Tag Archives: economy

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 11-12 June 2013. 4000 hospital employees laid off, blamed on Obama! U.S. model kit company shutting down? Illinois & New York hit hard, again!

IBM is ending operations and laying off as many as 8000 employees in Vermont and North Carolina!!!  A company press release basically blamed it on tough competition.

British empire owned Kearfott laid off 96 employees in North Carolina.  Kearfott makes guidance systems for UAVs (recon and assassination drones) for the military.  The report of layoffs came from employees, company officials refused to talk to local media about it.  In Lewisville, Shallowford Hardware shut down after only five years in business.

What automotive industry recovery?  Delaware based Lio Energy Systems and China based Miles Electric Vehicles joined California based Coda Automotive in bankruptcy.  Coda is the parent company of Lio Energy and Miles Electric.  It’s blamed on lack of sales of their electric cars.

In Pennsylvania, Wissahickon School District laid off six people, and reduced the pay for two other employees.  Also, the Altoona Area School District closed two elementary schools.  It’s blamed on declining student enrollment.  Philadelphia’s most famous restaurant, Le Bec Fin, shut down.  The restaurant has closed before, and re-opened, but the owner says it’s for good this time.

In Georgia, the Muscogee School Board wants to layoff 20 teachers.  They’ve already closed two elementary schools.  It’s all about balancing the budget.  The city of Columbus warned of massive layoffs.  The city has already laid off hundreds of employees over the past couple of years.

The Louisiana Civil Service Commission laying off 3976 employees at LSU’s hospital in Shreveport!!!  Most of those are classified as state employees.  It’s part of the state’s plans to privatize the hospital, partially blamed on the Obama/Romney Affordable Health Care Act for reducing Medicare/Medicaid payments to the state.

In Connecticut, the Christian God can’t stop Saint Vincent Medical Center from laying off 50 employees, and eliminating 100 other positions!  Catholic hospital officials blamed it on competition and decreased federal funding due to the Obama/Romney Affordable Health Care Act.

The University of Maryland Medical Center laying off an undisclosed number of employees.  Hospital officials are directly blaming the Obama/Romney Affordable Health Care Act.  They also blame federal sequestration, which will cut several billions of dollars from Medicare.

In New York, Lakeside Memorial Hospital Emergency Department and Inpatient Unit shut down, 343 people unemployed! Hospital officials blame it on lack of customers.  In NYC, CNN America-Starting Point laid off 40 employees.  And Artio Global Investors closed, 94 people laid off.  Direct Access Partners closed, 62 people laid off.  Post House Investors closing, 59 employees out-o-work. In Dunkirk, The Carriage House closed, 133 people out-o-work!   In Farmingdale, OSI Pharmaceuticals shut down, 96 people unemployed.  Rochester Beer & Beverage shut down, 63 people unemployed.

Massive layoffs in Illinois, again!  Plastic model kit company Testors laid off 107 employees at it’s Rockford plant!  Testors has operated out of Rockford since 1929, they also make paint and other model building supplies.  Company officials say the bad economy is forcing them to eliminate some of their model supply brands.  This means closing their 84 years old Blackhawk Park Avenue building, and moving operations into a smaller building.  Commercial Vehicle Group shut down its truck parts factory in DeKalb.  75 jobs lost.  Illinois Central School Bus lost its contract in South Beloit.  107 people unemployed!  Life sciences equipment manufacturer, PerkinElmer, shut down operations and laid off 53 people in Downers Grove.  In Chillicothe, warehousing company HK Logistics laid off 59 employees.  Hubbell Central Distribution Center closing its South Holland facility. 82 people laid off.  Book publisher D.B. Hess for sale, 148 employees affected!  Chartwells Dining Services lost their contract in Waukegan, 113 jobs lost.  Chartwells has been losing contracts across the country.  In Edwardsville, Berkeley Contract Packaging shutting down and laying off 161 people!  Commercial building construction firm, All Tri-R, lost a major contract.  173 unemployed!  Military contractor, KBR, closing it’s Chicago office, 83 people out-o-work.  Drug maker AbbVie laid off another 96 employees.  Manufacturer of automated toll collection systems, TransCore LP, closing a call center and laying off 196 people!

