Category Archives: U.S.

Opinion, U.S.

Preparing for Disaster

How do you prepare for natural disaster?

First you need to know what kind of natural disaster/disasters is/are most likely in your area.  Tornado, flood, earthquake, hurricane, volcano, wild fire?  All the above?

Second you need to figure out the chances of your survivability, based on the level of the disaster.   Example:  I live about 130 miles (222km) from the super volcano at Yellowstone National Park.  The last time I read about the expected eruption (a massive explosion) of Yellowstone, I learned that I live within the “kill zone” of 200-600 miles.  However, the rest of North America would be subject to the highly toxic, and abrasive, ash cloud.

That is an extreme example, but geologist keep saying a catastrophic eruption of Yellowstone is overdue.

The next step is: Do you have the ability to prepare?  The main problem in a capitalist society is money.  I do not have the amount of money it would take to prepare to survive the catastrophic eruption of Yellowstone, given how close I am.  The best I can do is prepare to survive the ash cloud (seal doors & windows, wear respirator, along with the usual stockpile of survival goods).  People will say, move!  That takes money as well, and I currently do not have enough money to even move (thank you Corporate America!).  I spent a decade “going where the jobs are”, but after I did some math, I realized that I had lost money with all the moving (I never made enough to make itemized deductions on my taxes, so no deduction for moving. And, one company I worked for actually reneged on its promise to pay my moving expenses).

The best that most people can do, is to prepare as if they will end up on the periphery of a natural disaster.  Stock up on food (mainly canned and dry), water, medicals and fuel, these are the basics.  Do not discount having a gun, just be sure you know how to use it.  And one last thing, if you have pets/livestock you need to make preparations for them as well.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

U.S. Dollar crashing against Japanese Yen

The U.S. dollar has fallen in value against the Japanese Yen.  This is because Japanese government and corporations are cashing in their chips. They are cashing in the foreign bonds they hold, in order to raise cash to help deal with the disasters. Corporations, including insurance companies which expect pay out huge claims, are trying to acquire as much Japanese Yen as they can. This is called “repatriation” in the financial markets.

The Bank of Japan will take advantage of the rising value of the Yen, by selling Yen to foreign buyers in order to bring in foreign cash to the national bank.

Japan has been one of the most prolific buyers of U.S. debt, in the form of U.S. bonds.  Japan itself is in huge debt, but until now was able to continue buying U.S. bonds, helping the U.S. government.  The disasters have forced Japan to sell back bonds in order to raise cash to help deal with ongoing crisis, and for rebuilding.  Japanese corporations have to raise cash due to the fact that most factories have shut down, which means they’re not making anything to sell.  So Japanese corporations have to sell the foreign bonds they hold.

This is the beginning of a possible economic dominoes affect on the World Economy.

Fukushima, U.S.

U.S. Military issuing Iodide Pills to Aircrews, U.S. taking Radiation Readings

The United States military is issuing Potassium Iodide pills to helicopter crews flying operations in Japan.  The crews take the pills before their missions.

U.S. nuclear experts now in Japan will start taking their own radiation readings.  Officially this is to “help” Japan with the Fukushima nuclear disaster, but I think it’s because U.S. officials don’t trust what TEPCo, and Japanese officials, are reporting.

Business/Economics, Fukushima, U.S.

Toyota stopping operations in United States

Toyota announced that not only is it halting operations in Japan (due to the Fukushima disaster), but in the United States as well.

This is because most of the parts used in U.S. factories come from Japan, and parts production has come to a halt.

Fukushima, U.S.

JSDF stops helicopter water drops, U.S. sending water trucks

Japanese Self Defense Forces stopped dropping water by helicopter because radiation levels above the plant are too high, exceeding 50 millisieverts.

The United States military said it was sending two water trucks to help spray water on the reactors from the ground.

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.