Category Archives: Idaho

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

Ron Paul says the United States becoming the Italo-Fascist state of the 21st Century, would make Mussolini proud. Paul gains yet another victory.

“We’ve slipped away from a true republic. Now we’re slipping into a fascist system where it’s a combination of government, big business and authoritarian rule, and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every American citizen.”-Ron Paul, congressman from Texas

While speaking in Kansas City, Missouri, Ron Paul renewed a warning issued by President Dwight Eisenhower, who said “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. ”  Eisenhower’s 1961 speech warned about Italo-style Fascism taking over all aspects of U.S. civilization (you should read the prophetic speech).

Also, while attending a rally in Boise, Idaho, on February 18, Ron Paul won a county caucus, in Maine.  Washington County, Maine, selected Paul over Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.  The caucus had been delayed by weather.

But Ron Paul is actually winning big despite being ignored by the main stream media.  Paul has gained more delegates than Romney or Santorum: “The bottom line is who is going to get the delegates and we think we’re doing pretty good, and it seems like our momentum is picking up. I’m actually shocked at the tremendous turnouts that we’ve had. We’ve been out on the road and we’ve had eight functions here in the last three days. We’ve had 14,000 people turn out. And the enthusiasm seems to be growing.”-Ron Paul on State of the Union with Candy Crowley.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

U.S. Media & Politicians mislead when they call unemployment help “benefits”! Congress reduces unemployment help. It’s a joke anyway ’cause each state handles unemployment their own way! Employers using tricks to get out of unemployment pay outs!

First off, having had to deal with so called unemployment “benefits” myself, I can say without a doubt that they are no “benefit”.  You get piddly squat compared to what you were making when you had a job, and, as in the state of Idaho, they impose unrealistic “qualifications” and “standards” for you to continue getting them!!!

Now the Republican dominated U.S. Congress has agreed to reduce what people lucky enough, or who can put up with the qualification game, will get.

Congress had extended unemployment help to a maximum of 99 weeks (and by the way many states did not adopt that policy), now beginning September 2012 that help will be cut back to 73 weeks.

Idaho Department of Labor office, Pocatello, Southeastern region of Idaho

By the way, in the state of Idaho employers pay into the unemployment fund, not employees and not individual taxpayers.  But, Idaho kicks back a refund to employers for having little or no unemployment claims made against them.  The employees who handle unemployment claims are actually paid by the employers who pay into the fund.  A now retired Idaho Job Service (aka Idaho Department of Labor) employee, who worked the Pocatello office handling veterans affairs, and the accounting for kicking back money to employers, once confessed to me (in 2000) that it was in their interest to deny as many claims as possible, since their true employer was not the state but big businesses operating in Idaho!!!

Here’s a trick employers in Idaho use to get out of paying unemployment (it’s happened to me and several other people I know).  Employers will tell you there is no work today, or that work is being cut back and they will call you when they need you.  Of course, after weeks of no work you start looking for new work.  When you apply for unemployment the company you were working for claims you are still employed, but that you hadn’t shown up and they assumed you quit!

In another case I heard about, an guy was working for a national chain home improvement store, and he was told that work schedules were being changed and not to come in until they called with his new schedule.  A week went by, he called and they told him the same thing.  Several weeks went by and he was told the same thing again.  Turns out there wasn’t any actual work schedule change, but if he tried to apply for unemployment the company could legitimately say that the guy “just stopped coming to work”, it would be his word against theirs.

And since the Idaho unemployment system is actually run by employers, guess who wins (unless your wealthy enough to hire a lawyer, which most people aren’t).

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

What Economic Recovery? 4,000 people stranded when Australian airline is suddenly deleveraged by too big too fail creditors

The latest corporation to become a victim of global deleveraging, is Air Australia.

Deleveraging is when the too big too fail banks take away your line of credit, and demand full, and instant payment of all debts.  Here in Idaho Wells Fargo Bank deleveraged several businesses in the past few years, including a Pontiac dealer in Idaho Falls, and several Sportsman Warehouse stores (owners of both businesses say they were not in financial trouble).

