Sea Food: 91 percent of US seafood comes from abroad.

Set against the backdrop of the larger American food system, the seafood deficit, is, well, fishy. Many of the US most important landfoods are trending in the opposite direction. Corn, anybody? Plenty of it — surpluses of it, in fact. Beef? Enough domestic production to supply every American with around eighty pounds a year — five times the national per capita rate of seafood consumption.

Meanwhile, the paucity of domestic fish and shellfish in our markets and in our diets continues even as foreign seafood floods in at a tremendous rate. In the last half century American seafood imports have increased by a staggering 1,476 percent.

It gets fishier still. While 91 percent of the seafood Americans eat is foreign, a third of the seafood Americans catch gets sold to foreigners. By and large the fish and shellfish we are sending abroad are wild while the seafood we are importing is very often farmed. Two hundred million pounds of wild Alaska salmon, a half billion pounds of pollock, cod, and other fish-and-chips-type species, a half billion pounds of squid, scallops, lobsters, and other shellfish is, every year, being sent abroad, more and more often to Asia; untold tons of omega-3-rich seafood are leaving our shores to help other countries lower their rates of heart disease, raise their cognitive abilities, and lengthen their life expectancy.

American consumers suffer from a deficit of American fi sh, but someone out there somewhere is eating our lunch.

How did we land ourselves in such a confoundingly American catch?

Read more: American catch: The fight for our local seafood | GreenBiz.com

Ukraine crisis: Nato plans (not approved by France, Germany, Spain and Italy) east European bases to counter Russia - by Ian Traynor

NAT)O says it is to deploy its forces at new bases in eastern Europe for the first time, in response to the Ukraine crisis and in an attempt to deter Vladimir Putin from causing trouble in the former Soviet Baltic republics, according to its secretary general.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the organisztions's summit in Cardiff next week would overcome divisions within the alliance and agree to new deployments on Russia's borders – a move certain to trigger a strong reaction from Moscow.

He also outlined moves to boost Ukraine's security, "modernise" its armed forces and help the country counter the threat from Russia.

Rasmussen said: "We will adopt what we call a readiness action plan with the aim to be able to act swiftly in this completely new security environment in Europe. We have something already called the Nato response force, whose purpose is to be able to be deployed rapidly if needed. Now it's our intention to develop what I would call a spearhead within that response force at very, very high readiness.

"In order to be able to provide such rapid reinforcements you also need some reception facilities in host nations. So it will involve the pre-positioning of supplies, of equipment, preparation of infrastructure, bases, headquarters. The bottom line is you will in the future see a more visible Nato presence in the east."
Poland and the three Baltic states have been alarmed at the perceived threat from Russia and have been clamouring for a stronger Nato presence in the region. They have criticised what they see as tokenism in the alliance's response so far.

But the issue of permanent Nato bases in east Europe is divisive. The French, Italians and Spanish are opposed while the Americans and British are supportive of the eastern European demands. The Germans, said a Nato official, were sitting on the fence, wary of provoking Russia.

Note EU-Digest: This kind of rhetoric and sabre rattling will only increase the problems as it will be seen as provocative by Russia. The only solution seems to be a negotiated settlement which clearly defines the borders of Russia and EU-Member States and protects all ethnic minorities.

Read more: Ukraine crisis: Nato plans east European bases to counter Russia | World news | The Guardian

Traffic Fatalities: The world map of driving deaths

A new report from the International Transport Forum finds that the United States had more road deaths per capita in 2012 than Canada, Australia, Japan, and all of the European nations that reported data.

Read more: The world map of driving deaths - Vox

EU Economy: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stage

The eurozone's growing fears of deflation will be stirred again on Friday when preliminary consumer price data for August will be issued with signs that the European Central Bank (ECB) could be looking at bolder steps to help the region's stagnant economy.

Analyst polled by Reuters forecast the annual inflation rate to slip to 0.3 per cent from 0.4 per cent in July, falling even further below the ECB's target of below but close to two per cent and mired deep in what the bank calls the "danger zone." The ECB cut interest rates in June and promised banks cheap long-term loans starting in September and any new measures before those loans kick in had been considered unlikely.

However, in remarks that opened the door to possible policy action at the bank's next meeting in September, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Friday that the bank is prepared to respond with all its "available" tools should inflation drop further.

Speaking at a global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Draghi said he is confident that the steps already announced, helped by a weaker euro would boost demand in the ailing economic bloc. But in stronger language than he has used in the past, he stressed the central bank stands ready to do more. "The (ECB's) governing council will acknowledge these (economic) developments and within its mandate will use all the available instruments needed to ensure price stability over the medium term," he said.

