AFP – NASA and private sector experts now agree that a man or woman could be sent on a mission to Mars over the next 20 years, despite huge challenges. The biggest names in space exploration, among them top officials from the US space agency and Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the…
Icelandic trade alliance advances Chinese Arctic ambition
After entering a free trade agreement on Monday, the remote and recession-crippled Iceland is brokering Chinese Arctic access.Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, advocates in favor of oil companies and countries without direct territorial claims to the Arctic, and believes they should have a voice in the region’s future.”We realize that there are other nations in Asia and Europe that have legitimate concerns and enterprises in the Arctic and it’s important to involve them in a co-operative effort,” Grimsson said.China doesn’t border the Arctic seas, but is still seeking a permanent observer status on the Arctic Council, an eight nation body with territorial claims to the region, including Iceland. China’s application is expected to be accepted when a decision is made next month.The Arctic Council members are the US, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and Iceland.Iceland provides a unique opportunity for China, as its proximity to the melting Arctic circle (1,000 km) could open up new potential trade routes, and possibly natural resource exploration -gas, oil, diamonds, gold, and iron- all resources any up-and-coming superpower should have its sights on.If enough ice melts to create a viable shipping route, it would cut about 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and two weeks off the voyage from Shanghai to northern European ports.China has hunkered down heavy investment in the Arctic region, from Russian oil ventures with Rosneft to iron-ore extraction projects in Greenland. China has flirted with the idea of sinking $2.3 billion dollars into Greenland to trade 15 million tons of iron ore per year.”It’s attractive also for all the resources but China is already a major shipping nation … and Chinese companies are now very eagerly awaiting policy signals from the Chinese government on what kind of priorities they will give to the Arctic,” said Leiv Lunde, director of the Oslo-based Fridtjof Nansen Institute, who was in Shanghai Monday attending an Arctic issues conference.China recently completed its largest embassy in Reykjavik, which can reportedly house 500 people, and demonstrates China’s serious interest in the area.The 30,000 km free trade agreement30,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) of tumultuous waters, ice caps, and snowy landmasses stand between Iceland and Shanghai, but this didn’t deter Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and Chinese President Xi in their trade negotiations.”China is willing to increase exchanges and mutual understanding with Iceland and boost bilateral cooperation in sectors such as clean and renewable energy and fisheries,” Chinese President Xi said.The free trade pact will lower tariffs and will boost seafood exports from Iceland to China.”It also signals the deepening of our relationship, especially our economic relationship which has been lifted to a new height,” Xi said during talks following a formal welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.”The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the joint declaration inked yesterday between the two nations bear great significance in pushing forward bilateral relations,” said Xi.Trade between the two countries rose 21.1% last year to $180 million, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade.Cozying up to ChinaThe move towards China, and not the EU is a political move of independence away from the EU.Iceland began its EU membership application in early 2010 but in 2012, due to overwhelming opposition and election season, the Icelandic Parliamentary committee suspended ascension talks with the EU. Almost two thirds of Icelanders oppose membership and less than 25% support entrance, according to the most recent islander poll. However, ministers keep hinting at the need to join up with their neighboring economic heavyweight.The Icelandic economy is still in recovery after the banking bubble burst in 2008. Banks declared bankruptcy instead of getting a bailout, and started from scratch, a unique path to financial stability, that seems to be working for Iceland, as growth slowly recuperates. When the 2008 economic crisis hit, Iceland shocked economic pundits and let its three largest banks fail, and defaulted on $85 billion. The stock market dipped 90%, unemployment jumped to 10%, and most the inflation rate topped at 18%. Now that the market has stabilized, they are looking far and wide to expand their export industry. … Read More
10 tax dodges that help the rich get richer
Have you read about the billionaire who pays a lower income tax rate than his secretary and gives advice for how much income tax other people ought to pay? You might want to ask: “How does he do it? ”We don’t know the complete answer to that question. No doubt, only his army of tax advisers does. What we’d instead like to share are 10 ways the current tax code allows the rich to accumulate vast fortunes, subject to little or no tax. And, unlike the offshore account tax fraud that gets so much press and regulatory attention, many of the most egregious tax avoidance scams are perfectly legal.1. No income means no tax. Imagine two men living in the same town. Joe owns an oil exploration corporation. Pete, a geologist, works for Joe. Pete finds oil, billions of dollars worth, and when he does, Joe gives him a $1 million bonus.Pete pays income taxes on $1 million and keeps looking for oil. Joe, the boss is now a billionaire. Although he has not sold any oil yet, the bank lends him money against the find and he builds a mansion, buys a nice car and lives it up. Even though Joe has become richer by billions of dollars, he pays no income tax. Why? He has no income.Continue Reading… … Read More
