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, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Chinese Yuan could replace the U.S. Dollar within 10 years

“Chinese financial authorities are laying the groundwork for these ambitions via a series of bilateral arrangements with foreign companies and financial centers. While dollar denominated financial markets retain a substantial advantage over their RMB denominated counterparts in terms of new issuances, the RMB markets have made remarkable progress in less than one year.”-U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

RMB; aka renminbi, aka yuan.

“Chinese economic dominance is more imminent and more broad-based, encompassing output, trade and currency, than is currently recognized. By 2030, this dominance could resemble that of the United States in the 1970s and the United Kingdom around 1870.  And this economic dominance will in turn elevate the renminbi to premier reserve currency status much sooner than currently expected.”-Arvind Subramanian, economist

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy the United Police States of America! Officials admit to arresting reporters, restraining order ignored by cops, even a retired Judge was threatend by cops

“I was there to take down the names of people who were arrested. As I’m standing there, some African-American woman goes up to a police officer and says, ‘I need to get in. My daughter’s there. I want to know if she’s OK.’ And he said, ‘Move on, lady.’  And they kept pushing with their sticks, pushing back. And she was crying.  And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he throws her to the ground and starts hitting her in the head.  I walk over, and I say, ‘Look, cuff her if she’s done something, but you don’t need to do that.’  And he said, ‘Lady, do you want to get arrested?’  And I said, ‘Do you see my hat? I’m here as a legal observer.’  He said, ‘You want to get arrested?’  And he pushed me up against the wall.”-Karen Smith, retired New York State Supreme Court Judge, and official legal observer of the OWS movement

New York City cops threatening to take down an official legal observer, and retired judge, just because she was reminding them of what they legally can and can not do.  If this isn’t proof that the United States has become a true Police State, then you’re blind!!!

Here’s more proof of the arrogance of “our” leaders: “Not being familiar with many of the media outlets for which The Awl says these reporters work, I had the list of ‘26 arrested reporters’ checked against the roster of reporters who hold valid NYPD press passes. You can imagine my surprise when we found that only five of the 26 arrested reporters actually have valid NYPD issued press credentials.”-Stu Loeser, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s spokesperson

First off, he admits 26 reporters were intentionally arrested for covering OWS events. Secondly, the list of 26 reporters includes many arrested at OWS events outside New York, so why would they have New York press credentials?!

Some examples: Photojournalist Kristyna Wentz-Graff, arrested in Milwaukee!  Reporter Jonathan Meador, arrested in Tennessee! Why do they need New York press credentials?

The British The Guardian reports that even a reporter with United Nations credentials was arrested.

Examples of harassment: Julie Walker, of NPR, says cops ripped her recorder out of her hands.  Doug Higginbotham, from New Zealand, had his New York press ID stripped off him by the NYPD.

Most arrested reporters are being let go, but some are being charged with disorderly conduct.

If you’re wounder how to get a New York City press credential, here’s a quote from the NYPD web site: “Applicants also must submit one or more articles, commentaries, books, photographs, videos, films or audios published or broadcast within the twenty–four (24) months immediately preceding the Press Card application, sufficient to show that the applicant covered in person six (6) or more events occurring on separate days.”

Did you notice; in order to get New York City press credentials you have to already be reporting, apparently illegally, news about New York City!!!  That’s typical Police State mentality.

On top of all that, the OWS movement actually got a restraining order against the NYPD, but the cops, and city officials ignored it: “When the cops raided Zuccotti Park, lawyers for Occupy Wall Street immediately woke up a judge with a civil liberties background and asked for help.  Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings signed an early-morning order temporarily barring cops from keeping protesters and tents out of Zuccotti Park.  But within hours, she was off the case as court administrators prepared to randomly choose a new judge — and excluded Billings’ name from the list of candidates.”-The New York Daily News

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Opinion, U.S.

Global Economic War: China playing ping pong game with U.S. & European bonds

A report in the Chinese media got me thinking.  There’s a definite pattern to China’s buying and selling of U.S., and European, government bonds (sovereign debt).

In the first three months of 2011 China sold off U.S. bonds.  Then, from April through July bought U.S. bonds.  In August China sold off U.S. bonds big time; $36.5 billion worth! Now they’re back to buying.

The U.S. bond sell offs happen when news of the performance of the U.S. economy is really bad, and Europe is looking better.  In August, the big sell off came when the credit rating for the U.S. got downgraded.  For the past few months the really bad economic news is coming from Europe countries, and China has been buying U.S. bonds big time.

