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

Japan Quake = No Economic Recovery

11 March 2011.

Japan’s huge earthquake, Tsunami and huge aftershocks, are not only devastating for the people of Japan, but are devastating to Japan’s economic recovery, as well as the world’s economic recovery.

Infrastructure for densely populated areas of Japan, hit by the flooding, are destroyed. Nuclear power plants are shut down. One nuclear power plant is in emergency mode because its cooling system, and back up systems, have failed. Auto manufacturing plants have been shut down. A major oil refinery is on fire. A lot of the land flooded by the Tsunami is farm land, which means no crops this year, adding to the what the UN is calling a World Food Supply Crisis for 2011.

This on going event of Mother Earth is adding insult to injury for Japan’s struggle for economic recovery. Before the quake hit, Japan’s so called recovery stalled, with its credit rating downgraded because the country is deep in debt. Recently there was hope that investors would start buying up stocks in Japanese companies, because they were considered a bargain, and, it was thought they would pick up in value as the Japanese recovery picked up steam. Now all that is in doubt.

It looks like Japan, helped by Mother Earth, might become the next domino to fall in the world economic crisis.

Business/Economics, Opinion, U.S.

Economy About to Crash? What Happened to Recovery? 10 Reasons

March 10, 2011.

“I think this is the beginning of something severe.” said chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services, Paul Mendelsohn. He’s referring to the more than 220 point drop in the DOW, which got little to no mention in national TV news coverage on March 10. There’s a lot of legitimate reasons for investors getting out of the market, not just in the U.S., but world wide. Those reasons also prove that there is no economic recovery.

Reason 1: First time jobless claims, in the U.S., for state benefits went up, more than expected (again).

Reason 2: World wide unemployment is high. Most of the violence around the world involves unemployment. The current crisis in North Africa and the Middle East is due, in part, to high unemployment rates. In 2010 Macedonia took the top spot with an official unemployment rate of 33.8%. How can the global economy recover when there are so many people not making any money to buy things with?

Reason 3: U.S. trade deficit increased (again).

Reason 4: China’s trade deficit increased (a surprise).

Reason 5: Credit ratings for Greece and Spain decreased (again).

Reason 6: Oil prices remain high, and still look to go higher (it’s interesting how analysts predicted the increase in price, without even considering, or knowing, that there would be a “revolutionary” crisis affecting many oil producing countries, or did they, mmmm?)

Reason 7: Food prices are increasing, worldwide. The UN (United Nations) says it does not see any improvement in food supply worldwide. I have read that Chinese wheat farmers will have only enough harvest for subsistence in 2011, nothing left over to sell. Across the world the food supply (“supply” is the key word, because some areas have plenty of crops but they aren’t getting to market) situation is getting worse for a number of reasons, from climate change, to the cost of transportation, to lack of credit, to political/social instability. A new problem adding to food supply issues is that migrant workers are not working. This is due to things like anti-migrant attitudes in the U.S., and the increasing violence in North Africa and the Middle East.

Reason 8: Union busting in the United States. Why should this be considered a factor? Because the goal of union busting is to reduce pay and benefits for employees. If workers are going to be making even less than what they are now, then that’s less they’ll spend while shopping. Gee, isn’t the U.S. economy a “consumer” based economy, which would mean the more a worker spends the better it is for the economy?

Reason 9: Stagnant pay for 90% of U.S. workers. Recently the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) reported that their own study, into the wages and salaries of taxpayers, reveled that 90% of taxpayers had no increase in pay in the past 20 years (when adjusted for inflation). The study also showed that the top 5% of taxpayers saw a 33% increase in earnings over the same period (also adjusted for inflation). Basic economics states that for an economy to do well the money in the system needs to go through as many hands as possible. Clearly the money is staying at the top and not trickling down.

Reason 10: This is probably a very important sign that there is no U.S. economic recovery. The world’s largest bond fund, PIMCO’s Total Return Fund, dumped all its U.S. government bonds, then moved into cash/cash equivalent big time. Why is that important? PIMCO used to be the biggest holder of U.S. bonds. That’s because they trusted that the U.S. government could pay its debts. By selling ALL its U.S. bonds PIMCO is indicating that they don’t think the U.S. government can pay back its debts. PIMCO has actually told other investors to get out of U.S. bonds. Not good. The move into cash is a traditional investor’s way of preparing for the worst. How much did PIMCO move into cash? In January PIMCO’s cash holdings were about 5%, now they are at 23%, a big jump. PIMCO is now selling off mortgage backed securities, this indicates that PIMCO is expecting another drop in the housing market.

There are plenty of other reason to list, you can do your own homework. Some of my sources: Voice of America, Reuters, CNN, Russia Today, The Atlantic. Do your own research, I’m not getting paid for this.

International, Opinion, U.S.

Libya is Not in the Middle East

March 8, 2011, Chubbuck, Idaho.

