Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, U.S.

United Police States of America: You are a Terrorist in California if you sell organic milk! Woman charged with money laundering & securities fraud! Man tortured by cops for one week, nearly died! Part of conspiracy to shut down organic farms!

“I’m shocked that this is America. Because it seems like you’re in some third world country, in a gulag, like in the movie Midnight Express, where you’re absolutely just tortured. That was the experience I had. Your mind goes, how can this be? This is America?”-James Stewart, victim of Los Angeles County Sherrif’s Department

If you sell raw milk in California you will be accused of being a terrorist, of money laundering, securities fraud, conspiracy, grand theft and tax evasion.  You will also be tortured!

65 year old James Cecil Stewart was arrested and charged with 37 felonies regarding his raw milk business, Rawesome.  His business partner, Larry Otting, has been charge with 14 counts.

Stewart claims he suffered 10 days of “hell” at the hands of LA County deputies: “I thought I was gonna die in there.”

A March 7, 2012, report said his partner Otting was still in jail!

But wait, there’s more.  Two other people were arrested and charged with a plethora of felonies as well.

Sharon Palmer, who runs Healthy Family Farms in Santa Paula, was arrested, and Victoria Bloch has also been charged in connection to Healthy Family Farms.

In a video posted in July 2010, Bloch explains how the local governments of California are shutting down raw milk farms, and even farmers’ market operations, because they are taking business away from corporations.

It’s interesting that almost two years after the video was posted, of Bloch explaining that Corporate America, through local governments, is acting to shut down competition from small organic farmers, she and four others involved with organic farms, get arrested and charged with an incredible amount of felonies!

Watch video of August 2011, FDA raid on Rawsome organic farm.

The raw goat milk farmers had clients in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.  They have been charged with crimes in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.  The attorney for Sharon Palmer, Matt Bromund, says the outrageous actions of the county courts “…smacks of grandstanding.”

There are plenty of videos of local & federal government raids of organic farms, raw milk sellers, tomato farmers, etc, across the United States, check out YouTube.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: Despite oil glut, U.K. & U.S. to release strategic petroleum reserves! Oil experts say there is no good reason for it! Sign that war with Iran is a done deal!!!

“The government is playing retail politics with energy and not solving the underlying problem. It does more damage than good.”-John Hoffmeister, former president of Royal Dutch Shell Oil

March 15, 2012, President Barack Obama, and Prime Minister David Cameron announced they will release oil from their respective Strategic Petroleum Reserves.  However, there is no oil shortage, and prices are high only because of speculation, not supply or demand!

The U.S. oil industry is being flooded with oil from Canada and the U.S. state of North Dakota!  And concerning the high prices of oil, Exxon Mobil CEO, Rex Tillerson, said to blame that on the speculators!

But it looks like Obama and Cameron are playing to the speculators, because price began dropping soon after the announcement.  Oil analysts have said  speculators are concerned with future oil supplies if a war with Iran was going to happen.  Is this a sign that war with Iran is a done deal?

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Incompetence: Foreign food making more people in the U.S. sick. Blame Republican budget cuts!

“The Food and Drug Administration is really only checking about 2% of the food that’s imported into the U.S., so a lot can go unchecked and problems may not be found.”-Erik Olson, Pew Health Group

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that cuts to imported food inspections have resulted in increased illness, and it could get worse: “As our food supply becomes more global, people are eating foods from all over the world, potentially exposing them to germs from all corners of the world…”-Hannah Gould, CDC epidemiologist

From 2005 to 2010, 2,348 illnesses in the United States were linked to imported foods. Food poisoning caused by imported fish made up 45% of the cases!  In those cases the fish came from Asian sources.

The next highest cause of food illness was imported spices, most being dried peppers.

The number one cause of food poisoning is norovirus followed by salmonella. In 2008 there were 23,152 cases with 22 deaths.

To make things worse, the Republican controlled U.S. Congress has pushed new inspection rules on the FDA, yet has cut funding for inspections over the years.  Activists say that’s not going to work: “Our concern is that, with all the new requirements for imports and all the new protections that are envisioned, that unless FDA gets a bump-up in resources, it’s going to be very hard, if not impossible, for the agency to do its job.”– Erik Olson, Pew Health Group

 

Business/Economics, International

World War 3: French military base attacked, two killed. Second attack this week!

March 15, 2012, a military base in France was hit by a drive by shooter. Two French soldiers are dead, another is wounded.

It happened near the southwestern city of Montauban.  The base is home to the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment.

Thursday’s shooter was riding a scooter.  On Sunday, March 11, a shooter riding a motorcycle in a residential area of Toulouse, 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of Montauban, shot and killed one French soldier.

Officials say they do not have a motive, but are considering that it might be a personal dispute between the shooter and the soldiers.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

What Economic Recovery? NEC lays off thousands, cuts executive incentives 40%, 1st Japanese company to do so

One of Japan’s oldest electronics appliance makers, NEC, is the first Japanese company to announce huge cuts for Union workers AND executives!

Union labor is asked to take a 4% pay cut, on top of 10,000 workers being laid off!  But, wait there’s more!  Managers will also get hit with a 4% cut in pay.  And executives were told their bonuses will be 40% less!

NEC officials say the company has lost about $1.2 billion, for their business end of year (which is in March)!  They blame natural disasters and the increasing value of the Japanese yen (which is actually caused by the declining value of the U.S. dollar).

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

IAEA warning: 80% of World’s Nuke Plants are more than 20 years old

The International Atomic Energy Agency is warning about the safety of the 435 nuclear plants throughout the world: 80% are more than 20 years old.

Out of that 43% are between 20 and 29 years old.  32% are 30 to 39 years old. 5% are more than 40 years old.

