Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Suck ass jobs are worse for you than smoking! Blame unAmerican Corporate America for increased health care costs, because they are the ones making you sick!

02 April 2013/21 Jumada l-Ula 1434/13 Farvardin 1391/22 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

“This is alarming, and much more extreme than we expected.”-Sharon Toker, researcher

According to Israeli researchers at Tel Aviv University, your stressful, nowhere job, busting your butt so unAmerican Corporate America can make more profits, is actually worse than smoking!

The study is called Burnout and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Study of 8838 Employees

The study concluded that workplace burnout causes a huge increase in cases of heart disease!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Breaking news: There is now International Gun Control, and the United States voted for it!

02 April 2013/21 Jumada l-Ula 1434/13 Farvardin 1391/22 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The United Nations passed the precedent setting international gun control law, known as Arms Trade Treaty.

Three countries voted against it, 23 countries abstained.  154 countries voted for it, including the United States.

Read about Obama doing a one eighty on the Bush Jr administration’s stance against the international gun control laws.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: What the Israelis said in 2012 about the ever expanding Leviathan/Levant!

“….an axis of Greece, Cyprus and Israel and possibly more countries which will offer an anchor of stability.”-Uzi Landau, Israel’s Energy Minister, March 2012

“We believe the natural gas finds in Israel, which were duplicated in Cyprus, will also be duplicated in Greece.”-Gideon Tadmor, Israel’s Delek Energy, March 2012

Notice that Greece is now destabilized and Cyprus has been taken over by the IMF and ECB.  This could be because those two countries failed to sign deals with Israel over Levant/Leviathan.

Ever since the first Tamar field was discovered by a U.S. company in 2009, more discoveries are being made, making it look as if the entire eastern Mediterranean Sea is one big petroleum field.  Each new find seems to be bigger than the previous find.  There are now Tamar, Dalit, Leviathan, Mari-B and other areas known as Blocks (Cyprus sits on Block 12).

One commentator said back in 2010, about the possibilities of the Levant Basin Province, that “…God has a sick sense of humor.”

Cyprus, Leviathan’s Block 12 and Israel!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Evil: Cyprus, Leviathan’s Block 12 and Israel!

01 April 2013/20 Jumada l-Ula 1434/12 Farvardin 1391/21 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

I’ve been pointing to a possible connection between the financial take over of Cyprus and the recently discovered massive Leviathan/Levant Basin Province  petroleum fields in the Mediterranean Sea.  On 31 March 2013, Israel began pumping out natural gas from their Tamar fields (which is part of the larger Levant Basin Province).

At last report the Israeli company Delek Energy is planning to send some of that gas to Cyprus, then on to South Korea.  The Israeli government told Delek Energy to hold off on its export plans, just prior to the financial takeover of Cyprus.

The U.S. based Noble Energy owns 36% of the Tamar operations.

Control over Leviathan/Levant Basin is the real reason behind the U.S., European and Israeli backed insurgency in Syria and Lebanon, and efforts to keep Egypt destabilized, as well as Tunis and Libya.

Libya, Tunis, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Greece border, or are strategically located near Levant Basin Province. If you look at a map of the Mediterranean, then draw a line straight south from Greece to Libya, the area under the Sea east of that line has become of extreme importance to western governments.

Cyprus borders an area known as Block 12 of the Levant fields.  Noble Energy, and Delek Energy have been working a deal to work the Cyprus side of Block 12.  Block 12A (Aphrodite) is estimated to have 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  Other areas of Cyprus’s Block 12 are still being explored, but have already attracted investment from France, Italy and South Korea.

According to the latest reports in the Cyprus Mail, the whole financial takeover of Cyprus is about who gets to control the money that will be made from Block 12 of Leviathan/Levant.  Even Russia backed off of bailing out Cyprus because they realized their ‘investors’ could make more money off Block 12 than off their Cypriot bank accounts.

War over Leviathan!

Business/Economics, International

Big Bank & Government Evil: More proof that the Cyprus bailout is a scam to steal people’s money from their bank acconts!

