Category Archives: Technology

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: India reporting new strain of H5N1

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

According to the Indian National Institute of Virology (NIV), a new strain of H5N1 is responsible for the deaths of more than 500 crows.

The crows died three months ago, and test results have finally come in.  It’s an H5N1 strain never seen in India before, and might have come from Vietnam: “We have compared it to the strains from Vietnam, Indonesia and other places in Asia and found similarities with the Vietnam strain.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

The last version of H5N1 that hit India is called Clade 2.2.  This new Vietnam like strain is called Clade 2.3.2.1.  Understanding the versions are important: “Since the strain is a new form of bird flu, we have to be very careful. Once the virus is characterized and gene sequencing done we will be able to gauge the impact on bird health and then label as highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

In Vietnam H5N1 has already killed one Vietnamese man this year.

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: H5N1 first 2012 deaths in Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam are reporting the first human deaths due to H5N1, for 2012.  Unlike the Chinese cases, in these cases the people were in contact with sick birds.

As I wrote before, a two year old in Cambodia got sick with H5N1, he died last week.

Vietnam reported the death of an 18 year old man, who worked on a duck farm.  But the government of Vietnam is now trying to downplay it by issuing official reports saying their anti-Avian Flu program is a success.  Vietnam recently killed off thousands of poultry after finding some infected with H5N1.  Vietnamese officials say the family of the man who died is now under health watch.

Indonesia reports two deaths, and they might be human to human infections.  A 23 year old man, and his five year old relative, died from H5N1.  They lived with an extended family on a poultry farm.

Including the deaths in China, between December 31, 2011, and January 23, 2012, six people have died from H5N1.

 

 

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: H5N1 takes life of Second Chinese man who had no contact with birds

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

For the second time in less than four weeks, a man in southern China died after getting sick with H5N1.

On December 31, 2011, a bus driver died after getting H5N1, a little more than one week after getting sick.

That also followed an outbreak of H5N1 in poultry in Hong Kong.  Both deaths in China happened in southern provenances.  Many of the poultry sold in Hong Kong comes from southern Chinese provenances.  However, the bus driver never came into contact with birds, and it looks like the same might be true for the man who just died.

The man who just died got sick on January 6, was admitted into hospital, then died on January 22/23.  Like the bus driver, relatives say he had no contact with birds.

 

 

 

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

Corporate Incompetence & What Economic Recovery? Hoku Materials begs for money from China, to pay its overdue Idaho Power bill

Pocatello, Idaho’s, polysilcon factory, run by Hoku Materials (which is a subsidiary of Hoku Corporation, which is 60% owned by China’s Tianwei New Energy Holdings Company Limited) continues to have trouble paying its electric bill.

Hoku has paid part of its November Idaho Power bill (still owes interest), but has failed to pay its December bill.  As a result Hoku has turned, once again, to China for financial help.   At least $1.9 million will be wired from the Bank of China.

Idaho Power says it’s tired of the games Hoku is playing, and will end power supply on January 26 if the balance isn’t paid in full.

You know, the utilities have no problem cutting off power to individuals who can’t pay their power bills, so why not when it comes to a corporation that owes millions of dollars?

This might be the final nail in the coffin for Hoku, which is years behind schedule and hasn’t even started polysilicon operations yet (although its Chinese owners jumped the gun and announced such production start up back in December).

CORPORATE INCOMPETENCE:  IDAHO’S HOKU POLYSILICON FACTORY, LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE THE DEAL IS OFF!

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Pale Green Horse: Crime no longer number one killer of Americans; Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes and other illnesses beat out murderers. So much for America’s great capitalist health care system!

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their list of top disease/illness killers, and when compared to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) crime report, health issues now kill more people than criminals.

The FBI says murder has dropped to 16th place in their list of crimes in 2010.  That made health issues the number one killer in the U.S.

The top killers are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory illnesses, cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, influenza, pneumonia & pneumonitis, septicemia, Parkinson’s and suicide.

 

 

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

World War 3: Finland allows Patriot missiles to sail to South Korea

After an investigation, Finnish officials decided to let a British registered ship sail to South Korea, with it’s cargo of 69 Patriot missiles.

On December 21, Finnish port authorities discovered improperly packed, and labeled, Patriot missiles and explosive acid on the ship M/S Thor Liberty.   The explosives were exposed to the elements, and the missiles were labeled “fireworks”.

It turns out the German government had sold some of its Patriot missiles to South Korea.  The Germans demanded the Finns let the cargo go.

The two top officers of the ship were charged with safety violations.  The cargo was repacked safely and the ship was allowed to sail with its crew (the Finns originally wanted to hold and try the crew in court, but something changed their minds).

International, Technology, U.S.

White Horse, Red Horse & World War 3: U.S. forces deploy to Israel, preps for action against Iran

“The missile threat from Iran is very real, and we must stay ahead of the threat… That’s why we’re working so hard with all our allies to put the most optimized, effective, anti-missile capabilities in place.”-Henry Obering, Lieutenant General, Pentagon Missile Defense Agency

U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has deployed to Israel an X-band radar system along with thousands of U.S. personnel.

Recently Israeli military officials said sanctions are ineffective against Iran, and action must be taken: “The international front against Iran is weak and not consolidated, and isn’t putting enough pressure on the regime to stop enriching uranium….The sanctions have very little influence and are far from bringing to bear a critical mass of pressure on Iran.”-Yossi Baidatz, Brigadier General, Israeli Military Intelligence

The U.S. troop deployment to Israel is part of the largest ever joint war games between Israel and the United States.  The Jerusalem Post quotes U.S. Lieutenant General Frank Gorenc as saying it’s not just an “exercise” but a “deployment” that will involve “several thousand American soldiers”.

