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, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Coldwater Creek still losing money. New CEO? More stores to be closed, bankruptcy near

On 28 November 2012, women’s clothing retailer Coldwater Creek reported a loss of $20.5 million USD.  Investors were actually happy, because that was an improvement over the same quarter last year.

Coldwater Creek explained that their losses weren’t as bad as expected because sales actually went up, by 7.3% for same store sales.

Dennis C. Pence is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer, to be replaced by Jill Brown Dean (current Chief Merchandising Officer) on 01 January 2013.  Pence will stay on as Chairman, so actually no new blood is being added to the executive branch, so don’t expect any real changes.

A year ago Coldwater Creek had 366 stores, now it has 354.  They plan to close more stores throughout 2013.

According to GMI Ratings, Coldwater Creek is showing all the signs of going into bankruptcy within the next 12 months.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Corporate Evil: More evidence the demise of Sears & Kmart is all part of Romney/Bain style vulture capitalist scheme to intentionaly run the business into the ground!

“You make Sears sound like a liquidation play, not a retail recovery.”-from Fortune magazine

“The retail recovery is a potential upside. Regardless, you’ll see gigantic cash flows from the closing of locations, the pulling-out of the cash from inventory, work in process, and distribution centers. They’re not idiots when it comes to real estate. They understand that today’s standalone store can be tomorrow’s multi-use hotel/residential-retail center. I think Eddie Lampert [chairman of Sears Holdings] will end up being one of a few unbelievable case studies on what it means to be a long-term investor.”-answer from Bruce Berkowitz, a major stockholder in Sears Holdings

Fortune published a recent interview with Bruce Berkowitz, in which he basically said Sears and Kmart could make more profits for investors by being closed down and selling off their inventories and real estate.  I warned of this last year.

An InvestorPlace contributor, Will Ashworth, explained how the Romneyesque scheme is actually working.

For real estate, Ashworth says Berkowitz values the land property owned or leased by Sears Holdings to be about $17 billion USD.  Then there’s inventory.  Berkowitz estimates that a net profit of $2.5 billion could be made by selling off inventory. Ashworth himself is more conservative, thinking it be about a $1 billion net gain for investors.

Of course you can only sell off land and inventory by closing down the stores: “Many see Lampert using Sears as the next Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B), taking the proceeds of assets sales and reinvesting them elsewhere until Sears, the retailer, ceases to exist. It might take awhile, but Berkowitz is willing to patiently wait because deep down he knows Sears is worth far more dead than alive.“-Will Ashworth, InvestorPlace

 

Fukushima, International

26 years later: Chernobyl expected to remain a threat for the next 100 years, at least! Warning for worse things to come from Fukushima Daiichi!

29 November 2012, two days ago workers in Ukraine raised steel arches over the entombed Chernobyl reactor: “This is a very significant milestone, which is a tribute to the ongoing commitment of the international donor community, and an important step towards overcoming the legacy of the accident.”-Suma Chakrabarti, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Those new steel arches weigh 5000 metric tons (5,511.5 tons), and are 22 meters (72 feet) tall!  The steel container won’t be finished until 2015.  It’ll weigh 20000 metric tons (22,046 tons) and is designed to allow ongoing decontamination work for the next 100 years!

26 years ago the Soviet designed reactor melted down, and it’s still spewing radiation.

The Soviets slammed Chernobyl with tons of concrete, sand and boric acid.  The impromptu concrete tomb was breaking down and a new one was built.  But even that one is breaking down, so a new massive steel tomb is being built, hopefully to contain the radiation for the next century.

Now realize that Chernobyl is only one reactor, with no spent fuel storage, and Japan’s General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi melt down disaster involves at least four damaged reactors with four spent fuel pools that contained hundreds of fuel rods, each.

Initially Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) said they could have Fukushima Daiichi cleaned up by July 2011!!!  In December 2011 the Japanese government published their own report, saying cleanup will take at least 40 years, TEPCo downplayed the government report.  Then in March 2012, TEPCo admitted that reactors actually melted down.  Now, at the beginning of November 2012, TEPCo is admitting that clean up will take much longer, and they’ve even doubled their estimated cleanup and compensation costs from $62.5 billion USD to $125 billion!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Japanese car production crashing in China! Japanese exports to China crashing!

