Category Archives: U.S.

Fukushima, U.S.

West Coast U.S. buying up Iodide Pills

A Miami Herald article says people living on the West Coast of the United States are buying up anti-radiation pills.

nukepills.com, in North Carolina, has sold 6,500 orders of iodide pills (it is still being incorrectly called iodine pills) in four days. Normally they sell only 100 in the same time period. Most of the orders came from Washington state, Oregon and California.

The problem with Iodide, is that it can be a health hazard if misused.  Iodide builds up in the thyroid, and can cause health issues.  Another problem is that the more Iodide is used the less effective it is.  Radioactive Iodine-131 causes thyroid cancer.

When Iodide and oxygen mix you get Iodine. So Iodine is a byproduct.

Fukushima, International, U.S.

Japan Nuclear Crisis a Creeping Disaster

“It looks like the situation is creeping towards a radiological disaster,” said John Large, a nuclear consultant.  He also says that he believes Japan will experience a worst case scenario.  Partly due to officials not being honest about the situation.

Another problem is that the weekly weather forecast is predicting the winds will shift southward, which would blow radiation clouds onto Japan.  Currently the winds are blowing eastward.

Retail pharmacies in Japan report they have run out of anti-radiation Iodide pills.

Richard Thornburgh, who was Governor of Pennsylvania during the Three Mile Island incident, says “You can’t assure against every kind of natural disaster.”  He also admitted that officials are helpless in the face of natural disasters.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Japanese Car Makers Shutting Down, forget economic recovery

Japan’s NHK is reporting that Japanese car maker Toyota is extending its plant closers.  Other auto manufactures are joining Toyota in closing down operation. These include, Honda and Nissan.

It is not damage to their factories that caused them to shut down, it is the near total destruction of Japans infrastructure.  There is no power, and because roads are destroyed employees and supply of parts can not get to the factories.

The near total lose of infrastructure, in the northern half of the state of Honshu, guarantees that there will be no economic recovery for Japan, in the short run.  The northern area of Honshu is home to many of Japan’s major factories. This include factories that are for other products, besides automobiles.  If they can not operate, they can not sell anything.  Don’t forget that the area’s agriculture industry has been wiped out.

The only way Japan can recover quickly is with economic help equal to what the United States provided after World War 2, and the U.S. is not able to do that now.

 

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.

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!

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.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Pocatello, Idaho, Could be Site of New Super VA Clinic

A little history:  When I was a student/employee at Idaho State University, in Pocatello, Idaho, there was hope that the State of Idaho would use the old hospital to create a much needed medical school.  After all, the local economy was going down, a new owner of the hospital was building a new hospital and vacating the old one, and, the United States is suffering from not enough medical personnel.  But, our wise state leaders basically said no (some of those leaders are currently campaigning for re-election).

On to plan B.  The owners of the Portneuf Medical Center (PMC) announced that they have been working to convince the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to turn the soon to be vacant old hospital (West Campus facility) into a Super VA Outpatient Specialty Clinic.

PMC West Campus, Pocatello, Idaho.

The new PMC hospital (East Campus facility) is complete, and they will be moving out of the old West Campus.  The new East Campus should be open by the middle of 2011.

PMC East Campus, Pocatello, Idaho.

Officials from the cities of Pocatello, and Chubbuck, as well as Bannock County officials, are working to help convince the VA to choose Pocatello.  What are the benefits?  Because of the War on Terror there is an increasing need for VA clinics and hospitals.  The old West Campus hospital would be ready made, no need to build a new facility, and, PMC says they will even leave medical equipment behind.  The location would mean that East Idaho, Montana and Wyoming veterans would not have to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for treatment.  Idaho State University, located right next to the West Campus, would be involved because they are already getting Department of Defense grants for several veterans programs.

A recent meeting with officials in Washington D.C. revealed that funding has become an issue, even with the fact that the VA wouldn’t have to build anything.  I think the residents of Idaho need to get behind this plan, especially since the Idaho National Guard (including members from Montana and Oregon) is currently serving another War on Terror tour of duty.