I’m getting tired of U.S. media outlets constantly referring to the events in Libya as “more trouble in the Middle East”, or, “oil prices rising due to crisis in the Middle East” (and then showing video of Libya). Libya is not in the Middle East! Is this proof of the dumbing down of the U.S. Media? Ironically, Geography must not be important to media outlets that serve the Empire of the United States. Libya is in North Africa! Egypt, Libya, Tunis, Algiers, Morocco, these are the countries that make up the top half of North Africa. They are also countries that are continuously mislabeled as Middle Eastern. Just because there are a lot of Arabs (a branch of the Semitic) living there, and most of the people are Muslims, does not make it the Middle East.

Idaho, Opinion

East Idaho Media Misleads on School Levy Issue

March 8, 2011, Chubbuck, Idaho.

Today I voted on our local school district’s supplemental levy.  The ballot clearly states “7,500,000 for 2011-2012 and 7,500,000 for 2012-2013” school years. Do the math, that’s 15 million over two years.  I watched a local TV news live report, 5 & 6pm, on the voting.  In the 6pm newscast their live reporter clearly said that the levy for my district was “1.5 million”.   That’s one point five million, say what?  It is clearly stated on the ballot that it’s seven and a half million each year over two years, which equals fifteen million, not one point five million.  I checked the local TV station’s website, and even on their web site they have a story from the day before that says my district’s levy is: “Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 Supplemental Levy – $7.5 million per year for two years“.   Either their live reporter is deliberately misleading the audience (as well as the anchors because they did not correct her), or their reporter needs to go back to school and retake math (same for their anchors)!

Kit Bashing, Reviews

Kit Bashing: Italeri P-51 Mustang 1 Out of Box Review

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Unfortunately this kit is not what it should have been.  I read some positive reviews about some of Italeri’s 1/72 scale kits, but I don’t think having nice decals and recessed lines qualifies as good.

Initially this Mustang 1 kit looked good to me, until I did some research on the actual aircraft.

The overall shape of the fuselage looks okay, but the wings are for the P-51D.  This kit comes with a sprue of parts for the P-51 Mustang 1, which include the fuselage.  The sprue with the wing on it is actually from Italeri’s F-51D Mustang kit.  The Mustang’s wing shape changed as each new model came along, so how could Italeri think their F-51D wing would suffice?

Also, since the wings are for the F-51D it has wing tip lights, which is incorrect for the earlier model Mustangs.

Oddly, considering a lack of concern over accuracy, Italeri molded a deep recess line around where the air scoop is, I assume because the actual Mustang 1 air scoop could open up for more air flow.  The instructions don’t mention this.

The canopy is lacking canopy framing.  The cockpit interior is typical of most 1/72 kits; there’s detail, but it’s not accurate.

The decals look good.

You get markings for one USAAF in North Africa, and one RAF recon aircraft.  The box art depicts the USAAF version as a recon aircraft, with a camera behind the pilot, but of course there is no camera in the kit, nor is the canopy right for a recon version (recon variants used anything from bulged clear panels to panels with holes cut in them).

I recommend this kit if you’re looking for a quick build, and are not concerned with contest winning accuracy (that would require a lot of correcting, scratch building & kit bashing).

U.S.

Army Study Reveals more Service Members Dying at Home than in War

Today, November 11, is Veterans Day here in the United States.  If the wikileaks reports didn’t stir Americans then maybe the latest report by their own U.S. Army will, but I doubt it.

The United States Army has released a 350 page study (Army health Promotion Risk Reduction Suicide Prevention Report 2010) on suicide, which reveals a much larger problem within the Department of Defense; slack morale and morals enforcement leading to major problems stateside, besides the record breaking suicide rate.

The report states that more service members die in non-combat incidents, mainly suicide, than in combat.  Both the USA and USMC reported suicide rates of more than 20,000 in 2009 (USA = United States Army, USMC = United States Marine Corps, U.S.A. = United States of America.  Yes the punctuation maters.  In American English only abbreviations of country names and personal names get punctuated, organizations like a company, or the UN, do not.  Pay attention to most U.S. media sources and you’ll see they are using British/Commonwealth English rules, which is a sign that most ‘U.S.’ media are not really American).

“…Soldiers have become transient tenants…”

On pages 36-37 the report cited the need for speed in getting troops mobilized  for tours of duty as overriding the face to face interaction with leadership that “…demand good order and discipline…”, creating an environment of loss of command and control of their own troop’s morals and morale.  The process of constant deployment, and problems at home upon returning, has created the sense for the soldier that they are just a number in the system; “They are no longer linked to garrisons by a chain of command or senior commander but are regulated only by Army policies, programs and processes.” This lack of morale leadership by, ironically, predominantly christian officers (that’s from my personal experience) has also led to across the board increases in various crimes committed by service members.  By the way, a former Army intelligence officer, Richard A. Gabriel, warned of similar issues in his book that was published in 1985: Military Incompetence: Why the American Military Doesn’t Win.