29 November 2012, anti-Japanese sentiment in China is having a drastic effect on Japanese car production in the (supposedly) communist country.

Overall, the six Japanese car companies operating in China saw a 48.9% drop in production in October (compared to October 2011).  It’s even more drastic when you look at production for each company.

Mazda down 27.6%

Suzuki  down  32.6%

Nissan down 44%

Honda down 54.2%

Toyota down 61.1%

Mitsubishi down 84.6%

Even cars made in Japan for the Chinese market are not going anywhere fast:

Nissan exports to China down 75.9%

Toyota exports to China down 91.3%

Mazda exported zero cars to China in October!

There might be some good news for the United States.  Japanese car company officials say they will now shift focus of production of many vehicles to South East Asian countries, and the U.S.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Sears & Kmart news: Fail to pay off loans received in 2010! Kmart reneges on new layaway policy? Sears looking for independent store operators

29 November 2012, a retail real estate watchdog, CoStar Group, revealed that Sears, Kmart and even JCPenny have fallen behind in payments on loans they got back in 2010.

CoStar says about 24% of Commercial Mortgaged Backed Security (CMBS) loan payments are 30 to 90 days late, and that “…two of the largest three tenants were either a Sears, Kmart or JCPenney [mall] anchor.” 

There are other retail mall based businesses behind on their loan payments as well, click here to see the list.

In a report on The Consumerist, a frustrated Kmart shopper revealed that Kmart might be lying about their new no fees layaway policy: “…Kmart was not honoring the prices I agreed to pay or the no layaway service charge that is advertised on their website.”

She says she was told it was a software glitch, but when she tried to cancel the whole thing they wanted to charge a $10.00 per item cancellation fee!  She claims she even got a Kmart executive on the phone, but he hung up on her.

The Argus Press just posted a notice that Sears Holdings is looking for an independent owner to operate a Sears Hometown Store in Owosso, Michigan.

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

Corporate Evil: After blaming Unions for their shut down, Hostess now wants to pay out big bonuses to their execs! Shut down really part of Romney style crony vulture capitalist plan!

29 November 2012, gee after saying they didn’t have the money, and blaming unionized labor for the shut down of Hostess, suddenly they’ve got the bucks to pay bonuses to their incompetent executives!

Hostess officials are asking a bankruptcy judge to approve the paying out of $1.8 million USD in bonuses to their 19 executives.  Company officials say it’s necessary to keep the execs on board until they finish selling off their brands.

It’s starting to look like the running into the ground and eventual shut down of Hostess is really a Romneyesque vulture capitalist plan to chop up and sell the company off.  Hostess officials say there are more than 100 potential buyers chomping at the bit.

Hostess product sales were down, but last week a company official told the bankruptcy judge they still had $2.3 billion in sales last year!

So 18,500 people lost their jobs, and Hostess wants to pay $1.8 million in bonuses to 19 executives, that’s about $94,736 each (if my math is correct).  And those execs are still being paid big salaries as well; for example, CEO Gregory Rayburn has a monthly salary of $125,000!

I don’t think the Hostess shut down is about not having enough money.

 

 

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

Corporate Evil: Was Sears involved in counterfeit clothing? “Books” show Sears was client of illegal fashion factory! Don’t think 18 cents per hour is good money in Bangladesh, it’s not! Walmart blames you!

“It was my fault. But nobody told me that there was no emergency exit, which could be made accessible from outside. Nobody even advised me to install one like that, apart from the existing ones. I could have done it, but nobody ever suggested that I do it.”-Delowar Hossain, factory owner

Days after a fire killed more than 120 people (reports now say there will be more bodies found, as the initial body count was a guess) and injured 200, the factory owner accepts blame, and three of his supervisors are now charged with locking the workers in the building because they thought the fire alarm was fake (they actually believed the workers were trying to escape their wretched working conditions), another ‘illegal’ fashion factory goes up in flames (this time no one was locked in, but there were injuries), and the disaster reveals that unAmerican Corporate America is involved more than ever in slave wage factories (to get those high profits to make their investors happy, it’s not about keeping prices cheap for the lowly consumer).

The police and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh said they believe the fire was “an act of sabotage”.  A disgruntled employee perhaps?

