Showing posts with label PR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PR. Show all posts
6/28/18
Russia-US relations: Trump and Putin to meet in Helsinki July16
Helsinki Summit Meeting is Set for Trump and Putin
For the complete report go to:
4/27/17
US Aluminum Industry:President Trump Signs Order to Launch Aluminum Imports Investigation
President Donald Trump officially signed an executive order on Thursday (April 27) afternoon to initiate a Section 232(b) investigation into aluminum imports. Overseen by the Commerce Department, the investigation will determine whether foreign imports of aluminum threaten national security - and if so, Trump will have the power to act to restrict imports, including through tariffs.
The Commerce Department has 270 days to conduct the investigation. Once it gives its recommendation to Trump, he will have 90 days to respond.
There's little doubt that American aluminum makers are threatened because of China's aluminum overcapacity. Chinese state-owned enterprises produce far more aluminum than China can use for its own needs. Instead of curbing production, China dumps its excess aluminum (which, we note, is heavily subsidized) into the U.S. market priced far below market cost.
It's part of a strategy to capture market share and put American aluminum makers out of business. Over the past 15 years, China's aluminum production quintupled, from 11 percent of the world's production in 2002 to 53 percent in 2016; imports took 55 percent of the market in 2016.
Meanwhile, eight American smelters have closed or curbed production since 2015. Only two are fully operational today. There is only one remaining American smelter capable of producing the high-purity aluminum needed by the aerospace industry for F-35, F-18 and C-17 aircraft, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters during a Wednesday briefing.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said that the investigation could be a step toward recovery for the blue-collar aluminum industry workers impacted by China's unfair trade practices.
'If we're to see real change, this investigation must be followed by appropriate trade enforcement,' he said. 'For years, China has promised to cut its massive industrial overcapacity, all while increasing production… If China is unwilling to keep its promises, there should be clear and enforceable penalties to force actions.'
Trump's executive order earned bipartisan support, including from Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), who noted in a statement that 15,000 American aluminum workers have lost their jobs in the last decade. But Brown also cautioned that the investigation must lead to action.
'It's good that the Administration is using this tool, but what matters to Ohio workers and the aluminum supply chain is whether it leads to real relief and action against China's market-distorting policies,' Brown said.
Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, said in a statement that Trump's executive action 'recognizes the value of U.S. aluminum industry.' United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, whose union represents thousands of aluminum industry workers, said any action stemming from the investigation should focus 'on those countries that are actually breaking the rules.'
He named names. 'China's overcapacity is swamping world markets, driving down prices and making some operations unprofitable,' he said.
While Section 232 investigations are rare, this is now the second time that Trump has opted to initiate one; he announced a Section 232 investigation into steel imports on April 20.
But as our Scott Paul noted last week, China's industrial overcapacity and persistent unfair practices - coupled with the need to maintain a strong industrial supply chain for our national security needs - mean such action is appropriate.
'America's steelmakers are vital to our national security, providing essentials ranging from the armor plate on our tanks and specialty metals in our high-tech aircraft, to the hulls of our battleships and everything in between,' Paul said. 'China's massively subsidized and grossly over-scaled steel industry is an existential threat to our own domestic makers.'
Note EU-Digest: Once again this Trump executive order is probably not only worth the paper it is written on but also in conflict with established rules of the World Trade organization. But also contradictory as to the actual situation of the US Aluminum Industry .
How would this order be applied to US Aluminum giant Alcoa, which has operations in Australia, Brasil, Canada, Guinea, Iceland, Norway, Saudi Arabia Spain and Suriname (Alcoa is presently in a negotiation phase with the government, as Alcoa winds down its operations there)? Nevertheless,would these subsidiary, or partner companies of Alcoa, also be seen as "foreign competition", which in a geographical sense they are.
Once again. it looks like the Trump administration only used this "Executive Order" signing ceremony today, April 27, surrounded by CEO's of the US aluminum industry, "to investigate Aluminum Imports", as a PR photo opportunity.
