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.
Fukushima

Typhoon Talas hitting Japan with heavy rain, warnings issued, school hit by landslide

Typhoon Talas is coming ashore between Shikoku and Hiroshima.  Heavy rain, flooding and landslides being reported from Tokyo area, and several hundreds of miles north east to the island of Hokkaido.

Rain warnings for the hardest hit areas: Tokai (Nagoya) and Kinki (Osaka, Kobe, & Kyoto), may get drenched with 800mm (31 inches) of rain in the next 24 hours!!!

Landislide warnings for the following prefectures:  Tokushima, Wakayama, Nara, Mie, Shizuoka, Yamanashi, Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi, Iwate and Hokkaido.

There are reports that a school in Nabari, Mie, has been hit by a landslide.

Wind damage to buildings in Kobe, Osaka and Wakayama.

Air travel canceled, some roads closed.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: China slashes U.S. Agriculture imports

“A seasonal drop in exports to China was expected…But the magnitude of the fall has been greater than anticipated.”-U.S. Department of Agriculture

According to a September 1 report by Agrimoney, China has slashed its purchasing of U.S. farm products.  Not by a little, by a whole lot.

Up until three months ago China was spending a monthly average of $2.5 billion, yes, $2.5 billion per month.  But starting three months ago China slashed it to $800 million per month.

Historically the United States has been the biggest supplier of farm products to China, but, if current sales continue the U.S. will end the year tied with Canada.

U.S.

United Police States of America: Cop arrested after raping a woman while on duty, stay out of Philadelphia!

August 31, a Philadelphia police officer was charged with raping a woman after offering her a lift, while he was on duty.

Instead of driving her to her destination he allegedly raped her in the back of the police car, then dropped her off at a bus station.  The woman reported the crime the next morning.

The officer had been working as a Philly cop for 4 years.  He is the third Philly cop to be arrested within the past two weeks!!!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Argentina thrashes the U.S. as Corn supplier to Columbia, Canada to take over as main wheat supplier

According to a report by Agrimoney, Argentina has replaced the U.S. as the main supplier of corn to Colombia, and probably in the near future Canada will do the same with wheat.

U.S. corn exports to Columbia have crashed: In 2007 the U.S. supplied 96% of Columbia’s corn.  In 2010, the United States supplied a meesley 19%!!!

But don’t blame Argentina for crashing U.S. farm exports, Canada is about to kick the United States of America’s ass as well.

Columbia and Canada signed a free trade agreement on August 15.  Within ten days of the deal wheat buyers in Columbia ordered 125,000 tons of Canadian wheat!!!

On top of that, Nutresa, Columbia’s biggest cookie and pasta maker announced that their main source of wheat will now be Canada!!! 

 

International

World War 3 Race War: African Union refuses to recognize Libyan Rebels, Rebels have been targeting Black Libyans

“No, things don’t work that way.  The TNC has reassured us regarding African workers in Libya. We will wait and see.”– Jean Ping, African Union Chairperson

The AU is refusing to recognize the U.S. supported Libyan rebel TNC.  Partly because the African Union was never consulted regarding UN resolutions against Libya, and NATO attacks on Libya.  Libya is a member of the African Union.

The main reason the AU is refusing to recognize the TNC is because black Libyans, and mainly black migrant workers from other AU member states, have been targeted and murdered by Libyan rebels.

Some rebels believe that all black Africans in Libya are mercenaries working for Gaddafi.

International, U.S.

War Crimes: European Union now admits to helping the United States commit war crimes

“In attempting to combat crimes attributed to terrorists, countless further crimes have been committed in the course of the U.S.-led ‘global war on terror’. Many of those crimes have been carefully and deliberately covered up.”-Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe’s Rights Commissioner

Europe’s Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, said Europe is “deeply complicit” in Washington’s counter terrorism methods, which include torture and other human rights violations.

