All posts by Hutchins AAron

Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport. My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front). Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42. Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.
Business/Economics, U.S.

Contractor Incompetence: 14 bomb sniffing dogs suffocated in an unventilated truck at the Houston airport

A U.S. military contractor is suing two Texas companies for killing 14 bomb sniffing dogs.  The dogs were supposed to be shipped to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The two companies being sued are Indian Creek Enterprises Incorporated and Live Animal Transportation Services.

The military contractor said the dogs were supposed to have been put in the Houston airport’s kennel, because their flight was canceled.  Instead the transportation contractors left the dogs locked in a sealed, unventilated truck.  On December 21, 2010, the military contractor checked on the dogs, only to discover them in the truck, all dead.

There was blood and other evidence that the dogs tried to get out.

Texas media can not get a hold of the owners of Indian Creek Enterprises Incorporated.  The other contractor, Live Animal Transportation Services, has a new owner who basically says this is the first he’s heard of it.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence? Third mine disaster in Idaho this year

For the third time this year, Hecla Mining Company’s Lucky Friday Mine suffered a rock burst.

It happened before 19:30 hours on the evening of December 14.  This time the miners were actually ‘lucky’.  Seven miners were rescued, with one going to a local hospital.

But two other mine employees were not lucky. They were both killed by  rock bursts at the same Lucky Friday silver mine.  The first rock burst happened in April, the second happened just last month!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: The creation of South Sudan is all about the oil, and keeping China from it. Hillary Clinton tells U.S. oil companies to go for it!

The creation of the new country of South Sudan was all about U.S. access to its oil.  On December 14, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announced that South Sudan’s oil fields were open to U.S. investment.

But she had an ominous, and hypocritical warning: “We know that it will either help your country finance its own path out of poverty, or you will fall prey to the natural resource curse, which will enrich a small elite, outside interests, corporations and countries, and leave your people hardly better off than when you started.”-Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State

It’s hypocritical because historical records show that it’s always involvement of U.S. and western European companies that destroy countries.

Even now South Sudan is fighting Sudan. Just last week the United Nations agreed to send UN Peacekeepers to patrol the border between the two countries.

Another interesting fact is that before the creation of South Sudan, China was about to invest big time in developing the oil fields there (mmmm, Libya anyone?).  China is now trying to deal with the government of the new South Sudan, and the United States is trying to beat them to the punch.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Australia, Japan and United States to form new military pact

Japan’s Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa, and Australia’s Ambassador to Japan Bruce Miller, have publicly expressed a desire to form a new military pact involving the United States.

Japan already has military pacts with the U.S., and with Australia.  Japanese officials say it is only natural that all three should join into one single pact.

Recently U.S. President Barack Obama announced a pact with Australia that involves basing up to 2,500 U.S. Marines there.

Military analysts say the real reason for military pacts between Japan, Australia and the U.S., is the growing fear of the growing power of China.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

What Economic Recovery? Japan desperate for cash, will sell off famous bullet train, to India

The Japanese government is in need of some cash (no wonder since they’ve been making promises of financial aid to other countries).  But they’re so desperate that they’ll even sell off a famous bullet train.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has instructed his cabinet, and Japanese business leaders, to sell Japan’s infrastructure to India, including the Shinkansen bullet train system.

It’s not quite what it sounds like.  What Prime Minister Noda means is that Japan is going to sell the technologies behind their infrastructure to other countries, especially India.  Indian officials have expressed a desire to build a bullet train system similar to what Japan has.

Noda told Japanese officials that global competition is becoming intense and that the Japanese government must do all they can to promote the sale of Japanese infrastructure technologies to other countries.

 

Fukushima

Japan admits high levels of radiation in north eastern Honshu!

Japan’s Environment Ministry has given some clues as to how bad the radiation contamination is in north eastern Honshu.  The area is being devastated by radiation coming from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

In a report on how the government of Japan plans to address decontamination issues, they revealed that some areas have soil that’s emitting more than 0.23 microsieverts per hour!

They also stated that ‘sludge’ has been found to be contaminated with 8,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium!

The Environment Ministry even admitted that areas as far south as Tokyo are highly contaminated and will require decontamination.  Tokyo is about 220 kilometers, or 137 miles from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

 

Fukushima

Japan says it will take at least 40 years to scrap the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant!

