Tag Archives: debt

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 09-10 May 2013. Prison labor causes law abiding workers to loose their jobs?

Greeting card company, American Greetings, revealed in its annual report that it laid off 2100 people in the past 12 months!  The report subtly mentions “headcount reductions”.   The company also credited the layoffs for its $47 million USD 4th quarter profits.

What housing market recovery?  In Alabama, real estate company J&E Land now bankrupt.  One owner of the company said they’ve been destroyed by Romney style vulture capitalists.

In Washington DC, the little known National Aquarium will close down in September.   The privately owned aquarium is housed in the basement of the U.S. Commerce building, which will undergo renovations.

In Monticello, Indiana, the Woodlawn Elementary School was closed after 63 years of operations!  It’s blamed on declining student enrollment.

The Easton Area School Board, in Pennsylvania, said they need to layoff between 29 and 53 employees, and raise local taxes.  Employees were also laid off in 2010 and 2012.   Frontier Communications continues to layoff employees.  29 employees in Back Mountain out-o-work.  The company has been laying off employees since the beginning of 2012.  In Castle Shannon, the McGinnis Market shut down after 33 years in business.  The owner said the bad economy made him realize he should quit while ahead: “I have no debt, I own my farm, my equipment, my store. I started talking to myself, and said ‘why are you working?’ I made the decision then and there.”-John McGinnis

Digital media company, Say Media, laid off 40 employees, in order to be more profitable.

The New York Post wants employees to voluntarily quit.  The newspaper is offering buyouts to try and remove at least 10% of its employees, as part of its 2014 budget.

The Daily News laid off 15 reporters.  It’s being blamed on ‘restructuring’.

In Orlando, Florida, Comcast cable laying off 260 employees through summer!

In California, another solar power company going down.  SoloPower selling off equipment and letting go about 130 employees in San Jose, and North Portland, Oregon!

Denmark based Vestas Wind Systems continues to layoff employees in Colorado.  Globally the company has laid off 582 employees so far this year, and company officials say another 1196 will be let go by the end of the year!  Last year they laid of hundreds of employees.

Like your tomatoes? NatureSweet laid off 65 employees, mainly managers, at their Willcox, Arizona, tomato farms.  NatureSweet picked up about 400 prison workers when they took over operations from EuroFresh.  However, NatureSweet officials say they are planning on reducing prison labor as well.

State officials in Missouri warned of massive layoffs for the Motor Vehicle Division.  It depends on next year’s budget.

In Falls Church, Virginia, Anthony’s Restaurant closed after 40 years of operations.  It’s blamed on a property developer.  In West End Alexandria, two Giant grocery stores shut down.  Company officials said they were not happy with “…the operating performance of the stores.”

Marie’s Flower Shop closed in Brewer, Maine.  The owner blamed bad luck with locations: “I have had four different locations due to buildings being torn down and a fire at one point. It’s been a struggle….”-Marie Patterson

In New Hampshire, it was announced the Portsmouth Kmart would close in August.  At least 30 employees screwed.

Jewelry and gift shop, Firefly, closed in Boston, Massachusetts.  The owner blamed it on the property owner who jacked up the rent.

In Minnesota, 79 people losing their jobs with Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings.  The company is reducing operations with its subsidiary ViroMed Laboratories, in Minnitonka.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Fukushima

Corporate Evil: Evidence of China Syndrome at Fukushima!!! After months of denial, TEPCo admits strontium & tritium contaminating Pacific Ocean! Don’t eat the fish! Run!

23 July 2013 (00:02 UTC-07 Tango)/15 Ramadan 1434/01 Mordad 1391/16 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

“We would like to offer our deep apology for causing grave worries for many people, especially for people in Fukushima.”-Ono Masayuki, current general manager of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

Back in May 2013, Tokyo Electric Power Company revealed that test wells dug near the GE designed reactors 1 and 2 at Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant were contaminated with strontium, tritium and cesium.  But TEPCo swore it was not getting into the Pacific Ocean, even though Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said it was.

Today they’ve admitted that indeed the deadly radiation is spilling into the ocean, since April 2013.  That still contradicts with officials from the NRA who say that radiation has been flooding the ocean since the nuke melt downs back in March 2011 (as I’ve been warning)!!!