The U.S. Army report is detailed and surprising with some of the stats.  I plan to write more about it as I read it, I doubt the main stream U.S. media will cover it thoroughly.  Do not blame Obama for this, this situation was created under the Bush administration, Obama inherited it (but he isn’t helping to end the situation, so far).  No, I did not vote for Obama, I voted for Ron Paul!

Idaho, Opinion

Idaho Governor Misleads on Higher Education Scholarship

Idaho Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter (R) has been running campaign ads touting a scholarship program that he takes credit for.  The problem is that the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship is turning out not to be what Governor Otter claims.

The fund was signed by Otter in March, 2007.  It’s partly funded through taxpayer refund donations.  As a sign of bad economic times, the contributions to the fund have not met expectations.  The scholarship is a last resort fund, which means students have to apply for other funding first.  The maximum amount of $3,000 is enough to cover tuition for two semesters at an Idaho Community College, but  not at an Idaho University.  Also, no new college students have be awarded the grant in the past two years.  In fact the number of current students getting the grant is 450, compared to 700 when the program started.

One Republican, and former Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jerry Evans, has announced that he is so upset with Gov. Otter, that he will vote for Keith Allred, Otter’s Democratic gubernatorial opponent.

Idaho

In time for Elections, Idaho cuts Medicaid by another $8 Million, more to come

15% of Idahoans, who rely on Medicaid, are going to be hit with yet more cuts, to the tune of $8 million, with more cuts on the way.

Already this year there have been about $22 million in state funding cuts, and $83 million in federal funding cuts.  The cuts to dental care are causing great confusion has hundreds of dentists were cut from the program, then told they were re-instated, but that no payments would be made for ‘over treatment’.  Many dentists say the state has not clarified what qualifies as ‘over treatment’.  Also, their contracts can be canceled without reason.

According to the Associated Press, the new $8 million in cuts are targeted at mentally ill adults, and children with disabilities.  And those wont be the last of the cuts; Idaho wants to cut a total of $57 million from the 2011 Medicaid budget.

Remember Idaho has already cut hundreds of mentally ill adults off medicaid, with the result of incidents of violent crime (like the recent random shooting in Pocatello).  Here’s what one concerned Idahoan had to say: “These kinds of changes aren’t going to save us any money in the long run,” said Kelly Keele, a board member for Human Supports of Idaho. “These people are going to get worse without those services and then we’re going to bear the brunt of that in our justice system and corrections.”

By the way, the Associated Press had to file a public records request in order to reveal that the state of Idaho was planing more cuts.  That means our elected officials are trying to keep their budget cuts a secret.  Makes you feel warm all over going into the end of year holiday season.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Proof that Congress is Above the Law: Insider Trading. Idaho Senator Crapo Involved

Ever wonder why our Federal government does little, or nothing, when it comes to finance reform, or investment reform?  Maybe it’s because they’re getting rich from insider trading.  And it’s legal for them, but not for us.

Members of Congress participate in a 9-11 remembrance ceremony on the East Front steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on September 15, 2010. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg Photo via Newscom

It is against the law to buy and sell stocks based on information that the general public is not privy too, unless you are a member of Congress, or a Congressional Staff member.  Can you say legalized corruption?  The Wall Street Journal recently reported that congressional staff members are making stock trades that are directly related to their jobs.  What a deal!  Your job is to create laws and policies, that regulate the investment industry, and as a result you to know all kinds of details that the public would never know and allows you to make trades based on that info!  And, you make it illegal for anyone else to do the same!

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 13: U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) listens during a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill November 13, 2008 in Washington, DC. The hearing was focused on 'Oversight of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act: Examining Financial Institution Use of Funding Under the Capital Purchase Program.' (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Senator Mike Crapo (R), Idaho

A staffer, Karen Brown, working for Idaho’s Senator Mike Crapo (R), is reported to have made several trade deals with Bank of America (a leading home fore-closer bank), making her an investment gain of 43%.  When asked by the Wall Street Journal about it, Senator Crapo said the trades were made by Mrs. Brown’s husband, and that she would be amending her disclosure forms to show that.  The problem with that answer is that, as of October 23rd, Karen Brown’s latest disclosure forms shows her making additional Bank of America stock purchases.

This year, Represenative Brian Baird (D), of Washington, tried to get Congress to pass a bill that would make it illegal for them to do insider trading.  In the House of Representatives only 9 members endorsed the bill.  In the Senate no one endorsed it.  That should tell you that they all need to be fired!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

From Russia to Coca Cola; Big Profits. From Coke to Russia; $1 Billion.

Coca-Cola reported a third quarter profit for 2010.  Russia being their biggest market, with 30% growth in the past year.  Coke’s North American market (Canada, United States and Mexico) had only 2% growth.  A very obvious sign, I think, of who has the money to spend.

Coca-Cola has figured out where the money is and has announced that it will invest $1 billion into their Russian operation, over the next five years.  Another obvious sign, to me, that the U.S. economy isn’t ’bout to recover soon.

Who loves ya baby?  Not the the United States.  From Russia with love.