossing ppl lobby 2 lift ban to support local traders / argue ban giving monopoly to foreign importers of rice, leading to price hikes ---------------------------------------- #Kazakhstan bilateral military cooperation amid concerns Islamic extremism / military mod ..freebies #Russia / http://tinyurl.com/l8526uz ----------------------------------------------- UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) - ratified by more than 50 countries & in force >> #Sweden attended event >> international law by 24 Dec 2014 >>> Haahahahaaaa   TheGuardian is selling it with "... can save lives" headline ... http://tinyurl.com/kkbwsgr ----------------------------------------------- Estonian conservative party to set up shop in Finland / http://tinyurl.com/lgylwvw  / est 100,000 Estonians live/work Fin / elections March 2015 ----------------------------------------------- #Finland - over Fennovoima nuclear project - Green Party votes unanimously to leave government | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi http://yle.fi/uutiset/7482977  COMMENT Random bits of info that caught my attention as I looked at this and that.   The most exciting thing for me at the time was India's 'Coalgate' because I'd looked at a bit of coal information in other regions and this slotted in very nicely.  Got worked up about Ukraine, only to find it's all down to negotiations and very boring -- I'm hanging for the gas cut-off pay-back.  Don't think there will be one, as Russia's a lot more civilised than I am. Estonians setting up a political party in Finland is bizarre, however many Fins they might have there.  Ghana sounds rather corrupt.  Something is going on there.  But I haven't looked at it beyond the above. The imprisonment in China is probably a big one for people who generally support human rights causes -- and for those who seek to exploit such causes or issues. I'm not in that mould.  On the whole, I tend to be emotionally remote from most things that happen on the planet.

Poland - New Appointments & Coal Miners Strike

POLAND New Appointments #Poland - Grzegorz Schetyna appointed Foreign Min. / Radoslaw Sikorski candidate for speaker of the lower house - http://goo.gl/9ymZvr - hahahahaa .. Pres Komorowski favours 'continuity' of Radek ... Too bad. Suck it Radek!! President Komorowski has officially sworn in the new cabinet under Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz - http://goo.gl/9ymZvr Prime Minister Kopacz is to seek a vote of confidence in the new government in parliament on 1 October. Spot of Anti-Russian Propaganda 69th session of the #UN General Assembly / #Poland wants limit to #Russia's UN veto / http://goo.gl/ljl3p0  / Pres Bronislaw Komorowski Next to impossible: two-thirds of the General Assembly and the consent of all five permanent Security Council members. >> So it's an anti-Russian smear for the press? Massive US Arms Deal US sells mid-range missiles to #Poland - 40 SAMs AGM 158-missiles, low radar profile/1,000lb warhead/ http://goo.gl/ZdnrCj  43 miles "pounds €390 million package incls. upgrades to Poland's 48 F-16 jets" /Valery Heletey = Defence Minister / excuse Russian 'aggression' Spot of Trade Union Bother - Coal Mines  #Poland - Trade unions strike Warsaw 1 Oct - http://goo.gl/6GMGlE  - 4 biggest mines low revenue - want clear stance coal mining sector - Coal provides #Poland will over 55 percent of its primary energy consumption. >> #environment #energy >> 4 biggest running @ loss = state owned .. one sold off to Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa - A privatisation lobby?? - JSW - holding company / US$ 1.78 billion revenue/ looks like it might also be state owned?? - http://www.jsw.pl/en/about-us/about-jsw/ … NO, JWS = private: >> x2 = state owned / x2 = private coys: Jastrzębska SW SA & Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka SA. #Business - Coal - #Poland 2012-2013, market conditions worsened 4 largest players/cheap imports applied downward pressure on coal prices coal seams in Poland too deep to mine cost effectively / http://goo.gl/5e4n1A  / By 2030 will be10-15 working mines in Poland >> x2 State + x2 private coys = the 4 mining = account for about 92% of all coal mining in Poland. #Business - Slump in coal prices has hit New Hope Corp’s annual profit, which dropped 21.2 per cent to $58.4 million. [wikinvest] >> Noooo! Price slump!! -- Check out the PROFITS, will ya?!!! That's an obscene amount of money!! - Slump my ass. > So business whines when they're not making an even more obscene amount of money? No economic 'downturn'. Just GREED. #Business /coal slump / imports by China (1/4 of global trade in coal) fell for 2nd mnth - 6yr low - 1. slowed eco. 2. hydropower /reuters Fears #China policies 2 restrict imports - chill on industry - http://goo.gl/nv8Yc6  - uncertainty Hey, China did ban imports of poorer quality thermal coal & it sent WAVES .. it was ahead of UN Climate Change talks / SMH -- Hey, China did ban imports of poorer quality thermal coal & it sent WAVES .. it was ahead of UN Climate Change talks / SMH - China 2 get points for above ... but real reason is it is bailing out its local miners & pwer generators / eco slowing ------------------------------------------ COMMENT Above's probably not easy to follow. Not sure I'm in the mood to summarise.  Been a long day and I'm a bit perlexed about something, so I'm not much in the mood for going back to my 'coal study'. Should also point out that some of this stuff with the coal sounds familiar to me, so I might have covered the coal information before. Anyway, new appointments in government.  Tusk has gone to European Commission, looks like Radek's been demoted and there could be a touch of tension between the Prime Minister and the President -- either that or they often contradict in public.  Hey, maybe that's Europeans -- perhaps they like to talk. Not looking good for the coal miners.  Yes, there's a slowing of the market because a big hunk of the world's coal market is imported by China, which is having an economic downturn and looking to support its own coal industry.  Furthermore, Poland's coal mines have a limited life span because it becomes too expensive to extract (at some point, I don't recall & couldn't be stuffed looking up .. even if at the top of this page :)). From my perspective, there's plenty of profit to be made and the very nature of capitalism, which demands greater and greater profits, is obscene.  Basically, they're not making as much as they'd like to -- ie whatever it was 6 years ago (or more than that).  So what?  They're making plenty. The coal miners are working to survive. No idea about Polish coal mines in question that are presumably running unprofitably.  Odds are, their idea of unprofitable is the same:  just making less profit than they'd like to. The 4 big coal mines produce virtually all of the coal and two are state owned and two have been privatised. The first thought I had is that someone's got the miners to agitate so that it becomes too much to handle and the mines get privatised.  But I'm always looking for some negative angle and haven't read up any further on the reasons there's industrial action. So that's today's look at Poland covered, I guess.