Other reports say the factory was operating illegally anyway.  Both Walmart and Disney issued statements saying they canceled contracts with the factory at least 12 months ago, on the grounds the factory was dangerous.  Yet clothing with their brands on them were being made right up ’till the fire broke out.

Here’s some other companies/brands that were having clothing made at the illegal factory: ENYCE, Teddy Smith and Edinburgh Woollen Mill.  But another company was found listed in the factory account books: Sears.  If companies like Walmart and Disney swear they canceled their contracts a year ago, then who were those shirts, sweaters and hoodies (with Walmart’s Faded Glory label, and the Disney label) being made for?

I hear Sears is in big trouble money wise and has been struggling to get its profits up.  Just sayin’.  But of course Sears Holdings denies they’re involved, and yet at the same time plans to rectify the fire safety issue: “We can also confirm that Sears Holdings does not source from this factory….In addition, Sears recognizes that fire safety is a critical international issue that we intend to address through specialized training for management in those factories that produce merchandise for Sears Holdings.”-Sears Holdings statement

If they’re not involved then why is Sears in the fashion factory’s client account books and why did Sears say they will address fire safety at such factories?

According to the Associated Press, since 2006 at least 313 people have died in fashion factories in Bangladesh.

According to industry watchdog groups, labor rights groups and even the World Bank, the average pay for a fashion factory worker in Bangladesh is the equivalent to $38 USD per day!  And that’s double what they were being paid last year, they had to go on violent strikes to get the $38 per day!!!

Another report said they get paid the equivalent of 50 cents per hour in the United States!!!

And don’t think the fashion industry in Bangladesh can’t afford to pay more, last year they made $20 billion USD, making up 80% of Bangladesh’s Gross Domestic Product!!!

Companies that help retailers like Walmart hook up with fashion suppliers,  blamed the U.S. consumer:  “You have relentless pressure that consumers put on retailers and that retailers put on their suppliers to deliver lower and lower prices. And that pressure is a key reason why you see factories cutting corners.”-Josh Green, Panjiva

The only reason the average U.S. consumer “demands” lower prices is because their pay and benefits continue to go down year after year.  Blame unAmerican Corporate America!

 

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Dozens of U.S. allies in War on Terror say they will vote for Palestine!

“We obviously disagree with our oldest ally [France] on this issue. They know that we disagree with them.”-Victoria Nuland, U.S. State Department spokeswoman

28 November 2012, dozens of allies of the United States, such as France and Denmark, say they will vote against the wishes of the U.S. and Israel, and vote for Palestine!

The United Nations General Assembly will vote on granting Palestine non-member status, a way of recognizing Palestine as an official state: “It is of a magnitude of a historic level and I am sure that many other European countries will follow the example of France and we thank them in advance for being on the side of history and the side of humanity.”-Riyad Mansour, Palestinian envoy

French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, also revealed that five of the permanent members of the UN Security Council will vote in favor of Palestine. Austrian officials said more than half the 27 members of the European Union will vote for Palestine.

“You know that for years and years, France’s consistent position has been the recognition of the Palestinian state. That is why when the question is raised on Thursday and Friday, France will respond with a ‘yes’!”-Laurent Fabius

This shows the United States, being one of the permanent UNSC members, has lost its influence on the international political scene.

International

Breaking news: Israel breaks ceasefire, wounds five Gazans, kidnap fishermen, sinks their boats!

“In a new violation of the ceasefire, the Zionist enemy arrested nine citizens and sunk several boats in the sea off the northern Gaza Strip!”-Islam Shahwan, Hamas

28 November 2012, typical of Israel, they are always the ones who break agreements, despite what the Israeli controlled U.S. media says!

According to Palestinian/Gazan medical reports Israeli troops open fired on people near the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza.  Four Palestinians wounded.

In an area north of the refuge camp, another person was shot and wounded by an Israeli soldier.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say they shot at people who were approaching a border fence “acting violently”, even though those people were not armed.

IDF navy also kidnapped nine Palestinian fishermen from Gaza, and then sunk their fishing boats.

Palestinians in Gaza consider this a violation of the ceasefire agreement, but are giving Israel a chance if they release the kidnapped fishermen.

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 23 – 26 November 2012. U.S. peace NGO wants more war! U.S. will stay! Afghan rockets hit Pakistan! University students thrown out of 4th story windows because they are Shia Muslims!