01 April 2013/20 Jumada l-Ula 1434/12 Farvardin 1391/21 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

“It was not a bailout. It was a collective punishment. The amount of money that Cyprus required could have allowed a more gradual approach to addressing the economic structure problems. With these policies, not only the Cypriot financial system has suffered a serious blow, but the economy as well. And I have no doubt, that this will have also a fallout effect on the Eurozone on the whole…….Cyprus is doing much better than countries like Germany. And I think this issue about money laundering, it was an excuse…….it was reported that agents from German banks were coming to attract funds from Cyprus. Let me also say that what has happened to Cyprus is also related with a perverted image that they have created about Cyprus in the last few years. For example, it’s a place with money laundering, especially from Russia. And also that Cyprus is a headache to the rest of Europe. And that’s not true.”-Andreas Theophanous, economist University of Nicosia

The Bank of Cyprus has closed offices in the country of Romania!  The ten branches will be closed for one week to prevent Romanians trying to take all their money out of their accounts.

It’s also been revealed the bank will be sold off!

The family of Cypriot President, Nicos Anastasiades, is being outed by Cypriot media, because it turns out they took millions of euros out of bank accounts just a few days before the IMF/ECB bailout went into effect.

According to local media reports, the president’s son-in-law co-ownes a company called A.Loutsios & Sons.  That company transferred $27 million USD worth of promissory notes from Laiki Bank to a bank in London, U.K.

The Laiki (Popular) Bank was shut down as part of the undemocratic bailout (undemocratic because the IMF & ECB somehow circumvented the Cypriot Parliament).

President Anastasiades responded today by saying the country’s new high court judges will “….be given a mandate to investigate everything that is possibly related to me, including those relatives linked to me by marriage.”

It also turns out that some Cypriot politicians had their debts forgiven as part of the bailout (is that how the IMF & ECB circumvented the parliament?).

On 31 March, the leader of the Cypriot Orthodox Christian church demanded that the financial leaders of the country resign!  He says the country’s problems are not economic: “If we [the government of Cyprus] had spent within our means, we would not have the results we see today….This misfortune that has occurred to our country seems like an economic problem but it isn’t, at its core you will find sin!”-Archbishop Chrysostomos II

Russia just announced they will not help individual Russians who have money in Cypriot banks, but they will help Russian companies.

Also, I noticed Russian media reports now linking the Cyprus bailout to a “war” over control of petroleum rights.  I’ve been saying that from the beginning (check my past Cyprus postings).  It’s known as Leviathan.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Iran defeats United States….with Chocolate Ice Cream!

01 April 2013/20 Jumada l-Ula 1434/12 Farvardin 1391/21 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Iran has just defeated the United States in the Guinness World Record for biggest ‘cup’ of ice cream.

In 2005 Baskin Robbins won the title with a container of ice cream that weighed a little more than four U.S. (short) tons.  Iran has just taken the title with a container of chocolate ice cream weighing five tons!

I’m disappointed because my favorite Iranian ice cream is rose water, yet chocolate has become the favorite of many Iranians.  Mmmm, time for me to make my home made rose water ice cream!

Business/Economics, International

Health supplements include cannibalising human babies, again!!!

01 April 2013/20 Jumada l-Ula 1434/12 Farvardin 1391/21 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Maybe you should shell out the bucks to have your favorite health supplement/vitamin tested at a local lab.  Make sure they test it for human flesh!!!

South Korean customs officials are reporting that health supplements seized at the Incheon International Airport contain human meat!

This didn’t happen just one time, but in 1715 inspections since May 2012!  A total of 468 kilograms (1032 pounds) of human babies has been found in the stuff that’s supposed to make you a better person!

The Korea Customs Service believes most of the human in the supplements are from infants!  They confirmed using DNA testing.  And there’s other nasties in there as well; dog, toads and even scarecrows.

