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

Government Incompetence: Japan announced beef was safe to eat, then once again, more cesium contaminated cows!

The day after the Japanese government announced it was lifting the contaminated cattle ban on Fukushima cows, four cows tested for cesium levels above safe limits.

Then, the very next day five more cows showed up with cesium contamination.

The contaminated cows had already been shipped to a slaughter house in Yokohama.  It was there that the beef was found to be highly contaminated.

To make matters worse, the cow farmers swear they were not feeding the cows local rice hay, but more expensive imported hay.  The imported hay had been stored indoors.

This means that the cows could be getting contaminated on their way to the slaughter house.  Officials are trying to figure it out.

And yes, the Japanese government suspended the lifting of the contaminated cattle ban.

International, U.S.

Israel violates 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, Egypt demands Israel stop bombing Gaza

International observers, tasked with the job of observing compliance with the 1979 peace treaty, between Israel and Egypt, say Israel has violated that treaty.

The 1979 peace treaty was mediated by the United States, and requires that Egypt and Israel do not attack each other.  So far, after all these decades, Egypt has kept its promise.  But now MFO (Multinational Force and Observer) officials say Israel broke the treaty.

MFO officials say not only did Israel attack Egyptian forces, but Israeli forces crossed into Egypt and fired on Egyptian forces from within Egyptian territory.

In related breaking news Egypt just issued a demand that Israel stop bombing the Palestinian territory know as Gaza:  “Egypt denounces the use of force against civilians in any circumstance and strongly advises Israel to immediately stop its military operations against Gaza.”


Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence: Idaho man discovers you can hack into medical implants

“There’s no security around the devices which are a very active part of keeping me alive.”-Jay Radcliffe

Idahoan, Jay Radcliffe, discovered you can hack into and remotely control a person’s medical implants.

He recently demonstrated to government officials by hacking into his own implanted insulin pump.

The problem is that wireless implants are supposed to be regulated to prevent such a thing.  The U.S. Food and Drug administration recently warned implant makers of a similar problem.

Federal lawmakers asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Federal Communications Commission.  The FCC is responsible for making sure all radio communication devices are in compliance with regulations.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

No Economic Recovery for the U.S.: Paramount & Warner Bros make big bucks, overseas

Paramount and Warner Brother’s have both made U.S.$2 billion in profits so far this year, but not here in the U.S.

The two movie studios made those profits overseas.  They’re the first U.S. movie companies to hit such a high overseas profit.

If anyone has been paying attention to where U.S. movies are first released, they’d notice that U.S. movie premiers have been taking place overseas first, before being released in the United States.

 

 

International

United Police Kingdom: Bobbies arrest one of their own, for revealing the Rupert Murdoch phone hacking scandal

Scotland Yard arrested one of their own, for revealing to the public that newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch were hacking into cell phones.

The 51 year old policeman was released on bail.  His name has not been made public.

The London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) admit the officer was arrested because everyone in the know about the phone hacking had been ordered not to say anything to the public.

This only makes Scotland Yard look more suspicious in the public’s eye, because some people say they were involved in helping Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers get private info on specific individuals, including members of the Royal Family.

International

Obama wants troops to stay in Afghanistan until 2024, Russia says it doesn’t make sense

Afghan officials have told British media that the U.S. and Afghanistan have agreed to keep thousands of U.S. troops in country until 2024!

The deal would allow U.S. forces to use Afghan military bases, provide facilities to store massive numbers of U.S. military equipment, and allow thousands of military personnel to stay, including special forces.

Russian officials pointed out that the deal doesn’t make sense: “If the job is done, if terrorism is defeated and peace and stability is brought back, then why would you need bases?  If the job is not done, then several thousand troops, even special forces, will not be able to do the job that 150,000 troops couldn’t do.  It is not possible.”-Andrey Avetisyan, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan

The Russians should know, they got their butts kicked by the Afghans back when Russia was part of the Soviet Union.  They did exactly what the U.S. is doing now, trying to train up the Afghan government to take on the “terrorists”.  The Soviet Union left Afghanistan in 1989, but continued to supply weapons and trainers to the Afghan government.  The Afghan government lasted until 1992, brought down by a civil war that lasted until 1996.  The civil war ended in 1996 when the Taliban took control of the country.

