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, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? California Dreamin’ turned into Hotel California nightmare, yet people are escaping

It’s now official, for the first time since 1850 the number of people moving to California has declined!  People are actually leaving!  That’s according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

California is still the most populated state: 37 million.

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 1.5 million middle class people left California in the past ten years.  Where are the people leaving to?  Anywhere that the taxes and cost of living are lower than in California!  (mostly Texas, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona)

Immigrants now make up the majority of people moving to California.  But that is on the decline as well.  Why?  Most migrants from south of the border are saying they can’t find any work!  Those that have work say the cost of living in California is not worth it!

The problem now, is that California is becoming a state of extreme wealth and extreme poverty.  According to the American Human Development Project, the exodus of middle class Californians is creating a state of two classes; rich and poor.

From 2009 to 2010, California’s GDP was in stagnation mode; at 1.8%, lower than many other states.  By the way, when the media calls 1.8% “growth” it shows their economic ignorance.  Anything from 2.9% to 0% is not growth, it’s stagnation.

I luckily escaped California in 1997.  I’m now in Idaho, things are getting bad here as well (economically) but I’ve run out of escape money.

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Citi hacked, millions of dollars stolen

Citigroup is admitting that a May hack cost cardholders millions of dollars.

On May tenth 3,400 accounts had at least $2.7 million stolen from them.  The total number of accounts that were hacked is more than 360,000.

Citi officials claim they notified customers quickly, yet those notices weren’t sent out until June 3.  So far 200,000 credit cards have been replaced by Citi.

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Official Baseball Bankruptcy

The Los Angeles Dodgers are officially bankrupt.  The team franchise tried to get a new television deal that could have kept it out of bankruptcy, but Major League Baseball blocked that deal.

This comes after a bitter court battle between the two owners.  Frank McCourt was left as the owner, but he believes the blocked TV deal is an effort to force him to sell the LA Dodgers.  McCourt vowed he wouldn’t do that, he thinks the bankruptcy will buy him time to get things turned around.

It was hoped the TV deal would bring the Dodgers $3 billion.  Yes, they need $3 billion to stay alive.  I think this is a sure sign that sports is way overvalued, you might says it’s a another economic bubble about to burst.

International, U.S.

Study shows naturally skinny people develop Type 2 Diabetes

The Nature Genetics Journal reporting that the “lean gene” not only keeps people skinny but causes type 2 diabetes.

Conventional thinking by health officials is that obese (fat) and sedentary (lazy) people are the most at risk for type 2 diabetes (despite the fact that the majority of diabetics live in China and India, where there isn’t that many fat or lazy people).

A study of the IRS1 gene revealed that not only does it keep people skinny by burning up fat, but it also increases heart disease and type 2 diabetes by 20%.  Scientists weren’t expecting that result.  The study proves that just because you’re naturally skinny doesn’t mean you’re healthy.

International, Opinion, U.S.

Global diabetes exploding, health officials continue to blame fat people, yet the majority of diabetics not fat

The Lancet Journal reporting that despite efforts to stop diabetes, world rates have only gone up.   There are now 347 million people considered diabetic.

The United States and Russia clam 36 million of those diabetics, but China and India beat the U.S. and Russia by 100 million.  China and India have 138 million diabetics.

UN World Health Organization officials were not expecting such a high number of diabetics.  They had estimated about 285 million, not 347 million that the study came up with.

Type 2 diabetes is the fastest growing form, and is always blamed on being fat and lazy.  But there’s a problem with that reasoning: 138 million diabetics in China and India, where not that many people are fat or lazy!

Anyone who understands the diet of most people in China and India, and knows how hard they work, should question the standard reasons for getting type 2 diabetes.  There must be something else going on to cause this explosion of diabetes.

Opinion, U.S.

The U.S. IS a Police State: A sicko Police state as TSA officials force woman to remove adult diaper

This has really gone too far!  CNN reports Transportation Security Administration agents forced a cancer stricken 95 year old woman to remove her adult diaper.

“My mother is very ill, she has a form of leukemia. She had a blood transfusion the week before, just to bolster up her strength for this travel.”-Jean Weber, daughter of victim of TSA

Agents said they thought they felt something in the diaper when they did a patdown.  No sh*t Sherlock!  Turns out the diaper was doing its job!   Jean Weber cried because her ill mother ended up without underwear for the flight.

How can any self respecting person willingly do what TSA agents have to do?  Not only does it violate the rights, and dignity of travelers, but it has to be humiliating for the TSA agents!  If I were working for the TSA I would’ve quit a long time ago.  So not only is the United States a police state, but it’s a sicko police state!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama about to send $145 million in military aid to Africa, $200 million for Yemen

Last week the Pentagon presented Congress with a plan to provide African countries with up to $145 million in military aid.  The aid, in money and equipment, is for so called counter terrorism operations.

The $145 million, to be split between several African countries, doesn’t compare to what just one country got last year.  Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula, got $155 million in aid last year, paid for by taxpayers.  And this year the Pentagon wants give Yemen $200 million!

Out of the $145 million in military aid going to African countries, only $600,000 is for ‘human rights training’.

 

Fukushima, U.S.

Corporate & Government Incompetence: Nebraska flood knocks out power to Nuclear Plant, no thanks to workers not paying attention

26 June 2011, an accident at the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant resulting in the expanding Missouri River flooding into the compound.  The water hit the nuke plant’s electrical transformers, cutting off power.

Electricity is still needed to keep the spent fuel pools cool.  Plant officials say they are now running on back up generators.

Forth Calhoun officials ordered the installation of a water filled artificial levee (berm).  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not approve the artificial levee.  At about 1:25 am, 26 June, workers broke the water filled berm, allowing the Missouri River to flood in.

This natural disaster is the latest bad news for the Fort Calhoun nuke plant.  In April plans to refuel its reactors were halted, over concerns of flooding by the Missouri River.  Then, on 07 June, a fire broke out in one of the reactor control rooms.  An inspection two years ago revealed that plant operators were not properly prepared for a flood.

International

Government Incompetence: Natural disaster policies actually made things worse, so much for Japan being the most prepared nation in the world

An independent panel, investigating the Japanese government’s policies, regarding natural disasters, has found many faults that actually made things worse after the March 11 disasters.

Two primary faults were pointed out at a press conference.

One was the lack of an evacuation policy.  It seems the government never expected to have to evacuate survivors.  The panel said in the future, evacuation plans must be a pillar of dealing with natural disaster.

The second major fault (pun intended) was that the government ignored geographical evidence of 9.0 earthquakes, and hundred feet high tsunamis along Japan’s coastline.  The result was that buildings and seawalls along the coastline were not built strong enough.

Also, the panel discovered that most of the government’s hazard maps and historical tsunami data are totally wrong.

The independent panel will now research ways for the Japanese government to come up with a functional natural disaster preparedness plan.

International, Opinion

France traces deadly E Coli strain to British seed company

Efforts to find the origins of a deadly e.coli strain (that some scientist say was engineered in a lab) continues, as more people get sick.

France has eight people in the hospital.  Seven of them ate sprouts at an open house party.  The sprouts were not grown in Germany, but in France.  The seeds for those sprouts came from a company in the United Kingdom, a company called Thompson & Morgan.

Understanding how e.coli works makes it difficult to suspect seeds, however, if this strain of e.coli was engineered in a lab, then anything is possible.