Tag Archives: boise

Business/Economics, Idaho

Housing Boom Insanity: Despite impending crash, Idaho’s housing construction set to explode!

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13 October 2022 (12:23-UTC-07 Tango 06) 21 Mehr 1401/17 Rabi ‘al-Awwal 1444/18 Geng-Xu 4720/13 октября 2022 года

It has been established that there are not many good paying, steady, long term jobs spread across The Gem State, and that there isn’t a lot of available land for private ownership, resulting in a low population, and that there has been plenty of house construction since the end  of the 1990s.  In other words, sparse population due to lack of decent long term jobs (90% of the population growth has been in the Boise Metro Area), and decades of house building actually resulting in a glut of houses.  Yet, housing rental prices and purchase prices are too high.   This is the excuse that local municipalities and property developers are using to justify the approval, and acceleration, of massive residential construction projects.

For proof here is a list of links to articles (just the tip of the iceberg) proclaiming new housing projects, and reporting on housing cost problems, across Idaho, from the past month:

Yet another huge housing development project for tiny Southeastern Idaho city of Chubbuck!  The U.S. Census says Chubbuck’s population is just under 16-thousand!  Over the decades, the poverty rate has been consistently between 10% and 15%, in other words, all the actions of the local leaders have done nothing to drop the poverty rate!

Utah property developer to build massive 40 acres (16 hectares) housing rental operation in Caldwell, news media says it is “much needed”!  U.S. Census says Caldwell’s population is under 57-thousand!

Nearly 3-thousand house development announced, next to golf course near Kuna!  The U.S. Census says the population of Kuna is just under 21-thousand!

Sparsely populated Elmore County approves development that promises to build enough homes for more than 5-thousand people!  The U.S. Census says the population of Elmore County is only about 27-thousand!

Announced; three more massive apartment complexes for the Boise Metro Area, and yes, another promise of low income housing!

Revealed; despite promises of constructing affordable houses, in the Boise Metro Area, the data proves that property developers actually build more expensive houses!

Despite the decades of promises of affordable housing by developers, the National Low Income Housing Coalition says Idaho still needs more than 20-thousand low income residences, lists more than 42-thousand Idahoans as being “extremely low income renters”!  Mirroring a problem across the United States.  The entire population of Idaho is about 1.9-million!

Federal government expanding low income housing vouchers for poor people in the Boise Metro Area.

Revealed; more than 4-hundred Boise Metro Area homes are actually owned by California speculators/investors!

Naïve Christian church in Nampa gives away, yes gives away, more than 3-thousand square feet of land so that one affordable house can be built!  U.S. Census says the population of Nampa is under 97-thousand!

Coeur d’Alene considering annexing county land for massive housing project, which will build more than 4-thousand homes over the next 20 years!  The U.S. Census says the city of Coeur d’Alene has a population of about 51-thousand!

Idaho State Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development took part in the first ever Idaho Rural Success Summit in Twin Falls.  U.S. Census says population of Twin Falls is under 50-thousand!

“Boise in full fledged housing crash”

Boise first in the U.S. to see housing price bust?

The Land Trust of the Treasure Valley is trying to to raise enough money to buy-out hundreds of acres of “prime real estate” for the express purpose of halting any future development!

Idaho Housing & Finance injects $7.2-million in additional mortgage back securities into the General Indenture of Trust, because the asset to debt ratio of the Trust has been declining!

Ada County area real estate agent says the number of actual available units are flat despite all the construction, and predicts inventory will actually go down, which means rents and prices will stay high.  Reveals a disturbing trend that was insignificant before 2008 and is also the cause of high prices; residential Institutional Buyers, aka Investors/Speculators, who outbid families trying to buy a home:

Proof that your government wants a revolving door housing market, the Idaho Department of Labor blames high prices on home owners/renters staying in their homes longer than previous generations: “The recent decline in Idaho’s existing housing inventory has been driven by a decline in homeowner and renter mobility. This means that the supply of existing housing is declining as a result of households owning or renting longer than they did in the past.”

Does this imply that the government will find ways to force people out of their homes to facilitate ‘development’? It has happened before!

