Tag Archives: tea party

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

Political Incompetence & Corporate Evil: Christian/Mormon Mitt Romney co-founded Bain Capital, which has been destroying jobs since 1984! Destroyed jobs in Chubbuck, Idaho. Demise of KB Toys connected to Toys “R” Us

“Mitt Romney’s history at Bain Capital is not going to help his image as a job creator.  Now, we want to disclose that NBC Universal and Bain Capital are each a part owner of the Weather Channel.  Bain Capital’s main business model is buying companies like American Pad and Paper and restructuring [industry code for ‘slash and burn’] them.  In many instances, Bain turned a profit by strip mining these companies.  American,  AMPAD is what it’s known, the stock was driven down [on purpose by Romney, I explain a little further in the article] and the company went bankrupt.  They fired hundreds of workers along the way.”-Ed Shultz, MSNBC

MSNBC is admitting that a company affiliated with NBC, Bain Capital  co-founded by Mitt Romney, has been destroying jobs, not creating jobs as Romney claims.

In 1984 Romney co-founded Bain Capital, which grew out of Bain & Company.  The soul purpose of the company is to buy out other companies, then gut them and sell them off piece by piece. Of course this means jobs are destroyed.

Interestingly, back in October, MSNBC’s Ed Shultz actually downplayed Romney’s connection to Bain Capital.  He and some of his guests, stated that a photo published in the Boston Globe was fake: “…it’s probablly a joke photo.”

Now Ed Shultz is backpedaling.  He, along with other MSNBC anchors and reporters, are revealing that Bain Capital has been behind many of the job loses in this country since the late 1980s!

The New York Times reported that Romney left Bain Capital in 1999, but, as part of his ‘retirement package’ is making money off their continued slashing and burning of U.S. jobs.  According to the article, Romney, 13 years after leaving Bain Capital, is still making millions of dollars off his retirement package!

old kb toys pine ridge mall

Former location of KB Toys, Pine Ridge Mall, Chubbuck, Idaho

Anybody remember KB Toys? I do. I was an employee of the Chubbuck, Idaho, Pine Ridge Mall at the time they closed down the KB Toys store in that mall. By 2004 KB Toys went bankrupt and 3,400 people lost their jobs! Guess what, one of Bain Capital’s affiliated companies was behind that!!!

pine ridge mall

Fading Pine Ridge Mall, Chubbuck, Idaho

Oh, and what about Romney’s connection to Massachusetts? Romney ‘retired’ from Bain Capital in 1999.  The Bain Capital partnership took over KB Toys in 2000.  KB Toys is headquartered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Romney became governor of Massachusetts in 2002.  In 2003 the Bain Capital partnership started shutting down KB Toys stores. Mmmm, connection?

Here are some more examples of deals that resulted in job losses at the hands of Romney’s Bain Capital (and affiliated companies like Holson Burnes Group): Clear Channel Communications, 2,500 job cuts.

Photo album factory in South Carolina, 150 jobs lost.

Sensata Technologies, a European company with U.S. operations, several hundred U.S. employees lost their jobs.

American Pad & Paper, or AMPAD, lost 185 jobs.

The case of AMPAD reveals how Romney’s Bain Capital works.  They buy up companies in the same market, then they whittle them down until there is only one or two in the market, who then become big money makers by default.  AMPAD’s competitor was Staples. Romney touts Staples as a good example of his management skills, but what the Boston Globe found out (and reported in a 2007 article) is that Romney simply bought out competitors and shut them down until Staples was just about the only game left in town.

Now how about the KB Toys deal? KB Toys and Toys “R” Us were the top toy stores in the United States.  A company connected to Bain Capital buys out KB Toys and shuts them down.  What about Toys “R” Us? Yes there’s a Bain Capital connection.  In 2005, one year after the KB Toys bankruptcy, Toys “R” Us was taken over by KKR Group, Vornado Realty Trust and Bain Capital for $6.6 billion!  In 2009 Toys “R” Us takes over what is left of KB Toys; website, trademarks, and intellectual property rights.  Mmmm, you seeing the pattern?