Asia, Africa, Middle-East

ASIA #China trial began : Ilham Tohti, critic of govt policies towards ethnic Uighurs (Muslims) in Xinjiang. http://goo.gl/aXg9py #Thailand - coup generals order name of self-exiled billionaire former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s to be erased from text books. / Economist How Alibaba measures up  #IT #Business - >> http://goo.gl/GfNAWG  - cool graph - #China e-commerce craps on everyone else #China - Central bank injects ($81 billion) into financial system via loans 2 big banks for stimulus / http://goo.gl/BuXrtY  / Heaps info -----------------------------------------------------  AFRICA #Zimbabwe: Mugabe appoints 17 new ambassadors http://goo.gl/6YNJbE - serve 4 yr terms, conditionally renewable #Nigeria 15 pp killed after gunmen attacked teacher-training college>> http://goo.gl/aXg9py - 12 soldiers 2 firing squad over May mutiny #SouthSudan foreigners (excl. diplomats & govt aid agencies) OUT w/in month / RETRACTED amid criticism it would disrupt aid progs /Economist International Organisation for Migration "estimates that 3,000 migrants have died trying to cross the sea to Europe so far this year" / Economist -----------------------------------------------------  MIDDLE-EAST "... where the Press is ‘free’ the problem today is that there is in fact no truly free media. " >> http://goo.gl/ytgMjs  Gulf News I’d have to disagree and say that while the alternate press many not be unbiased, it is at least free to publish a non-establishment point of view. For me, the issue is biased, sneaky, establishment & foreign-interest slanted media in the *mainstream*. R T>> "Turkey would join anti-ISIL coalition if the U.S. had a clear-cut strategy to take out Assad." >> Why Assad? Source - Twitter commentary (Mahir Zeynalov, journalist) -----------------------------------------------------  COMMENT As I understood it, some sort of slowing of China economy:  hence the injection for stimulus.   Noticed the European press refers to 'migrants' or 'immigrants' in news that is about refuge seekers.   There's probably an essay about corporate globalism, imperialism, NGOs and the role of media distortion right there. Still don't know enough about the Middle East to figure out why Assad is such a target for the West.  But I expect I'll get there eventually.  Don't read enough of the Middle East news at the moment.