On February 17 (Australia time), 2012, the executives of Air Australia were suddenly told their line of credit had been suspended.  The result was that Air Australia could not buy fuel for use on flights where passengers were about to board, or planes were waiting to take off.  That has left at least 4,000 people stranded!  Another 10,000, who bought tickets for future flights, will not get their money back.

Air Australia has been losing money, especially after it lost a 90 million Australian dollars contract with the Australian Department of Defense.

It looks like the Australian airline industry is run the way the U.S. airline industry is, and that has some people calling for an investigation: “It does say something about…the fact the aviation industry should be properly investigated in this country.”-Tony Sheldon, Transport Workers Union

Idaho, Influenza

Pale Green Horse & H3N2, H1N1: Two children die, the U.S. now officially in Flu season. California leading the pack, Idaho on the list

On February 10, the U.S. CDC reported that people testing positive for flu viruses hit 10.5%.  The flu season officially starts when at least 10% of the population tests positive for flu.

The state of California is reporting the most flu cases at this point.   There is also reports of increased doctor visits, mainly in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Also, two children have died, but the type of flu has not yet been identified.

The CDC says the most common flu being identified is H3N2v, followed by H1N1. These are types of influenza A, but influenza B is also being found.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Hey Mitt Romney, where are those safety nets? U.S. Child Citizens refused food because their parents are not U.S. citizens!

The Southern Poverty Law Center says children, who are U.S. citizens, are being refused food because their low income parents are not U.S. citizens.  Some parents are U.S. citizens, but are being told to “Go back to Mexico” because of their Latino origins.

The SPLC says this is taking place in the state of Alabama.  Alabama, like Idaho, changed the rules for being approved for food stamps; they only count the children in the family, not the healthy (able to work) adults.

However, the SPLC says they know of at least five cases where children, who are U.S. citizens, were denied food stamps because the parents, who are not supposed to be counted under the new rules, are not U.S. citizens.

The SPLC has already filed two lawsuits against Alabama, over its immigration laws, and will likely file a third lawsuit based on the latest revelations of U.S. child citizens being denied food.

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Black Horse & Poverty: 2 million people homeless in the United States! Homeless children increasing fast. HR 1734 & Private property developers part of the problem. Hey Mitt Romney, where are those safety nets?

“Many of the families with children are now homeless, having to live out of cars and things like that. We believe today that 40% of the homeless, in Washington [DC] are women with children, or families with children!”-David Treadwell, Central Union Mission

The National Law Center of Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) says that more than two million U.S. citizens are now homeless!!!

Most federal and state (in those states that have their own social programs separate from federal) government social programs have been gutted (mainly by those compassionate Republicans, like in Idaho), and privately run charities say they are getting swamped by more and more people needing help every year: “…it’s a big problem, and it’s a bigger problem in 2012 than it was in 2008! It is not going away…”-David Treadwell, Central Union Mission

To make matters worse, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would actually create more homeless people.  The bill, called HR 1734 in the House, would give power to private property developers to take over public land, and buildings, now used for low income and homeless people!

The federal government is so desperate for cash that they want to sell off federal property, including that used to help poor people, in order to raise the cash to pay the government’s debts.  The irony of HR 1734 is that it will actually cost the federal government an estimated $82 million to implement!  Sounds like more Mitt Romney style capitalism to me.

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

 

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

Black Horse & Apple computers: Apple rakes in huge profits, thanks to slave wage labor! Apple’s China factory installs anti-jumping nets to keep workers from leaping to their deaths. Idaho, Ohio, Michigan & Pennsylvania Republicans hoping China will build similar slave cities in the U.S.

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

January 26, 2012

Apple reported their 2011 fourth quarter profits at a record $13.06 billion!  That would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that Chinese workers are being pushed so hard to make Apple products that they’re literally going over the edge to their deaths!