EU-Digest
1/8/15
Russia: Putin’s Washington -- by Luke O'Brien
At a time of worsening tensions, escalating sanctions and a crashing
Moscow market, when, more than ever, the Russian leader could stand to
have a few friends in the American capital, his old arm-wrasslin’ buddy,
a man viewed by many as colorfully erratic, may be the best ally he
has.
Or he may be the only one. To Putin and his embattled regime, that’s increasingly how it looks. Amid December’s Russian ruble collapse, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov openly blamed Washington for his country’s troubles, saying there were “very serious reasons to believe” that the United States is pursuing a regime change strategy to topple Putin—aided and abetted by Rohrabacher’s colleagues on Capitol Hill. “If you look at the U.S. Congress,” Lavrov said, “eighty percent of them have never left the USA, so I’m not surprised about Russophobia in Congress.”
Russophobia, indeed. To the extent Russia has any friends other than Rohrabacher in Washington today, they are for the most part officially paid for—a slew of slick and ineffective PR people and lobbyists who have eagerly taken millions of dollars from Russia in recent years to help burnish its image.
Ketchum, the giant PR agency on the Russia account, has earned more than $60 million from the Kremlin over the past nine years, according to legally required disclosures. And for what? Russia is viewed less favorably today than in 2006, when its relationship with Ketchum began.
In the 2012 presidential campaign, Americans shrugged when Republican nominee Mitt Romney called Russia America’s No. 1 geopolitical problem. And today? A recent CNN poll found that 69 percent of Americans view Russia as a threat.
Russia may be in the market for a new spin doctor soon, anyway. Ketchum’s Gazprom contract was canceled last summer. The PR firm still has its Russian Federation account, but the gig is now little more than a sinecure. In a recent statement to Politico Magazine, Ketchum said: “Given the current geopolitical environment, this is a challenging time to promote economic development for Russia and as a result we do not have any activity planned in the U.S.”
Or he may be the only one. To Putin and his embattled regime, that’s increasingly how it looks. Amid December’s Russian ruble collapse, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov openly blamed Washington for his country’s troubles, saying there were “very serious reasons to believe” that the United States is pursuing a regime change strategy to topple Putin—aided and abetted by Rohrabacher’s colleagues on Capitol Hill. “If you look at the U.S. Congress,” Lavrov said, “eighty percent of them have never left the USA, so I’m not surprised about Russophobia in Congress.”
Russophobia, indeed. To the extent Russia has any friends other than Rohrabacher in Washington today, they are for the most part officially paid for—a slew of slick and ineffective PR people and lobbyists who have eagerly taken millions of dollars from Russia in recent years to help burnish its image.
Ketchum, the giant PR agency on the Russia account, has earned more than $60 million from the Kremlin over the past nine years, according to legally required disclosures. And for what? Russia is viewed less favorably today than in 2006, when its relationship with Ketchum began.
In the 2012 presidential campaign, Americans shrugged when Republican nominee Mitt Romney called Russia America’s No. 1 geopolitical problem. And today? A recent CNN poll found that 69 percent of Americans view Russia as a threat.
Russia may be in the market for a new spin doctor soon, anyway. Ketchum’s Gazprom contract was canceled last summer. The PR firm still has its Russian Federation account, but the gig is now little more than a sinecure. In a recent statement to Politico Magazine, Ketchum said: “Given the current geopolitical environment, this is a challenging time to promote economic development for Russia and as a result we do not have any activity planned in the U.S.”
8/8/14
Israel and the world: "Us and them"
From Antwerp to Warsaw, demonstrators’ placards have ranged from
criticism of Israeli policy (“1,2,3,4, Occupation No More”) to
denouncing Israel itself (“5,6,7,8, Israel is a Terror State”) to the
most wounding anti-Semitism (“Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas”). In
France, which has Europe’s largest Jewish and Arab (mainly north
African) populations, trouble may be no surprise. But its extent—attacks
on synagogues, raids on Jewish shops—has been shocking nonetheless.
Even in Oslo, the Jewish museum closed its doors.