China Telcom Expansion / China Invests in India - Sino-Indian Border Dispute Resolution

CHINA Business / Telecommunications #China telecom device maker (allegedly the back-door dudes!!) - new research + development org opens #France - http://goo.gl/HFUBEL  >> back-door info >> http://www.zdnet.com/former-pentagon-analyst-china-has-backdoors-to-80-of-telecoms-7000000908/ … >> Huawei to invest: USD203.3 million to build a new R&D centre in Bristol, Britain. [NOTE:  Huawei currently has a R&D unit in Britain's Ipswich.] >> "Huawei launched a new innovation centre in Walldorf, #Germany, in August 2014" -- http://goo.gl/HFUBEL ----------------------------------------   INVESTMENT & BORDERS - INDIA #China + #India kiss & make up>USD$20b China investment in India infrastructure + manuf/ + border dispute resolution http://goo.gl/yko7MX >Border to be resolved by demarcating the Line of Actual Control (LAC) /legal recognition in Sino-Indian agreements 1993/96 ---------------------------------------- COMMENT China appears very prosperous and relations have improved, so all seems to be going well for China  - in these parts of the world, at least.

China's 'Disgusting' Susan Rice, US National Security Advisor - Visiting China

NSA Rice to pave way for Obama's China visit Updated: 2014-09-04 04:44 By ZHANG YUNBI in Beijing and CHEN WEIHUA in Washington(China Daily USA) US National Security Advisor Susan Rice's upcoming visit to China will help pave the way for upcoming meetings between Chinese and US leaders and provide an opportunity to raise issues of contention between the two countries, experts on China-US relations said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang confirmed on Wednesday that Rice will visit China from Sept 7-9 at the invitation of State Councilor Yang Jiechi. There will be an "exchange of views on the China-US relationship and other important issues of mutual concern", Qin said. Rice "will underscore the US commitment to building a productive relationship between our two countries", US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement on Tuesday. US President Barack Obama is expected to visit China on Nov 12 after attending the APEC summit in Beijing on Nov 10-11. He and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also likely to meet in the United Nations in New York in late September, if Xi decides to attend the UN General Assembly meetings, which will have a heavy emphasis on climate change. It will be Rice's first trip to China as National Security Advisor, a job she took on July 1 of last year after Republican Senators opposed Obama's nomination of Rice as Secretary of State to succeed Hillary Clinton, citing her role in the aftermath of the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in Libya. Rice eventually withdrew her nomination. Douglas Paal, vice-president for studies and director of the Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank, said Rice's visit is to set parameters for the meeting between Obama and Xi on Nov 12, as well as to provide a framework view of American policy and seek cooperation on major strategic issues. Paal believes those issues include the crisis over Ukraine, Iran nuclear talks, the Middle East and ISIS and the East and South China seas, where China and the US hold somewhat different approaches on how to solve the maritime territorial disputes. "I hope she can find a way to express both the positive cooperation the US values with China, as well as explore the more troublesome issues," Paal said. Yuan Peng, a US studies expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said what is behind the security adviser's visit is the ongoing efforts by both countries to "drag the relationship back on track". Her visit — in the capacity of a core designer of the Obama administration's security policy — is surely aimed at "making preparations for Obama's visit to China", and the trip will give her a chance to get a full understanding of China, Yuan said. In Washington's eyes, China has been showing "increasing assertiveness" in the South China Sea because of its growing strength. For China, the US rebalance to Asia strategy is largely aimed at China, including rallying its security allies and countries which have territorial disputes with China. There have been "a surging frequency and intensity recently of Washington's strategic initiatives and actions targeting China", said Shi Yinhong, a professor of Sino-US relationship studies at Renmin University of China. The recent close encounter of a US reconnaissance plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea 220 km from Hainan Island has led to several rounds of back-and-forth barbs from foreign affairs and defense authorities. "While bickering between the two powers is somewhat common, it is of great urgency to get disputes under control," said Liu Xuecheng, a researcher of US studies at the China Institute of International Studies. Rice's style as the US ambassador to the United Nations prior to her current post drew much criticism when she called China and Russia "disgusting" after the two vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on sanctions of Syria, after the US and its NATO allies abused a UN no-fly zone resolution to go for regime change in Libya. Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski mentioned on several occasions that Rice's behavior was undiplomatic. http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/us/2014-09/04/content_18543044.htm

Thought I'd share this.

Fancy being in the role of National Security Advisor with 'diplomacy' about as refined as mine.

Japan $35 Billion Investment into India - joint Indo-Japanese military industrial complex.