In Indiana, reports that Slingshot SEO laid off ten employees.  Company officials say they’re “…right-sizing our organization for our next wave of growth.”

In California, JDSU laid off 125 people at its optical products division in Sonoma County!  The company has ended production of some products.  In Santa Barbara, after 29 years of business the Travel Store closed down.  The owner blamed it on internet competition and declining local customers.

Donation funded PBS NewsHour closing offices in San Fransisco, California, and in Denver, Colorado.  Most employees at those offices laid off.  It’s blamed on declining corporate sponsors.  Current open positions will not be filled.  Because of reduced corporate sponsorship, PBS NewsHour is short $7 million USD!

Commercial cable TV sports channel, ESPN, began a second round of layoffs.  Company officials say they plan to layoff up to 400 people this year!  Reports say the first round of layoffs, in May, came with no warning.

Greyhound bus company shut down their Clearwater, Florida, bus station.  Local news sources say the company would not comment on why they’re closing the station.  JP Morgan & Chase laying off 435 people in Tampa!  It’s part of the Too Big to Jail bank’s plan to layoff 17000 people across the country by the end of 2014!!!

Julie’s Gold Crown Hallmark closed in Arkansas.

In Manassas, Virginia, it was revealed the Kmart would close in September.  71 people out-o-work!

The Lai Thai Restaurant closed in Casper, Wyoming.  Health and family issues forced the owners to sell to a new owner, who will hopefully re-open the restaurant.

In Oregon, FOSS Maritime laid off 60 employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

The United States is a Failed State: Another 1.18 million citizens have left the U.S.! Don’t blame new tax rules! Where are they all going?

11 August 2013 (00:28 UTC-07 Tango)/04 Shawwal 1434/20 Mordad 1391/05 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

According to the U.S. Department of State, 6.38 million U.S. citizens are now living outside the United States!  That’s 1.18 million more than what the State Department reported in 2012!  (that does not include government or military personnel)

But wait, the 6.38 million figure is what the U.S. State Department compiled for 2011! You see, the data the State Department just released is two years old!  I could almost guarantee the actual number of U.S. citizens leaving the country is higher.

Already 1810 have renounced their U.S. citizenship, just in the first half of 2013, that’s record breaking!

Since 2008 the numbers of U.S. citizens rejecting their citizenship has only gone up.  These approximate numbers are compiled from the quarterly list of names provided by the Internal Revenue Service.

2008: 235

2009: 743

2010: 1500

2011: 1788

2012: 747

First six months of 2013: 1810

The exodus has got government leaders so riled up that they’ve passed tax laws (like FATCA & FBAR) that essentially makes anyone who leaves the United States a tax evading terrorist.

But you can’t blame the new taxes because expatriates are already required to pay U.S. taxes even though they live in another country: “The U.S. is the only developed nation in the world that taxes its citizens on income they earn abroad.“-William McGurn, Wall Street Journal

The new tax laws require foreign banks to report accounts of U.S. citizens to the U.S. government.  FACTA also require foreign banks to steal up to 30% of U.S. payments to U.S. citizen’s bank accounts! Banks in Germany and Canada are complaining that the laws are too complicated, and will cost them money to comply with.

U.S. expats living abroad, yet paying U.S. taxes with little or no representation.  Isn’t that what the U.S. Revolution of 1776 was all about?

Where are all those U.S. citizens fleeing to?  According to the recently released State Department data (from 2011) the favorite place is still the Western Hemisphere (Canada, Latin America, Caribbean).  Two million 591 thousand U.S. citizens fled north or south of the border.  By the way, this year former USN SEAL, former movie star and former governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, revealed that he moved his family to Mexico.  Don’t blame U.S. taxes, in an interview with controversial Alex Jones, Ventura basically said the sheeple of the U.S. are a bunch of panty wastes who don’t have the guts to fight their repressive elitist British empire/Israeli zionist controlled government!

