Tag Archives: banks

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Occupy Corporate Prisons, United Police States of Corporate America! Protestors shut down Wells Fargo, because of direct links to corporate prisons, Idaho politicians in the pockets of corporate prisons

On December 2, protestors in Washington DC temporarily shut down the Wells Fargo office.  The reason is that Wells Fargo is a major player in financing corporate prisons.

The OWS protesters say banks like Wells Fargo are profiting from the contracted management of state ‘correctional’ institutes, such as GEO Group managing the Rivers Correctional Institution in North Carolina.

Wells Fargo also supports Corrections Corporation of America, which runs a prison in Idaho known as Gladiator School.

Wells Fargo is also the biggest bank in Idaho.  Reports say Wells Fargo owns 4 million shares in Geo Group, the second largest U.S. private prison corporation, and 50,000 shares in the number one private prison operator, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

Also of interest, Idaho politicians, most of them republicans, receive donations from CCA (supported by Wells Fargo).

Here’s a long list:

Eric Anderson (R): $250.00 in 2008

Steven R. Bair (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Clifford R. “Cliff” Bayer (R):  $1,550 combined 2006 & 2008

Scott Bedke (R):  $500.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Maxine T. Bell (R):  $1,050 combined 2006 & 2008

Carlos Bilbao (R): $250.00 in 2008

Dianne Bilyeu (D): $250.00 in 2008

Max C. Black (R): $250.00 in 2008

Darrel Bolz (R):  $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008

Bert Brackett (R): $250.00 in 2008

Joyce M. Broadsword (R): $1,050 in 2008

Mike Burkett (D):  $500.00 in 2006

Dean L. Cameron (R): $750.00 in 2008

Marge Chadderdon (R): $250.00 in 2008

James W. Clark (R): $500.00 in 2008

Denton Darrington (R):  $800.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Bart M. Davis (R): $550.00 in 2006

W.W. “Bill” Deal (R):  $750.00 in 2006

Lawerence E. Denney (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Julie Ellsworth (R): $250.00 in 2008

George E. Eskridge (R): $500.00 in 2008

Debbie Field (R): $250.00 in 2006

Russell M. Fulcher (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008

Robert L. Geddes (R): $250.00 in 2006

John W. Goedde (R): $500.00 in 2008

Jim Guthrie (R): $500.00 in 2006

Jim Hammond (R): $500.00 in 2008

Phil Hart (R): $250.00 in 2008

R.J. “Dick” Harwood (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008

Margaret Henbest (D): $300.00 in 2006

Frank N. Henderson (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Brent Hill (R):  $300.00 in 2006

Mike Jorenson (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Kate Kelly (D): $250.00 in 2008

Dirk Kempthorne (R):   $2,500 in 2006

Shawn A. Keough (R):  $1,500 combined 2006 & 2008

Richard D. Kirkham (R): $500.00 in 2006

Steven A. Kren (R): $500.00 in 2008

Raul R. Labrador (R): $250.00 in 2006

Dennis M. Lake (R): $250.00 in 2008

Brad Little (R): $750.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Patti Anne Lodge (R): $1,500 combined 2006 & 2008

Janice McGeachin (R): $500.00 in 2008

John McGee (R): $1,300 combined 2006 & 2008

Shirley McKague (R): $250.00 in 2008

Mike Moyle (R): $1,000 combined 2006 & 2008

Pete Nielsen (R): $300.00 in 2006

C.L. “Butch” Otter (R): $10,000 in 2006

Monty J. Pearce (R): $550.00 in 2006

Ken A. Roberts (R): $250.00 in 2008

John Rusche (R): $250.00 in 2008

Mack G. Shirley (R): $250.00 in 2008

Kathy Skippen (R): $800.00 in 2006

Elaine Smith (D): $250.00 in 2008

Dean E. Sorensen (R): $250.00 in 2008

Joe Stegner (R): $500.00 combined 2006 & 2008

Gerry Sweet (R):  $1,000 in 2006

Richard Wills (R): $250.00 in 2008

Chuck Winder (R): $250.00 in 2008

Fred Wood (R): $500.00 in 2008

Joan E. Wood (R): $250.00 in 2008

Becky Young (R): $250.00 in 2008

Not one Idaho third party candidate took money from CCA!

 

Fukushima

Global Food Crisis: Fukushima needs help inspecting more than 24,000 rice farms, too much radiation, logistical nightmare!