Modi's Japan visit is soaked with infra-speak Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Hindustan Times New Delhi, September 02, 2014 First Published: 18:55 IST(2/9/2014) Last Updated: 18:59 IST(2/9/2014) Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe were always expected to get along. They’ve known each other for years. Both are driven by a domestic vision of national rejuvenation. And both see each other’s countries as offering a means to accomplish their goals on the home front. But Modi is known to be a hard-nosed man of business. The true test of a foreign relationship is less the geopolitical element than how much a country can deliver on key, largely domestic, policy objectives. At the top of the list of this is providing India a world-class infrastructure on which he can then build smart cities, a revived manufacturing base and so on. What has come out of the Japanese visit is soaked with infra-speak. The key part is the “partnership for prosperity” section and the lines “Abe affirmed a broader and stronger Japanese partnership” for Modi’s “vision for accelerating inclusive development in India, particularly by transforming the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.” Modi’s praise of Japan as the country that “has done more for modernising India’s infrastructure” than any other is about as fervent as it gets in his foreign policy vision. Even Japan’s “intention” to funnel $35 billion of investment into India targets “next generation infrastructure, connectivity, transport systems, Smart Cities, rejuvenation of the Ganga and other rivers, manufacturing, clean energy” and so on. Greenfield factories and the like don’t get a mention. Modi took a swipe at China, without actually mentioning the country. And he embedded it in a vision of Asia moving down a path of co-prosperity -- inviting Beijing to say that it wants to do the same and allowing him to then say, "Show me your money." My sense is that he wants evoke a sense of competition between Tokyo and Beijing -- because nations see the India $1 trillion infrastructure market as something that could lift their domestic economies for decades and give their huge pile of savings a place to get a decent return. So he’ll play one against the other a bit, even if he trusts Japan a lot more. As one official in his office said, "We have to avoid having the Japanese believe we are desperate for their investment, which sometimes comes through in our talks." China has and will say little about being called "expansionist" and "18th century." Xi Jinping will land in New Delhi in mid-September and he accepts the trust deficit with India will require some work to bridge. In any case, China was always more worried about Indo-US relations than any other, and that bilateral tie-up is a road under repair. The joint statement and fact sheet had a lot of talk about defence technology and manufacturing cooperation between India and Japan. Again, the foundation of this is the Chennai-Bangalore corridor which notably got more mention than the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. This is partly because the southern corridor will be the infrastructure base for what may prove to be a joint Indo-Japanese military industrial complex. None of this will be easy. Balancing between Japan and China will be diplomacy at its most hair-raising. And while lining up foreign capital for Indian investment is clearly doable, cutting through the thicket of regulations and godawful legislation that holds back infrastructure in India has brought almost everyone who's tried it to their knees. One reason Japan and China are taking Modi seriously is that they sense that in him, unlike Manmohan Singh (who’s vision of Japan was similar), they have an Indian leader who can deliver on his promises. That is the deliverable that will become tangible in time. http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/analysis/modi-s-japan-visit-is-soaked-with-infra-speak/article1-1259182.aspx

This struck me as rather big news.

Note also, the US has been hanging around India and India recently visited US.

So the US probably want a piece of the action.

Also, the US big ally in the Asia region is Japan ... so I wonder if there's any quiet investment by US???

US - AUSTRALIAN MILITARY CO-OP - DONE DEAL ACCORD

US, Australia sign military cooperation accord By AFP | AP Published about 2 hours ago SYDNEY: The US and Australia signed an agreement on Tuesday that will allow the two countries’ militaries to train and work better together as US Marines and airmen deploy in and out of the country. “This long-term agreement will broaden and deepen our alliance’s contributions to regional security,” US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday. He described the US-Australia alliance as the “bedrock” for stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Hagel spoke during a press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry and their Australian counterparts, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister David Johnston, at the conclusion of annual Australia-US strategic talks. Kerry praised Australia as “a vital partner in so many different endeavors. [That's what he says to all the 'girls'.] “When President Barack Obama visited Australia in 2011, he fuelled tensions with China, Australia’s biggest trading partner, by announcing that up to 2,500 US Marines would rotate through a joint military training hub in the northern Australian city of Darwin. The Marines conduct humanitarian and military exercises with Australian forces. Since 2011, the number of Marines there has grown from about 250 to more than 1,100 now. Australian Defence Minister David Johnston said the northern territory looks forward to the Marine presence growing to the 2,500 limit. Adm Sam Locklear, who heads US Pacific Command, told reporters on Monday that there is no timeline for the increase to 2,500. The 2,500, said Locklear, is the size of a Marine air/ground task force unit, which “gives us the best flexibility to partner with” Australia and other allies in the region. One US official said it will take several years to reach the full 2,500-troop level. US REASSURES CHINA: The United States stressed on Tuesday it welcomes the rise of China and wants to work constructively with Beijing as it signed a deal to deploy 2,500 Marines to Australia as part of its “rebalance” to Asia. China bristled when the agreement to deploy Marines to the northern city of Darwin was first announced by President Barack Obama in 2011. [...] “Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier defended the deal to bring US Marines and Air Force personnel to the Northern Territory, denying it was aimed at China which is embroiled in maritime disputes with neighbours. “That’s not what it is directed to do at all. It’s about working closely with the United States to ensure that we can work on regional peace and security,” she told a radio programme. “The United States is rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific so it’s ways we can work together to support economic development as well as security and peace. “After the talks Bishop, who also hosted US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, said the discussions were broad — ranging from tensions on the Korean peninsula to the crisis in Ukraine and to conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Gaza and Afghanistan. http://www.dawn.com/news/1124996/us-australia-sign-military-cooperation-accord