Europe is the next favorite escape destination, at one million 612 thousand.  But for those who move to Europe you can not blame it on trying to avoid U.S. taxes, because the tax rates in Europe are outrageous! How ’bout that waffling Republican Michele Bachmann? First she’s a U.S. citizen, then she becomes a Swiss citizen in 2012, then changes her mind!  In 2012, Grammy-nominated songwriter Denise Rich renounced U.S. citizenship after moving to United Kingdom.  Also, in January 2013 ‘merican pop music star Tina Turner renounced her U.S. citizenship and became a Swiss citizen.  Tina Turner said she can’t bring herself to call the U.S. ‘home’ anymore: “I’m very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here. I cannot imagine a better place to live.”

Next is the Near East (aka Middle East, North Africa) at 870 thousand.  That’s right, U.S. citizens are moving to countries considered to support terrorism!

East Asia and Pacific countries have seen 864 thousand U.S. citizens move in.  In 2012 Facebook co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, renounced his U.S. citizenship and now calls Singapore his home.  In his case taxes might be the motivating factor.  Athlete Quincy Davis renounced U.S. citizenship in June 2013.  He now plays basketball for Taiwan.

212 thousand U.S. citizens moved into South Central Asian countries (Afghanistan anyone?).

And African countries saw 171 thousand U.S. citizens take up residence.

Remember, these are 2011 State Department numbers.

International, U.S.

World War 3, Asian Front-Afghanistan, 29-30 July 2013: More proof Afghanistan is U.S./U.K. hot spot for gay sex! U.S. increases airstrikes! More proof the corruption is United States!

In Parwan Province, U.S. News & World Report stated that three USAF airmen were wounded in a explosion at Bagram airbase.  The airman are part of the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. The explosion ripped through the airmen’s outrageously expensive Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle.

In Paktia Province, reports that three villages were bombed by U.S./NATO airstrikes.  At least 65 people killed. NATO/ISAF said they were all Mujahideen.

The Afghan National Army (ANA) claim they’ve killed 140 Mujahideen in Logar, Paktia and Nangarhar provinces.  It was part of Operation Simurgh.  The Afghan Ministry of Defense says many of those killed were Pakistani.

In Logar and Kunar provinces reports of U.S. airstrikes.  At least 80 people killed.  Afghan government sources are saying the airstrikes are being called in to stop human wave attacks by Mujahideen.

Also in Logar Province, Pul-e-Alam, a U.S. Army Specialist was killed by indirect fire.  He was part of the 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.  Mujahideen reported the bomb attack, but they claim five U.S. personnel were killed.

In Zabul Province, Shahjoi District, an explosion killed nine people and wounded 12 others.  The bomb was meant for the local Afghan National Police (ANP) commander, who was among those killed.

In Kandahar Province, Spin Boldak District, an explosion killed a woman and her two daughters.  In Panjwayi District, and explosion killed one woman.  Also, the sons of a police commander assassinated by Mujahideen, conducted a home invasion retaliation, killing a man and his two sons.  However, Mujahideen say the man and his sons were not involved in their assassination of the cop commander.

In Kunduz Province, Dashte Archi District, the villages of Haji Zarghoon and Haji Sarfaraz were subjected to Israeli home invasions by NATO/ANA troops.  Six people kidnapped.

In Laghman Province, four villagers were kidnapped by government officials, who’re now asking the village elders to pay a large amount of money for their freedom (25000 Afghani per kidnap victim).

An Afghan diplomat has been kidnapped in Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province.

According to U.S. military news sources, such as Marine Corps Times, Afghanistan has become the craigslist hot spot for homosexual sex!  That is a direct violation of the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which forbids even heterosexual sex in combat zones!  This is just another revelation in the decline and fall of the morality of the United States.  Other news sources have reported on homosexual crimes being committed upon Afghan boys by U.S./NATO personnel.  Even the Canadian military has sealed their scandalous investigation into it!

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) confirmed that U.S. tax dollars are going to Afghan contractors known to support Mujahideen.  SIGAR blamed the U.S. Army Suspension and Debarment Office, which refused to cancel 43 contracts linked to the Mujahideen.  “I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract.”-John Sopko, SIGAR

Also, SIGAR revealed that $47 million tax dollars went down the toilet in a USAID program called Stability in Key Areas Program.  SIGAR says it was a failure because there’s still no stability in Afghanistan.  SIGAR says it’s because not one dollar went to those who were supposed to get it: “…Although USAID had disbursed approximately $47 million for the four SIKA contracts as of March 31, 2013, none of the funds had gone to grants that fund community projects….”

