Remember the good old days of 2003? Hungary approved a referendum allowing them to join the European Union, the planet Mars got the closest to Earth it ever has, and a wonderful movie about a fake substitute teacher and a group of private school kids forming a band took us on a magical journey. Yes, those were the good old days. Now here’s one of those kids from that film, Becca Brown, all grown up and topless…. read more
Whatever the reason behind the low numbers, you may want to enjoy your Ham a little bit more this Holiday season! According to The LA Times… “a world shortage of pork and bacon next year is now unavoidable,” according to an industry trade group. Blame the drought conditions that blazed through the corn and soybean crop this year. Less feed led to herds declining across the European Union “at a significant rate,” according to the National Pig Assn. in Britain. And the trend “is being mirrored around the world,” according to a release (hat tip to the Financial Times). In the second half of next year, the number of slaughtered pigs could fall 10%, doubling the price of European pork, according to the release. The trade group urged supermarkets to pay pig farmers a fair price for the meat to help cover the drought-related losses. In U.S. warehouses, pork supply soared to a record last month, rising 31% to 580.8 million pounds at the end of August from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The surge came as farmers scaled down their herds as feeding the animals became increasingly expensive. In July, global food prices leaped 10% from the month before, according to the World Bank. Maize and wheat jumped 25% while soybeans rose 17%. And before you even think about trying to hoard that other white meat you should know that isht won’t stay in the freezer for longer than a month without going bad! Images via shutterstock
“You know, the War of Independence wasn’t America against England — it was Englishmen resisting the oppressive regime of their autocratic German king.” Pat Condell on the European Union, the euro, and the disappearance of democracy in Europe: Hat tip: AA. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Gates of Vienna Discovery Date : 26/08/2011 19:41 Number of articles : 2
Posted onNovember 18, 2010byBenny Hollywood|Comments Off on EU Abandons Plans to Cut Critically Endangered Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas
Japan is the destination for the majority of the world’s bluefin tuna catch, photo: David Ooms / Creative Commons . Kiss them goodbye… As reported by the Associated Press pressure from France, Spain, and other Mediterranean nations has forced the EU to abandon previously touted plans to significantly cut quotas on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna next y… Read the full story on TreeHugger
photo: Petter Palander via flickr Here’s a bit of good news about the slow transition away from oil and fossil fuels: Reports from UNEP and Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century show that in 2009, for the second year in a row, more new renewable energy capacity was installed than was from fossil fuels in both the United States and Europe…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Image via Science Daily “The Biggest GM Crop Scandal in Germany to Date” A genetically modified strain of maize classified as NK603 — one that is explicitly banned in the European Union — has been unleashed in Germany. The crop has been unwittingly planted on nearly 7,500 acres so far, and is continuing to spread. The source of the contamination has not yet been determined, but it is believed that it could cost farmers millions of euros to eradicate the tenacious GMO crop…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
Dark and queer enough to catch your attention but lacking the story power to hold it, Metropia is an aesthetic in search of an author. The first animated feature from Swedish director Tarik Saleh, Metropia posits a familiar scenario — middle-class male malaise — in a near-future Europe made exotic by its fall into dystopian ruin. The allusions made by the opening titles to the environmental and financial crises that have ostensibly brought Europe together (the countries have been literally connected by an inter-continental subway system) are a little misleading: As they attempt to build a paranoid allegory around the monolithic potential of the European Union, Saleh and writer Fredrik Edin move further and further into the experience of a call-center employee named Roger (voiced by Vincent Gallo). Ultimately this approach shrinks the scope of a setting that seems designed for bigger things.
The European Union has called an urgent summit to finalise a rescue package for debt-stricken Greece. The country#39;s financial crisis took its toll on global markets amid fears other vulnerable Eurozone economies could be sucked in. The leading stock exchange fell at opening on Wednesday, after sharp losses the previous day, as traders were gripped by Greece#39;s financial crisis and the EU called a crunch summit. At the open, London#39;s benchmark FTSE 100 index of top shares shed 0.30 pe
The US government announced yesterday that it supports prohibiting international trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna, a move that could lead to the most sweeping trade restrictions ever imposed on the highly prized fish. Sushi aficionados in Japan and elsewhere have consumed bluefin for decades, causing the fish’s population to plummet. In less than two weeks, representatives from 175 countries will convene in Doha, Qatar, to determine whether to restrict the trade of bluefin tuna – valued for its rich, buttery taste – and an array of other imperiled species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Japan, the world’s largest bluefin consumer, opposes the idea of trade restrictions, while the European Union has yet to take a formal position. Over the past 40 years, the adult population of eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna has declined 72 percent. In the western Atlantic, the population has dropped 82 percent. The declines occurred even though bluefin fishing was being governed by an international panel that sets catch quotas and is supposed to curtail illegal fishing. added by: jefftego
http://www.10waystosavetheworld.net/climate-as-important-as-defence Tackling climate change is either as important or more important than strengthening national defences – that’s the view of nearly 80% of the world’s consumers according to a survey from HSBC. The HSBC Climate Confidence Monitor 2009 questioned people from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the UK and the USA to gauge their attitudes and behaviour regarding climate change. The results show that overall, 37 per cent believe that strengthening national defences should be a lower priority than dealing with climate change, while 41 per cent think they are equally important and only 22% believe national defences should take precedence over climate change measures.