Clearly, Europe’s antipathy towards Israel is more than just loud protest. Many Israelis think they can no longer count on public opinion in Europe—and, to a much lesser extent, America—and that where popular sentiment leads, democratic politicians will sooner or later follow. They see the rising number and vehemence of demonstrations against Israel’s wars, and as a result fear “delegitimisation”: the turning of Israel into a pariah state, outside polite international society.
A global poll in and about several countries, conducted for the BBC long before the latest strife in Gaza, reported that negative views of Israel’s influence in the world outweighed positive ones by more than two to one (see chart 1). In aggregate, Americans saw Israel favorably; Europeans did not.
But plenty of Americans worry about Israel’s reputation. Barack Obama has fretted about his country’s “limited” ability to manage the “international fallout” were a Palestinian state no longer within reach. Delegitimisation, says Einat Wilf, a former Israeli parliamentarian and one of the authors of a three-year, as-yet-unpublished study of the topic at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) in Jerusalem, is becoming “a strategic threat”.
The concept of delegitimisation is not new. But it is acquiring new weight in parts of the world where Israel once felt itself anchored. The JPPI traces the turning-point to the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001, which brought 1,500 government and non-governmental delegations together under the auspices of the UN. Its draft declaration, subsequently amended, condemned Zionism as racism. Since then, says Michael Herzog, a former defence-ministry official and head of the JPPI’s project, networks of Islamist and leftist activists have spread the idea wide.
How wide is a matter of debate. Israel’s supporters paint a picture of rampant anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe, under the cover of hostility to Israel. A survey released this year by the Anti-Defamation League said 34% of eastern Europeans and 24% of western Europeans harboured anti-Semitic views—implying that the continent houses 165m Jew-haters. Others are less gloomy. Vivian Wineman, who heads the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the umbrella body of British Jewry, notes that spikes in anti-Jewish attacks correlate to bouts of fighting in the Middle East. His French counterpart, Roger Cukierman, says public attitudes are driven “by the images of Palestinian babies on television, which makes [people] very angry.”
Some of the Israeli government’s critics hit back by accusing its supporters of highlighting rising anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere to deflect criticisms of its own abuses of human rights. “Ninety-five per cent of demonstrators have nothing against Jews,” says a French government official and Jewish campaigner for a two-state settlement.
Read more: Israel and the world: Us and them | The Economist
Clearly, Europe’s antipathy towards Israel is more than just loud protest. Many Israelis think they can no longer count on public opinion in Europe—and, to a much lesser extent, America—and that where popular sentiment leads, democratic politicians will sooner or later follow. They see the rising number and vehemence of demonstrations against Israel’s wars, and as a result fear “delegitimisation”: the turning of Israel into a pariah state, outside polite international society.
A global poll in and about several countries, conducted for the BBC long before the latest strife in Gaza, reported that negative views of Israel’s influence in the world outweighed positive ones by more than two to one (see chart 1). In aggregate, Americans saw Israel favorably; Europeans did not.
But plenty of Americans worry about Israel’s reputation. Barack Obama has fretted about his country’s “limited” ability to manage the “international fallout” were a Palestinian state no longer within reach. Delegitimisation, says Einat Wilf, a former Israeli parliamentarian and one of the authors of a three-year, as-yet-unpublished study of the topic at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) in Jerusalem, is becoming “a strategic threat”.
The concept of delegitimisation is not new. But it is acquiring new weight in parts of the world where Israel once felt itself anchored. The JPPI traces the turning-point to the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001, which brought 1,500 government and non-governmental delegations together under the auspices of the UN. Its draft declaration, subsequently amended, condemned Zionism as racism. Since then, says Michael Herzog, a former defence-ministry official and head of the JPPI’s project, networks of Islamist and leftist activists have spread the idea wide.
How wide is a matter of debate. Israel’s supporters paint a picture of rampant anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe, under the cover of hostility to Israel. A survey released this year by the Anti-Defamation League said 34% of eastern Europeans and 24% of western Europeans harboured anti-Semitic views—implying that the continent houses 165m Jew-haters. Others are less gloomy. Vivian Wineman, who heads the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the umbrella body of British Jewry, notes that spikes in anti-Jewish attacks correlate to bouts of fighting in the Middle East. His French counterpart, Roger Cukierman, says public attitudes are driven “by the images of Palestinian babies on television, which makes [people] very angry.”