So who got the $47 million?  DAI of Bethesda, Maryland, and AECOM of Los Angeles, California.

The Christian Science Monitor reporting that a dam being built by the taxpayers of India could mean war with Iran and Turkmenistan.  The Salma Dam could be complete by the end of 2014 (the same time U.S./NATO is to draw down). It blocks rivers that flow into Iran and Turkmenistan.  The dam will allow local Afghan farms to increase production and will generate electricity.

The U.S. Department of Defense admits that 2241 U.S. service members have died since the start of the War on Terror in Afghan.

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Martial law U.S.A.: Think your smartphone data is secure? Silent Circle erases customer data due to fear of the NSA!

10 August 2013 (15:46 UTC-07 Tango)/03 Shawwal 1434/19 Mordad 1391/04 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

The following was posted by Silent Circle:

To Our Customers

We designed our phone, video, and text services (Silent Phone and Silent Text) to be completely end-to-end secure with all cryptography done on the clients and our exposure to your data to be nil. The reasons are obvious — the less of your information we have, the better it is for you and for us.

Silent Mail has thus always been something of a quandary for us. Email that uses standard Internet protocols cannot have the same security guarantees that real-time communications has. There are far too many leaks of information and metadata intrinsically in the email protocols themselves. Email as we know it with SMTP, POP3, and IMAP cannot be secure.

And yet, many people wanted it. Silent Mail has similar security guarantees to other secure email systems, and with full disclosure, we thought it would be valuable.

However, we have reconsidered this position. We’ve been thinking about this for some time, whether it was a good idea at all. Today, another secure email provider, Lavabit, shut down their system lest they “be complicit in crimes against the American people.” We see the writing the wall, and we have decided that it is best for us to shut down Silent Mail now. We have not received subpoenas, warrants, security letters, or anything else by any government, and this is why we are acting now.

We’ve been debating this for weeks, and had changes planned starting next Monday. We’d considered phasing the service out, continuing service for existing customers, and a variety of other things up until today. It is always better to be safe than sorry, and with your safety we decided that the worst decision is always no decision.

Silent Phone and Silent Text, along with their cousin Silent Eyes are end-to-end secure. We don’t have the encrypted data and we don’t collect metadata about your conversations. They’re continuing as they have been. We are still working on innovative ways to do truly secure communications. Silent Mail was a good idea at the time, and that time is past.

We apologize for any inconvenience, and hope you understand that if we dithered, it could be more inconvenient.

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Martial Law U.S.A.: Think your secure email is secure? Lavabit shut down for refusing to comply with NSA!

10 August 2013 (15:34 UTC-07 Tango)/03 Shawwal 1434/19 Mordad 1391/04 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

The following was posted by the operator of a secure email service that was bullied by the U.S. government:

My Fellow Users,

I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on–the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.

What’s going to happen now? We’ve already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company.

This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.

Sincerely,
Ladar Levison
Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLC

Defending the constitution is expensive! Help us by donating to the Lavabit Legal Defense Fund here.

Business/Economics, U.S.

World War 3, U.S. Economic Front: Job losses & store closings 09-10 June 2013. Bad economy kills 100 years old non-profit!

What automotive industry recovery? Georgia based lead acid battery maker, Exide, bankrupt. Company officials blame higher production costs, increased competition and a crashing market in Europe.

Texas based National Envelope (aka NE Opco) went through on their threat of bankruptcy.  They blame crashing envelope sales on electronic communications.  In Dallas, the 100 years old non-profit, Camp Fire Lone Star, shut down operations!  It’s blamed on increased competition for decreasing donations, due to the bad economy.

In Pennsylvania, the Allentown School District laid off 99 teachers, with the goal of eliminating 132 teaching positions!  It’s blamed on reduced state and federal funding.  In Philadelphia, Boeing laid off 41 employees. Company officials say it’s necessary to remain competitive.  Bethlehem’s Supermercado Mi Terra grocery store closed after 55 years of business.  It’s being replaced with a C-Town grocery store.  And the Home and Planet home decor store shut down.  The owner said he has to sell the building.