TEPCo also revealed that radiation levels in the Pacific Ocean had indeed been increasing since 2011, and are still increasing!

But wait, there’s more!  TEPCo even held an emergency meeting with area fishermen, telling them to stop fishing!  Sato Hiroyuki, a member of the fisheries cooperative in Soma City, told the news media that the meeting was “substantially different” than past meetings with TEPCo.  He said it was the worst news he ever heard, essentially the area’s fishing industry has been destroyed.  Nozaki Tetsu, chairman of Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, said simply “It was quite shocking…”

Here’s the amazing thing, TEPCo still doesn’t know, for sure, where the contaminated ground water is coming from. With today’s announcement they suspect Reactor 1 is the source.  Here’s a clue, it’s called China Syndrome: The GE designed Reactor 1 not only melted down, but melted right through the ground into the local aquifer!

TEPCo is so desperate to stop the now deadly groundwater from getting into the Pacific Ocean they are now injecting a chemical resin 14 meters (46 feet) deep into the ground.  They hope the chemical will solidify the ground, making a subterranean wall 90 meters (295 feet) long.

Get this, the area where they’re trying to inject the underground wall is so radioactive that workers are exposed to 200 microseverts per hour.  That means that in five hours a person is exposed to the equivalent of one year’s worth of radiation!  Last week TEPCo revealed that at least 2000 employees have been exposed to enough radiation to cause thyroid cancer!  TEPCo hopes to get their resin underground wall completed by the middle of August.

On 18 July 2013, steam was observed coming from the damaged Reactor 3.  TEPCo employees said the steam was noticed for several hours.  A rain storm had gone through during the night, and TEPCo officials admitted that even two years later, the reactor containment vessel is still hot enough to turn rain into steam!  Radiation levels are so high in and around Reactor 3 that TEPCo has to use robots to remove tsunami debris.

The situation has upset Japan’s newly elected nationalistic parliament.  Senior vice industry minister, Akaba Kazuyoshi, criticized TEPCo for being always one step behind: “TEPCo’s actions seem too slow, and they don’t live up to our expectations.”

Ignorant TEPCo officials are still publicly insisting that the impact on the environment is minimal (even after what they told local fishermen)!

International

World War 3, Asian Front-Afghanistan, 07-08 July 2013: Corrupt U.S. contractor refuses to pay Afghan sub-contractors!

Major battles in Maidan Wardak, Kabul, Kunar, Jawzjan, Nangarhar, Baghlan, Kunduz, Faryab, Uruzgan, Logar, Ghazni, Farah, Helmand and Paktia provinces.  Mujahideen claim they killed 30 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers.  Afghan government officials claim they killed 100 Mujahideen.  Afghan government officials added that U.S./NATO air strikes were called in.

In Parwan Province, Bagram airbase, reports that two groups of ANA soldiers turned their guns on each other.  Three people killed, several wounded.

In Maidan Wardak Province, Sayed Abad District, Mujahideen say they destroyed 19 supply vehicles and killed 14 people.  Mujahideen say their ambush of the U.S./NATO supply convoy took place at several points through out the district.  One engagement lasted three hours. One Mujahid killed, one wounded.

Afghan Major-General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, admits that Mujahideen numbers have increased by 15%.  He says there are at least 5000 Mujahideen in seven southeastern provinces.  He also says there are increased foreign fighters helping the Mujahideen, mainly from Pakistan and Chechnya.

In Kandahar Province, an Afghan interpreter who was working with U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) was arrested in connection to the kidnapping and torture deaths of Afghan civilians.  U.S. SOF was behind the war crimes, a mass grave was found next to an abandoned U.S. SOF base, which contained the bodies of some of the kidnapped Afghans.  Afghan police say the arrested interpreter is seen in a video taking part in the torture deaths of the victims.

Despite Indian government officials denying Afghanistan lethal military  aid, reports say the two governments are still in discussions for India “to contribute lethal weapons” and to “enhance” military cooperation.