This is about the US moving to line up control in the Asia Pacific region.

Australia hasn't exactly got a choice, so any defence deal is a done deal.

Why bother with a 2,500 limit? 

'Work on regional peace and security' means having the capability of challenging somebody in the region with a big stick, otherwise why would anybody give a stuff what Bishop and Hagel have to say on the region.

So this isn't all about hand-holding, partnership and peace promotion.

TURKEY & OTHERS GAOL JOURNALISTS

Turkey   By AFP 6:04PM BST 08 Aug 2014 Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, faced a new outcry on Friday over his attitude to the media and women after he branded a prominent female journalist a "shameless woman" and told her "to know your place". Just ahead of Sunday's presidential election which he is clear favourite to win, Erdogan attacked Amberin Zaman, who writes for the Economist and the Turkish daily Taraf, over comments she made in a television debate. She had asked the main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the debate whether any Muslim society was capable of challenging its authorities. Mr Erdogan lashed out at Ms Zaman, without mentioning her directly by name, at an election rally in the eastern city of Malatya on Thursday, calling her a "shameless woman".  "A militant in the guise of a journalist, a shameless woman... Know your place!" he declared. "They gave you a pen and you are writing a column in a newspaper... and you insult a society that is 99 percent Muslim," he said, drawing loud boos from the crowd. This is not the first time Mr Erdogan has lashed out at journalists, who have come under increasing pressure in Turkey, which has more reporters behind bars than any other country in the world. [...] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11022632/Turkish-PM-tells-female-reporter-to-know-your-place.html

Never mind the 'shameless woman' bit.  They gaol journalists!  I had no idea.  And it's not just one or two bad boys; it's 40 journalists in the one year.

Check out this article for places not to work if you're a journalist:

• Turkey, Iran, and China accounted for more than half of all journalists imprisoned around the world in 2013

• Eritrea remained Africa’s worst jailer of journalists, with 22 behind bars compared with 28 in 2012. Eritrea is the world’s worst abuser of due process; no Eritrean detainee has ever been publicly charged with a crime or brought before a court for trial.  

• Vietnam was holding 18 journalists, up from 14 a year earlier, as authorities intensified a crackdown on bloggers, who represent the country’s only independent press.

• The number of prisoners rose in Ethiopia, Bahrain, and Somalia, in addition to Vietnam.

[used mostly anti-state charges to silence a combined 107 critical reporters, bloggers, and editors]

 http://cpj.org/reports/2013/12/second-worst-year-on-record-for-jailed-journalists.php

That journalist that was expelled from Turkey the other day was LUCKY!

