Tag Archives: health

International, U.S.

World War 3: German embassy burning! Obama asks YouTube to remove anti-Islam movie trailer. United Nations outposts attacked! New wall being erected around embassy in Egypt! Obama says U.S. empire will not retreat from World! Iran says this is last days for Zionists!

“The United States of America will never retreat from the world!”-Barack Obama, President of the United States

14 September 2012, Egyptian police are erecting an Israeli style concrete wall around the U.S. embassy!

Egyptian nomads take over UN Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) compound in the Sinai. Two Colombians and one Egyptian soldier wounded.

Reports say the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood actually canceled planned protests!

The German embassy in Sudan is on fire!  Despite U.S. media claims that no protestors entered the U.S. embassy, an unnamed embassy staffer admitted such when they said: “They were all expelled. They didn’t get far.”

The Obama administration is asking YouTube to investigate the possibility that the Innocence of Muslims preview violates YouTube posting policies.

Another protestor killed in Yemen!

“I am confident that Zionists are goners and the world will be freed from their existence and justice will be established!”-Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran

 

 

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfires, Pocatello Tanker Base: 13 September 2012, Sikorsky & USMC in town

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Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 12 SEPTEMBER 2012: ANOTHER SMOKEY DAY, MORE AIR TANKERS ARRIVE AT POCATELLO TANKER BASE. EVACUATIONS IN EFFECT!

Business/Economics, U.S.

Class Warfare & What Economic Recovery? Federal Reserve says the U.S. is doomed? Implements QE3 out of desperation!

“Fewer than half of the eight million jobs lost in the recession have been restored……If the fiscal cliff isn’t addressed, as I’ve said, I don’t think our tools are strong enough to offset the effects of a major fiscal shock….”-Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve (the privately run Central Bank of the United States)

13 September 2012, while the Federal Reserve was issuing harsh warnings about the lack of economic recovery, the U.S. Department of labor reported that weekly first time unemployment applications went up by 15,000 people!

In an act of utter desperation, the Federal Reserve announced they will implement a third round of easy money for the Too Big to Fail banks, known as QE3.  Recent reports out of the United Kingdom revealed that quantitative easing does not help the overall economy, it only makes the super rich richer!

The U.S. Central Bank said it would inject cash into the markets by attempting to buy $40 billion USD worth  “…of agency mortgage backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases and employ its other policy tools as appropriate….” every month!

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.”-James 5:1-3, New International Version of the Bible

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfire Update, 12 September 2012: Another smokey day, more air tankers arrive at Pocatello Tanker Base. Evacuations in effect!

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12 September 2012

“Large fires Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho made significant acreage gains over the past 24 hours. In Washington, the Barker Canyon Complex burned more than 75,000 acres, and the Apache Pass fire burned 10,000. The Dutch fire in Montana grew by nearly 16,000 acres, and the Mustang fire in Idaho burned an additional 8,400 acres. About 14,500 firefighters and support personnel are currently assigned to large fires across the country.”-National Interagency Fire Center statement

There haven’t been any new fires reported in eastern Idaho, but there are still major fires burning throughout the state, and region.  More privately run air tankers have landed at Pocatello Tanker Base (Pocatello airport), including a second BAe-146-200; tanker 40 of Montana’s Neptune Aviation (leased from Tronos in Canada).

Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

There are now nine large fires burning throughout Idaho.

Halstead Fire: More than 150,000 acres (60,702.8 hectares), evacuations in effect.

McGuire Complex Fire: More than 25,000 acres (10,117.14 hectares), evacuations are in effect.

Mustang Complex Fire: More than 289,000 acres (116,954.15 hectares), area closures are in effect.

Porcupine Complex Fire: More than 17,800 acres (7,203.4 hectares).

Powell SBW Complex Fire: More than 42,000 acres (16,996.79 hectares), area closures are in effect.

Sheep Fire: More than 21,600 acres (8,741.2 hectares), evacuations are in effect.

Skull Fire: New fire 35 miles northeast of Roundup.

Trinity Ridge Fire: More than 146,500 acres (59,286.44 hectares), area closures are in effect.