Iranian officials say they are holding political discussions with the government of Afghanistan: “There are issues over which Tehran and Kabul need to regularly hold talks and be in touch about them. General relations between the two countries will be discussed…”-Abbas Araqchi, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs

In Ghazni Province, Deh Yak District, two people killed, and three people wounded, including the provincial high peace council chief, when a remote detonated bomb exploded.  In Khogyani District, Mujahideen claim to have killed 19 U.S./NATO/ISAF troops during an ambush of a military convoy.  In Maqur District, reports that NATO/Afghan forces conducted a home invasion, killing three people.

In Baghlan Province, Burqa District, reports that NATO/Afghan forces raided a Madrasa and kidnapped three students.

After announcing big funding for Afghanistan, Norway is now backing off.  Norwegian officials are now using the excuse of failed Afghan reforms to get out of promised taxpayer funding for the Afghan government: “Norwegian authorities note with disappointment the slow and uneven progress that has characterized the follow-up to the commitments made.”

More proof the corruption is on the U.S. side: In Kabul Province, Kabul city, Afghan civilians protested the U.S. owned contractor Supreme Group.  The Afghans work for a subcontractor called Afghan Mansoor Jalal Logistics and Transportation Company (MLC).  The subcontractor says Supreme Group is refusing to pay them!  The owners of MLC says Supreme Group owes them $20 million USD!  Supreme Group is a U.S. taxpayer funded contractor providing logistical support to military units.  Supreme Group is also involved in a no-bid contract scandal involving military food supply.

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

Corporate Martial Law: Hewlett Packard & NEC announce data spying & storage deal!

22 July 2013 (12:26 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Ramadan 1434/31 Tir 1391/15 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

Japan’s computer giant, NEC, announced a data storage deal with Hewlett Packard (HP).  Initial reports say they will develop small servers that can analyze and store large amounts of data.

Officials with NEC admit they and HP are trying to jump on the government/corporate domestic spy, I mean data collection business, being referred to as the promising field of “big data analysis”.

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 08 May 2013. U.S. education going down the toilet! No more Applebees in Chicago!

In New York, CA Technologies laying off 1200 employees!  Company officials said the layoffs were needed “…to rebalance its resources to better align with its business priorities.”

Another company involved with domestic spying, VMware, laying off 800 employees!  The company is connected to EMC.

In Pennsylvania, Honeywell Processes Solutions shutting down its York factory.  160 people unemployed!  Company officials say it’s necessary to stay competitive.  Helping people lose weight not paying off for Skinny Nutritional.  They’re now bankrupt.  Company officials are blaming a Too Big to Jail financier for failing to come through on a major loan.

In New Jersey, more than 200 people out-o-work with the Camden City Public Schools!  They’ve also ended their lunch aide program.  Since March, the school system is under direct control of the state government.  School employees said the state gave no explanation for the layoffs.

In Louisiana, Delgato Community College laid off 115 employees and cut 15 programs!  The college laid off people back in February.  School officials said they were short $8 million USD, after state officials forced the college to pay $10 million into state retirement funds (similar to what the U.S. Congress has done with the Postal Service).

The Tucson Unified School District laying off 187 people in Arizona!  School officials say they’re short $17 million, caused by declining enrollment and reduced funding!

What automotive industry recovery? In Illinois, Bridgestone laid off 23 people at their Bloomington-Normal factory.  Officials with the tire maker blamed crashing sales of off road tires.  Also, Applebees said it is closing eight restaurants in Chicago!  The company is bankrupt!

The Centerville, Ohio, Talegators sports bar shut down.  It’s being replaced with a crappy McDonald’s ‘restaurant’.

In Wisconsin, after 80 years of business the River Bend Shoe Center closed.  The owners blamed internet competition.  And the Yonkers store in the Rapids Mall shut down.  45 people laid off.  Box maker RockTenn closed its Milwaukee factory.  69 people out-o-work.

Office Depot announced it would close down in South County, Missouri.

In North Dakota, local news media reminded everyone that the Jamestown Kmart will close, despite the oil boom.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Economic Recovery for Pocatello? Where’s everybody gone to?

22 July 2013 (23:07 UTC-07 Tango 21 July 2013)/14 Ramadan 1434/31 Tir 1391/15 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

Click pics to make bigger

Back before gas prices went over three bucks per gallon, the main drag through Pocatello and Chubbuck, Idaho, Yellowstone Avenue (aka State Highway 91) was a busy place even on Sundays.  But in the past few years traffic has dramatically declined on both Saturday and Sunday.