U.S. Housing Collapse:  NO MORE ‘MY IMMIGRANT IDAHO’, MASS EXODUS BEGINS!

Idaho, Technology, U.S.

Tactical Toilets: California, Iowa, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington invade Rebel Idaho!?

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Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant William Cowley, 11JUN2022.

At the beginning of June 2022, and while many Idaho National Guard personnel are still deployed/deploying overseas, as well as to other locations within the United States, about 2-thousand National Guard artillery personnel from California, Iowa, North Carolina, Utah, and an Army Reserve unit from Texas (2-364 Training Support Battalion ), as well as Active Army ‘gods’ (Observer, Coach, Trainers aka OCTs from 189th Infantry Brigade) from Washington, invaded Southwestern Idaho!

Pulling the lanyard of an M109A6. Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant William Cowley, 11JUN2022.

Utah National Guard’s 65th Field Artillery Brigade led the charge, blasting Idaho’s Orchard Combat Training Center (formerly Orchard Training Area) with its artillery guns.  Orchard Combat Training Center is 18 miles south of Boise.

Utah suffered some casualties. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Scott Evans, 07JUN2022.

Utah Army National Guard’s 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211 Aviation Regiment, provided air transport. Video by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero, 05JUN2022:

The invasion was planned 15 months ago, called Western Strike 22.  Western Strike 22 is about training-up National Guard artillery units for the coming Third World War, which is the continuation of the 2017 Near Peer Threat doctrine.

A ‘flat’ of 155mm ammo is off-loaded. Utah Army National Guard photo by Sergeant James Bunn, 10JUN2022.

California’s 340th Brigade Support Battalion helped supply the 155mm ammo for the guns of Utah’s M109A6 Paladins.

Moment of launch. Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant William Cowley, 11JUN2022.

Video of some M109A6 Paladin action, by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero:

North Carolina Army National Guard sent in their 13F FiST-ers (Fire Support Team, artillery forward observers) to help guide Utah’s artillery fire: “Our motto is ‘the eyes of the battlefield,’ we observe everything including mortars, artillery, fixed and rotary winged aircraft, and even naval gunfire.”-Corporal Joshua Morris, 1st Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment, North Carolina Army National Guard

‘My’ M981 FiSTV (artillery forward observer M113), on Idaho’s Orchard Training Area (now called Orchard Combat Training Center), Summer 1997.

Been there done that, in the late 1990s.

FiST-ers board UH-60 Black Hawks, Utah Army National Guard video by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero, 09JUN2022:

But the North Carolina Army National Guard’s 5th Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment also brought their artillery rocket system called HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System).

HIMARS launcher tubes get sling-loaded by UH-60 Black Hawk. Utah Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Rebecca Call, 13JUN2022.

An M142 HIMARS moves into launching position. Utah Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Rebecca Call, 13JUN2022.

(SKI-BIRD AND THE HIMARS)

HIMARS launch. Utah Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero, 06JUN2022.

Utah Army National Guard video by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero, showing North Carolina’s HIMARS in action, 06JUN2022:

Utah SF soldier launches a rocket out of the AT4. Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Ariel J. Solomon, 13JUN2022.

Utah Army National Guard also sent in their Special Forces unit, the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Here’s a dramatic music promo-video by Staff Sergeant Jordan Hack, 11JUN2022:

An 81mm round is launched out of the M252 mortar. Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Ariel J. Solomon, 12JUN2022.

Iowa Army National Guard deployed their 734th Regional Support Group and 883rd Engineer Company. Here is video of some fun explosions brought to you by the 883rd Engineer Company, video by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero, 10JUN2022:

Iowa National Guard personnel also had fun with the M2HB, Utah Army National Guard video by Sergeant Ariel Solomon, 05JUN2022:

Emergency, emergency! Tactical Toilet system on it’s way, just hold it in a little longer! Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jordan Hack, 11JUN2022.

Western Strike 22 also included the successful deployment of tactical toilets (I assume).

You can’t camp on the OCTC without your Tactical Toilet. Utah Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Ariel Solomon, 05JUN2022.

Idaho’s OCTC actually sits on federal Bureau of Land Management (the real BLM) property, which strictly enforces rules about when, where and what you can or cannot do….doo.