The IAEA wants UN member countries to co-operate with planned safety inspections, to insure the safety of the old nuke plants.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: Big fire Down Under, Brazil oil rig “tilting”, Chevron hoping to get back to work in Brazil

“We don’t know what’s in the smoke, we don’t know what’s burning, we don’t know the toxicity of it.”-Kim Zander, Police Chief Inspector

For the second day a huge oil fire is raging in Wingfield, South Australia, Australia.  It’s a waste oil depot, and the city of Adelaide is being covered with toxic smoke.

More than 100 firefighters worked to control the fire. The fire is still raging but is contained.  Word is that it was an accident that started the fire.  Homes and businesses were evacuated.

The waste oil depot is owned by Mulhern Waste Oil, who recycles the waste petroleum oils for re-use.

In Brazil, Petroleo Brasileiro SA had shut down operation on their huge Alaska Star oil platform, after it tilted three degrees.

The platform is located over Brazil’s 7th largest underwater oil & gas field (the Albacora field).  Petroleo Brasileiro SA is the world’s largest deep water petroleum producer.

The Alaska Star platform is being operated by a contractor.  The platform was stabilized after a leak of “drilling fluid” was stopped.

Speaking of Brazil, Chevron is hopeful they will be allowed to resume operations, after the government shut them down because of a huge oil spill last year.

However, Chevron has to convince Brazilian inspectors first: “We are not convinced that Chevron has identified the causes of the accident and that the risks have been mitigated to the satisfaction of Brazilian society.”-Magda Chambriard, ANP

In 2011, 2,400 to 3,000 barrels spilled in the Frade field northeast of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil fined Chevron $28 million.  Brazilian officials accused Chevron of trying to hide up the spill: “We believe the accident could’ve been avoided. There was an environmental crime. They hid information and their emergency team took almost 10 days to start acting.”-Carlos Minc, Rio de Janeiro state’s environment secretary

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Crime: BizJet agrees to pay $11.8 million fine for bribing foreign officials. Mexico will now take BizJet to court

Oklahoma based BizJet settled with the U.S. Justice Department, regarding the bribing of Mexican and Panamanian officials.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice announcement, BizJet will co-operate with ongoing investigations. Germany’s Lufthansa is also named as BizJet’s “indirect parent company” and will also co-operate with the Justice Department.

It was Lufthansa who discovered, and reported the bribery taking place between BizJet and Mexican and Panamanian officials.  The bribes concerned maintaining government aircraft in both countries.  Bribes involved Mexico’s Federal Police, the Mexican President’s fleet, the air fleets for the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora, and Panama’s civil aviation authority.

Mexico’s Attorney General is now investigating the case as well.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Government Evil: Palestinians try to get around energy blockade by Israel, with solar panels. Now Israel will destroy them! UN says it’s part of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians!

“We are suspended between heaven and earth; the solar panels were a glimmer of hope for us.”-Ali Mohamed Ihrizat, the village head of Imenizil

Hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank will be without electricity, because the Israeli military plans on destroying their green solar panels.

The panels are located in the southern part of West Bank.  They were built with the help of international charities, but the Israelis don’t care: “Using the backing of international assistance does not give immunity to violations.”-Guy Inbar, Israeli Defense Forces

The Israelis have control of the area, known as Area C under the 1995 Oslo Accords.  They’ve been slowing forcing out the Palestinians and replacing then with Israelis: “The denial of permits for Palestinians on such a large scale raises the fear that there is a specific policy by the authorities to encourage a ‘silent transfer’ of the Palestinian population from Area C.”-Peace Now statement, an Israeli activist group

An unnamed source within the United Nations says this all part of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians: “From December 2010 to April 2011, we saw a systematic targeting of the water infrastructure in Hebron, Bethlehem and the Jordan valley. Now, in the last couple of months, they are targeting electricity. Two villages in the area have had their electrical poles demolished. There is this systematic effort by the civil administration targeting all Palestinian infrastructure in Hebron.”

And finally, which charities built the solar panels?  Why Israeli charities!!!

“The panels are not a security threat. It’s a positive project. What do they want? Do they want the people to be more poor? To be more violent?”-Noam Dotan, one of the Israelis who built the solar panels

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Obama says the U.S. will push for regime change in Syria and Iran, U.K. & U.S. military to be integrated!

U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, stated they will continue and increase efforts to effect regime change in Syria and Iran.

“….we’re gonna keep up the pressure with the strongest U.S. sanctions to date and the European Union preparing to impose an embargo on Iranian oil. Tehran must understand that it cannot escape or evade the choice before it: Meet your international obligations or face the consequences.”  “…we agreed to keep increasing the pressure on the regime [Syria], mobilizing the international community, tightening sanctions, cutting the regime’s revenues, isolating it politically, diplomatically and economically.”-Obama

Obama also announced that the United States and the evil Red Coats will merge military forces and military industries!!!

“Finally, I’m very pleased that we’re bringing our two militaries, the backbone of our alliance, even closer. As I told David, I can announce that next month we intend to start implementing our long awaited defense trade treaty with the U.K.”-Obama

David Cameron said the uniting of Britain (remember they’re the ones our founders fought against to get our freedom!) and the United States is based on “conviction” rather than “convenience”.

“…there are some countries whose alliance is a matter of convenience. But ours is a matter of conviction. Two states, as I said this morning, united for freedom and enterprise. Working together day-in day-out to defend those values and advance our shared interests.”-Cameron

History shows societies that are driven by ideology (“conviction”), rather than “convenience”, are the most dangerous!

Cameron repeated Obama’s statements on Syria and Iran.