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

What Economic Recovery? British Treasury Boss says economy to stagnate for the next four years!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer/Second Lord of the Treasury, George Osbourne, changed his earlier predictions on the British economy.  Now he says it’s going worse than they thought, despite his political party’s policies which include big tax cuts for corporations, and big spending cuts for social programs: “…this year their output forecast is reduced to 0.6% growth….while less than we would like our growth, this year and next year, is forecast by the IMF [International Monetary Fund] to be higher than France and Germany. It is a reminder that all western nations live in  challenging economic times…the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] then expects the recovery to pick up to 1.8% in 2014, 2.3% in 2015, 2.7% in 2016, and 2.8% in 2017….”

Note that none of the forecasts are at or above the important 3% mark.  Until a country’s economy hits 3% it is not considered to be growing.  Between 0% and 2.9% means stagnation.  So for at least the next four years the British (and other western countries) economy will be a rotting stagnating stinking mess.

Business/Economics, International

Maybe it’s not Norovirus? Maybe it’s those Chinese made chopsticks?

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

It was discovered by a Chinese actor that his cheap chopsticks were actually toxic.  He made the discovery when he tried to wash them and they turned the water yellow, and it smelled bad.

Chinese media asked some industry officials about it and they admitted that there are no controls over the chopstick industry, and that toxic chemicals are used even though they are banned: “Sulphur, hydrogen peroxide, sodium sulfite and mold inhibitor, are chemical substances commonly used to make disposable chopsticks, even though they are not allowed.”-Dong Jinshi, International Food Packaging Association

The Chinese media has been revealing problems with the chopsticks industry since 2010.

International, U.S.

World War 3: UN Security Council approves continued U.S. led occupation of Afghanistan!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The United Nations has unanimously approved the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for at least one more year.  That would mean the UNAMA mission would end in March 2014.

 

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

World War 3: South Korea reporting computer network crashed by hackers!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The Republic of Korea’s National Police Agency is reporting that three major South Korean TV broadcasters and two banks have been the targets of cyber attacks that shut them down. It’s still unknown how it happened, police are investigating.

 

 

Business/Economics, International

World War 3: Cyprus says EU stabbed them in the back, now turning to Russia for help! War over Leviathan!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

In a surprise vote, the Cypriot Parliament rejected the privately funded European Union bailout.  Cypriot politicians said the bank account tax was seen as a stab in the back by the EU.

Others believed it was an attempt by the EU to rape Cypriot banks, which have almost no regulations and a lot of wealthy investors.

There are reports that Cyrpus will now discuss a bailout loan from Russia.  Russian banks and individuals are among those wealthy investors in Cypriot banks.

There are reports that Russia’s Gazprom petroleum corporation has offered a bailout in exchange for control of offshore gas deposits.  Cyprus sits almost in the middle of eastern half of the huge Leviathan petroleum fields in the Mediterranean Sea.

Control over Leviathan is the real reason behind the U.S., European and Israeli backed insurgency in Syria and Lebanon, and efforts to keep Egypt destabilized, as well as Tunis and Libya.

Libya, Tunis, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Greece all border Leviathan. If you look at a map of the Mediterranean, then draw a line straight south from Greece to Libya, the area under the Sea east of that line is Leviathan.  Cyprus going over to the Russians would really screw things up for the west.

U.S. begins Leviathan war games

Business/Economics, International

Too Big to Jail Bank Evil: Cyprus officials refuse bailout, Britain has to fly in cash for their soldiers!

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The Cypriot Parliament has rejected the privately funded bailout plan.  36 politicians voted against it, 19 abstained.  Not one politician voted for it!

The bailout would have placed a high tax on bank accounts, and would have affected individuals and large investors.  Russian officials complained because Russian banks have large accounts in Cyprus and would have had to pay $168 million in taxes!

Over the weekend, Cypriot banks closed down, including their ATMs, because people were rushing to get their cash out. The bank closures not only affected Cypriots but British Red Coats stationed there.

The United Kingdom has what’s called sovereign military bases in Cyprus. The U.K. Defence Ministry confirmed that they’ve flown nearly $1.3 million USD to their British Forces Cyprus personnel. They will also allow personnel to have their paychecks deposited in U.K. based accounts.

Fukushima

TEPCo restores cooling at Fukushima Daiichi

20 March 2013/08 Jumada l-Ula 1434/30 Esfand 1391/09 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Tokyo Electric Power Company claims they’ve restored cooling to spent fuel pools.  They still are not sure what caused the outside electric supply to stop.  They suspect a surge tripped three high voltage distribution panels.  After replacement and inspection they could find no signs of damage on the panels.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3 & Government Incompetence: Sanctions a big fail! For the first time North Korea is actually making money off its exports! More proof China will not support sanctions.

19 March 2013/07 Jumada l-Ula 1434/29 Esfand 1391/08 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

A report in the Japanese media suggests that for the first time ever, and despite increasing economic sanctions, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is actually making money off its exports!

The Japan Times says U.S. based economists, Marcus Noland and Stephen Haggard, think North Korea might actually have a trade surplus, thanks to China.

According to the government of the Republic of Korea, North Korea’s trade with China tripled from 2007 to 2011.