Some of the Israeli government’s critics hit back by accusing its supporters of highlighting rising anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere to deflect criticisms of its own abuses of human rights. “Ninety-five per cent of demonstrators have nothing against Jews,” says a French government official and Jewish campaigner for a two-state settlement.
Read more: Israel and the world: Us and them | The Economist
Israel: Ebbing support for Israel among key groups stirring alarm
If the results of a recent focus group and polls are any indication, the gap is growing between Congress and young Americans when it comes to support for Israel.
Polls conducted in late July by Gallup and the Pew Research Center found that support for Israel is weaker among younger Americans and Democrats than among Americans generally. Add to that the results of a recent focus group culled from 12 congressional staffers — a small but very influential cohort — and pro-Israel activists are worried about the long-term sustainability of broad U.S. support for Israel in Congress.
Last Friday, a select group of Jewish institutions was sent a confidential summary of the staffers discussing the recent Gaza conflict. The tone of the summary, which was obtained by JTA, was one of alarm.
“Congress is supposed to be our fortress,” wrote authors Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi and Meagan Buren, the founder and a former top aide, respectively, at The Israel Project. “While Israel faces Hamas tunnels, it appears that the negativity and lack of support among young people is tunneling its way into congressional offices, even while the congressmen and senators remain steadfast on the surface.” Mizrahi and Buren left The Israel Project in 2012.
Among the statements the dozen congressional staffers agreed on: “Israel attacked Gaza in a wild overreaction.” “It’s Groundhog Day every 18 months, perennial conflict, doesn’t seem like anyone wants peace anymore.” [The Israeli government is] “not peace loving.”
Several JTA interviews with staffers for pro-Israel lawmakers suggested that the Mizrahi report’s conclusion is on target.
“On the Hill and with some people with whom I have spoken who are robust Israel supporters, people are concerned if not angry,” one of the staffers, a Democrat, told JTA. All the staffers spoke to JTA on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the sensitive subject.
They cited a combination of factors alienating the once solid pro-Israel base among Democrats, including the distance from Israel’s era of crises in the 1960s and 1970s, anger at how the Netanyahu government has handled its relationship with the Obama administration, weariness of a decade of U.S. involvement in wars and the plain orneriness of younger people.
Polls conducted in late July by Gallup and the Pew Research Center found that support for Israel is weaker among younger Americans and Democrats than among Americans generally. Add to that the results of a recent focus group culled from 12 congressional staffers — a small but very influential cohort — and pro-Israel activists are worried about the long-term sustainability of broad U.S. support for Israel in Congress.
Last Friday, a select group of Jewish institutions was sent a confidential summary of the staffers discussing the recent Gaza conflict. The tone of the summary, which was obtained by JTA, was one of alarm.
“Congress is supposed to be our fortress,” wrote authors Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi and Meagan Buren, the founder and a former top aide, respectively, at The Israel Project. “While Israel faces Hamas tunnels, it appears that the negativity and lack of support among young people is tunneling its way into congressional offices, even while the congressmen and senators remain steadfast on the surface.” Mizrahi and Buren left The Israel Project in 2012.
Among the statements the dozen congressional staffers agreed on: “Israel attacked Gaza in a wild overreaction.” “It’s Groundhog Day every 18 months, perennial conflict, doesn’t seem like anyone wants peace anymore.” [The Israeli government is] “not peace loving.”
Several JTA interviews with staffers for pro-Israel lawmakers suggested that the Mizrahi report’s conclusion is on target.
“On the Hill and with some people with whom I have spoken who are robust Israel supporters, people are concerned if not angry,” one of the staffers, a Democrat, told JTA. All the staffers spoke to JTA on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the sensitive subject.