US - SHALE GAS - JAPANESE and CHINESE MARKETS

Why Japan Will Drive Global LNG Growth There is little reason to expect Japan’s reactors will offset its voracious new appetite for LNG. By Clint Richards August 08, 2014 ... A look at Japan’s LNG consumption since 2011 ... Japanese use of LNG has increased by almost 20 million metric tons, or about 8 percent of global demand in 2013. The Wall Street Journal writes that this increased demand has led to more than 50 LNG export terminal proposals worldwide. However, despite surging demand for LNG in Japan (and China) recently, there are reasons to temper expectations. The Wall Street Journal speculates that a possible Japanese return to nuclear power and China’s staggeringly large new deal with Russia to import regular, piped natural gas should cause LNG speculators to hedge their bets somewhat.  [Yeah, hedge those bets in Europe.] While the question of China’s future LNG consumption may not be clear, demand will surely rise over the short to medium-term, even if that growth ends up being less pronounced than the increase in natural gas demand. Even with the prospect of a slowdown in China’s economy, it is simply too large not to diversify and increase the weighting of LNG in its energy mix, especially as the environmental impact of coal becomes much more problematic in its mega-cities. Japan’s future demand for LNG may also be difficult to gauge, but there are indicators as to what direction the industry in Japan will take. First of all, there are the $10 billion in loans put together by major private banks like Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank, along with the government’s Japan Bank for International Cooperation, to fund LNG projects in North America slated for delivery between 2017 and 2018. Additionally, by 2020 Japan is expected to order roughly 90 LNG ships worth $19.3 billion. However, the location of the investments is important, as that will signal the long-term viability of LNG imports for Japan. Overall Japanese investment in North America has increased substantially since 2011, going from roughly $15 billion to more than $45 billion in 2013. A significant portion of that investment is being funneled into the emerging shale natural gas industry in both the U.S. and Mexico. Once U.S. shale gas is online, it is expected to be 20 to 30 percent cheaper than Japan’s other suppliers. EXTRACT ONLY - FULL @ SOURCE http://thediplomat.com/2014/08/why-japan-will-drive-global-lng-growth/

That's just the Japanese / Chinese market.

* China will be largely natural gas reliant (Russian deal) ... but some diversity expected.

* Japan is a big market ... but they *could* revert to nuclear, so market not assured?

Don't forget Europe needs energy, too.  Hello Europe.

WTO TALKS - INDIA STAYING STRONG

WTO talks down to the wire, India holds out fe Bureau | New Delhi | Published: Jul 31 2014, 01:08 IST Even as Thursday’s deadline for signing the protocol for the trade facilitation agreement (TFA) at the WTO loomed large, India remained obdurate, asserting that the pact — expected to ease customs rules and potentially add $1 trillion to the world economy — could not be a done deal till it saw progress on the food security issue. Visiting the US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, however, sounded optimistic about finding a solution to the vexed issue “over the next couple of days”. Secretary of state John Kerry, before starting for India on Wednesday morning, had expressed the hope that India’s opposition to TFA would wither away, adding that this was a test case for the country’s commitment to advance liberalisation of global trade and investment. Kerry arrived in India in the evening on a three-day visit. ... http://www.financialexpress.com/news/wto-talks-down-to-the-wire-india-holds-out/1275271

WTO (World Trade Organisation).

Re:  adoption of free trade facilitation protocol for Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

WTO is negotiating an easing of 'customs and rules'.

WTO says 'public stockholdings' of food/grain must not exceed 10% of grains produced by a country. 

But this is on the basis of a 1986-1988 stockholdings 'base price', and India is challenging on the basis of rising INFLATION.

Hey, I learnt about inflation. 

So the WTO 10% (dollar?) figure doesn't take into account rising inflation and India is like a trade union for food/grain reserves, asking for the reserve to be brought up in step with inflation?

Fair call, India.

India points out that there's a potential $1 TRILLION to the world economy coffers.  Go India! 

India standing firm:  insists no shift in its stand.

India wants TFA implemented ONLY as part of SINGLE UNDERTAKING ... INCLUDING the PERMANENT SOLUTION ON FOOD SECURITY.

For Food Security Against Food Security WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION vs FOOD SECURITY INDIA CHINA CUBA PAKISTAN BOLIVIA VENEZUELA

Deadline is on 31 July 2014.  Support of two-thirds of member countries is required to implement the TFP.

India suggested a postponement of adoption of TFP and outlined steps towards resolution by a date in December.

*Note:  there is a couple of other issues at stake. Bali Package (a big one) ... and LDC.

Bali Package is yet another trade agreement 'to lower trade barriers'.

LDC issues relate to Least Developed Country ... it's a United Nations designation of a country (I think) on the basis of:

lowest indicators of socio-economic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world.  [wikipedia]

So there is some formula the UN apply for rankings of countries on socio-economic development.

Formula:  (1) Poverty assessment (2) Human Resource assessment (ie the labour force) (3) Economic Vulnerability ... eg. are exports stable etc.

Gee, sounds like estimating the quality of cattle.

All this stuff is worked out by economists and I guess it affects the trade deals that countries are party to and, I think, the concessions that countries may receive.

As I'm new to looking at politics and economics, this information is best double-checked.  LOL.

This is just my take at the moment.

Stand firm India ... world economy wants those trillions.

PS ... Love how John Kerry wants India's opposition to 'wither away'.  Bet he does.  LOL.