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, Idaho, U.S.

Idaho investor guilty of $76 million Ponzi scheme

Daren Palmer plead guilty, in a Federal court in Pocatello, Idaho, to running a ponzi scheme which cost investors $76 million.

The FBI spent two years investigating, and last month criminal charges were filed against Palmer.  He will be sentenced in August.

The SEC, and CFTC filed civil cases against Palmer, which resulted in an order for Palmer to pay fines and restitution of $90 million.

U.S. Federal attorney’s say Palmer wanted to plead guilty last year.  Some of his neighbors were in the Federal courtroom when he plead guilty, they say he’s a nice guy and believe he just “made a mistake”.

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? People stealing newspaper coupons in Idaho

“The people who are doing it, I guess they wouldn’t consider themselves a criminal. They are just trying to save money.”-Matt Davidson, publisher

The Idaho Statesman reporting a trend making an appearance in Idaho; people stealing newspaper coupons from newspaper vending machines.

“It is becoming a real problem on Sundays because of the value of the coupons and the local interest in couponing over the last few months.”-Frank Peak, newspaper circulation director

In the Boise area, newspaper staff, who stock the vending machines, noticed that many of the Sunday papers were still in the machines but missing the coupons.  They eventually caught one woman, who tried to use the excuse that no one uses them anyway.

Frank Peak says there are several reasons people are stealing coupons, one being the new ‘reality’ TV show “Extreme Couponing”.  Other reasons are the price of gas and the bad economy.

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho leads United States in falling Home Prices

There’s been more news about the continued falling home prices in the U.S.  One company that tracks those prices says Idaho is the biggest loser.

Corelogic reports that for April 2011, Idaho home prices fell 15.2% compared to April 2010.  It’s also twice the current average for the entire United States.

According to the Center of Business Research and Economic Development at Boise State University, most of Idaho’s home sales, prior to the housing market bubble burst, were actually being driven by “second home” buying and real estate speculation.

When the bubble burst those kind of sales stopped.  Now Idaho is looking at a more realistic picture of property sales, which is reflecting the overall bad economy.

Fukushima

Don’t Eat Radioactive Snow!

Researchers in Japan have discovered that snow on mountains near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are contaminated with cesium.

Meteorology students from Fukushima University took 31 samples of snow.  14 samples showed high levels of cesium.  The average level of contamination exceeds the safe limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium.  One sample, taken at 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) has 3000 becquerels of cesium.

Fukushima University Vice-President Watanabe Akira says the research shows that large amounts of cesium is spewing into the air.

 

Idaho, U.S.

Idaho’s Mike Simpson says “reforming” Medicare will get GOP “beat up” in elections, but it’s worth it

U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson, from Idaho’s 2nd District, admitted that the Republican party will get beat up in future elections, for Medicare reforms: “We knew that the first person that threw something on the table was going to get the living crap beat out of them, we might be beat up in the elections in the future.  But you got to be willing to take that if you want to reform the system.”

Simpson is supporting House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s reform bill, which would replace Medicare with federal subsidies to buy private health insurance.  I know people who got tricked into switching to privately run Medicare programs (private insurance) and they regret it.  Even the AARP is against it.

When Simpson says the GOP will be beat up in future elections, because of their Medicare reforms, who does he think will be doing the beating?  The voters of course!  So in a round about way Simpson is admitting that Republicans are not doing what the voters want!

Idaho, Kit Bashing, U.S.

Kit Bashing & Education Reform: Idaho Students Building Model Kits

Buhl Middle School, in Buhl, Idaho, is using model car kits to help students with reading and researching.

6th graders are not just putting together models, they’re spending time doing historical research about the cars they’re building.  They’re also learning about different styles of customizing cars.

The building of model kits has made some huge progress in the past 4 decades.  Many builders don’t just slap the kits together; they spend lots of time researching their subjects to create the most accurate representations they can.  If you want to compete in the big time model contests it’s a necessity that you’re historically literate.

When it comes to the history of cars, it’s not just the technical history that kids can learn, it’s also the cultural history, especially when it comes the “fads” of car customizing trends.  So don’t think of model kits as “toys” (especially when you realize how expensive they’ve gotten over the decades), think of them as “educational tools”.

Idaho, International, U.S.

What Global Warming? Coolest Spring for Idaho since 1984

According to the National Weather Service, Idaho is going through the coolest spring since 1984.

High temperatures for Idaho have been as much as 17 degrees (Fahrenheit) below average.

Even though there’ve been lots of rainy days for Idaho (and rivers are flooding, mainly due to snow melt), the Weather Service says the actual amount of rain, so far, is not enough to set any records.

Local weather forecasts, calling for warming up to the 70s, seem to get pushed back week after week.  No global warming here.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Who the Government works for: GM & Chrysler excused from paying vicitms of car defects

“This was not a normal case. The government was deciding who was going to be taken care of and who was not.”-David Skeel, University of Pennsylvania Law School

The recent bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, did not just include money, it included legal liability for defective vehicles that caused injuries and deaths.

The bailout allowed GM and Chrysler to skip paying any court ordered settlements for injuries or deaths that happened before the auto makers went  bankrupt.  GM had 2,500 claims against it when they went bankrupt.  The excused settlements are in the tens of millions of dollars.

In the words of Telly Savalis: “Who loves ya baby?”  It’s not your government that’s for sure.

Fukushima

TEPCo admits Fukushima Daiichi can not be stabilized!

Reports saying Tokyo Electric Power Company now saying it is likely the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi will not be stabilized by the end of the year, as first hoped.

Problems range from TEPCo’s own faulty assessments, to the Typhoon season now hitting Japan.

This means highly radioactive isotopes will continue to be emitted into the air, and pour into the Pacific Ocean.

International, Opinion, U.S.

Karzai & NATO going head to head, sure sign that the U.S. has lost Afghanistan

“NATO must learn that air strikes on Afghan homes are not allowed and that Afghan people have no tolerance for that anymore. If they don’t stop air strikes on Afghan homes, their presence in Afghanistan will be considered as an occupying force and against the will of the Afghani people.”-President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai

Karzai is talking tough, but his words are not aimed at “Taliban”.  Instead his words are targeting U.S. led coalition forces.  Karzai’s threats come a after an interview with NATO’s secretary general: “The Afghan society is not yet prepared to take full responsibility for the security.”-Anders Fogh Rasmussen

If the Afghans aren’t ready to take full responsibility for security, than how can their president make such bold statements against U.S. led coalition forces?

Another sign that the U.S. is losing in Afghanistan is that Rasmussen has reportedly asked the United States, and other NATO members, to increase their military budgets and expect to possibly stay longer than the new 2014 withdrawal date.

The latest fiasco in Afghanistan involves yet another “accidental” air strike on civilian homes, which killed 12 children and two women.  There have been conflicting statements from NATO; one official said they targeted a “compound” and there were no reports of civilians. The most recent NATO statement says they missed the target and hit two homes instead.  If you’ve been following the war in Afghanistan for even a year, you’d recognize an MO (modus operandi) with the U.S. led coalition: Kill everyone and then claim, “Ooops, we missed the target.”

Another point to make; Hamid Karzai would not be making such bold statements against the coalition, if he didn’t feel secure in doing so.  It’s an indication Karzai has found support from other international powers, and no longer needs the United States.  Recently the Afghan government made an alliance with Iran.