China is playing a sovereign debt investment ping pong game.  The ball is their money, and the paddles are the United States and Europe.

The Chinese media even reports that the Chinese holding of foreign exchange reserves must be flexible and ever adjusting to market conditions.

But I wonder, which is coming first, the chicken or the egg?  I’ve also noticed that Chinese officials tend to lead European and U.S. officials into thinking China is about to make big strides towards bailing out their economies, then the Chinese back off.  So, from here on out it would be wise to watch the timing of offers of economic help, then backing off of those offers, with the buy ups and sells offs of U.S. and European bonds.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy America! Where are the 1%? California, New York, Texas, Florida & Illinois

So just where do the 1% of the richest people in the United States live?

According to Wealth-X, California is number one, followed by New York, Texas, Florida and Illinois.

10,390 UHNW (ultra high net worth) individuals officially live in California.  8,215 in New York, 5,550 in Texas, 3,615 in Florida and 2,680 in Illinois.  These top five home states of the 1% represent at least 50% of the wealth in the United States!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Occupy the World! Forget the 1%, what about the 0.000003% who control most of the World’s wealth?

Three millionths of a percent, that’s how many people throughout the world actually control the majority of the wealth.

According to a survey by Wealth-X (a Singapore based company that serves the interests of the ultra-rich, it says so on their web site) most of the world’s wealth is held by only 0.000003% of the people!

Ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals are people with $30 million or more in assets.  That means real wealth, not wealth that’s ‘on paper’.  Wealth-X says there are only 185,795 UHNW people globally!  Of that, only 1,235 people are true billionaires!

Wealth-X breaks it down for the United States: 57,860 UHNWs, 455 of which are true billionaires. This means that of the 1% in the U.S., 1/54th controls 13.5% of the country’s wealth!

For Europe there are 54,325 UHNWs, in Asia there are 42,525 UHNWs, and 15,100 UHNWs in Latin America. Interestingly there’s nothing about ultra wealthy in Africa or the Middle East.

The Wealth-X survey is titled A Wealthy Head Count.


Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

It’s official, the people of the United States are Crazy! 1 in 5 on mental health drugs!!!

Medco Health Solutions Inc., says the use of drugs, in the U.S., for psychiatric and behavioral disorders rose 22% from 2001 to 2010!

But that’s an overall percentage, the numbers get worse, and more revealing, when you look at specific drugs, conditions, gender and age groups.

1 out of 4 U.S. women are using mental health drugs, the majority are women older than 45.  But there is a alarming trend of increased use among men and and young adults.

More than 20% of U.S. adults used drugs for conditions like anxiety and depression, in 2010.  The study saw a big increase in the use of drugs to control ADHD, especially in adults!

There was a 150% increase in the use of ADHD drugs among people aged 20 to 44 between 2001 and 2010, and a doubling among women in the 45-to-65 group!  I wounder if this has anything to do with the fact that many ADHD drugs are related to ‘speed’?

ADHD drug use in the over 65 age group increased about 30% for men and women between 2001 and 2010!  Are ADHD meds being used to treat memory problems typically associated with old people?  Can you say incompetent doctors grasping at straws?

The Medco study was based on the number of prescriptions issued between 2001 and 2010.





Technology

Cancer cells highly efficient at recycling

A report published by the Science Translational Medicine says at least 30 types of cancer cells are highly efficient protein recyclers.

The reason why cancerous tumors actually grow fast (contrary to outdated medical theories) is that they have an accelerated rate of recycling, also known as chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA).

Scientists hope to develop an anticancer drug by finding a chemical that would interfere with the recycling process.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Syria allows Arab League observers, and the Russian Navy, to come on in

Recently the Arab League voted to send observers into Syria, and the Syrian government agreed.  The Arab League wants to make sure civilians are not being unjustifiably targeted, in what is turning out to be a civil war.

But the Syrian government is also letting Russian military forces in.

According to Syrian media reports, the Russian navy will send ships to patrol Syrian territorial water.  The move is part of Russia’s desire to prevent ‘Western’ military aggression in Syria.

International, U.S.

World War 3: Turkey oppossed to military action against Syria & Iran

“Turkey, as a friend of the neighboring country of Iran, will never accept a measure that would harm Iran under any condition.”-Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey

Despite building up troops on the border between Turkey and Syria, the Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, also says they will not support any military action against Syria: “We are opposed to any attack on Syria. And incidents in Iraq and Libya should not be repeated in this country. Enemies are making attempts to wage a religious war, and regional countries should not fall into this trap.”