I love my Apple computer (it’s lasted longer than any other computer I’ve had, and with far less glitches), but, one of the factors in me buying an Apple was that I thought they were made in the U.S.  Apparently after (evil) Bill Gates became a major investor in Apple, production was shipped overseas.

Around the time Apple was reporting their record profits, Chinese media was reporting on a factory that made Apple products.  Turns out the workers there threatened suicide because of slave labor conditions.

It’s so bad that a Catholic Online article says Chinese factories are spending money to put up nets around their buildings, to keep workers from jumping to their deaths.

You see, working in Chinese factories is not like working in a U.S. factory (not yet anyway): “Chinese factories are self-contained cities with workers living side-by-side in dorms. Workers spend an average of 10-12 hours per day working, six days a week.” Also: “…life in a Chinese factory is unpleasant, boring, repetitive, and workers have little to no privacy, and few rights-if any. The food is nothing to write home about either. Employers can set workers to task at any hour, force them into overtime, and arbitrarily fire them if desired. It’s as near to slavery as one can get without the chains.” -Catholic Online

When I realize how much I paid for my Mac (more than double what I was paying for cheapo IBM types) it sickens me to know that it could have been made by wage slaves!  I thought one of the reasons for the higher price was that I was supporting U.S. jobs!

This month Apple’s contracted factory in China, run by a company called Foxconn, reported that workers threatened to commit mass suicide.  To give you an example of the crowded working conditions, Foxconn admits they have at least 32,000 workers living on their factory ‘campus’!  That’s not a factory, it’s a self contained slave city!!!

But guess what? The state government of Idaho has been toying with Chinese contractors to build such a slave city right here in Idaho, U.S.A.  They call it an “industrial complex”.

In 2010, the Idaho Statesman reported that state officials were working on a project that would allow the China National Machinery Industry Corporation (aka SINOMACH) to build huge a slave labor camp south of Boise.  It could cover up to 30,000 acres, and is “…based on a concept popular in China today…”.

That camp would include retail shops and homes for workers, and some reports say the ’employees’ will come from China.

SINOMACH also got involved with a fertilizer project near American Falls, but since then all has gone quite on that project.

Lobbyists working for the Chinese say Idaho Republican leaders are great to work with: “One thing these Chinese see is we have a governor here who has a great big open door policy, and I think that’s making a difference in this SINOMACH project.”-Pat Sullivan, lobbyist

The Idaho Republican’s open door policy for China is part of their Project 60 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plan.

Idaho Republican leaders love China: “Idaho’s the last state that should say we don’t want to do business with Asia. Asia’s where the money is.”-Brad Little, Idaho Lieutenant Governor

I’ve also reported on how most of Idaho’s Republican politicians are in the pockets of for profit prison labor operations.

SINOMACH is also dealing with officials in Ohio, Michigan (is there a connection to the union busting going on in that state?) and Pennsylvania.

Also this month, SINOMACH announced they will increase their efforts to set up operations in other countries: “We encourage our subsidiaries, including scientific institutions and design, construction and industrial equipment manufacturing companies, to go overseas and explore and develop new services and markets.”: Ren Hongbin, chairman of SINOMACH

SINOMACH (short for Sino Machinery) reported a revenue increase of 17% in 2011, for a total of $30 billion.  I wounder how much was from cutting costs with slave labor?

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Coldwater Creek creeps further down the drain, drop in end of year Holiday sales

Coldwater Creek executives admitted that their fourth quarter loses will be more than first thought.  At their third quarter reporting, back in November, 2011, they expected loses to continue into their fourth quarter.

Coldwater Creek has had at least five straight quarters of loses.

CEO Dennis Pence said same store sales between November and the end of December were down 9%, compared to the same time the previous year.  To show you how bad things are for the clothing retailer, Pence said the 9% drop in sales was actually an improvement!

Fourth quarter results for Coldwater Creek will be reported in March, 2012.

In the corporate world there is no standardized quarterly system, each company keeps its own quarterly reporting calender, so some companies’ quarters begin and end in the middle of a calendar year (and they don’t match up to the Federal government’s fiscal quarters either).