Wesley Fire: More than 3,800 acres (1,537.8 hectares), residences are threatened.

IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 11 SEPTEMBER 2012: MORE CANADIAN AIRCRAFT ARRIVE AT POCATELLO

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Record number of U.S. citizens cash out of Too Big to Fail banks!

12 September 2012, in a survey conducted with the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC, an unregulated/independent government agency) discovered that by June 2011 nearly 10 million people quit using banks!  24 million have reduced their use of banks!

The survey is called the second National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. The first survey was done in 2009.

1 in 12 households are no longer using banks.  That’s an increase of 821,00 since 2009.

1 in 5 households have reduced their use of banks. That’s a rate of 20.1%, in 2009 it was 18.2%.

29.3% canceled savings accounts.  10% do not have checking accounts.

People are using alternative financial services (AFS) such as money orders or  check cashing services.

The reasons for cashing out of banks are varied, ranging from being upset at how the banks are being managed to being denied a bank account because of a bad credit/account history.

And he causesth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell…

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfire Update, 11 September 2012: More Canadian aircraft arrive at Pocatello; BAe 146. U.S. capitalist aviation companies can’t handle the competition?

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11 September 2012, a large and new firefighting aircraft has been seen flying in and out of Pocatello airport (Pocatello Tanker Base) the past few days.  It’s a British Aerospace (BAe) 146 flown by Neptune Aviation of Montana (leased from Tronos in Canada).

Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

The use of the BAe 146 has been delayed in the United States, due to complaints filed by U.S. aviation companies that do not want the competition from the 146.  The disputes are being reviewed by the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO).

The latest update is that Neptune Aviation’s tanker 41 has been given a contract to help fight the fires, from 01 September to 09 November 2012.

IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 10 SEPTEMBER 2012:

….and tanker 40. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

CANADA JOINS THE FIGHT AT POCATELLO TANKER BASE!

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Sharp makes deeper cuts than originally planned, blame the Too Big to Fail banks!

11 September 2012, Japan’s Sharp Corporation revealed that the economic situation is worse than they first thought.  They are now cutting wages, salaries and bonuses even more than they first planned.

Sharp will now layoff 5,000 employees by March 2013, the first time since the 1950s!

Workers will get a 5% cut in pay, up from the planned 3% cut.  Managers will get a 10% cut in salaries, on top of the 5% cut back in April!  In June bonuses were cut by 30%, and will be cut again under Sharp’s new plans.

The reason for the new and increased cuts is to hopefully make banks happy, as Sharp needs new huge loans to continue operations!

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Global Food Crisis & What Economic Recovery? Despite record Ag exports, many East Idaho farmers being done in by drought more than a decade on! New version of Tale of Two Cities

10 September 2012, officially Idaho’s drought began in the Gregorian/Western/Christian calender year of 2000. It’s still on 12 years later!

According to the latest drought data, the Eastern Highlands of Idaho are in “severe drought”, while the Upper Snake River plain is suffering “extreme drought”.  The rest of Idaho is in moderately dry to moderately wet.

Across the United States, the worst drought in at least 50 years is helping to keep commodity speculators bidding high for the food we eat.

Click on pics to make bigger.

Recently a joint report by National Public Radio (NPR) and Idaho media sources, explained how the drought in Idaho is becoming a Tale of Two Cities.

In Idaho you have what’s called dry farming and irrigated farming. Dry farmers don’t have access to year round irrigation, they have to rely on rain.

Despite the 12 year drought, there’s still enough water in rivers and aquifers for the irrigated farms. Keep fingers crossed for more snow this winter!

The dry farmers are losing crops and money, the irrigated farms are growin’ big crops and makin’ big money.

Because of the panicking commodity speculators, crop prices are way up, and even though dry farms are losing out, overall crop production is up in Idaho: “We dumped 325 trucks yesterday which is roughly 175,000 bushels. That’s a lot of wheat.”-John Peake, superintendent General Mills grain elevators in American Falls, Idaho

Peake said the lack of crops from dry farms will have no impact on Idaho crop production, but it sucks to be a dry farmer: “I mean, being a dry land farmer in southeast Idaho is a tough deal. It was a windy year, it was hot early.  It was just a tough year to be a dry land farmer.”