The intersection of Yellowstone and Alameda, in Pocatello, is usually the busiest section during the week.  Last month one of my daughters (graduated Pocatello High School) paid a visit from Boise and was shocked at the reduction of even the work day traffic on Yellowstone.

This Sunday, 21 July 2013, was the most ghost townish I’d ever seen Pocatello and Chubbuck.

International, U.S.

World War 3, Africa Front: The U.S. Empire Beast gets bigger! How is the U.S. taxpayer funding this?

22 July 2013 (22:25 UTC-07 Tango 21 July 2013)/14 Ramadan 1434/31 Tir 1391/15 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) will begin war games with South Africa later this week.  At least 5000 personnel will be involved.

South African Navy (SAN) Captain, Jaco Theunissen, explained the purpose: “We are exercising to do a human support intervention….where you will fight against rebel groups.”

Captain Theunissen also stated that military medical units are training to provide healthcare on a large scale to civilian populations in war environments.  In other words, the United States and its empirical allies are definitely using the military as “international aid agencies”, as stated concerning the current massive war games with Australia.

Medical “human support intervention” is already underway in Liberia, called Operation Onward Liberty (OOL).  According to AFRICOM, OOL has been ongoing since 2010.  U.S. Air Force Major, Joshua Latham, revealed the goal is to take OOL outside of Liberia: “…then you can begin operations to serve other people, whether it be other nations or individuals….”

A former commander of AFRICOM supports the creation of the precedent setting UN combat brigade known as Intervention Brigade: “….the Intervention Brigade is, as I believe it is postured to be, is an element of MONUSCO, I think that’s the right structure….I do think that the force is necessary.”-General Carter Ham, U.S. Army

General Ham stated that it was the African Union that asked for the U.S. to get involved: “We were asked by Africans to support an African-led activity….”

Ham also said “….we don’t go anywhere or do anything which we have not been invited by the host-nation government.”  Yet, an African reporter with the Mail and Guardian countered by stating “…most other countries are hostile politically to AFRICOM…”

AFRICOM now has a special operations force called Commander’s In-Extremis Force.  It’s being used a a type of rapid reaction force.   Another African reporter questioned the possible redundancy of AFRICOM: “….doesn’t it seem that AFRICOM is duplicating everything, similar exercises of other [U.S.] agencies that are on the continent, because there are loads of these agencies.  So isn’t AFRICOM duplicating with planned session of exercises….?”

Ham responded by saying that budget constraints make it difficult to operate redundant missions.  This led to another reporter asking “….with all the budget cuts happening in the States, is AFRICOM likely to survive?”

Ham ensured them that AFRICOM was not going to killed by the bad economy in the States, but will make adjustments as necessary.  According to AFRICOM, U.S. taxpayers fund the operation to the tune of about $275 million USD per year (which is actually cheap compared to other U.S. military operations).  But how can the U.S. government fund any military operations when it’s bank is busted?  (Afghan opium anyone?)

The General admitted the U.S. is competing, maybe even cooperating with China for resources in Africa: “…we are competing for economic position.  I think we’re competing for influence…….we’ve kind of chosen different paths to achieve our goals.  But….I wouldn’t characterize it….as any type of adversarial relationship.”

The now retired General Ham said to keep your eyes on South Africa, Botswana, Angola and Zimbabwe.

International, U.S.

World War 3: Massive U.S.-Australian war games, aimed at China? Your tax dollars aimed at Australia, for the benefit of the Elites!

21 July 2013 (11:40 UTC-07 Tango)/13 Ramadan 1434/30 Tir 1391/14 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

“War isn’t about making peace, war is terror.”-Robin Taubenfeld, protestor

The biannual Talisman Sabre war games are underway, and there’ve been problems.  Last week two bombed up USMC Harriers were unable to drop their load on the intended target, due to uncleared “hazards” on the ground, so they unloaded them on the Great Barrier Reef.  The planes were low on fuel, and their training bombs could have prevented a safe landing.