26 November 2012

Yet again, religious leaders have condemned suicide bombing.  The Clerics Council of Afghanistan said such attacks are prohibited in Islam.  Those behind tricking people into committing such acts are not eligible to enter paradise. Those who carryout the suicide bombing are committing an unforgivable sin.

So who’s really behind such acts?  There is plenty of evidence that the United States created al Qaeda (including that presented in a banned BBC documentary).  According to regional journalists the Taliban kicked out the last vestiges of al Qaeda in 1999 (at the insistence of  U.S. President Bill Clinton), so there was no al Qaeda in Afghanistan when the U.S. invaded (remember, even President Bushy Jr hosted a first ever visit to the U.S. by Taliban officials).  Then the U.S. invades Iraq, with one of the reasons being that Saddam Hussein supports al Qaeda, which was never true, because Hussein was the main reason why al Qaeda never gained a foothold in Iraq. Guess who shows up after the U.S. occupies Iraq?  Why al Qaeda!  Then there’s the U.S./EU led false revolution in Libya.  Almost immediately after the U.S. and EU declares support for the “rebels” guess who shows up in great numbers? Al Qaeda!  Now we have Syria, where the reports and documentations of al Qaeda operations are bigger than ever, and those al Qaeda operatives that talk to the media even boast how they’re getting money and weapons from the U.S. (there is video of them getting paid with brand new U.S. $100 bills, and being equipped with the latest M16/M4 assault rifles)!

New York City based Human Rights Watch says they don’t want peace with the Mujahideen: “Providing immunity from prosecution for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights abuses violates international law. Future government talks with the Taliban should not hinge upon denying justice to victims of war crimes and other abuses.”-Brad Adams, HRW

Ok Brad Adams, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, no peace without justice against the United States for all it’s war crimes!  Are you sure non-governmental agency HRW hasn’t been subverted by the U.S. government?

ISAF said: “An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan today.”

In Nimroz province, Mujahideen claim they ambushed a U.S./NATO convoy, destroying one armored vehicle and a fueler. Later that night they say a landmine destroyed a U.S./NATO tank.  Both happened in the Lakhshakaan area of Delaram district.

In Khost Province, two people were killed and 18 wounded when a bicycle bomb exploded in a local market.

In Nangarhar Province, hundreds of people in Jalalabad city protested President Karzai’s orders to execute Mujahideen.

25 November 2012

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration wants to keep 6,000 to 15,000 U.S. personnel in Afghanistan after the 2014 withdrawal date.

The Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan closed all state universities because of attacks against Shia Muslims.

24 November 2012

ISAF said: “A U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service member died today following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan.”

Wardak Province, local government officials say a U.S. airstrike, in Baghak area of Syedabad district, killed at least six people.

People living in Pakistan, near the Afghan border, say nine rockets were fired from Afghanistan’s Paktia Province.  Also, a Pakistani TV report said 20 mortar rounds were fired into Pakistan from Afghanistan.  People living near the border say it all started after U.S./NATO forces abandoned a base in Paktia Province.

In Nimroz Province, the residents of Khwaja Sarda say U.S. led forces carried out an illegal night raid, and kidnapped three people.

A girl made famous by the Girl in Green photo returned to where her relatives were killed or wounded in last years Ashura suicide bombing against Muslims.  It is one of thousands of suicide terror attacks against Muslims since the War on Terror started (where are the massive terror attacks against christians and jews?).  While U.S. puppet officials blame Muslim Mujahideen for attacking Muslim civilians in Afghanistan, it’s most likely U.S. created al Qaeda.  Al Qaeda has declared war on all Muslims who’re not Salafi/Wahhabi Musilm.  Al Qaeda has been especially ruthless against Shia Muslims.

In Kabul Province, Shia Muslim students at Kabul University were attacked by dozens of people, some being thrown out 3rd and 4th floor windows.  Reports vary, saying as many as two people killed and 10 wounded.   Local police say they arrested as many as 40 people.

23 November 2012

In Maidan Wardak Province, a major car bomb attack took place at a security training center in Maidan Shar.  Six U.S. personnel were wounded, 90 Afghans wounded and three killed.  Local Mujahideen say the attack was in response to Karzai’s order to execute imprisoned Mujahideen.

In Nangarhar Province, a suicide bomber exploded at a U.S./NATO base. At least five security guards wounded.