Back in September, 2011, Ilan Biton, a brigadier general in the Israel Air Force reserve, said the United States has long been working with Israel to ensure their militaries could work together: “We advanced tremendously on multiple levels and have developed very impressive cooperation. At the human level, we’ve developed a common language and at the technical level, we’ve put in place the interfaces that allow our systems to speak to one another.”

The DefenseNews revealed that last week U.S. officials considered not reporting the deployment of the radar and U.S. troops to Israel.

I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.

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

White Horse, Black Horse, Red Horse & Political Hypocrisy: Obama signs record military spending bill, then says spending needs to be cut. What he means is to cut spending on troops, increase spending on weapons. 80,000 soldiers will lose their jobs. More Wars to follow

I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

I looked, and 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!”

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.

On January 1, U.S. President Barack Obama signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.  That means at least $662 billion taxpayer dollars will be spent on the Department of Defense.

On January 5, Obama hypocritically states that defense spending must be cut! He blames it on “…the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last year.”

But here’s the thing, Obama is not really talking about overall defense spending cuts, he’s talking about shifting defense spending, and targeted cuts.  U.S. troops could lose out on pay and benefits, in order to increase spending on high tech weapons systems.  They’re already losing their jobs.

“As we reduce the overall defense budget, we will protect and in some cases increase our investments in special operation forces in new technologies, like…. unmanned systems, in space and in particular in cyberspace.”-Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary

Obama and company said the cuts would not affect pay and benefits for troops and veterans, but that’s already happened.  There are many cases across the country where veterans have been cut off because of budget problems.

Analysts say there’s no way to keep spending on high tech weapons without affecting troop pay/benefits, or even without reducing the number of military personnel (already in 2011 the U.S. Army laid off 50,000 personnel).

According to a report by Military.com Leon Panetta has asked the U.S. Army to cut another 80,000 troops in 2012!

That’s fine if your not going to fight wars anymore, but Obama and company flat lied about that.  Obama said “Yes, the tide of war is receding…”   Well, if the tide of war is receding then why spend more money on more weapons?  Because the tide of war is not receding, at least in the eyes of our leaders.  Obama even says so: “As I made clear in Australia, we will be strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region.  We’re going to continue investing in our critical partnerships and alliances, including NATO, which has demonstrated time and again, most recently in Libya, that it’s a force multiplier.  We will stay vigilant, especially in the Middle East.”

What Obama is saying is that the he expects more war in the Middle East, and a new front to open in Asia!  Defense Secretary Panetta backs that up: “…as we move towards this new joint force, we are also rebalancing our global posture and presence, emphasizing the Pacific and the Middle East — these are the areas where we see the greatest challenges for the future. The U.S. military will increase its institutional weight and focus on enhanced presence, power projection, and deterrence in Asia-Pacific. This region is growing in importance to the future of the United States economy and our national security. ”

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence: Ohio suffering mass earthquakes, officials blame Fracking. Not the first time; Arkansas blamed Fracking on increased quakes back in July

“The earthquakes will trickle on as a kind of a cascading process once you’ve caused them to occur. This one year of pumping is a pulse that has been pushed into the ground, and it’s going to be spreading out for at least a year.”-John Armbruster, Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

On New Year’s Eve, Ohio had a 4.0 quake.  It’s part of many quakes the state has suffered since March 2011.  Now state lawmakers are banning the energy industry’s practice of Fracking.

Energy companies inject chemically heavy water, under extreme pressures, deep into the ground.  It releases natural gas from shale. The gas is used mainly for the oil industry’s hydrogen cracking process, which makes fuels cleaner burning.

For a long time it’s been claimed that fracking pollutes underground water sources, but the industry has successfully fought off such claims.  Another claim is that it could cause earthquakes.

Now, seismologists with the U.S. Geological Survey have testified to Ohio officials that the state’s unusual quake activity is directly related to fracking wastewater injection.

In July, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission banned  fracking wastewater injection, because of increased earthquake activity.

Energy companies doing the fracking are taking their wastewater and injecting it deep into underground sand deposits, to get rid of it.  Scientists say the problem is that the companies have overshot the underground sand beds, and are basically pressurizing fault lines.

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. Bagram airbase hit by missile attack, excuse for war with Iran?

Taliban (Mujahideen) confirm missile attacks on Bagram.  The Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan states that Bagram air base has been attacked with missiles at least three times in the past 24 hours.  At least four missiles (unguided rockets?), from overnight attacks, landed within the base compound.  They claim attacks are continuing.

Breaking news reports out of Afghanistan say the Taliban hit the U.S. controlled Bagram air base with at least nine missiles.  Some reports say the attacks took place on New Year’s Eve (western Gregorian calender), as U.S. personnel were celebrating the coming New Year.

Some Afghan government officials say their sources confirm the attacks, but there are no casualties reported.

There’s been no clarification if the attacks were done with guided missiles, or unguided rockets.  Some Taliban sources say they were long range missiles.

Bagram is located in Parwan (aka Parvan) Province, in northwestern Afghanistan.  Ever since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Bagram has been the target of many attacks.

Reports say there are many casualties from the latest attacks.  Already there is internet chatter that this might be used by the United States to launch an all out war with Iran.  The U.S. government has ignorantly claimed that the Taliban are linked to Iran (it’s ignorant because the Taliban and the Iranian’s are mortal enemies). Also, all U.S. military bases in the Middle East are within range of Iran’s growing missile systems.

Also, on December 27, 2011, Taliban claimed they launched two missiles at Bagram, with no casualties effected.