customizenikeshox.com

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Wikinews reporter Iain Macdonald has performed an interview with Dr Isabella Margara, a London-based member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). In the interview Margara sets out the communist response to current events in Greece as well as discussing the viability of a communist economy for the nation. She also hit back at Petros Tzomakas, a member of another Greek far-left party which criticised KKE in a previous interview.

The interview comes amid tensions in cash-strapped Greece, where the government is introducing controversial austerity measures to try to ease the nation’s debt-problem. An international rescue package has been prepared by European Union member states and the International Monetary Fund – should Greece require a bailout; protests have been held against government attempts to manage the economic situation.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) ruled on Thursday a helicopter crash into the North Sea might have been prevented had proper maintenance procedures been followed. All sixteen on board died when the aircraft went down off the Scottish coast.

After a hearing in Aberdeen, Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle found Bond Offshore Helicopters failed to remove a component after a metal shard was found. The shard suggested spalling, or the shedding of metal particles in the aircraft’s gearbox. “The size and shape of the particle found […] were consistent with an advanced stage of classic spalling” according to the inquiry’s findings.

A week before the crash Bond mulled partially replacing the gearbox. The aircraft went down after the gearbox failed in flight. Pyle found a failure in communication between Bond and helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter had led to the decision not to replace the gearbox.

The routine flight was taking oil workers back to Aberdeen from the Miller offshore oil platform, owned by BP. The aircraft radioed air traffic control to inform they were twenty minutes from Aberdeen Airport but six seconds later was confronted with an oil warning light and grinding sounds. The crew declared an emergency but the main rotor broke free, which in turn smashed through the tail leaving the aircraft to plunge into the sea. The aircraft crashed within twenty seconds of the first sign of trouble.

The inquiry is surrounded by controversy owing to the five-year gap between accident and findings, and the decision by Crown Office not to prosecute over the crash. “For a criminal prosecution to have taken place, the Crown would have to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt” a Crown Office statement said on Thursday. “The Sheriff Principal makes clear that a reasonable doubt remained over the technical cause of the crash”.

Although the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and Sheriff Pyle found a catastrophic gearbox failure triggered the crash, the exact cause of the failure was never conclusively decided. After hearing expert evidence Pyle found the balance of probabilities pointed to spalling, but could not rule out a manufacturing defect.

The inquiry’s findings note “that it would be an extraordinary coincidence if the failure properly to carry out inspection and maintenance of the helicopter’s gearbox was not causative of a catastrophic failure of the same within a matter of days. But, as the evidence made clear, such a coincidence was indeed a possibility.” Pyle’s report added “the small piece of the helicopter which would have proved the matter beyond any doubt [has] not been recovered from the seabed”.

Bond have released a statement noting “We have always accepted that we made mistakes through honest confusion over telephone calls and emails.” Sheriff Pyle found Bond’s employees “tried to carry out their jobs as diligently as they could. All of them impressed me as engineers who well understood the vital importance of their role in ensuring […] safety”. He also found staff were well-trained and resourced, echoing findings by the AAIB and the Civil Aviation Authority.

Pyle noted Bond readily accepted they should have properly followed the maintenance manual and normally did, but “on one occasion, that fundamental rule was broken” and the crash was likely a result. Bond, Eurocopter, and investigators all gave evidence.

Trade unions and victims’ families, however, have slammed the decision not to prosecute. While welcoming the FAI’s conclusions, victims’ lawyer Tom Marshall said the families wanted to review the decision not to prosecute with the Lord Advocate, and are also seeking a broader public inquiry. Audrey Wood, whose son Stuart died in the disaster, said “How [Crown Office] arrived at that decision [not prosecuting] will haunt us, as not only did we hear of multiple breaches of health and safety, but the decision was also made without all the evidence being present, as vital witness statements had not been given”.

Wood said there were multiple breaches of health and safety law that could be prosecuted. Crown Office’s statement counters “evidence presented during the FAI has not altered the insufficiency of evidence, therefore the decision not to hold criminal proceedings remains the correct one”. Unite union branded their decision a “travesty of justice”.

Politicians have criticised the five-year delay holding the FAI, as has Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Grahame Smith who said “It is vitally important that lessons are learned at the earliest opportunity following tragedies where lives are lost”. Sheriff Pyle himself concluded “what can, I think, very properly be said is that nearly five years [delay] is on any view far too long and that we all have a responsibility for that. […] everyone concerned in future fatal accidents involving aircraft of whatever kind should do much better.”

Labour have called for new FAI rules; MSP Patricia Ferguson has put a bill before parliament; the Scottish Government says Sheriff Pyle’s conclusions are being scrutinised. MSP Richard Baker said the victims’ families and North Sea oil workers, who routinely use helicopters, had waited “far too long” for the FAI to conclude. “FAIs should never be delayed so long again.”

Crown Office expressed sympathy with the families involved for the delay but blamed the complex nature of the investigation, and pointed out the AAIB, Civil Aviation Authority, and local police had all already conducted their own enquiries. The AAIB spent 30 months investigating.