This is not the first time.  In May 2012, South Korean officials revealed large amounts of health supplements, even viagra like pills, coming from China were made with things like dried human baby meat.  They said they began their pill inspections in August 2011.  Most confiscated pills are being found in the luggage of tourists.

(isn’t it ironic that some pills meant to increase sexual activity are being made with baby meat?)

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: North Korea has tactical nukes targeting U.S. bases in Japan! Attack map revealed! North Korea standing up for slave laborers of U.S. backed South Korea real reason for War!

31 March 2013/19 Jumada l-Ula 1434/11 Farvardin 1391/20 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

The North Korean newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, stated that U.S. bases in Japan and Guam are being targeted with weapons that are equivalent to tactical nuclear weapons.

Also, recently it was pointed out that photos of Kim Jong Un in a war room meeting show a wallmap in the background indicating attack points on the United States.  Some of the targets are located on the Atlantic coast.  One analyst pointed out that the straight lines drawn on the map can’t be true indicators of attack because planes and ICBMs don’t fly in straight lines:  “It seems reasonable to suppose that the target map is designed for home consumption and to create an impression of war readiness for DPRK citizens that is part of a wider policy of strengthening national resolve.”-John Swenson-Wright, University of Cambridge

And in an apparent move to show that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not desperate for western cash, Kim Jong Un threatened to close down the Gaeseong slave wage labor complex (aka Kaesŏng Industrial Region, aka KIR).  The massive labor camp was set up in a 2002 deal between North and South Korea.  The North provides dirt cheap labor for western capitalist corporations from South Korea (Republic of Korea).  According to Japanese media reports that labor camp employees 50000 North Koreans.

In 2009 North Korea demanded more money for the KIR workers.  Up ’till then workers were paid a paltry $75 USD per month!  North Korean officials wanted the pay increased to $300 per month.  Notice this is about the time the United States ramped up anti-North Korean rhetoric, and North Korea responded with the nuke testing!

By 2012 the average pay for KIR workers was only $160 per month.  That’s one fifth the minimum wage in South Korea, and a quarter of what most Chinese slave wage workers make.  Also, North Korea decided it was time for the U.S. backed South Korean companies to pay their fare share in taxes.  Many of the capitalist corporations claimed that even with the slave wages they were paying they weren’t making profits!

Maybe DPRK’s threat to shut down the KIR is a realization that the U.S. backed ROK is addicted to the cheap North Korean labor, and perhaps will hurt the South’s economy more than the North’s.

There are currently 123 South Korean companies taking advantage of the cheap North Korean labor.  Everything from clothing to jewelry to automotive parts to electronics are made there.

Business/Economics, International

Evil Banks lie again: Tax on bank accounts hits 60%!!! More reason to get your money out of the banks!

30 March 2013/18 Jumada l-Ula 1434/10 Farvardin 1391/19 Yi-Mao (2nd month) 4711

Reports out of Cyrpus that bank accounts with more than $100000 USD are being ‘taxed’ by at least 60%.  Originally Cypriot officials, along with European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), said those accounts would be hit with up to 40% charge.

This unexpected increase is targeting the Bank of Cyprus specifically.  Apparently 37.5% of accounts are going directly as kickbacks to the ECB and IMF, and for those accounts at the Bank of Cyprus an additional 22.5% will go directly to the bank!

On 25 March 2013, the ECB, IMF and the President of Cyprus made a bailout deal that somehow did not need the approval of the Cypriot Parliament (the parliament voted down the first bailout offer).

The new deal imposes an even higher and outrageous tax on accounts with more than $100000, than the first bailout deal.  Also, while you can still deposit checks written to you, you can not cash checks.  Withdrawals are limited to $384 per day.  People traveling out of Cyprus are limited to $1282.  The government is trying to keep people from not only taking their money out of the banks, but from taking their money out of the country!

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Florida losing another Kmart!

Here’s the updated list of store closings since the end of 2011:

Arizona: Scottsdale Sears/Great Indoors, Chandler Sears/Great Indoors.

Alabama: Gadsden Kmart (50 jobs lost), Mobile Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Auburn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Anniston Kmart (no word yet on how many jobs lost).