Arty rounds impact Idaho’s OCTC. Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jordan Hack, 11JUN2022.

This year’s artillery wargame ended on 16JUN2022.  Just short of 3-thousand rounds were fired during 14 days: “The Idaho National Guard and Orchard Combat Training Center have been great hosts, allowing us to take full advantage of the training facilities.”-Colonel Shawn Fuellenbach, brigade commander, 65th Field Artillery Brigade, Utah Army National Guard

Night shot…..out! Utah Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Ariel J. Solomon, 10JUN2022.

February 2022: IDAHO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD MEDEVACS WOUNDED FROM GOWEN FIELD!

2021: U-S-A-F PREPS TO USE C-130 ON HIGHWAYS IN WYOMING! RED DAWN FOR REALS?

2020: T-A-C-P-S USE HORSE POWER TO CALL IN AIR STRIKES ON IDAHO MOUNTAINS!

2019: UNITED STATES INVADES IDAHO!

Idaho

Boise River Photography Journal July 20th 2021

Chicory ©Satoita

Chicory ©Satoita

On Tuesday last week, I went for a stroll along the Boise River here in Boise, Idaho. To my delight, all the plants have tripled in size since I saw them last, about two months ago. They’ve grown considerably; the bare gravel river banks are now nearly covered in growth. It was a fun trek through all the leaves, sand, gravel, water, and several spider webs. One could follow the sound of the river through the thick green walls of natural labyrinth.

Spotted Knapweed ©Satoita

There are plenty of useful plants here, which were most likely intentionally planted. This part of the Boise River is technically the Boise River Park, and is maintained by the Parks and Recreation department. I really appreciate their methods of leaving it pretty much alone save for repairing water erosion and cleaning up human disturbances. I’m grateful we have the Greenbelt here where we can visit a bit of wildlife in the middle of the city. In Japan, research has proven that taking time to just be in nature is beneficial to all areas of our health. Doctors now prescribe Shirin Roku, or Forest Bathing, to reduce stress, which is the cause of a myriad of health problems. In addition, many of these plants that grow wild and may be considered weeds are actually medicinal and are a good source of minerals and vitamins.

white flowering plant ©Satoita

St. John’s Wort ©Satoita

Mullein ©Satoita

This Mullein is the cutest one I’ve seen. It’s only one foot tall! I was collecting mullein flowers to create a cough syrup. I’ve put them in sugar to ferment in a jar for a few weeks in the sun. I’m really curious to see if this works come fall!

Purple Loosestrife ©Satoita

Catmint ©Satoita

Chicory ©Satoita

Mullein ©Satoita

Mullein ©Satoita

Purple Loosestrife ©Satoita

Chicory ©Satoita

Tiny Stream ©Satoita

Boise River Bank ©Satoita

Downy Woodpecker on a Mullein ©Satoita

Evening Primrose ©Satoita

Yellow Brooms ©Satoita

Marsh Willowherb ©Satoita

Blue Water Speedwell ©Satoita

Armenian Blackberry ©Satoita

Bittersweet Nightshade ©Satoita

If I mislabeled any plants, or if you can identify the two I didn’t know, please leave a comment below!

’till next time,

SATOITA

Marsh Crossing ©Satoita

Opinion

Boise State welcomes Brave New World Order with Neo-Fascist-Nazi makeover! Come burn books at the feet of the all powerful -B- megalith!

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27 October 2015 (02:36 UTC-07 Tango 01)/05 Aban 1394/13 Muharram 1437/15 Bing-Xu (9th month) 4713

All hail the mighty BSU, Bull-Sh…. I mean Boise State University, Idaho!  They just spent an untold amount of money destroying creative art work and precious student parking to create and obvious ode to fascism.

All hail and begin the book burning! We don’t need no stinking books in University! Especially ’cause they cost so much.

Mussolini sports complex built between 1928 and 1938.

Watch out, the almighty B is watching you!

Somewhere in 1930s Germany.

High brow education now occupied by low brow propagandists!

Occupied Palestine (Israel) today!

And for you conspiracy fans check out Google Maps at coordinates 43.603345 – 116.204953 to see a definite geometric pattern, surrounding the new monolithic B, that’s only visible from the sky (the heavens?).