International

Egypt recalls Ambassador to Israel, demands apology, Egyptians continue protesting Israeli Embassy

“Egypt has decided to withdraw its ambassador to Israel until there is an official apology.”-Egyptian government statement

Egyptian officials say Israel killed at least five of their military personnel, who patrol the Israeli/Egypt border on a regular bases.

Egyptians are still protesting outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo: “This protest will not end as long as the Israeli embassy still has a place in Egypt.  We will not leave here until they do, and if that fails, we will go back to Tahrir.”-protester

Egyptians also said they wanted relations with Israel ended, permanently.  One protestor said Israel has killed Egyptian border troops before, and that the former Mubarak government always looked the other way.  The protestors say they will no longer look the other way when Israel goes on the war path.

U.S.

Sicko Pro-Christian Missouri schools let girls be raped, then forces them to apologize in writing

The family of a seventh grade special-education student are suing the Republic School District, in Missouri.

The reason is that the girl was raped several times, and then school officials made her write an apology to the boy who raped her, and then she was suspended!  After returning to school, after the suspension, she was raped again!

This is what the school says in their own files on the girl: She is “…conflict adverse, behaviorally passive and would forgo her own needs and wishes to satisfy the request of others around so she can be accepted.” Basically the school says she was raped because she wanted to have friends!

Get this. When the girl was raped, after returning to school following her suspension, her mother took her to be examined by doctors.  They found semen in the girl, and it was a match to the boy she said raped her.  The boy was arrested and pleaded guilty in juvenile court.  Yet the school still denies any rapes took place!

Republic School District administrators had this final statement: The girl was at fault because she “…neglected to use reasonable means to protect herself.”

By the way, this is the same Missouri school district that ordered copies of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five out of its libraries, for contradicting the Bible.

Sick U.S. school administrators!

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Hundreds of thousands of U.S. Postal Workers to be laid off, Union talks are focusing on how to soften the impact on those who will keep their jobs

“If we do that, it means lower costs – career people leave, more non-careers come in.  Much of that will be attrition, but I don’t know if we can do that fast enough.”-Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General

The U.S. Postal Service is being forced to lay off so many postal workers that it’s asking Congress to cancel current Union contracts.   220,000 postal workers will be laid off by 2014.

The reality of the situation is forcing the many different unions, involved with the Postal Service, to scramble to negotiations, not to save those jobs, but to soften the impact on those who will keep their jobs.

Those unions are the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), and the American Postal Workers’ Union (APWU).

Not only does the USPS want to get rid of 220,000 employees, but they want to shut down as many as 3,700 post offices, close at least 300 processing facilities, and consolidate as many as 20,000 delivery routes.

All that will affect those people who’re “lucky” enough to still have their jobs.  If the negotiations with the unions fails, then it’s on to arbitration.  USPS workers can not legally go on strike, because they are considered Federal employees.

One reason the USPS is short on money, is because the U.S. Congress essentially stole $75 billion from the Postal Service.  Congress said it was to cover the Postal Service’s portion of the Federal Employees Retirement System.  The Postmaster General was able to prove that Congress overcharged the USPS.  The U.S. Congress refused to refund the money.

Another reason is that Congress has refused to raise Postal rates to reflect the increased cost of operation.  It’s almost as if the U.S. Congress wants the USPS to fail!

The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge (prices are controlled by Congress, not the USPS), and other products they sell.  The cuts being made to the USPS will have no affect on U.S. government debt.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama orders a 5% reduction in government budgets

President Obama’s budget chief Jacob Lew has ordered government agencies to submit budgets that are at least 5% less than the past fiscal year’s budgets.

It was also suggested that the different government agencies find ways to cut another 10% through out the next fiscal year.  This is part of the Debt Limit Deal (Budget Control Act of 2011) passed a few weeks ago.