Russian space fan may have found lost Soviet Mars probe in NASA photos
While studying photos taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2007, Mars exploration enthusiast Vitaly Egorov managed to spot an object that resembled the long-lost Soviet Mars-3 probe, first sent to the Red Planet in 1971. The MRO has orbited Mars since 2006, and some of the photos it has taken have been published on NASA’s website for public viewing.Egorov, the creator of a Curiosity rover fan page on Russia’s Vkontakte social network, shared the discovery he made last December with Professor Aleksandr Bazilevsky, who used his contacts at NASA to convince the US take new photos of the area believed to be the probe’s landing site.Egorov reportedly found the vehicle in the exact location that Soviet scientists had predicted would be its landing site on Mars: 45 degrees South latitude, 158 degrees West longitude.In the NASA satellite’s new photos – which have a resolution of about 25 centimeters per pixel and were taken on March 10 – several identifying details are visible: A drop bar with soft-landing engines, a heat shield, a parachute and the lander itself, measuring at about 1.5 meters in diameter.Still, NASA experts are not entirely convinced the photos show the Mars-3 probe, as the finding could possibly be stones, rocks and other geological formations. Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson, who is in charge of the camera aboard NASA’s MRO, told AP that “we may not get a definitive answer,” as there is always the chance the photos may be incorrectly analyzed.NASA scientists plan to contact their Russian counterparts to discuss the crash of the Mars-3 to get a better understanding of the landing process, and what went wrong afterwards.Still, nothing can shutter Egorov’s enthusiasm, or his optimism about his discovery: “Pictures of the surface of Mars are for free use. I am interested in the stuff and I wanted to make it clear that to be a researcher of Mars it is enough to have access to the Internet and to put in a little effort,” he wrote on his blog.He also stressed the importance of reminding younger generation of Russian achievements and contributions to the space sciences, since the only current newsmakers on Mars are NASA and its rovers.The Mars-3 probe successfully landed on the Red Planet on December 2, 1971, but only functioned for 14.5 seconds, after which all communication with the vehicle was lost. It is believed that the electronics aboard the probe were fried by an electrical discharge created by the extremely dry environment on Mars.Another Soviet probe, the Mars-2, crashed while landing on the Red Planet on November 27, 1971, becoming the first man-made object on Mars. The mysterious crash and failure of two successive Soviet Mars probes sparked speculation about the ‘curse of Mars,’ and that the vehicles had been destroyed by Martians. … Read More
Russia’s Rosneft to tap Lebanese shelf together with Exxon Mobile
“Together with Exxon we would like to bid for Lebanese shelf. We have agreed to cooperate,” Sechin said. Three Russian companies have submitted requests to take part in the first round of bidding for rights to conduct geological exploration on the continental shelf. The companies are bidding as non-operators and lay claim on a minority stake in a future consortium. In total 52 companies from 25 countries have tendered, the shortlist will be made known on April 18. Initially more than 200 companies expressed interest in participating in the Lebanese shelf project but stopped short of applying. This showed that Lebanon had set very tough conditions for the tender, the country’s Energy Minister is reported to have said by Lebanon’s Dailystar.com.“Lebanon’s conditions were much tougher than in neighboring countries but the interest of oil and gas companies was higher,” he said.This signals international confidence in Lebanon, its transparent management of the oil and gas sector and highly promising hydrocarbon resources off-shore, the Minister said.In January this year Lukoil, Russia’s second biggest crude oil producer announced it was in talks with Lebanese officials over developing oil on the Lebanese shelf.“We are interested in the Lebanese shelf and are in talks,” the head of Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov said at a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos back in January.Lukoil is seeking to diversify its activities and decided to look beyond Russia’s borders after it was cut out of Russia’s continental shelf as only state-run companies – Rosneft and Gazprom – are permitted to own offshore licenses. In April 2012, representatives of private Russian oil companies wrote to then-Premier Vladimir Putin asking to be allowed to work on the Russian Arctic shelf. Lukoil has held talks with Rosneft over joint development of the shelf, but they haven’t resulted in any breakthrough yet. … Read More
Greenpeace sends ‘Polar bear’ floating past Kremlin to protest oil drilling
A Greenpeace activist in a polar bear suit floated along the Moscow River past the Kremlin on Monday morning before being briefly detained in a stunt by the environmental group to protest against energy exploration in Russia’s Arctic waters. The activist in a furry white suit stood on a white…
Iraq to auction off gas exploration blocks to international energy companies
Iraq plans to hold an auction of gas exploration blocks open to international energy companies later this year, the fifth of its kind since 2009, a spokesman said on Sunday. Baghdad will offer 10 exploration blocks in the auction, the date of which has yet to be finalised, oil ministry spokesman…