The Japanese government released details of their plan to tear down the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

From 2012 to 2015 they hope to remove the hundreds of spent fuel rods stored in the facility’s spent fuel pools.

Then from 2015 to 2021 they will work to repair and fill up the highly radioactive reactor containment vessels with the melted fuel rods inside.  That plan involves using water to fill the containment vessels on four reactors.

Then by 2022 they hope they can figure out a way to safely remove the melted fuel rods from the containment vessels.  The ultimate goal is to tear down the reactor buildings.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Former U.S. National Security adviser says War with Iran would be Armageddon, says American people are being driven by fear

“We think we are going to avoid war by moving toward compulsion. But the more you lean toward compulsion, the more the choice becomes war if it doesn’t work.”-Zbignew Brzezinski, former U.S. National Security Adviser

Brzezinski worked for President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. At a meeting of the Atlantic Council, on December 14, he, along with former NSA officials Brent Scowcroft, Jim Jones and Henry Kissinger, said the United States is facing the most significant world changes since the end of the Cold War.

Brzezinski also said the people, and leadership of the United States are not handling it very well:  “Our public is driven by fear, ignorance, demagogy to a very high degree and that I think has a paralyzing effect in intelligent management.”

He added that if there was war with Iran it would be devastating for the U.S.: “If we slide into a conflict with Iran, in this or that fashion, the consequences for us will be disastrous, disastrous on a massive scale and also globally at the same time.”

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: China slaps U.S. made cars with tariffs, blames it on the anti-free trade action of the United States

“U.S. vehicles benefiting from subsidies and dumping on the China market have substantially damaged China’s auto industry.”-statement from Chinese Ministry of Commerce

General Motors and Chrysler will suffer the most from Chinese economic action against vehicles made in the United States.

Anti-dumping duties on GM vehicles are 8.9%, and 8.8% for Chrysler vehicles.

GM vehicles will also face anti-subsidy duties of 12.9%, and 6.2% for Chrysler vehicles.

The tariffs target cars with engines bigger than 2.5 liters, and made between December 201 through December 2013.

German car makers BMW and Mercedes will be hit with much much lower tariffs.

Chinese officials say the United States is violating the trade rules of the U.S. dominated World Trade Organization.

GM and Chrysler officials are not to worried.  Why? Because the majority of the cars they sell in China, are actually made in China (another reason for growing unemployment in the U.S.), and the tariffs do not apply to the cars they make in China.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? The United States ranks as World’s 4th worst for income disparity. Another official study that proves that the Occupy movement is right! Proof the American Dream was a lie!

“The income inequality level of the United States ranks only after Chile, Mexico and Turkey in the 29 OECD countries. Inequality among working age people has risen steadily since 1980, in total by 25%.”–John Martin, OECD

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its latest report on income disparity, and the United States came in as fourth worst, after Mexico, Chile and Turkey.

The report is called: Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries.

The report says the trend for the wealth not being spread evenly within the U.S. actually began in the 1970s.

Here’s some interesting facts from the report: “The average income of the richest 10% is US$93,000 US$ in purchasing power parities, the highest level in the OECD. However, the poorest 10% of the US citizens have an income of US$5,800 US$ per year – about 20% lower than the average for OECD countries.”

“Redistribution of income by government plays a relatively minor role in the United States…effectiveness of taxes and transfers in reducing
inequality has fallen still further in the past 10 years.”

“Wealth is distributed much more unequally than income: the top 1% control some 25-33% of total net worth and the top 10% hold 71%.” 

Richard L. Trumka, chairman of the Trade Union Advisory Committee, said the growing disparity in income in the United States is not because the average person isn’t willing to work harder, but because wages and benefits for the average worker have actually been going down (when adjusted for inflation), while salaries, benefits and other forms of revenue for the top 10% have been going up!

A video presentation by the OECD says this latest study is the most detailed ever.

The study also discovered that low income families stuck in countries with high income disparities, can not expect to ever prosper in those countries: “…but what we find is that in very unequal societies they get stuck. Their incomes don’t reflect their true talents and they stay much poorer on average…”-Mark Pearson, OECD