However, British media are reporting that the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has made statements supporting war with Syria and Iran: “No doubt, the problems both in Syria and in the Middle East in general are global problems. Therefore, we have to see the tragedy in the area, hear the screams and urgently take measures to stop the bloodshed for the safety of energy supplies as much as global peace and calm.”

Could this be because Turkey finds itself between a rock and a hard place?  Literally, geographically, between the West and the Middle East.

International, U.S.

World War 3: The West alone against Iran; 120 countries issue statement supporting Iran

120 countries, members of the Non Aligned Movement (if you haven’t heard of it you can thank your corporate/government controlled mainstream media) have issued a statement of support for Iran’s nuclear program.

In the statement ‘NAM’ stands of Non Aligned Movement, and ‘Agency’ stands for the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Here it is:

Mr. Chairperson,

1- The Vienna Chapter of the Non-Aligned Movement wishes to thank the Director General, Mr. Yukiya Amano, for his report on the Implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran as contained in document GOVl2011/65.

2- At the same time, NAM wishes to reaffirm the importance of Director General reports being issued in a timely manner. The late issuance of reports results in Member States having to prepare for meetings of the Board of Governors under significant time constraints.

3- Before expressing its comments on the Director General’s Report, NAM would like to reiterate its principled positions on the matter:
a. NAM reaffirms the basic and inalienable right of all states to the development, research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations. Therefore, nothing should be interpreted in a way as inhibiting or restricting the right of states to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes. States’ choices and decisions, including those of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected.
b. NAM recognizes the IAEA as the sole competent authority for verification of the respective safeguards obligations of Member States and stresses that there should be no undue pressure or interference in the Agency’s activities, specially its verification process, which would jeopardize the efficiency and credibility of the Agency.
c. NAM emphasizes the fundamental distinction between the legal obligations of states in accordance with their respective safeguards agreements, as opposed to any confidence building measures undertaken voluntarily and that do not constitute a legal safeguards obligation.
d. NAM considers the establishment of a nuclear- weapons-free-zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East as a positive step towards attaining the objective of global nuclear disarmament and reiterates its support for the establishment of such a zone in accordance with relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.
e. NAM reaffirms the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear facilities -operational or under construction -poses a serious danger to human beings and the environment, and constitutes a grave violation of international law, of the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and of regulations of the IAEA. NAM recognizes the need for a comprehensive multilaterally negotiated instrument prohibiting attacks, or threat of attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
f. NAM strongly believes that all safeguards and verification issues, including those related to Iran, should be resolved within the IAEA framework, and be based on sound technical and legal grounds. NAM further emphasizes that the Agency should continue its work to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue within its mandate under the Statute of the IAEA.
g. NAM stresses that diplomacy and dialogue through peaceful means as well as substantive negotiations without any preconditions amongst the concerned parties must remain the means whereby a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue is found.

4- NAM stresses that the issue of non-proliferation should be resolved through political and diplomatic means and that measures and initiatives taken in this regard should be within the framework of international law, relevant, conventions and the United Nations Charter.

5- NAM takes note that the Director General has stated once again that the Agency has been able to continue to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran at nuclear facilities and locations outside facilities where nuclear material is customarily used (LOFs) as declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement.

6- NAM welcomes the clear distinction made by the Director General between obligations emanating from Iran’s Safeguards Agreement and other requests by the United Nations Security Council. In this regard, NAM notes that the Director General has stated in his report that “Iran is not implementing a number of its obligations” emanating from relevant provisions of the United Nations Security Council resolutions. NAM recalls that the Director General has previously reported Iran’s assertion that some of the Agency’s requests “had no legal basis since they are not falling within Iran’s Safeguards Agreement”, an assertion elaborated by Iran in Document INFCIRC/810 as well. NAM encourages Iran to enhance its cooperation with the Agency to provide credible assurances regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran in accordance with international law.

7- NAM encourages the Secretariat to continue to refrain from including extensive technical details pertaining to sensitive proprietary information in the report of the Director General.