The main weapon at the bank's disposal, printing money to buy bonds, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), is still opposed by Germany's Bundes bank which plays down the danger of deflation. In his remarks on Friday, Draghi did not mention the policy specifically, but a growing number of analysts believe it is only a matter of time before the ECB follows the path already trodden by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

"The ECB will ultimately move to QE unless the euro weakens appreciably," said Riccardo Barbieri, chief European economist at Mizuho, adding that, "In the near term stagnation and near-zero inflation in the eurozone are almost a certainty. Developments in Ukraine will continue to be a major focus for markets, with the negative headlines of recent weeks having pushed German bond yields to new lows."

Read more: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stagEU Economy: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stag

Germany: no Iraq combat troops or weapons to PKK

Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out sending German combat troops to Iraq and is dismissing suggestions her country could send weapons to the separatist Kurdish PKK movement.

Germany said last week it is prepared to arm the regional Kurdish government forces battling Islamic militants in northern Iraq. It's still determining what to send them.

Sunday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported some German government lawmakers also are considering arming the PKK, which the EU classifies a terrorist organization. Merkel, however, said the group "does not come into question as a recipient" of German arms.

Merkel said in an interview with ARD television Sunday that Berlin "will not under any circumstances send combat troops to Iraq" and has no "concrete plans" to send troops in any other function, such as training.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/24/4306434/germany-no-iraq-combat-troops.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: BERLIN: Germany: no Iraq combat troops or weapons to PKK - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com

EU-Digest Poll Shows Majority EU Citizens (56.25%) feel Britain Should Get Out Of The EU

The most recent EU-Digest poll which posed the question "Should Britain Quit The EU?" based on 4 possible answers showed a majority of European Citizens want Britain out of the EU.

The answers which got most votes for why Britain should leave the EU were - "Yes - they are more loyal to the US than the EU" - 31.25% and "Yes - they have never been a trustworthy partner" - 25%

This month new Poll to last through September 22, 2014 poses the following question:

SHOULD EU CITIZENSHIP FOR CITIZENS WHO SYMPATHIZE OR JOIN ISIS BE REVOKED?

The above action would probably also require most EU member states to legislate new laws for approval by their local parliaments.

EU-Digest

EU - Who Pays the Most for Russian Gas in Europe and Why - by Varvara Fomina

Following the revolution in Ukraine, the ousting of ex-President Viktor Yanukovich and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Gazprom, Russia’s sole natural gas exporter, has almost doubled Ukraine’s natural gas price.

According to the state-run gas giant, the price was raised due to the cancellation of two major discounts.
One of the discounts was granted to Ukraine for permitting the Russian fleet to use Crimea’s city of Sevastopol as its base. When Crimea became part of Russia, the agreement and the discount were canceled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early April. The second discount, for timely payments, was canceled a few days later because Ukraine failed to fulfill its obligations to get a discount. Western political leaders have accused Russia of energy bullying and threatened it with sanctions.

In May, Russia signed a 30-year deal, worth $400 billion, to deliver gas to China. The media speculated on the reasons why, after 10 years of unsuccessful negotiations, the two countries managed to come to an agreement. One of the assumptions was that the deal was Putin’s reaction to the potential threat of European sanctions against Russia following the Crimean crisis.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in May, Alexey Miller, CEO of Gazprom,said the recent contract between Russia and China will likely influence gas pricing in the European market. With many details to discuss and hundreds of kilometers of pipelines to build, it is unclear what the selling price for China will be, or in what ways the contract can affect Europe.

According to Dr. Mikhail Korchemkin, managing director of East European Gas Analysis, a consulting company, the agreement between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corp. will not affect the price of Russian gas sold to Europe. “First, European prices are set by existing contracts,” Korchemkin said. “Second, East Siberian gas fields are not connected to Europe, so this gas cannot be sold to Europe.”

However, the setting of gas prices for European countries raises a lot of questions. The price varies from country to country. Gazprom is secret about commercial transactions, and the terms of agreements for long-term gas contracts are generally not disclosed. In Europe there is no market price for natural gas, as such. Also, there is no standard formula that would define gas prices for wholesale customers.

In the late 1960s, Gazprom introduced the contract model, in which gas prices were tied to oil prices. In 2012, the European Parliament called for liberalization of the gas market. The new model implies the development of an integrated European system of gas indexation, which would allow European gas companies to trade with gas providers on a more predictable basis. Instead of being dependent on oil price dynamics, gas prices would be set in gas hubs (centers of market trading).

Read more: Who Pays the Most for Russian Gas in Europe and Why | Student Reporter