Screen Shot 2015-10-26 at 17.01.32

The monolith B is the silver bar casting the shadow within the symbolic circle.

Ooops, is that a Freudian slip Georgie boy?

 

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Hewlett Packard going down, HP to cut even more jobs in Boise?

“We didn’t make the investments we should have during the past few years to stay ahead of customer expectations and market trends. As a result, we see eroding revenue and profits today.”-Meg Whitman, CEO of HP, February interview

There’s rumors that Hewlett Packard is considering merging its computer production, with its printer production.  Boise, Idaho, is home to a huge HP compound that includes  printer manufacturing.

Analysts say they don’t know what good will come from such a merger, but agree that people are going to lose their jobs: “HP has some massive structural fixes that they need to make, and this doesn’t come close. I don’t see how this changes anything apart from probably giving you an excuse to cut some heads and cut some costs.”-Rob Cihra, Evercore Partners

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Yet another airline ends service in Idaho

Frontier Airlines has ended its Boise to Denver route.  In the past two years the airline temporarily stopped service due to a seasonal drop in passengers, but they officially announced they will not restart service, for 2012.

For the past two years, the seasonal drop in business happens in winter, and Frontier restarts flights in April.  Passenger numbers have been steadily dropping since 2007, and Frontier decided it wasn’t worth it to restart the Boise-Denver route for 2012.

Back in December, 2011, SeaPort Airlines announced they were ending their Idaho Falls-Boise route.  Not enough sales were the official reason.  That claim was news to Idaho Falls airport airlines director Len Nelson, who said: “We were really, really disappointed to see them leave. We were just starting to fill the airplanes up. Out of nine seats, we were filling it a lot of times, and averaging five, six passengers a flight.” Nelson’s reasoning is out of touch.  Filling five to six seats, out of nine, is not enough for an airline to justify the route.

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

Black Horse & Apple computers: Apple rakes in huge profits, thanks to slave wage labor! Apple’s China factory installs anti-jumping nets to keep workers from leaping to their deaths. Idaho, Ohio, Michigan & Pennsylvania Republicans hoping China will build similar slave cities in the U.S.

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

January 26, 2012

Apple reported their 2011 fourth quarter profits at a record $13.06 billion!  That would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that Chinese workers are being pushed so hard to make Apple products that they’re literally going over the edge to their deaths!

I love my Apple computer (it’s lasted longer than any other computer I’ve had, and with far less glitches), but, one of the factors in me buying an Apple was that I thought they were made in the U.S.  Apparently after (evil) Bill Gates became a major investor in Apple, production was shipped overseas.

Around the time Apple was reporting their record profits, Chinese media was reporting on a factory that made Apple products.  Turns out the workers there threatened suicide because of slave labor conditions.

It’s so bad that a Catholic Online article says Chinese factories are spending money to put up nets around their buildings, to keep workers from jumping to their deaths.

You see, working in Chinese factories is not like working in a U.S. factory (not yet anyway): “Chinese factories are self-contained cities with workers living side-by-side in dorms. Workers spend an average of 10-12 hours per day working, six days a week.” Also: “…life in a Chinese factory is unpleasant, boring, repetitive, and workers have little to no privacy, and few rights-if any. The food is nothing to write home about either. Employers can set workers to task at any hour, force them into overtime, and arbitrarily fire them if desired. It’s as near to slavery as one can get without the chains.” -Catholic Online

When I realize how much I paid for my Mac (more than double what I was paying for cheapo IBM types) it sickens me to know that it could have been made by wage slaves!  I thought one of the reasons for the higher price was that I was supporting U.S. jobs!

This month Apple’s contracted factory in China, run by a company called Foxconn, reported that workers threatened to commit mass suicide.  To give you an example of the crowded working conditions, Foxconn admits they have at least 32,000 workers living on their factory ‘campus’!  That’s not a factory, it’s a self contained slave city!!!

But guess what? The state government of Idaho has been toying with Chinese contractors to build such a slave city right here in Idaho, U.S.A.  They call it an “industrial complex”.

