The Morning Brief - Lignet
Japanese Nuclear Reprocessing Plans Stir Fears in Asia
Nuclear tensions in Asia are already high and may increase further if
Japan carries through on its plan to reprocess nuclear waste into
plutonium which can be used to make nuclear weapons. As the only nation
to have been attacked by nuclear weapons, Japan long has had a strong
policy against developing or acquiring them, even as it has developed a
robust commercial nuclear industry to help meet its energy needs. This
may be changing.
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Canada Facing Backlash for Refusal to Abandon Values
By its firm defense of human rights, freedom, and the fight against
terrorism Canada has proved itself a shining example for the world.
However, these policies have drawn the ire of a number of states with
less than stellar records on these scores, including China, Russia,
North Korea, and Iran, which recently spurred the UN Human Rights
Commission to lead a hypocritical witch hunt against Canada. These
attacks could grow following a new counterterrorism bill passed by
Canada last week on the heels of the arrest of two alleged
al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists who were reportedly plotting to attack a
passenger train.
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Demand in Liquefied Natural Gas Carriers Creating a Global
Commodity
The number of ships designed to carry liquefied natural gas (LNG)
contracted to be built at shipyards worldwide is almost 20 times what it
was only three years ago, a reflection of the large number of recent
discoveries of huge natural gas fields coupled with a growing desire
around the world for alternatives to high sulfur fossil fuels. The new
ships are set to transform natural gas into a global commodity.
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New Swiss Immigration Quotas May Signal End of Modern Europe
Switzerland’s decision to impose a one-year quota on immigration from
all European Union countries, which began last week, appears likely to
be the first nail in the coffin of the hallmark Schengen agreement,
which allows for the free movement of Europeans across the continent. As
the EU’s economic troubles continue to grow, it is increasingly likely
that anti-immigrant parties in EU countries will seek to use the Swiss
example to demand that borders be closed.
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China: Is Debt Spinning Out of
Control?
The Chinese government has a love-hate relationship with domestic
credit expansion. For the past two years, Chinese authorities have
sought to clamp down on credit excesses that helped fuel a property
boom. Now, as the economy is struggling to regain the desired momentum,
it seems that the credit spigots have been opened wide again. Last
month, both Fitch Ratings agency and Moody’s Investors Service expressed
their concerns, downgrading China’s credit rating and lowering its
outlook, respectively.
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