Twelve victims were from Scotland, many of those from in and around Aberdeen where the six-week inquiry was held. Three more were from elsewhere in the UK and the last was a Latvian national. Half of the fourteen passengers and two crew died “instantaneously” and the rest died very shortly after impact with the sea from blunt force trauma, the inquiry found.

None survived long enough to drown, according to Sheriff Pyle. Nonetheless he noted “there was a poignant moment when a witness was being taken through the graph in the AAIB report which set out the timeline of the accident that I, if not others present, understood for the first time the true horror of what took place.”

Audrey Wood said “The length of wait for nearly five years has been intolerable for all the families and we, the families, feel let down by the system.” Bond’s statement this week says “We would like to express again our deep sorrow at the 16 lives lost. Bond Offshore hopes [the inquiry] brings a degree of closure to the families, friends and dependents of those who died in the tragedy of 2009.” The sheriff also noted the “courage” of victims’ families, who attended the full hearing.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

United States President Barack Obama gave his official farewell address on Tuesday night from McCormick Place in Chicago, reflecting on personal and national accomplishments. This is expected to be his last major speech before officially handing the reins to president-elect Donald Trump on January 20.

Obama’s speech was wide-ranging. He thanked his family and the nation, spoke of the need for unity, noted the country’s accomplishments and need for improvement in areas like education and civil rights, and spoke about the need for pride in U.S. accomplishments, citing milestones of U.S. history and of his presidency specifically. “It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan – and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.”

The president also addressed his country’s troubled history with race and racism, an issue many black citizens feel he has avoided. Despite this, Chauncy Devega of Salon described the president as “a role model of calm, cool reflective black masculinity: a man utterly at home in his own skin.” Obama described the concept of a post-racial U.S. “unrealistic” and particularly cited the need for reform in education and the criminal justice system and greater acceptance of scientific evidence, particularly evidence supporting action to counteract climate change.

However, publications including The Washington Post and Salon have given particular focus to another aspect of the president’s address: the country’s increasing political tensions and controversies involving access to news and information, both accurate and inaccurate. “We become so secure and our bubbles,” said Obama, “that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there,” calling this trend “a third threat to our democracy.”

The Washington Post characterized Obama’s comment, “If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hard-working white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades will be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves,” as a “not-so-subtle jab” at the campaign tactics of President-elect Donald Trump. The Telegraph describes Obama’s warnings about the need to protect democracy as “a thinly veiled slight to the divisive rhetoric of Donald Trump’s election campaign, which included attacks on Muslims, the disabled, women and immigrants.” The president went on to call on the public to “reject the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties that make us one America. We weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive […] We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others when we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt and when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy.”

Despite this, when the mention of Donald Trump brought boos from the crowd, Obama reiterated the importance of the long history of peaceful transfers of power from one president to the next: “No no no no no. […] I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me.” However, this was not unaccompanied by a call to action. Near the end of the speech, he insisted citizens dissatisfied with elected officials should “lace up your shoes, grab a clipboard, get some signatures and run for office yourself.”

Overall, the departing president’s speech focused on accomplishment, echoing the “Yes we can” slogan from his 2008 campaign: “If I have told you eight years ago, that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history. If I had told you, that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9/11[…] If I had told you that we would win a marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another twenty million of our fellow citizens. If I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high. But that’s what we did.”

But when the crowd began shouting “Four more years! Four more years!” Obama, with a small laugh, answered, “I can’t do that.”

Friday, March 24, 2023

Bob Stewart, British Member of Parliament (MP) and chair of the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group, on Wednesday called for “as much help as possible” from the United Kingdom (UK) government to aid Taiwan in defending itself during a visit to the nation.

Stewart has been leading a delegation of six MPs to Taiwan, discussing relations between the UK and Taiwan as well as regional developments. The delegates have met high level government officials.

The UK has been supplying equipment for Taiwan’s submarine program, with exports increasing after the UK granted 25 licences to companies exporting these components in the first nine months of 2022. The value of these licences was £167 million, higher than the combined total for the previous six years. When exports of submarine components to Taiwan began in 2008, the total was £3.3 million for that year.

Speaking of these exports, Stewart commented, “it came up in part, but the message we are taking back is that we should assist Taiwan in its defence as much as possible”.

Stewart described Taiwan as “on the frontlines of democracy and authoritarianism” and praised its achievements in democratic developments over the last 30 years.

After meeting the delegation, President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the UK for “reaffirming the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”, including at international meetings such as the G7.

China’s embassy in London stated the delegation had “insisted on visiting the Taiwan region of China despite China’s resolute opposition” describing the visit as a “gross interference in China’s internal affairs and a serious wrong signal to Taiwan independence separatist forces”.

China’s ruling Communist party have claimed Taiwan is a Chinese province and stated their intention to annex the island, using force if needed. Taiwan’s democratic government have rejected the idea of Chinese rule.