In 2010, the Idaho Statesman reported that state officials were working on a project that would allow the China National Machinery Industry Corporation (aka SINOMACH) to build huge a slave labor camp south of Boise.  It could cover up to 30,000 acres, and is “…based on a concept popular in China today…”.

That camp would include retail shops and homes for workers, and some reports say the ’employees’ will come from China.

SINOMACH also got involved with a fertilizer project near American Falls, but since then all has gone quite on that project.

Lobbyists working for the Chinese say Idaho Republican leaders are great to work with: “One thing these Chinese see is we have a governor here who has a great big open door policy, and I think that’s making a difference in this SINOMACH project.”-Pat Sullivan, lobbyist

The Idaho Republican’s open door policy for China is part of their Project 60 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plan.

Idaho Republican leaders love China: “Idaho’s the last state that should say we don’t want to do business with Asia. Asia’s where the money is.”-Brad Little, Idaho Lieutenant Governor

I’ve also reported on how most of Idaho’s Republican politicians are in the pockets of for profit prison labor operations.

SINOMACH is also dealing with officials in Ohio, Michigan (is there a connection to the union busting going on in that state?) and Pennsylvania.

Also this month, SINOMACH announced they will increase their efforts to set up operations in other countries: “We encourage our subsidiaries, including scientific institutions and design, construction and industrial equipment manufacturing companies, to go overseas and explore and develop new services and markets.”: Ren Hongbin, chairman of SINOMACH

SINOMACH (short for Sino Machinery) reported a revenue increase of 17% in 2011, for a total of $30 billion.  I wounder how much was from cutting costs with slave labor?

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? SeaPort shuts down route due to bad economy, yet to issue official press release, proof that east Idaho community leaders have head in a hole

On December 4, an east Idaho TV station reported that an airline route from Idaho Falls to Boise will stop service on December 31.

On December 5, the same east Idaho TV station did an update, after they talked to the President of Oregon based SeaPort Airlines.  Rob McKinney said that ticket sales in east Idaho not only weren’t enough, but had steadily declined from their  “…re-launch of flights between Idaho Falls and Boise.” (from July 23, 2011 SeaPort press release) back in July.

I got a response to my December 4 story about SeaPort closing down the IF/Boise/Pendleton route, from someone in the marketing office of SeaPort.  After correcting a few things they also confirmed that sales in east Idaho is just too bad to continue business: “There is an official explanation for the discontinuation of this service; there was not enough passenger traffic to continue flying the Idaho Falls-Boise route.”

By the way, for some reason, as of December 7 SeaPort still has not issued an official press release on their website.  The last press release is dated September 2, 2011.

This comes after months of eastern, and southeastern, Idaho business/community leaders telling us (through east Idaho media) that things were getting better!

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Could demise of Hewlett Packard’s WebOS end hundreds of jobs in Idaho? HP in bed with Microsoft? We’ll find out in two weeks

“We should announce our decision in the next two weeks. This is not an easy decision, because we have a team of 600 people which is in limbo.”-Meg Whitman, CEO Hewlett Packard

French media interviewed Hewlett Packard’s latest CEO, Meg Whitman.  She says what they decide to do with their WebOS system will affect at least 600 HP employees.

Other media reports confirmed that 525 layoffs, made back in September, were the result of ending WebOS hardware production.  Since August the system has been up for sale, no takers so far.

It’s strange because as recently as July, Stephen DeWitt, head of the WebOS business unit, claimed that WebOS was so versatile that it could be used in a “universe of devices”.

What happened? Executives at HP have decided to use Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. In explaining the embracing of Windows 8 Whitman also explained why they canceled their number two selling tablet, the TouchPad: “Internet tablets are mainly used to consume media and e-mails. If you want to use productivity software such as Microsoft, you can not…This is an important area in which we want to go.”  “We stopped using the products that use the operating system WebOS. We will return in 2012. We will have an internet tablet that will use Microsoft Windows 8.”

The new HP tablet that runs on Window 8 is called Slate 2.

Whitman also talked about the high turnover of HP CEOs, and her plans with the company: “HP has had three CEOs in less than two years.  I’m here to stay. Even if my friend Mitt Romney becomes the next president of the United States, I will not join him in Washington.”  “We must invest more in storage, networks and servers to align ourselves with our competitors like EMC and Cisco. Our last server, which uses an ARM processor is more efficient in terms of energy consumption. We need these major innovations to differentiate ourselves.”