The Hummel Gift Shop closed in Ohio.  The owners retired.  Bradley Caldwell closing their distribution center in August. 81 people out-o-work.

In Minnesota, Nordic Home Interiors shut down their retail operation.  They will focus on internet sales.

Su Casa II Mexican Grill shut down in Wisconsin.  The owners blame skyrocketing increases in all costs, the final straw being a new lease.

Schwan Foods shut down their distribution centers in Oakes, North Dakota, and Faulkton, South Dakota.  The mayors of the two towns complained that the closings will greatly impact their small towns.  The door to door food service is consolidating distribution into a new $1 million USD center in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

In Washington, after failed attempts to sell it off, the owners of Junction Bakery and Café gave up.

In California, the only medical supply store in Lompoc, Valley Medical, shut down.  Management referred local news media to corporate HQ for details of the closing, but corporate officials are apparently ignoring inquiries.  Local news media say 4000 elderly will be affected by the closing.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) doesn’t count the hundreds of layoffs involving less than 50 people each, in its mass layoff reports. It also doesn’t count all the little ‘mom & pop’ businesses that shut down.

Business/Economics, Idaho

Employee owned WinCo is the new business model of the 21st Century!

10 August 2013 (19:51 UTC-07 Tango 09 August 2013)/03 Shawwal 1434/19 Mordad 1391/04 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

“WinCo arguably may be the best retailer in the Western U.S……WinCo is really unstoppable….They’re Walmart’s worst nightmare!”-Burt Flickinger III, New York based retail analyst

The Idaho Statesman published an article showing that employee owned WinCo is being used as a prime example of what large U.S. businesses need to be like to survive and excel in the 21st century (Gregorian calendar system).

The article gives a good explanation why Idaho based employee owned WinCo is exploding in growth.

By the way, why does the main stream media always add a dash between Wal and mart? There’s no dash between Wal and mart, and mart is not capitalized. It’s Walmart.  I hates Walmart, but at least I spells it correctly.  Actually here’s the history: From 1962-64 there was no dash.  From 1964-92 there was a dash.  From 1992-2008 there was a star.  Since 2008 Walmart has gone back to no dash or star upon thars (but there’s like an astric following Walmart*).

WinCo expansion delays caused by Arizona aesthetics cops! 

International, U.S.

World War 3, Asian Front-Afghanistan, 27-28 July 2013: New Zealand uses NSA to spy on Americans, through Five Eyes alliance! Reporting corruption gets a reporter almost beat to death in public!

In Helmand, Kunar and Paktia provinces, reports that 60 people killed by U.S./NATO air strikes.

In Helmand, provincial government officials say a NATO air strike killed Mujahideen returning from a battle in Nimroz Province, however, NATO/ISAF officials deny any airstrikes were launched in Helmand.  Also in Helmand, the U.K. Red Coats have been conducting secret operations in Sangin District.  According to Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials, the secret missions are targeting Mujahideen.  MoD says the Red Coats were sent back to Sangin at the request of Afghan National Army (ANA) officials.  Afghan government forces have been unable to take control of Sangin District.

In Ghazni Province, Qara Bagh District, Mujahideen assassinated the local Afghan National Police (ANP) boss, along with his three body guards.  A suicide bomber used a motorcycle bomb.  Three civilians were also killed, and seven people wounded.  Two U.S. soldiers were killed by explosion, after their vehicle was ambushed by Mujahideen.  They were with the 10th Transportation Battalion, 7th Sustainment Brigade.

In Uruzgan Province, Khas Uruzgan District, two tribal elders were assassinated, shot while working in the farm fields.

In Baghlan Province, Tapa-i-Shahidan District, the provincial security boss survived an assassination attempt.  His convoy was crossing a bridge when a bomb went off.  A civilian was killed, one cop wounded.  In Doshi District, Mujahideen ambushed a convoy of food supply trucks, destroying two reefers.

In Samangan Province, the governor, and his bodyguards, survived an assassination attempt.  A roadside bomb exploded as his vehicle passed.  A child was wounded.

