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, U.S.

Anti Wall Street Demostrations blocked by Police, part of International Day of Rage, the Poles are putting to shame any U.S. protest movement

“You need a scorecard to keep track of all the things that corporations have done that are bad for this country.”-Bill Steyert, 68, Queens, New York

New York Times reporting that Day of Action Against Global Capital (aka Occupy Wall Street) demonstrators are finding some of the routes blocked.

New York City officials decided to block off sections of Wall Street near the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall.

“When you idealize financial markets as salvific you embrace the idea that profit is all that matters. You start thinking only as yourself.”-Dave Woessner, 31, Harvard Divinity School

Protestors are being threatened with arrest, simply because no permits to hold a public demonstration were acquired.

“If you look at history and you look at recent history, ancient history, even the middle road, this is what creates revolution and this is what causes everything.”-Anna Lekas Miller, freelance writer

September 17 was supposed to be marked by protests in the United States and Europe.  Some foreign media are reporting thousands of people across the U.S. are protesting, but most U.S. media is reporting only hundreds (Business Week claims at least 1,000 people around Wall Street).

The people of Poland are putting to shame any U.S. protests; the Washington Post reports that 50,000 people are peacefully protesting in the streets of Wrocław.

 

U.S.

United Police States of America: Former FBI boss, the Pope & Jimmy Carter demand death row inmate be set free

“Serious questions about Mr. Davis’ guilt, highlighted by witness recantations, allegations of police coercion and a lack of relevant physical evidence, continue to plague his conviction.”-William S. Sessions, former FBI Director

Former FBI Director William S. Sessions is joining Pope Benedict XVI, former President Jimmy Carter and thousands of protestors demanding the release of a man about to be executed on September 21, for a murder he didn’t commit.

In a stereotypically racist trial in Georgia, in  1991, the black man was convicted of killing a Georgia cop.  Since then seven of the nine witnesses have changed their stories, and there was no gun or other physical evidence presented!

William S. Sessions served as Director of the FBI under Presidents Ronald Regan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Many people in the U.S. state of Georgia are planning more than 100 protest marches and events: “It becomes less about who did it and less about the search for truth, and more about holding someone accountable, because people of African descent and minorities and people who don’t have money are treated as expendable, it doesn’t matter if we get to the truth.”-Deirdre O’Connor, activist

Business/Economics, U.S.

Dumb Americans! Study says people think new unproven drugs are safer than tried & true older drugs!

Fact: New prescription drugs have a really bad track record regarding safety and effectiveness.

Fact:  Most U.S. citizens think new prescription drugs are safer, and more effective than proven older drugs.

Researchers at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and the Veterans Administration Outcomes Group, asked people about the difference between benefits and risks of new medications, and old medications.

In one study people were asked about taking a heart disease drug.  41% of those that were not told about side effects picked the newer but less effective drug.  Yet when they were told about the side effects, 71% picked the older more effective drug with less side effects.

In the other study people had to choose between an old heartburn drug, and a new heartburn drug.  The older drug had the better track record, yet only 34% picked the older safer drug when not told about the track records of both drugs.  When told about the safety record of both drugs 53% picked the older drug.

The conclusion of the U.S. studies is that if people don’t know the track record, or side effects of a drug, they automatically assume the newer drug is safer and better!

Also, the studies show that four out of ten U.S. citizens think an FDA approval means the drug is “extremely effective”!  One in four think the FDA would never approve a drug that has bad side effects!  Fact: The FDA constantly approves drugs that have not been fully proven, and have extremely bad side effects!  Look how many approved drugs being advertised today have stated “may cause death” as a side effect!

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

Global Economic War: Bolivia wants Iranian made Farm equipment

The South American country of Bolivia has sent a trade delegation to Iran.  They want the Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company to set up shop in Bolivia.

Bolivian officials say they’re impressed with Iran’s industrial advancements, despite all the decades of sanctions from the United States and Europe.

The building of an Iranian tractor factory in Bolivia, is part of the South American country’s agriculture modernization program.

Iran has economic agreements with numerous Latin American countries, like Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, Brazil and Ecuador.

Business/Economics, International

Global Economic War: Europe raises tariffs on Chinese products, again & again & again, now as high as 69.7%

Chinese officials say the latest round of tariff increases in Europe have essentially closed off the European market to Chinese businesses.

On September 15, the EU placed tariffs on Chinese flooring tile, as high as 69.7%!  This will directly affect more than 1,000 Chinese businesses!

Chinese officials say the Europeans are raising their tariff rates to protect European tile makers, who’ve seen a 40% drop in sales since the debt crisis began.  Europeans says it’s to make up for ‘dumping’ of Chinese products on European markets.

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. & Australia to join forces in countering cyber attacks from China

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and defense chief Stephen Smith in San Francisco, California, for talks on September 15.

The subject was cyber attacks. Panetta called cyberspace the battlefield of the future, and most of the intensive cyber attacks in the past year are believed to have originated in China.

The new cyber war policy involves putting U.S. troops in Australia, for training purposes.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Out of desperation the European Central Bank will start using U.S. dollars

Starting with the October 12, and then the November 9 and December 7 loan tenders, the European Central Bank will make U.S. dollars available for three-month loans.

The Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank made similar announcements.  This is being done in coordination with the U.S. Federal Reserve (the privately run central bank for the United States).

The European banks will trade their money (Euros, Pounds, Yen and Swiss Francs) for U.S. dollars, for a fixed exchange rate.  This is an attempt to prevent money markets in Europe and Japan from locking up.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Bridgestone bribed government officials, got caught

The U.S. Department of Justice says Japanese tire maker Bridgestone has agreed to plead guilty to bid rigging, and bribing Latin American governments.

It involves giant hoses used to transfer oil from oil tankers to storage facilities.

The illegal practice of bribing and bid rigging went on for ten years, from 1997-2007.  Bridgestone admitted that it bribed government officials in Mexico and other Latin American countries to secure deals.  They are facing a fine of only $28 million.

International

Tropical Storm Roke to flood southern Japan, major damage expected, dammed up rivers a threat

September 16, Japan’s Meteorological Agency says Tropical Storm Roke could trigger more damage.

The storm is expected to bring up to 40 millimeters (1.57 inches) of rain per hour in Okinawa and the southern part of Kyushu through Saturday.  As much as 250mm (9.8 inches) of rain is expected.

Officials are stepping up their monitoring of rivers that were dammed up by recent record rainfalls from Typhoon Talas.

In Wakayama Prefecture, officials are checking images taken by a surveillance camera near the lake, as well as a buoy used to monitor the water level.

Officials in Totsukawa Village, Nara Prefecture, issued evacuation advisories  due to the possibility of an older lake overflowing.  The lake was formed by landslides 120 years ago.