California:   El Monte Sears (at least 40 jobs lost. Damien Arrula, El Monte’s economic development director, said the store manager had lied about what was going on: “The general manager of the store had just indicated to me that they were remodeling.”), two San Diego Sears (at least 80 jobs lost), Pleasant Hill Kmart (more than 50 jobs lost).

Colorado:  Broomfield Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Glenwood Springs Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lone Tree Sears/Great Indoors, Longmont Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Pueblos’ South Side Kmart (52 jobs lost),  Denver Kmart (number of jobs lost have not been made public at this time, but could be at least 40).

Georgia: Macon Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Buford Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Douglasville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Atlanta Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Columbus Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Jonesboro Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Cartersville Kmart (74 jobs lost).

Guam:  Sears Hometown Store.

Florida: Fernandina Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Callaway Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Orange City Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost),  Deland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Stuart Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), West Palm Beach Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Port St. Lucie Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Crystal River Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), New Smyrna Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint Augustine Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Pompano Beach Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost),  Jacksonville Kmart on 5751 Beach Boulevard (71 jobs lost), second Kmart in Jacksonville on 4645 Blanding Boulevard (83 jobs lost), Ocoee Sears (102 jobs lost), Pensacola Kmart on Airport Boulevard closed in 2011, Pensacola Kmart on Mobile Highway closed in February 2013 (69 jobs lost),  Pensacola Kmart on East 9 Mile Road will close in May (73 jobs lost), Hialeah Kmart (67 jobs lost), Bonita Springs Kmart (67 jobs lost), recently revealed Mount Dora Kmart (100 jobs lost).

Hawaii: Honolulu Sears (owned by GGP, 372 jobs lost!!!).

Idaho: Lewiston Sears (at least 60 jobs lost).

Indiana:  Anderson Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Saint John Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Indianapolis Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost).

Illinois:  Alton Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Melrose Park Sears parts and repair center (50 jobs lost), Zion Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Lawn Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), McHenry Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Peru Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lombard Sears/Great Indoors (at least 40 jobs lost), Fairview Heights Kmart (81 jobs lost), Freeport Kmart (45 jobs lost), Pontiac Kmart (more than 47 jobs lost), Homer Glen Kmart (82 jobs lost), Streator Kmart (45 jobs lost), Lombard Kmart (70 jobs lost).  Naperville Kmart (98 jobs lost). By the way, Illinois elected officials gave Sears Holdings/Hoffman Estates a $150 million USD tax break to keep their headquarters in the state.  The tax break was not tied to any promise not to close stores.

Iowa:  Cedar Rapids Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Davenport Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Burlington Kmart (50 jobs lost), Coralville Sears (94 jobs lost, this is a store sold to GGP earlier in the year).

Kansas: Lawrence Sears (at least 40 jobs lost).

Kentucky: Middlesboro Sears (in September 2012 the Sears store re-opened under independent ownership, official grand re-opening scheduled for November), Winchester Kmart (back in May, Rankin Paynter bought out what was left of the inventory and gave it to charity), Hazard Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost).

Maine: Lewiston Sears (60 to 70 jobs lost).

Maryland: Ellicott Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Gaithersburg Sears/Great Indoors.

Michigan: Novi Sears/Great Indoors, Brighton Sears Grand/Essentials,  Harper Woods Sears Full line, Monroe Sears Full line, Adrian Sears Full line, Washington Township Kmart, Chesterfield Kmart, Woodhaven Kmart, Flint Kmart (46 jobs lost), Gaylord Kmart (48 jobs lost).

Minnesota: Willmar Kmart, Duluth Kmart, New Hope Kmart, White Bear Lake Kmart, Bemidji Kmart.

Mississippi: Jackson Sears Full line, McComb Sears Full line, Columbus Sears Full line.

Missouri: Lee’s Summit Sears Grand/Essentials, Saint Louis Sears Full line.

Montana: Missoula Kmart (50 jobs lost).

New Hampshire: Nashau Sears Grand/Essentials, Keene Sears Grand/Essentials.