In Kabul Province, the governor of Parwan Province publicly beat a journalist after tricking the reporter to a meeting at a restaurant in Kabul city.  The reporter was also threatened with death, because he had publicized the massive corruption of the Parwan government.  Also, in Sarobi District a U.S. Special Forces Group sergeant (from the Mississippi National Guard) was shot and killed by Mujahideen.

In Farah Province, an explosion killed as many as seven children.  Local government officials said the children were collecting scrap metal, and found what turned out to be a bomb from the civil war of the 1990s.

In Badakhshan Province, Warduj District, reports that government forces are burning the wheat crops of farmers who refuse to fight the Mujahideen. Several farm tractors destroyed and some families were driven from their homes.

In the United States, an ABC News/Washington Post survey said 67% of ‘mericans think the War on Terror in Afghanistan is a wasted effort.

In New Zealand, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is denying reports that it used the U.S. NSA data mining operations (domestic spying) to spy on a reporter working for a U.S. news company in Afghanistan.  The reporter says the NZDF was collecting his phone contacts.  The reporter could have been targeted by the NZDF because he revealed the criminal treatment that Qiwi forces are dealing to prisoners in Afghanistan.  New Zealand is part of the secretive Five Eyes alliance.    The Five Eyes alliance is made up of United States, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom.  (obviously it’s a British empire thing)

International

Government Evil: Official reveals the lies about Japan Atomic Energy Commission! Is Japan building nuclear weapons?

09 August 2013 (15:40 UTC-07 Tango)/02 Shawwal 1434/18 Mordad 1391/03 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711

Japan’s NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) reporting that the head of Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Shunsuke Kondo, has admitted the commission is just a “formality”!

Japan’s AEC is supposed to ensure that the dozens of nuclear power plants around Japan are being used for “peaceful” purposes only.  The commission is also supposed to make sure no terrorist get their hands on radioactive materials.

Shunsuke said as far as making sure nuclear power is used for peaceful purposes, that’s just a formality.  He also stated that as far as he knows there are no standards in place to make sure terrorists can’t get their hands on radioactive material.

Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission is currently under independent review.

International, U.S.

Norovirus / Tummy Bug update, 09 August 2013: Climate change being blamed! Government water supplier being blamed! 20 people dead!

“Bacterial gastroenteritis in young babies is a growing problem in the developed world and an increasing cause of infant death in the developing world. Current treatments involve antibiotics, with more than half of all babies in Europe receiving them in their first year. But antibiotic resistance is a growing problem. Antibiotics also disturb the balance of beneficial bacteria, reducing natural defences against infection.”-Institute of Food Research, United Kingdom

Despite fasting during the day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims are increasingly binge eating at night, and it’s making them sick.  Reports say that hospitals in the Persian Gulf states are reporting an increase in gastroenteritis cases: “It’s a combination of overeating or binge eating, and reduced immunity due to dehydration and bad sleeping habits.”-Rabee Harb, Kuwait‘s Royale Hayat Hospital

In Pennsylvania U.S.A., people are being told not to drink ‘organic’ milk from a local farm.  Officials with the Departments of Agriculture and Health believe it is contaminated with a bacteria called Campylobacter.   The farm has been ordered to stop selling the milk, however the farm owners have third party test results, based on samples of the very same milk tested by the state, that say their operation is clean: “The test result from our third-party lab came back this morning just ahead of (the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s) and it is negative for Campylobacter. But our third-party pathogen-free test does not really matter to the state.”-Edwin Shank, The Family Cow

In Tennessee U.S.A., 62 Robertson County school employees got sick on the same day.   The director of schools thinks they got sick from food served at a school wide teacher meeting, however, that meeting was on a Tuesday and the 62 employees got sick on a Friday.  Health officials are investigating.

In Oregon U.S.A., the Grant County Health Department suspects norovirus to be the cause of an outbreak in the city of John Day.  About two dozen people got sick after eating at a local restaurant.  In Baker City, reports that the city’s water supply was contaminated with the parasite cryptosporidium.   As many as 400 people sick.  One source says this ends the city’s track record of providing 100 years of clean water.