Having account surpluses means sanctions have less effect. However, the U.S. economists say one of DPRK’s exports is large amounts of cash, which could be bad for the communist country.  Also, the economists assumed illicit activities in their estimations of North Korea’s trade.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? List of U.S. job losses & store closings for 13 February 2013: Yet again, thousands more losing their jobs! People who can’t handle self-management losing their jobs! More stores closing without notice!

Westinghouse Electric eliminating 665 jobs worldwide!  It will include layoffs at its Pennsylvania HQ. The company blames it on a decreased demand for nuclear power, caused by the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan, which is still not resolved.

Corporate information provider, Thomson Reuters, announced 2500 layoffs!  Company officials blame about half the layoffs on the sale of its Corporate Services division to NASDAQ,  the other layoffs are being blamed on the bad economy.  Company officials actually expect better profits for 2013, but apparently profits won’t be good enough to justify keeping people employed.

Another video game maker going down?  Reports saying that VALVe will layoff employees. Possibly 25 people will lose their jobs, including their director of business.  VALVe is controversial as it claims that there are no managers, and employees are free to do what they think is best. One economist said the layoffs might involve employees who can not handle working without a manager looking over their shoulder:  “In many occasions people simply don’t fit in not because they’re not productive or good people, but because they just can’t function very well in a boss-less environment.”-Yanis Varoufakis

Wisconsin based Sensient Technologies laying off more than 200 employees in Europe and North America. They want to consolidate operations in the name of being more efficient (aka making more profits for investors).

In New York, It’s a Dog’s World to shut down at the end of March. The Ditmas Park pet store owner didn’t give a reason, but it sounds like it caught her by surprise because she had placed new orders for the store.  Also, Utica City School District wants to layoff 88 employees.  This on top of all previous layoffs (which total 240).  The school district is short $5.5 million USD!

Duke Corporate Education to layoff employees worldwide: “We need to reshape our workforce in the U.S.A. and Europe….Like many businesses these days, we need to take steps to realign our workforce with our new global footprint.”-Mike Canning, CEO

Colorado based Precision Castparts to layoff 77 steelworkers at the former Timet titanium Plant in Toronto, Ohio.   The company took over the plant in January.

Netherlands based ING Financial laying off 2400 people worldwide!  The company was just hit with a $1.2 million fine for not maintaining company/employee emails as per U.S. regulations.  ING has a history of being fined for violating regulations.  Also, a former adviser with ING and Allstate was bared from doing business in Florida.

In Hawaii, California based Eclipse Development Group laid off 100 employees! Company officials blame a stalled shopping center project.  The project was halted by State Land Use Commission, which claims the project was not what was originally planned in the 1995 re-zoning.

In Florida, MDT Personnel will layoff almost all its Clearwater employees by April. The temporary employment agency was taken over by a competitor.

Guilford County, North Carolina facing “major” layoffs. The County is $1 billion in debt!

In Los Angeles, California,  Babycakes NYC vegetarian bakery closing down.  Company officials basically said there was only room for one Babycakes in Los Angeles.  The consideration of bakeries is an effort to make more profits.

In Virginia, Too Big to Jail HSBC to eliminate 164 call center jobs!  The call center is part of HSBC’s card services, which it sold off to another Too Big to Jail, Capital One.

Glass maker Viracon is closing down its Saint George, Utah, operations by April. 200 jobs lost!  Company officials say they might re-open the factory two years from now, depending on the so called recovery of the economy.

In Minnesota, Edward Jones Mortgage out-o-business.  214 people out-o-work! The company had a contract with Wells Fargo, but Wells Fargo recently canceled it.

Defense contractor, ITT Exelis, closing its West Springfield, Maryland, factory by the end of June.  200 employees out-o-work!  The factory makes the power supplies for night vision goggles.  Company officials said the closing is because the U.S. military is planning big spending cuts, on top of the automatic ‘sequestration’ cuts.

The Rug Importer in New Jersey, closing down.  The owners blame the bad economy coupled with internet competition.

In Tennessee, family owned Henco Furniture closing down.  The longtime owner says none of his kid want to take over the business.  He doesn’t blame them as sales have decreased and government regulations and taxes have increased: “It really does dampen you’re enthusiasm to put up with taxation and regulation to build a business.”-Tom Hendrix

In Illinois, a Blockbuster video store closing in Buffalo Grove. Also, in Mount Morris Donegan’s Do-it-Best hardware store shutting down at the end of March. The owner blames the bad economy: “The sales have just not been enough to make a living. I’ve tried to do everything I can to keep it going.”-Roseann Donegan

The Life of the Party costume shop in Fort Collins, Colorado, closed down.  The owner retired and was hoping someone would buy the store.

In Tucson, Arizona, the 20 years old 17th Street Farmers Market closed.  Company officials are focusing on their other divisions.

The Refectory, a nightclub in Portland, Oregon, closed after 35 years.  30 employees out-o-work.  Essentially the property owner kicked the nightclub out.

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. backed Syrian insurgents warned they were going to use WMDs!

19 March 2013/07 Jumada l-Ula 1434/29 Esfand 1391/08 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The hundreds of killed and wounded in the U.S., European and Israeli backed gas attack in Syria, includes government soldiers, but mainly civilian men, women and children.

Independent reports say some insurgent groups had been warning they were going to use WMDs.  Yesterday a U.S., European and Israeli backed interim insurgent government elected a U.S. citizen to be their Prime Minister.