This year’s Talisman Sabre games are reported to be the biggest yet, with about 28000 U.S. and Australian personnel taking part (don’t waste your time trying to get an accurate headcount, I’ve seen several different Aussie and U.S. reports with numbers that differ by several thousand).  USN officials say they invited China to take part, but big whoop, they’ve always invited China to the party, at least since 2009!

At the end of last year some Australian news sources reported that the Talisman Sabre games are directed against China. But one USN official said the U.S. actually wants to make China a partner in dominating the region: “I think it would be misguided to say its focused on any one country, what it’s focused on is increasing the stability in the region and thereby increasing the prosperity. People are going to more willing to invest their money and commit to a region if they know stability is there.“-Vice Admiral Scott Swift, U.S. Navy

(so this is proof the U.S. military is the tool of the elites because, after all, who has the money to throw away on investing into an entire region of the World?)

Australia might be playing off the U.S. and China, it’s been revealed that Australian military leaders have been discussing the possibility of their own war games with China.  But the real reason the U.S., and the country formerly known as New Holland, want to play ‘army’ with China is simple: “We need to know the Chinese……”-General David Hurley, Australian Defence Force

One Aussie news source said “Brigadier Bob Brown says the exercise is also used to prepare…..international aid agencies for humanitarian crisis.”  Mmmm, what international aid agencies?   Are the western elites trying to portray their militaries as ‘aid agencies’?

For the people of Queensland the war games are being called a “rocket” booster for their ailing economy, at the expense of taxpayers: “Tens of millions of dollars is injected into the local economy via accommodation, via cafes, restaurants and food outlets, the retail sector as well as the supply chain.”-Mary Carroll, Capricorn Enterprise

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Economic recovery for Pocatello? Some things aren’t as they appear!

20 July 2013 (17:48 UTC-07 Tango)/12 Ramadan 1434/29 Tir 1391/13 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711
Click the pics to make bigger

International, U.S.

False Flag (?) Bio-War: Confirmation, malaria vaccine causes U.S. soldier to massacre Afghan civilians!

20 July 2013 (15:24 UTC-07 Tango)/12 Ramadan 1434/29 Tir 1391/13 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

“The company [Roche] assessed the event of Homicide as medically significant.”-Case ID: 8504150, FDA-Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS)

In March 2012, United Kingdom news media reported that U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales had been under the influence of a controversial malaria vaccine when he supposedly killed at least 16 Afghan civilians in their homes (Afghans insist there was more than one U.S. soldier involved) .  Then, at the beginning of July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed the British reports!

According to the FDA, at the end of March 2012 a pharmacist filed a Adverse Event report.  The vaccine/treatment used on Bales is Mefloquine Hydrochloride (aka Lariam, Mephaquin or Mefliam).  It’s made by a company called Roche.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine there are numerous bad side effects of the drug, including “Feeling confused….Seeing or hearing unusual things….Unusual behavior or thoughts of hurting or killing others or oneself.”

Bales attorney says he has military records showing Bales was given Lariam: “We know that he was given Lariam while in Iraq.  We just don’t have a complete set of medical records…..He can’t help us. He just says he took ‘whatever they gave me.’”-John Henry Browne

Having spent time in the military I can confirm that it is common for personnel to not question military medical officials.

Remington Nevin, a former U.S. Army doctor, says the Army’s own studies showed the vaccine to be dangerous, and ordered that it not be given to personnel who had suffered head wounds.  The Army also ordered the documentation of the administration of the drug.  Nevin says both orders were routinely ignored.

On 17 January 2012 the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Joathan Woodson, made this admission: “Some deploying service members have been provided mefloquine for malaria prophylaxis without appropriate documentation…and without proper screening….not all individuals have been provided the required mefloquine medication guide and wallet information card, as required by the Food and Drug Administration.”

It was Remington Nevin, along with The Military Times, that used the Freedom of Information Act to force the FDA to reveal the March 2012 Adverse Event report.  The Adverse Event was first reported to the drug maker Roche.  Officials with Roche thought it severe enough to forward to the FDA: “We took a look at it, and we decided we needed to submit it.”-Chris Vancheri, Genentech/Roche Group

Note that the Assistant Secretary of Defense statement was made two months prior to the Adverse Event report.