North Carolina: High Point Sears, Moorehead Sears, Rocky Mount Sears, Statesville Sears, Durham Kmart (79 jobs lost), Asheville Kmart (53 jobs lost),  West Smithfield Kmart (59 jobs lost), Winston-Salem Kmart (69 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (58 jobs lost).

New Jersey:  Lawnside Kmart (about 80 jobs lost).

New Mexico: Las Cruces Kmart (58 jobs lost).

New York: Depew Kmart (68 jobs lost).

Ohio: Chagrin Falls Kmart, Springfield Kmart, two Toledo Kmarts, Medina Kmart, Columbus Kmart, Columbus Sears/Great Indoors, Zanesville Sears (67 jobs lost), Trotwood Kmart (71 jobs lost).   Also, Van Wert Sears franchise bought out by Kirk Berryman, owner of Computer & Networking Technologies (CNT), who plans on moving the store to a new location.

Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Sears (98 jobs lost, GGP owned, GGP wants a $2 million sales tax rebate, claiming it’s needed to offset capital investments needed to bring the space up to the standards for potential new tenants).

Oregon: Roseburg Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Tualatin Kmart Center (new property owner from California is tearing everything down for new shopping center, so far no indication the Kmart will be part of the new shopping center), Milwaukie Kmart (61 jobs lost).

Pennsylvania: Upper Darby Sears Full line, Pottstown Sears Full line, Pittsburgh Kmart, Wilkins Sears, Warminster Kmart (85 jobs lost), Shippensburg Kmart (46 jobs lost).

South Carolina: Sumter Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Orangeburg Sears (57 jobs lost), Columbia Kmart on Fort Jackson Boulevard in 2012, Columbia Kmart on Bush River Road in 2009, Columbia Kmart on St Andrews Road (66 jobs lost), Irmo Kmart (no info on how many jobs lost),  one of two Greenville Kmarts (74 jobs lost).

Tennessee: Antioch Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Cleveland Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Oak Ridge Sears (at least 40 jobs lost), Hendersonville Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Morristown Sears (about 70 jobs lost), Clinton South Kmart.

Texas: Two Sears parts and repair centers closing in The Woodlands (117 jobs lost), rebuild center in Garland (58 jobs lost), Farmers Branch Sears/Great Indoors, Houston Sears Great/Indoors.

Virginia: Norfolk Sears (at least 40 jobs lost),  Midlothian Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Richmond Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Lynchburg Sears (84 jobs lost), Fairfax Kmart (no word on how many jobs lost).

Washington: Walla Walla Sears Full line (in August 2012, it was reported that an independent owner of Sears Hometown stores will open a store in Walla Walla), Lacey Kmart (at least 40 jobs lost), Kelso Sears (47 jobs lost), Lakewood Kmart (59 jobs lost), Bellingham Sears (92 jobs lost),  Seattle Kmart (85 jobs lost).

West Virginia: Oak Hill Kmart (59 jobs lost).

Wisconsin: West Baraboo Sears (at least 40 jobs lost, local village officials say the store generated 3% of local tax collections), Rice Lake Kmart (about 71 jobs lost).

On top of that, Sears Holdings sold stores to General Growth Properties (GGP), of which it has been reported that most of those stores will be closed.

Here’s the list of 11 Sears stores now owned by GGP:

Iowa: Coral Ridge Mall (it’s official the Sears is closing, see above), and Mall of the Bluffs

Texas: The Woodlands Mall (this does not involve the two repair centers being closed by Sears)

Florida: West Oaks Mall

Utah: Fashion Place, and Provo Towne Centre (note the evil British empire way of spelling town & center. Due to a favorable lease agreement the GGP owned Provo Sears will continue to stay open under Sears Holdings management)

Oklahoma: Quail Springs Mall (it’s official, the Sears will be closed, see above)

Hawaii: Ala Moana Center (will be closed, see above)

Washington: Bellis Fair Mall (Bellingham store, see above)

Minnesota: Apache Mall

Illinois: Market Place Shopping Center