While not recognising Taiwan as a sovereign nation, Western nations have shown increased support to Taiwan.

Like many Western nations, the UK’s relationship with China has worsened, with prime minister Rishi Sunak saying last November the “golden era” of relations between the two countries is over. Earlier this month, the Aukus security agreement was announced, under which the United States and UK will help supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.

Wen-ti Sung, a China and Taiwan expert with the Australian National University, described Aukus as raising the stakes for the UK in the region, saying “more active exploration of greater cooperation with Taiwan, a key part of this puzzle, can help Britain preemptively manage its own risks and where possible help preventing crisis from occurring”.

[edit]

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A US Coast Guard official said today that BP’s latest effort to plug the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been successful in slowing the amount of oil leaking from the well.

The official, Admiral Thad Allen, said that the procedure, known as a “top kill” operation, has been able to block some of the leaking oil at the source, the top of the damaged well. The operation involves pumping material into the well to plug the leak before cement is used to permanently seal the leak. Allen said the operation has “been able to force mud down and not allow any hydrocarbons to come up.”

BP hasn’t confirmed the success of the top kill operation, saying only that the “operation is proceeding as we planned it,” and that there had been no major incidents thus far. Although the possibility of failure is still present, experts say that the longer the procedure continues, the less likely it will be that anything goes wrong.

The procedure began yesterday afternoon, after diagnostics on the damaged equipment on the ocean’s surface indicated that it could withstand the added pressure of the mud being pumped into the well. Although engineers involved with the operation wore concerned that the pressure of the mud might not be able to overcome that of the oil, that has thus far not been the case.

Separately, a group of US scientists announced new estimates of how much oil was flowing from the well, ranging from 12,000 to 25,000 barrels a day, far higher than BP’s original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day, a figure which BP warned was possibly inaccurate.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, US president Barack Obama also announced new measures in response to the spill, which include:

• Suspending off-shore test drilling for six months
• Extending the moratorium on issuing drilling permits for an additional six months
• Cancelling the sale of leases for off-shore drilling.

In statements, Obama criticized the “scandalously close relationship” between government officials and oil companies in the past, saying that the Mineral Management Service, which is the agency responsible for monitoring off-shore drilling, had been corrupt for years.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The International Monetary Fund and the European Union approved aid packages to help Georgia recover from its conflict with Russia, which occurred in early August. The IMF approved a US$750 million loan which will allow Georgia to rebuild its currency reserves. The European Union also approved an aid package of €500 million in aid by 2010, which is expected to help internally displaced people (IDPs) and economic recovery in the form of new infrastructure. Only €100 million of the EU aid will be given to Georgia this year.

These loans are aimed to restore confidence in Georgia’s economy and send a signal to international investors that Georgia’s economy is sound. According to the IMF, international investors have been “critical to Georgia’s economic growth in recent years.”

Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chairman of the IMF executive committee, said the loan will “make significant resources available to replenish international reserves and bolster investor confidence, with the aim of sustaining private capital inflows that have been critical to Georgia’s economic growth in recent years.”

Georgia has requested $2 billion in international aid to help it recover from the conflict. So far, the United States has pledged $1 billion in aid. Further assistance and loans to Georgia are expected from other organizations. Kato noted that “…Georgia is expected to receive financial assistance from multilateral and bilateral donors and creditors in support of the reconstruction effort.” It is expected that an international donors’ conference will take place next month to solicit more aid for the country.

Georgia’s government expects that economic growth will be more than cut in half as a result of the conflict. Last year, Georgia’s GDP increased 12.4% and it is predicted by the IMF that growth will be less than 4 percent in the coming year.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Penske Automotive Group, Inc., an Ohio-based investment group and Telesto Ventures have indicated separately that they are interested in purchasing the Saturn auto brand from General Motors (GM).

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nissan-Renault is interested in purchasing Saturn. Bloomberg, however, indicated that Nissan-Renault may be a partner of Penske’s potential bid. If Penske acquired the brand, they would distribute Saturn vehicles and outsource the assembly.

GM revealed that the Saturn brand along with Saab and Hummer were up for sale when unveiling their restructuring plans to Congress for governmental loans. While the Pontiac brand was originally to be a niche brand, GM had changed their plans recently and decided to eliminate the brand.

Telesto Ventures is an investment group that includes private equity firm Black Oak Partners LLC of Oklahoma City and several Saturn dealerships. Initially, Telesto will purchase Saturn branded cars from GM then act as a general retailer for foreign brands. Telesto is in talks with several foreign manufacturers.

The Ohio group includes many former senior auto company managers plus private financial backers, chemists and engineers who live in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida. This group plans to initially purchase cars from GM then purchase existing but closed plants due to automaker restructuring. Additionally, one of the partners indicated a willingness to accept some “legacy” cost in relation to the United Auto Workers. The Ohio group is also pursuing possible loans or other support from national and state governments.

GM is reviewing several offers for Saturn. GM has contracted with S.J. Girsky & Co. to advise them on the sale.