The Prefectural government of Fukushima (where the spewing Fukushima Daiichi GE designed disaster reactors are) is asking the Japanese government for logistical help.

Fukushima officials said they want to test one third of their rice farms/crops for radiation contamination, after several rice crops came up highly radioactive. Here’s the logistical problem: One third of Fukushima rice farms/harvests amount to 24,000 crops!

Fukushima Prefecture asked the national government to provide devices to measure radiation, dispatch personnel to expedite inspections, and shoulder the cost.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: TEPCo admits lack of communication caused Reactor 1 to melt down and explode, evidence it was a man made disaster!

On 02 December 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company officials admitted that lack of communication resulted in Fukushima Daiichi’s Reactor 1 melting down and exploding, on 12 March 2011.

Former plant manager, Yoshida Masao (who recently resigned due to health problems, which might be caused by exposure to radiation, which TEPCo denies) said he, and other officials, were not told that Reactor 1’s cooling system was manually shut down.  He realized the cooling system was not working a little more than six hours after it had been turned off. By then it was too late.

Just a few days ago TEPCo admitted, after an independent investigation, that 100% of the fuel rods in Reactor 1 melted.

The irony is that Reactor 1 had the only operable cooling system after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami hit the nuclear disaster reactor plant.  Reactors 2, 3 and 4 lost their connections to electrical power, but Reactor 1 was still connected.

This could add some fuel to the conspiracy theories out there (that it was intentional, after all, look how long they’ve dragged this out!).

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: The big jumps in stock markets have nothing to do with economic recovery. It’s all part of the new way the Elite 1% make money.

“…the markets are basically run by algorithmic trading these days… Nobody’s making investments in the stock market thinking they’re getting a long term investment in the company that they’re buying a stock for. So all we’re looking at is trading on news.”-Catherine Mann, Brandeis University International Business School, and former member of the Federal Reserve bank Board of Governors

“…what you have right now is massive amount of liquidity around the world sitting on the sidelines with very cheap equity markets. So any time there’s a little bit of positive news, you see this explosion in stock markets, and because it’s so cheap and there’s so much money just sitting there ready to move.”-David Smick, economic policy strategist

PBS Newshour interviewed two ‘experts’ on why the stock markets are seeing huge swings up and down.  Both basically said it had nothing to do with economic recovery, it’s basically a war being fought with cash, and is the new way the 1% are making even more money. It’s being done without the labor or services of the 99%, by simply day trading on the World’s stock markets instead of creating new products or hiring more employees.  If you’re a rich bastard or bitch and you could make more money day trading than actually making a product or service (requiring you to spend money on employees and transportation and benefits and other costs associated with traditional enterprise) then why not?

“…that’s the way that banks fund themselves, is that they borrow in the overnight market from each other. And since the summer, we have been looking at the interest rate that they charge each other has been rising and rising and rising. It’s now at a level or was earlier today at the level right before the crisis with Lehman Brothers.”-Catherine Mann

“If you look at today and you say, when’s the last time that the global central banks got together, it was three days after the Lehman crisis in 2008.”  “The problem is…a solvency [the ability to pay your bills] problem in Europe, not a liquidity [cash, meaning the 1% have plenty of cash on hand] problem.”-David Smick

“…one of the downsides of this additional liquidity being put into the global marketplace is that it provides more ammunition for the traders in the marketplace who want to bet against the central bank, or against the European Central Bank in particular, or, want to bet against some of those sovereign governments in Europe that are running some difficulties.  So this excess liquidity, or a lot of liquidity, does have a downside. And I think that we aren’t thinking exactly how that ammunition is going to be used. We’re thinking it’s going to be used for good [like providing more jobs, creating new products and services, etc.], but there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be used for good.”  “…this intervention in Europe…doesn’t even come close to addressing the political problem that they face…National governments have spent too much money, they have borrowed too much over a long period of time.”-Catherine Mann

“It’s a little bit like the house is on fire, and…the pluming is backed up. Well, today, we took care of the plumbing [referring to the central banks of Europe, North America and Japan/Pacific Asia Group (the three member regions of the one world government seeking Trilateral Commission) agreeing to provide dirt cheap loans to the 1%] , but the house is still on fire.”-David Smick

 

 

Fukushima

Occupy Fukushima! Residents order all nuclear reactors shut down and scrapped!

The governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Yuhei Sato, ordered all nuclear reactors in the prefecture, to be shut and scrapped.  There are ten nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture.

