U.S. and European military “experts” are trying to create fears of chemical weapons being used by a desperate Gaddafi.
In the live rebel press conference the rebel official responded that “Everything is possible” regarding fears that Gaddafi would use chemical weapons.
The open Libyan desert is not conducive to chemical warfare. See my earlier posting: Chemical Weapons Primer.
Rebel official speculates that Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, might have been kidnapped by government elites.
The official thinks that, because Gaddafi was apparently going to surrender, then a convoy of armored Toyota Land Cruisers showed up and took Gaddafi away.
Rebel officials say Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi escaped. Rebels say he indicated he was willing to surrender, but then changed his mind.
They also began thanking many Arab countries for helping them in their revolution, especially Qatar. Rebels admitted they had outside help from the very beginning.
About 100 people protested at the Civic Center BART station at around 5 p.m. San Francisco time, August 22. The protest spilled into the streets.
The San Francisco Examiner says protestors began lighting stink bombs and launching them at police. Other protestors shattered glass at city bus stops and hurled garbage cans. About 35 to 40 people were arrested.
Live press conference from rebels say Seif al Islam Gaddafi has been arrested, but they can’t confirm. This is not the first time they’ve made such a claim.
Rebel official says efforts will be made to allow Seif al Islam to make a statement by phone. Rebels say dozens of Libyan government officials have surrendered. Again, they can’t confirm it. They add that once Seif al Islam was arrested the Libyan government fell apart.
The North Anna nuclear power plant, outside Richmond, Virginia, has shut down.
The plant is on the coastline, just seven miles from the epicenter of the 5.9 quake (earlier reports said it was 5.8).
Diesel generators are supplying power to basic systems at the plant.
Nine nuke plants from New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania to Maryland have declared unusual events. They have not shut down.
Basic economics views an economy like a cash flow circle. Economies are doing good when a lot of money is being circulated. When money stops flowing the economy goes down. This is the basic idea of a consumer based economy.
For at least the past two years I’ve heard “experts” whine about consumers not spending. Some even blame the average consumer for keeping the economy down. But there’s good reason the average consumer isn’t spending; they don’t have the money (disposable income)!
According to the cash flow circle, people holding onto money put the brakes on a growing economy. This is one reason why saving money was actually discouraged in the past, because money sitting in a bank is doing nothing for the consumer economy. It does slowly get out, in the form of loans issued by the banks (yes, your money in your savings account is loaned out by the bank).
But there is a more dangerous form of holding onto money, it’s called money hoarding. The average person doesn’t money hoard, the average person loves to spend money, it’s the elites that money hoard. Why do you think the super rich get super rich? You can’t get super rich by spending your money.
The latest numbers show that 90% of the money/wealth in the U.S. is being held by only 10% of the people. In fact, according to Edward Wolff, the New York University economist, by the end of 2009 the top 1% (yes, that’s one percent!) of elites held 35.6% of the wealth! Those people are the elites, the super rich, and the too big to fail corporations (corporations are legal entities or “persons”). They are not spending that money!
By the way, studies have been done that show the average person in the U.S. is totally ignorant of the wealth inequality in their country.
90% of the people, have only 10% of the money/wealth in the U.S. How can anyone expect the 90% of the population, with only 10% of the wealth, to spend enough money to save the economy?!?
Don’t think the bad economy is hurting the elites, it’s not. Here’s some facts showing how the average person is making less money, and the elites are making more money: By 2005, the Federal Minimum Wage, when adjusted for inflation, actually went negative; -9.3%. The average “production” worker’s pay, when adjusted for inflation, has remained stagnant since 1990, seeing a piddly 4.3% increase by 2005. Corporate profits soared 106.7% by 2005, adjusted for inflation. The median salary for Chief Executive Officers exploded to 298.2%, from 1990 to 2005, and that’s adjusted for inflation. Source:Executive Excess 2006, the 13th Annual CEO Compensation Survey from the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy
So, corporate execs get an almost 300% increase in pay, while the average worker gets a measly 4.3% increase (over 15 years!!!), and those on minimum wage are actually losing money by working! Yet we average consumers are expected to save the economy?!?
Those stats prove that only a minority of U.S. citizens (10%) are actually “making” money. The rest of us are going broke, are broke, or are digging a financial grave.
Here’s proof those 10% who’re making money are not spending it: General Electric (GE), ended the second quarter of 2011 with $91 billion in profits, but they’re not going to spend it: “Our main protection against something like that not going well, or having a rocky outcome, is to have a lot of liquidity.”-Keith Sharin, CFO
Liquidity means cash. To “have a lot of liquidity” means you’re not going to spend any money, your going to hoard it.
Goldman Sachs announced second quarter profits up 57%. JPMorgan profits up by 13%. Citigroup reported a profit of 24%. The list goes on an on. Yet corporate America is not only not spending those profits, they keep laying off employees.
Bank of New York Mellon will layoff 1,500 workers, despite making a $77 million profit.
Here’s a real doozey of an example: Navistar. They reported a profit of 72% for the second half of this year, yet they say they have to close two U.S. plants, and one Canadian plant. Navistar said closing the factories will save them up to $30 million per year, yet it will cost up to $230 million to close all the factories (actually they’re calling it a charge off, so they can deduct it from the corporate taxes they try not to pay)!
The big drugmaker, Merck, reported more than $1 billion in profits, yet will layoff another 14% of their employees, on top of the thousands they’ve already laid off.
Again, the list goes on and on.
One reason corporate America is getting rid of good paying jobs is because they can hire cheap prison labor. This has been going on since the late 1990s, thanks to the ALEC prison labor program, and it’s growing. So far 37 U.S. states allow prisoners to be used for labor other than public works. Even Toys R Us uses prison labor!
Several of the huge meat recalls in the U.S. have been connected to prison labor being used at the meat packing plants. Add to that the fact that foreign exchange students are being exploited as cheap labor for corporate America.
The bottom line is that those elites running corporate are doing everything they can not to spend money. Some officials say they’re hoarding cash because they don’t think the economy will get better. No shit Sherlock, if you’re not going to spend the money on hiring more workers, who then can spend the money buying your products or service, as well as pay their taxes, then yeah, the economy is going to get worse!!!
Remember the economic cash flow circle? It’s the elites/corporations that are putting the brakes on any economic recovery, by sucking money out of the cash flow.
Corporate icon, and pioneer of welfare capitalism, Henry Ford hired lots of people and paid them well ($5.00 per day in 1914, that’s $114 per day now!), because he wanted them to buy his Model T. It worked!
Ford also has a warning for us average Joes: “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”
A 5.8 quake hit Virginia, August 23.
It was felt in Pennsylvania, New York, and Washington DC. The Pentagon was evacuated.
Al Jazerra reports that Libyan government troops, and possibly Gaddafi, are retreating to Sirte. Sirte is the hometown of Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi.
Some unconfirmed reports out of Libya: Rebels have entered the Libyan government military compound in Tripoli, and NATO claims the Libyan army launched SCUD missiles.
Unfortunately announcements by rebels, in the past, have a poor track record of truth. But there are many reports that they’ve broken into the large military compound in Tripoli, and one report said they made it inside Gaddafi’s office.
Another report says Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi is not in the compound.
Other reports say the Libyan army fired SCUD missiles at Misrata. Those reports come from NATO. They “confirm” that at least three SCUD missiles were launched.
Jane’s Defence estimates that Libya has 240 of the ballistic missiles, with a range of about 300km (186 miles).