This goes against the principle of the free hand of capitalist competition.  The jobs lost because companies went out of business were not actually due to any ‘poor’ performance of the employees, or lack of sales, but because the ‘investors’ Romney & Co wanted it that way!

Also, Bain Capital works the same way the rest of Corporate America does, they don’t use their own money to take over companies, they take out huge loans from the too big to fail banks that got taxpayer bailouts!

One report said Romney’s “investments” have resulted in at least 12,000 U.S. jobs lost!  It’s probably more than that, the way Bain Capital and affiliated companies shut down businesses does not result in net jobs gained, but net jobs lost!  Anybody remember Oliver Stone’s 1987 movie Wall Street?

Opinion: MITT ROMNEY CONSTITUTIONALLY INCOMPETENT. RELIGION BASED MARRIAGE LAW WILL VIOLATE CONSTITUTION.

Washington DC BS: MITT’S MYSTERY MONEY NOT EXPLAINED BY LATEST ADMISSIONS

Fukushima

Government Incompetence & What Economic Recovery? Think your taxes are bad here in the U.S.? Try 45% income tax and 10% sales tax, welcome to Japan!

The Japanese government is about to raise taxes on its already struggling population.  This after Japanese unemployment hit record high levels.

The national government is pushing for an increase in income tax, from the current 40% to 45%!  They want to push their low national sales tax from the current 5% to 10% by October 2015 (still low by European standards).

The reason is to raise money to help pay for reconstruction of areas hit by the quake/tsunami, and to help with deal with the ongoing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  I suspect that in the long run these tax hikes will only reduce consumer spending, helping to drive even more Japanese businesses away from Japan (that’s the reason for their record high unemployment).

The national government (the Diet) will vote on the tax reform plans after March 2012.

Fukushima

Global Food Crisis and Government & Corporate Incompetence: Fish catch down 70% off the coast of Fukushima, U.S. FDA misleads!

Fish catches, off the coast lines of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures, is down 70%.  That’s from the beginning of April 2011 to the beginning of October 2011, compared to the same time last year.

Those three prefectures are the main fishing grounds for the local Japanese fishing industry.

The reasons are a combination of tsunami damage to ports (especially Miyagi, which was literally wiped out), and radiation contamination caused by Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.  Most fishermen had voluntarily stopped fishing over radiation concerns, but some continued to fish, only to find out a lot of their catch was contaminated after it arrived at fish markets.

Contrary to the reassuring statements on the U.S. FDA website, there is no standardized Japanese government testing of fish (or any food product) for radiation contamination. Most contamination was (and still is being) found by private citizens groups, or local governments who acted on their own volition.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Health insurance rates in Idaho could go up more than 10%, thank you ObamaCare

Two insurance companies, that are part of Milwaukee based Assurant Health, have notified that Idaho Department of Insurance, that they will jack up rates by more than 10% in 2012.

Those two operations are John Alden Life Insurance and Time Insurance.  They’ve both filed rate increases of 13%!

This is part of the 2010 health care reforms, commonly known as ObamaCare.  Under the reforms an insurance plan that went into effect after September 1, can be subject to such rate increases.

The 2010 reforms actually allow insurance companies to jack up their rates as long as they can make a convincing case.  Some of the many accepted excuses are age and if you smoke.  Now how is that supposed to keep costs to consumers down?

To find out if your insurance plan (if you even have one) is jacking up your rates you can check companyprofiles.healthcare.gov.

 

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/12/29/1932970/2-idaho-health-insurers-file-rate.html#storylink=cpy

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Verizon will charge you $2 extra when you pay your wireless bill, blame the too big to fail banks

Beginning January 15, 2012, Verizon will charge you and extra $2 when you pay your wireless bill over the phone or online using a debit or credit card.

You can avoid the charge by using an e-check, or signing up for AutoPay.

Verizon officials say the charge is to make up for what they are charged by the credit and debit card companies (that’s right, businesses get charged fees every time you use a credit or debit card).

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Sears post partial list of store closings. Idaho, Oregon, Colorado & Washington makes the list

It’s only been two days since Sears Holdings announced they were closing up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores, and now they have named 79 of those stores.

I already explained why their Chubbuck and Pocatello, Idaho stores could be closed.

Sears store in Lewiston Center Mall, Lewiston, Idaho, makes this initial list of 79 closings.  The list does not provide details on any timeline for closing.

Some regional media sources have stated that other stores in the area “escaped” the list, however the list is only 79 of as many as 120 total closings (and it could be more).

Other Pacific Northwest Sears stores that made this early list are in Roseburg, Oregon, Longmont, Colorado and Walla Walla, Washington.  Also, the Kmarts in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and Spokane, Washington will be closed.

Also, a Sears store in Denver, Colorado, that was formerly a Kmart store, will be converted back into a Kmart store.

You can find out more by going to www.searsholdings.com and looking under their media tools section.

 

International, U.S.

Scotland moving fast towards independence from England, independence from NATO, could join Nordic Alliance, yet still be led by the Queen? The Royal Nordic Alliance is a revival of the Hanseatic League, and they’ve got big plans!

“The Scottish Government will of course publish a white paper in advance of the referendum, detailing independence, including the new relationship of equality with England, such as the Queen remaining as our head of state, and this will be the positive platform for Scotland’s future that people will be asked to approve.”-Scottish government statement

In an article found in the Scotsman, Scottish officials are working fast on legislation that would not only free them from the English tyranny but create their own military force.

Plans could also include leaving NATO in favor of a military partnership with the recently created Nordic Alliance. The Nordic Alliance is currently made up of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Despite what some bloggers say about Scotland not being Nordic, a check of Scottish history proves a direct connection with Nordic peoples (and lets not forget the even older pan-European Celtic peoples).

However, it’s now clear that while Scotland wants independence from England, it does still want to be part of the Monarchy. I don’t base that on just the official Scottish government statement, but the fact is that the current members of the Nordic Alliance are monarchies, with direct ties to the Queen of England.

So much for Scottish Independence.  In fact, this whole “independence” movement in Scotland could just be part of bigger plans to create a grand Royal Nordic Alliance, with the Queen of England in charge.

According to the HeraldScotland it’s all about money and control. Their article calls it a Scottish-Nordic financial institution that will eventually include Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and possibly  Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.  These regions were all part of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages.

This new Nordic Alliance is part of an anti-government, pro-privatization (pro-business, modern day feudalism) movement:  “…the public sector is failing to engage with this [business, private] sector when it comes to procurement. There is also a serious funding gap, both the difficulty of obtaining ‘micro’ credit from banks and the total absence of any ‘microinvestment mechanism’.”-Anne-Grethe Eckman, Nordic Enterprise Trust

Supporters of the Nordic Alliance movement claim they are doing this for the good of small/micro businesses. They point to the fact that governments seem only interested in helping big businesses. That sounds good, but the major problem I have is the connection of the Nordic Alliance to the monarchies of northern Europe, like the Queen of England. History shows that the little guy always suffers by the hands of Royalty.

I also wonder if this Nordic Alliance movement is also part of a conspiracy to take down the European Union and replace it with a more corporate/private sector centered system.  (research Club of Rome, Trilateral Commission and Bilderberg)

International, Technology

Military Incompetence: Russian Delta class Nuclear submarine on fire in Arctic

The Russian Emergency Ministry is reporting that a K-84 type nuclear powered submarine is on fire, after wooden scaffolding around the sub caught fire.

The Delta class sub is in a shipyard in the Murmansk region.  Crews are currently trying to put out the fire.  The Emergency Ministry says radiation levels are normal, the fire is external and so far is not affecting the reactor inside the sub.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? New York Times sells off 16 regional newspapers to sinister foreign company, hundreds of layoffs planned

“The sale of our Regional Media Group will enable The New York Times Company to continue our transformation to a multi-platform media company and further sharpen our focus on the development of our brands nationally, globally and in the northeastern U.S.”-New York Times, memo to employees

The New York Times has been in business since 1851, it even survived the Great Depression, now it has sold off its Regional Media Group to raise much needed cash!  But was it for economic reasons?

Late December 27, the New York Times announced it made a deal to sell Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings (aka Halifax Media Group), for $143 million in cash.

Regional Media Group consists of 16 regional newspapers and other related businesses.  Those newspapers and other publishing businesses are spread from the southeastern U.S. to California.

Halifax Media Holdings is reportedly a foreign company, but is listed as based in Florida. The State of Florida’s Division of Corporations says Halifax Media Holdings didn’t register with them until October 2009.  Since the news of the deal was first leaked last week, Halifax Media Holdings removed their website from the internet (website was listed as Halifax Media Group)!

Even though the State of Florida shows Halifax Media registering in October 2009, the Daytona Beach News Journal (owned by Halifax Media) claims the corporation was founded in 2010: “Founded in 2010, Halifax Media is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. The company’s investment group includes Stephens Capital Partners LLC, Jaarsss Media, and Redding Investments. Halifax’s strategy is to invest long-term capital in quality companies positioned in strong markets that are closely connected to the community.”  

The various forms of company names using ‘Halifax Media’ in the title adds to the sinisterness.  There is also a Halifax Media Co-op in Nova Scotia, Canada, which began in February 2009.  It claims to be part of a grassroots socialist media movement started by The Dominion News Cooperative in 2003.

The Dominion News Cooperative does not have any corporate headquarters, they are decentralized and operate ‘guerrilla’ style.  They claim to be anti-corporation which would make them unlikely to be part of the Halifax Media Group.  However their stated purpose of conducting media operations at grass roots level is similar to the Halifax Media Group’s desire to take over media operations “…that are closely connected to the community.”

Whether or not Halifax Media Holdings (aka Halifax Media Group, aka Halifax Media Acquisition) is connected to Halifax Media Co-op, it’s interesting that since 2009 (when Halfax Media Co-op started in Canada) this secretive, possibly foreign controlled corporation, has been quietly buying up U.S. newspaper publishers.

Halifax Media has also given warning to the hundreds of employees of Regional Media Group.  The Atlantic published an article with the full New York Times memo to its employees, which include statements like:“…you will be notified within the next 48 hours whether the buyer will be offering you employment. The New York Times Company has not been involved in that decision.”

Also, in the official New York Times memo, company officials stated they did not put Regional Media Group up for sale, it was Halifax Media that came to them demanding to buy it: “While it [the sale of Regional Media Group] was not planned, we were approached by Halifax Media Holdings LLC.”

Mmmm

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Rick Snyder proves who he works for; Corporate America, not you! Unemployed workers are screwed over while Corporations get more tax breaks!

Tied for “Most Unpopular Governor in the United States”, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, along with the State’s Legislature, proved who they really represent; Corporate America.

For 2011 Synder has signed into law, bills passed by Michigan’s lawmakers, which favor corporations and attack unemployed people!

Those laws cut unemployment assistance from a maximum of 26 weeks down to 20 weeks.  Some unemployed people will get only a maximum of 10 weeks of assistance!!!

At the same time corporations operating in Michigan now get at least $1.7 billion in new tax breaks!!!  That about $30 in new corporate tax breaks for every one dollar cut from Michigan’s social services.

If you think about it, how is cutting corporate taxes by far more than what you cut from government programs gonna help the state government’s budget problems?