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & Government Incompetence: Idaho inspectors tip off schools before “surprise” food safety inspections. Do you know what your kids are being fed? Idaho health districts not on the same page when it comes to inspections.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Lincoln Elementary School, in Twin Falls, Idaho, has several complaints about food safety violations, however, state health officials actually tipped off school officials before their so called “unannounced” inspection.  As a result, no violations were found.

Current Idaho regulations state that food inspections must be “unannounced”, yet health inspectors for Idaho’s South Central Public Health District violated their own rules, warning Lincoln Elementary officials of the inspection, saying it was common “courtesy”: “We want to maintain a good partnership with the schools.”-Melody Bowyer, South Central Public Health District

That’s your taxpayer dollars at work!  The whole idea of surprise inspections is to catch the food service off guard, to see how they really operate on a day to day bases. It’s even more important when you get several complaints from the taxpaying public!

But Idahoans should be concerned even more, because even with the “courtesy” warnings of inspections dozens of schools have failed inspections (according to a Times-News report)!

Another problem is school officials. Take Wendell School District, they hired a new food service director a month ago, but when asked by local media she revealed that she was not aware that the school had food safety violations in the recent past.  She’s not concerned because: “Schools have to hold themselves to a higher standard. In my experience, that’s what I’ve seen and that’s what we’re going to do in Wendell.”-Michelle Shady

Parents don’t know who they can trust: “Knowing the schools are clean is important, it would be foolish to say otherwise, but I don’t know who to contact to make sure. I guess it’s one of those things you don’t talk about until a problem comes up.”-Jerry Evers, children attend Wendell High School

If you live in Idaho you can go here to find your Public Health District.  There are links to each of the seven districts in Idaho.  However, I found it hard to find the so called public food inspection reports alluded to in a Times-News article.  In fact there is no standardized presentation of each of the seven health districts’ websites.

The Times-News (covering South Central Idaho, District 5) article said food inspections are to be unannounced, yet, on the Central Idaho (District 4) website they said only one unannounced inspection per year was required.

It’s the Central Idaho District 4 website that is the most helpful, as they do make access to their food inspections easy.  You click on “Environmental Health”, then click on “Food”, then click on “Inspections”.  You then get to a page that has links to recent District 4 inspection results.  However, this is not possible on most of the other districts’ websites!!!

Southwest Idaho’s District 3 asks you to conduct a search by name or city, in order to find out inspection results.

Idaho’s Panhandle District 1 has a Quick Link titled “Restaurant Inspections” on the Environmental Health page, requiring a search by name or city.

For Districts 2 (North Central), 5 (South Central, so I wonder where the Times-News got their info), 6 (Southeastern) & 7 (Eastern) there were no links to local public food inspection reports under the “Environmental Health/Food” section.

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

Corporate Incompetence & What Economic Recovery? Hoku Materials begs for money from China, to pay its overdue Idaho Power bill

Pocatello, Idaho’s, polysilcon factory, run by Hoku Materials (which is a subsidiary of Hoku Corporation, which is 60% owned by China’s Tianwei New Energy Holdings Company Limited) continues to have trouble paying its electric bill.

Hoku has paid part of its November Idaho Power bill (still owes interest), but has failed to pay its December bill.  As a result Hoku has turned, once again, to China for financial help.   At least $1.9 million will be wired from the Bank of China.

Idaho Power says it’s tired of the games Hoku is playing, and will end power supply on January 26 if the balance isn’t paid in full.

You know, the utilities have no problem cutting off power to individuals who can’t pay their power bills, so why not when it comes to a corporation that owes millions of dollars?

This might be the final nail in the coffin for Hoku, which is years behind schedule and hasn’t even started polysilicon operations yet (although its Chinese owners jumped the gun and announced such production start up back in December).

CORPORATE INCOMPETENCE:  IDAHO’S HOKU POLYSILICON FACTORY, LOOKS MORE AND MORE LIKE THE DEAL IS OFF!