The residents of Fukushima know that it will have a huge negative impact on their local economy, but they say it’s better than trying to live with an ongoing nuclear disaster!

The Fukushima government is working on a reconstruction plan that will try to create new jobs for those working at the nuclear plants.

 

Fukushima

Government & Corporate Incompetence: TEPCo admits fuel rods melted through reactor cores! Serious melt down of 3 reactors at GE designed Fukushima Daiichi!

Tokyo Electric Power Company has been forced to admit that serous melt downs took place in reactors 1, 2 and 3, of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Independent researchers confirmed that melt downs did occur, and were severe enough to melt through the reactor cores into the bottom of the containment vessels. Some melted fuel rods penetrated as much as 57 centimeters (22 inches) into the containment vessels.  The bottom of the containment vessel is made of thick concrete, with a steel plate on top.

TEPCo now says 100% of the fuel rods in Reactor 1 melted, all the way through the core into the containment vessel!  57% of Reactor 2’s fuel rods melted, and 63% of Reactor 3’s fuel rods melted.

Many months ago, I posted how nuclear experts, who were being ignored by the main stream media, explained that the amount and type of radiation coming from Fukushima Daiichi could only mean melt down was occurring.  Somehow the main stream news media found other nuclear ‘experts’ (including many who work for the U.S. government, and the U.S. nuclear power industry) who countered those claims.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant reactors were designed by General Electric.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Occupy America, What Economic Recovery? Forget percentages, unemployment numbers already worse than 1930s Great Depression. Federal Reserve quietly preps banks for worse to come!

At the peak of the Great Depression, in 1933, 12.8 million people were officially unemployed in the United States.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics we’re already past that; 13.9 million officially unemployed!

Now take into account that some sources are saying that the Bureau of Labor is intentionally under reporting the numbers; they should read 17 million unemployed!  Then there are those that say if older unemployment counting methods were used, we’re actually double the officially reported numbers!

Now enter the Federal Reserve (the privately run central bank of the United States).  On November 22, Ben Bernanke quietly asked 19 top banks/financial institutions to conduct a stress test, for the third time since 2009.

The second stress test was completed in March 2011, and several banks failed, including Bank of America!  It was not publicly reported!

Reports say this latest “comprehensive capital analysis and review” would include scenarios like a 6.9% to 8% drop in the U.S. economy, a 21% drop in housing prices, and the potential for 23.2 million people out of work!

Bernanke also asked the six top banks (JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley) to predict how much money they would lose in such scenarios.

The results are due on January 9, 2012.

 

Fukushima

Company Hero? Manager of Fukushima Daiichi resigns, major health problems!

The manager of Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was forced to resign, because of major health problems.

Yoshida Masao has been directly dealing with the situation at the nuclear plant since the 11 March 2011 disasters.  Yoshida said a major health problem was discovered during a medical check up.  TEPCo officials refused to give any information, or to confirm if was the result of long term exposure to high levels of radiation.

Yoshida said there were three times he, and the workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, thought they were going to die: The explosions of reactors 1 and 3, and the coolant pump failures on Reactor 2.

Fukushima

Corporate Incompetence: Tokyo Electric can’t explain the high levels of radiation from Reactor 2!

During the week that followed the March 11 earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan, reactors 1, 3 and 4 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant exploded.  Yet Reactor 2 spewed the most radiation.

Contract workers at the plant say they heard an explosion inside Reactor 2, but TEPCo officials swear no explosion took place.  Independent researchers claim that Reactor 2 has emitted more radiation than the reactors that exploded!

Scientists (not working for TEPCo) say the most probable reason is that the containment vessel around the core was breached.  TEPCo also denies that.

TEPCo officials simply state that “somehow” radioactive gas escaped Reactor 2.

Fukushima

Government & Farmer Incompetence: More cesium contaminated rice, new farms affected!

Three farms in the city of Date, Japan, harvested rice that was found to be contaminated with cesium, up to 1,050 becquerels per kilogram.

Earlier in November as many as six farms in Oonami district were found with contaminated rice.  Those farms did not sell their rice, but the farms in Date did.

Now officials are trying to track down who bought the cesium contaminated rice.

Date, and Oonami are in Fukushima Prefecture, where the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant continues to emit high levels of radiation.  Originally officials were testing rice just from the 154 farms in Oonami, but will now test more than 2,300 farms in the prefecture.