They cited a combination of factors alienating the once solid pro-Israel base among Democrats, including the distance from Israel’s era of crises in the 1960s and 1970s, anger at how the Netanyahu government has handled its relationship with the Obama administration, weariness of a decade of U.S. involvement in wars and the plain orneriness of younger people.
2/28/14
Finland: Alternative Energy: Google Buys More Swedish Wind Power For Its Finnish Data Center - by Jason Verge
will buy the entire electricity output of four new wind farms
to support its data center operations in Hamina, Finland, the company
said this week. The new power purchase from Eolus Vind AB in Sweden
follows an earlier wind power deal in
which Google purchased the entire 10-year electricity output of the new
wind farm at Maevaara, in Övertorneå and Pajala municipality in
northern Sweden.“We’re always looking for ways to increase the amount of renewable energy we use,” said Francois Sterin, Director Global Infrastructure at Google. “Long term power purchase agreements enable wind farm developers to add new generation capacity to the grid – which is good for the environment – but they also make great financial sense for companies like Google.”
Eolus will commence construction of the four new wind farms in Alered, Mungseröd, Skalleberg and Ramsnäs, Sweden. The 29-turbine project, with a total combined capacity of 59 megawatts, already has all its planning approvals and permits. The wind farms will become fully operational in early 2015.
“Our agreement with Google is a further endorsement of the potential of wind power in the Nordic countries,” said Hans-Christian Schulze, deputy CEO of Eolus. “We’re looking forward to building our new wind farms over the year and helping Google stay ahead of its commitment to carbon neutrality.”
All of this Swedish wind power will power Google’s Hamina, Finland facility. This cross-border arrangement is possible thanks to Europe’s increasingly integrated energy market. Scandinavia’s Nord Pool market allows Google to buy renewable energy with Guarantee of Origin certification in Sweden, and consume an equivalent amount of power elsewhere in Europe.
The move helps the environment, but also protects Google from future increases in power prices through long term purchasing. The company is investing in new renewable energy projects that will deliver a return for its money. Over $1 billion has been committed to such projects in the U.S., Germany, and South Africa.
Read more: Google Buys More Swedish Wind Power For Its Finnish Data Center | Data Center Knowledge
10/22/13
Russia takes a page out of the US playbook - by Anna Andrianova
Russia doesn't have the most positive reputation abroad. Many people, especially in the West, see it as an authoritarian state where riot police batter protesters and powerful forces repress homosexuals and other minorities. But now Russia is following the U.S.'s lead in a charm offensive.
Since Vladimir Putin first became a president in 2000, Russia has launched various projects to improve its image—a multilanguage TV channel, Russia Today, is one of the most visible endeavors—but they have not improved the nation's image as much as hoped, said Alexey Dolinskiy, a partner at consulting firm Capstone Connections.
"Numerous efforts to bolster its reputation abroad with foreign audiences have thus far not had the intended effect, especially in comparison to the amount of resources and attention invested by the Russian government," Dolinskiy said in a government-funded report, "Russia Direct."
Dolinskiy told CNBC that, for example, Russia Today has managed to build a viewership but has not done much to materially change the country's image. Global attitudes toward Russia are more negative than positive, according to the 2013 GlobeScan poll. Among countries included in the survey, only a handful—Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran—did worse.
Read more: Russia takes a page out of the US playbook
Since Vladimir Putin first became a president in 2000, Russia has launched various projects to improve its image—a multilanguage TV channel, Russia Today, is one of the most visible endeavors—but they have not improved the nation's image as much as hoped, said Alexey Dolinskiy, a partner at consulting firm Capstone Connections.
"Numerous efforts to bolster its reputation abroad with foreign audiences have thus far not had the intended effect, especially in comparison to the amount of resources and attention invested by the Russian government," Dolinskiy said in a government-funded report, "Russia Direct."
Dolinskiy told CNBC that, for example, Russia Today has managed to build a viewership but has not done much to materially change the country's image. Global attitudes toward Russia are more negative than positive, according to the 2013 GlobeScan poll. Among countries included in the survey, only a handful—Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran—did worse.
Read more: Russia takes a page out of the US playbook
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