8- NAM welcomes the continued cooperation between the Agency and Iran as elaborated in the latest report of the Director General, and in this regard, notes the following:
a. That Iran has declared to the Agency under its Safeguards Agreement, 15 nuclear facilities and 9 LOFs, and that the Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material at these facilities and LOFs.
b. That the activities of production of nuclear material, particularly those related to enrichment, continue to remain under the Agency’s containment and surveillance and that to date, the Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) in Natanz and Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP)have been operating as declared.
c. That the Agency has confirmed that the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) corresponded with the design information provided by Iran, that the facility was at an advanced stage of construction, and that Iran and the Agency agreed on a safeguards approach for FFEP. The results of the environmental samples taken at FFEP up to 27 April 2011 did not indicate the presence of enriched uranium.
d. That the Agency has continued to monitor the use and construction of hot cells at the relevant nuclear facilities in Iran, and confirmed that Iran is not conducting reprocessing activities in any of the facilities declared under its Safeguards Agreement.
e. That Iran has provided the Agency with access to the IR-40 heavy water reactor at Arak, at which time the Agency was able to carry out a design information verification (DIV). The Agency verified that the construction of the facility was ongoing, and that the coolant heat exchangers had been installed. According to Iran, the operation of the IR-40 Reactor is planned to commence by the end of 2013.
f. That the Agency also carried out an inspection and a DIV at the Fuel Manufacturing Plant (FMP), and confirmed that Iran has started to install some equipment for the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) fuel fabrication.

9- NAM notes the standing requests by the Secretariat for further information regarding the design and scheduling of the construction of new nuclear facilities, and continues to encourage Iran to provide design information regarding its nuclear facilities in accordance with its full-scope safeguards agreement with the Agency.

10- NAM notes that the Director General mentioned in his report that he reiterated to Iran his position regarding the need to take steps towards the full implementation of its Safeguards Agreement and its other relevant obligations, in order to establish international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program. NAM recalls that Iran responded by extending an invitation to the Deputy Director General for Safeguards to visit its nuclear facilities and that the question of the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program was discussed during that visit. NAM welcomes such invitations, and that Iran as a confidence building measure, has provided the Agency during the visit with access to:
a. An installation where research and development (R & D) on advanced centrifuges was taking place, as well as extensive information on its current and future R & D work on advanced centrifuges.
b. The Heavy Water Production Plant (HWPP) for the first time since 2005, at which time the Agency observed that the HWPP was operating.

11- While noting the DG’s concern regarding the issue of possible military dimension to Iran’s nuclear program, NAM also notes that Iran has still not received the documents relating to the “alleged studies”. In this context, NAM fully supports the previous requests of the Director General to those Members States that have provided the Secretariat information related to the “alleged studies” to agree that the Agency provides all related documents to Iran. NAM expresses once again its concerns on the creation of obstacles in this regard, which hinder the Agency’s verification process. NAM recalls that the Director General previously reported in document GOV/2009/55 that:
a. The Agency has limited means to authenticate independently the documentation that forms the basis of the alleged studies.
b. The constraints placed by some Member States on the availability of information to Iran are making it more difficult for the Agency to conduct detailed discussions with Iran on this matter.

12- In light of the aforementioned obstacles, NAM requests further clarification on the methodology adopted by the Agency in arriving at its assessment as contained in paragraph 42 of the report.

13- NAM welcomes the will of Iran “to remove ambiguities, if any”, as well as its suggestion that the Deputy Director General for Safeguards (DDG-SG) should visit Iran for discussions aiming at the resolution of matters. NAM notes the reply by the Director General, indicating his preparedness to send the DDG-SG to “discuss the issues identified” in his report to the Board of Governors. In this context, NAM welcomes the continuation of this positive dialogue and cooperation between Iran and the Agency.

14- NAM requests clarification from the Agency for not incorporating Iran’s comments on all the new information in this report prior to its official release.

15- Bearing in mind the Agency’s responsibility in protecting safeguards confidential information, NAM remains concerned by recurring incidents of leakage of such information that, in the absence of adequate corrective measures by the Agency, calls into question the credibility of its regime for the protection of safeguards confidential information.

16- NAM welcomes Iran’s resolve to continue cooperating with the Agency, and still looks forward to the safeguards implementation in Iran being conducted in a routine manner. In this context, NAM encourages the Agency and Iran to continue engaging substantively without delay for the purpose of providing clarifications regarding the issues identified in the report, with a view to the prompt resolution of these issues in accordance with the Work Plan on “Understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Agency on the Modalities of resolution of the Outstanding Issues” (INFCIRC/711).

17- NAM reiterates its principled position that diplomacy and dialogue are the only way for a long term solution of Iran’s nuclear issue. NAM encourages all Member States to contribute positively to that effect.

18- Before concluding, NAM wishes to express its deep concern and dissatisfaction at the selective circulation of the Director General’s report, or parts thereof, to certain Member States prior to its official release to all Member States. This runs counter to the principle of the sovereign equality of all Member States enshrined in the IAEA Statute and should not be repeated in the future.
Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.