In Iowa U.S.A., state health officials have confirmed 358 cases of cryptosporidium, and 138 new possible cases.  For all of last year Iowa saw 328 cases.   Health officials are blaming it on public swimming pools, but they have not confirmed that hypotheses.

Interesting info on cryptosporidium, according to the U.S. CDC no U.S. city suffered from the parasite contamination until 1984!

The cyclospora parasite (not to be confused with cryptosporidium) outbreak has hit 504 people in 16 U.S. states.  The U.S. CDC still does not know the source.  Health officials with Nebraska and Iowa say they’ve traced the parasites to produce that came from a U.S. run farm in Mexico. The U.S. FDA is trying to confirm the claim. The California based owner of the farm swears their own testing shows their farm in Mexico is clean.

Russia is threatening to ban all Russians from going to Turkey for holiday.  Russian health officials say resort destinations, mainly targeted to Russians, are battling increasing cases of stomach bug infections.  The Russian government is accusing the Association of Tour Operators from not disclosing such health risk facts before selling vacations to Russians.  Last year 3.3 million Russian’s vacationed in Turkey.

In United Kingdom, the city of Hull had to close their East Park kiddie pool because of cryptosporidium.  And the mom of a teenaged boy who died from meningitis is raising public awareness.   Meningitis hits fast, like a tummy bug, and includes vomiting.  This can cause some doctors to misdiagnose it.  The other problem is that there are a growing number of varieties of it, current vaccines do not cover all variants.  Her son died from the rare Group Y meningococcal meningitis. In the empire’s colony of Northern Ireland, the Antrim Area Hospital is being harshly criticized after two years of dismal performance, including dozens of tummy bug cases and a child that died.  An investigation pointed out two major factors; the hospital was built to handle 30000 patients per year, but is actually handling as much as 72000.  And hospital staff are suffering from extreme low moral blamed on the overwhelming bureaucracy of the NHS.

A Swiss study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology blames heat waves for increased gastroenteritis (tummy bugs, stomach bugs, vomiting bugs).  The study basically says, for many people, high heat temps weaken the tummy: “This study ties heat stress to digestive symptoms supporting the observed seasonal variation in the clinical course of inflammatory bowel disease and suggests that microbial infections of the gut might be additionally influenced by climate changes.”

In the city of Anantnag, India, at least 250 people have been hospitalized with  gastroenteritis in the past five days, at least 300 people infected.  A local doctor blames the water on the outbreak: “Outbreak of gastroenteritis is possible only due to the consumption of contaminated water. There can be no other reason for it.”-Nasir Khan

The people getting sick agree with the doctor’s claims, but point out the water is being supplied by the government: “This all happened due to the impure and contaminated water supplied to the people by the PHE officials. The spring where from the water is supplied is without any cover allowing all the dusty and garbage into it. Besides outside laborers who work on brick kilns in the area also use the spring for all purposes including bathing and washing clothes.”-Riyaz Ahmad Magray

An arrogant unnamed government official with India’s PHE (Public Health Engineering) disputes both claims: “…there is no possibility of the outbreak due to water. The people seemed to have taken some juice leading to the outbreak of gastroenteritis…”

The Kasmir Times reports that the PHE has not inspected their water source since the outbreaks were first reported, about a week ago.

In the city of Mumbai, India, the number of gastroenteritis cases has increased by 123 since my last update.  City health officials say they seen a 36% increase in cases compared to the same time last year.  Some people blame it on water being supplied by PHE.

In the sate of Chhattisgarh, India, 20 people have died in several villages from gastroenteritis.  State health officials say they’ve dispatched four “combat” medic teams to the villages to find out what’s going on.  Cholera is suspected, due to recent flooding, and more deaths are expected.  One report noted that most of the dead are women.

In the state of Karnataka, India, two villages have been declared cholera areas.  This means water must be boiled, the sale of cut (picked/harvested/prepped for eating) fruits are banned, fairs and markets are banned, fried foods banned in hostels.

And in Bhopal, India, dogs are going down to a viral fever and diarrhea known as parvo.  In the city of Jehangirabad, 60% of dogs brought to veterinarians have parvo.  Parvo has a 90% kill rate in India.  Vets blame it on the rainy season.