In November unnamed sources at HP’s, Boise, Idaho operations leaked word of more layoffs.  Between 3,000 and 4,000 people work at HP’s Boise facilities.  Could the demise of WebOS have anything to do with it?  According to the French newspaper, Le Figaro, Whitman said the world will find out in two weeks.

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

U.S. increases embassy staffing in Brazil & China. Officially it’s to help foreign students come to the U.S. Unofficially it’s to bring in cheaper labor to the U.S., and help U.S. citizens leave the U.S.

“Idaho’s the last state that should say we don’t want to do business with Asia. Asia’s where the money is.”-Brad Little, Lieutenant Governor of Idaho

Recently the U.S. Department of State announced they were increasing staffing in China and Brazil.

Most U.S. and Chinese media reports suggested this was due to the increasing number of foreign students wanting to go to school in the United States.  The Chinese media even said it was a money making scheme for U.S. colleges: “A number of state governments in the U.S. are tightening their grip on education spending, which means smaller subsidies for public colleges to pay teachers and fund research. International students on average pay far more for tuition expenses than U.S. residents.”-ChinaDaily

According to U.S. Department of Commerce (yes it’s a “department”, not an “agency” as Rick Perry said), it’s also about the money Chinese tourists bring to the U.S.  In 2010 those visitors contributed more than $5 billion to the U.S. economy.

What about Brazil? In 2008 there were reports that Brazilians working in the U.S. wanted to go back to Brazil.  Now the U.S. State Department claims they can’t keep up with demands from Brazilians wanting to come to the U.S.

In September a report showed that the U.S. government has been wooing new Brazilian companies to move to the U.S.

EverWrite and DeskMetrics were two companies mentioned.  Young Brazilian entrepreneurs say it’s much too hard to start a new company in their home country, so they move to the United States (that’s funny ’cause just this past week Idaho business leaders told our U.S. Congress that it’s too hard to maintain a business in the United States).

Chinese businesses are being wooed here as well.  This brings me to one of two points; that increasing U.S. Embassy staffing in China and Brazil is really about bringing foreign workers into the U.S.  You see, many of those Chinese and Brazilian companies are bringing their own employees.

In fact, here in Idaho our state leaders have made a deal with the Chinese.  They will have their own 10,000 to 30,000 acre industrial and housing zone south of the Boise Airport, with their own Chinese employees, and even some level of national sovereignty.

“I think China’s coming over here shows they are willing to collaborate on the re-invigoration of the American industrial base.”-Jeff Don, Idaho representative for the Chinese company, called Sinomach

Here in southeast Idaho the Chinese have already moved in.

Sinomach is China’s third-largest contractor, and pressured Southeast Idaho Energy for a contract to build SIE’s $2 billion goal gasification fertilizer plant in Power County.  In May, 2011, SIE closed its American Falls, Idaho, office claiming they were trying to reduce operating expenses.

A polysilicon factory is just about to start up in Pocatello.  It’s run by Hoku International, which is now a subsidiary of a Chinese company.  The few local employees hired went to China to learn about their job duties.  So far no more word on anymore local hires, which makes you wonder if the main Hoku labor force will be coming from China?

Officials in Boise, Idaho, admit they’re working with more Asian corporations: “We’re getting calls from investors from all across Asia who are interested in Idaho.”-Cece Gassner, assistant to the mayor of Boise, for economic development.

The other point (regarding increased U.S. Embassy staffing) is that U.S. citizens are flocking to China and Brazil.

Japanese, and even PBS, media reports show that many U.S. citizens aren’t waiting until they’ve been hired to move to China; there’s a growing number of U.S. citizens who’ve moved to China, and are still looking for employment.  In fact many U.S. job seekers in China, are finding that they’re competing not only against Chinese job seekers, but their fellow U.S. citizens.

In Brazil, the current population, according to the World Bank, is more than 194 million people. That’s an increase of almost 3 million since 2008!  Most of those people moved to Brazil, many from the United States.