So the moral of this tale is that while overall crop production might be down for the whole of the U.S., having plenty of farms with enough water to weather a drought means that the Idaho agricultural industry, overall, will benefit from the higher commodity prices.  No food shortage in Idaho, so far.

Idaho, Technology

Idaho Wildfire Update, 10 September 2012: Canada joins the fight at Pocatello Tanker Base!

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10 September 2012, the smoke just won’t go away, ’cause fires just keep poppin’ up!  So far, the year to date fire retardant used by fire fighting aircraft out of Pocatello airport (aka Pocatello Tanker Base) is 261,797 gallons (991,009.4 liters).

Little “seeders” 802 Air Tractors are the backbone of airborne firefighting operations out of Pocatello airport, but Neptunes, MAFFS C-130s and now Convair CV580 operated by CONAIR of Canada, are making appearances at the tanker base.

Click pics (by AAron B. Hutchins) to make bigger:

According to the National Interagency Fire Center, there are new fires in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Wyoming.  There are currently 34 large wildfires burning through the United States.

Idaho has seven large fires, with 640,881 acres (259,355.3 hectares) burned! California has nine fires, but with fewer burned acres, at 151,988 (61,507.36 hectares).

The most recent fires here in eastern Idaho were the Flint Canyon Fire south of American Falls, West Menan Fire and the Pickering Fire near Rexburg.

Regarding the now notorious Mustang Complex Fire, recently officials said the fire was so hard to get to that it would probably burn until the first heavy snowfall of winter!

The Mustang Complex Fire, burning along the Idaho/Montana border, increased by 20,000 acres (8,093.7 hectares) on 09 September 2012.  Mandatory evacuations were ordered.  The fire is now the single largest in the United States, at 281,000+ acres (113,716.6 hectares)!

EAST IDAHO WILDFIRE UPDATE, 29 AUGUST 2012: BURN AREAS BECOME DUST FARMS. 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Crimes & What Economic Recovery? Capitalist shipping companies level the playing field by bid rigging, price fixing, ripping off troops in Afghanistan and even dumping expensive oil into the oceans!

“Our men and women in uniform overseas deserve the highest level of support provided by fair and honest contractors. As the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to fight procurement fraud demonstrate, those who put profits over the welfare of members of our military will pay a hefty price.”-Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice

09 September 2012, justice officials in Japan, European Union and United States revealed that the capitalist system of shipping is corrupt, big time!

In Japan, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission raided the offices of at least one dozen shipping companies on 06 September.  Investigators say the companies formed a cartel to monopolize the shipping industry.

The companies raided were Japanese and foreign.  Nippon Yusen, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Kawasaki Kisen were among the top Japanese companies publicly named.

However, the EU’s European Commission is refusing to name names, but they had raided several European companies in conjunction with the Japanese raid.

In the United States, investigations of shipping companies, by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) have been ongoing for a long time.

Since January 2012 convictions, and even guilty pleas, have resulted from investigations into shipping companies ripping off U.S. taxpayers regarding the shipment of supplies to U.S. personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq, all the way to dumping petroleum wastes into the oceans.

Those cases include Greece’s Efploia Shipping, Denmark’s Aquarosa Shipping,  Keoje Marine of Korea (south), Denmark’s Maersk Line Limited, Italy’s Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company,  Singapore’s Target Ship Management, and Greece’s Ilios Shipping Company.

Currently, the DoJ is working with European and Japanese investigators, trying to break up cartels that have been formed by shipping companies.  The shipping cartels are accused of price fixing, bid rigging, illegal market allocations, monopolization, attempts to monopolize, predatory pricing, tying arrangements and price discrimination.

The investigations include ground shipping, as well as by sea.  Products being shipped by these cartels include paper products, telecommunications, soft drinks, highway and airport paving, life sciences, health care, furniture, coalbed methane gas and baked goods.