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Corporate America says ‘If you’re unemployed don’t bother applying’, some States pass laws making it illegal for Corporate America to discriminate aginst the unemployed

“But we have seen instances in which employers are explicitly saying we don’t want to take a look at folks who’ve been unemployed. Well, that makes absolutely no sense, and I know there’s legislation that I’m supportive of that says you cannot discriminate against folks because they’ve been unemployed, particularly when you’ve seen so many folks who, through no fault of their own, ended up being laid off because of the difficulty of this recession.”-Barack Obama, President of the United States

What irony, Corporate America are deliberately discriminating against unemployed people.  Many want adds state “Must be currently employed”!

How’s that going to turn around the economy?  More proof the economic depression/recession is the fault of Corporate America!

A couple of months ago the National Employment Law Project found 150 online job adds that specifically discriminated against unemployed people.  Those discriminatory employers included Universities!

Some states, like New Jersey, are fighting back by making it illegal to require job applicants to be already employed.  The U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would do the same: Fair Employment Opportunity Act 2011, HR 2501.

Even Monster.com is being sued for posting help wanted adds that require current employment.  Monster.com says they’re just the messenger.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Good idea from Japan: Books that tell you how to escape a natural disaster, you can’t rely on your cell phones

In Japan some of the fastest selling books are how to books that show you how to get out’a town in case of a natural disaster.

The 9.0 quake of March 11 was the motivator for such books.   Even though Tokyo was at least a hundred miles from the epicenter of the quake, the public transportation systems went down.  About 6 million people walked or rode bikes home.

People who did well walking out had road maps, or had read the 2005 book Map for Walking Home in the Event of an Earthquake.  The book was the result of experiences of the editors in a 2004 earthquake.

Amazingly the book was undergoing a revision when the March 11 quake hit.  In fact one of the editors ended up walking home over the next two days, it proved to be useful in making the revisions: “For example, there were big advertising signs above the roads, which can break and fall on pedestrians, and such potentially dangerous sites we included on the maps.”-Tatsuya Nakajima, Shobunsha Publications

Since then 150,000 of the books have sold.  Prior to that, 1 million copies had sold.  Here’s one good reason such books are in demand, cell phones did not work on March 11: “People could not access online maps on their mobile phones right after the quake because telecom systems were overloaded.  That’s probably why the demand for paper maps has increased and this book has sold well since.”-Tomoko Okawa, Shobunsha Publications

A subsidiary of Shobunsha Publications has recently solved that problem, at least if you have an iPhone, a downloadable app that does not require an active cell service to work.

 

 

Fukushima

Pacific Ring of Fire: Japanese University says big quakes are coming for Tokyo

“If there is drastic plate movement, there is no guarantee that the scale of the quake will be in line with the government’s prediction of up to magnitude 7.3.”-Hirata Naoshi, Earthquake Research Committee

The University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute believes that major earthquakes are in the near future for Tokyo city, and Ibaraki Prefecture, no thanks to the 11 March 2011 9.0 quake.

Even though the 11 March earthquake was at least a hundred miles north of Tokyo, it was so powerful that the tectonic plate under Tokyo has changed so dramatically, that scientists think a massive quake caused by action on two or more areas of the plate is highly likely.  Since 11 March, the number of Tokyo quakes of magnitude 3 or greater has increased by fourfold.

Tokyo is subject to earthquakes that are located along plate boundaries, as well as quakes that happen along fault lines within a single plate.

Ibaraki Prefecture, just south of Fukushima Prefecture, is even worse off.  Since 11 March, quakes of magnitude 3 or greater have increased by 20 times!

The high tectonic activity is on the coastline, inland quake activity has not increased, but it has changed.

Japanese scientists say that recent inland quakes are much more shallower that past earthquakes.

Fukushima

Pacific Ring of Fire: 14 previously dormant fault lines now alive and threatening in Japan!

14 fault lines in Japan, which were thought to be ‘safe’ are now considered dangerous, potentially producing a 7.6 earthquake.

The other problem is that they all run near nuclear power plants.

A survey of the fault lines were undertaken by nuclear power plant operators, like Tokyo Electric Power Company.  They concluded that the fault lines are a real threat.

Nine fault lines are near Japan Atomic Power Company’s Tokai Number 2 power plant, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Tokai reprocessing plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The other five faults are near Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Number 1 (Daiichi) and Number 2 (Daini) nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture.