Tag Archives: economy

Business/Economics, U.S.

U.S. Treasury Secretary admits Government officials & Corporate America are incompetent!

“Most financial crises are caused by a mix of stupidity and greed and recklessness and risk-taking and hope….You can’t legislate away stupidity and risk-taking and greed and recklessness. What you can do is make sure when it happens it does not cause too much damage and to do that you have to make sure you have good rules against fraud and abuse, better protections and you force banks to hold more capital against their risk.”-Timothy Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary, statement made after touring a factory in Portland

Realize that Geithner is talking about the political and corporate leadership of the United States.  He’s also saying, in a ’round about way, that he has been trying his best to make sure the incompetent decisions by our leaders “…does not cause too much damage…”

Those leaders include both Republican Bush Jr and Democrat Obama!

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

What Economic Recovery? Nintendo suffers first loss ever in 30 years!

April 26, 2012, Kyoto-based video game maker Nintendo reported its first ever loss.

Nintendo officials say they lost $530 million USD in fiscal year 2011.  Japan’s fiscal year ends in March.

2011 sales crashed 36%.  However, total sales was still about $7.9 billion USD.

Company officials blame the sales crash on the high asking price for their 3DS system.  They dropped the price in August, hoping to increase sales.  By dropping the price they ended up cutting their profits.

Today’s reported loss is the first loss for Nintendo since 1981!

Nintendo has a new game system that will be for sale in Europe, North America and Japan, before December 2012.

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Radiation contaminated fish found in Japanese rivers!

In a town 180 kilometers (111.8 miles) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant, which continues to spew radiation, fish in a major river are contaminated with Cesium.

Silver crucian carp caught in the Tone River contain 110 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram.  The new official safe limit is 100 becquerels.

This is not the first time contaminated animals have been caught in the river.  Last month shellfish were also found to be contaminated.

Chiba prefectural officials are asking all commercial fisherman not to sell any fish caught in the river.  People are warned not to eat anything from the river.

ONE YEAR LATER: SOME FUKUSHIMA FARM ANIMALS WILL BE ALLOWED TO LIVE

FUKUSHIMA TO EUTHANIZE ABANDONED LIVESTOCK AND PETS!

ONE YEAR LATER: MORE RADIOACTIVE SHROOMS, SHOOTS & BEEF

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? United Kingdom in Double Dip mode, “strong” Netherlands economy falling apart

Just two days after Spain went Double Dip, Britain is now officially in double dip recession.

On April 23, it was reported that the “experts” expected U.K.’s quarterly GDP report to show 0.1% “growth”, which would have kept it officially out of a Double Dip (I said “close enough”).

April 25, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Britain’s GDP actually dropped 0.2%. Aww, that means two quarters in a row of negative GDP, welcome to the Double Dip club!

Here’s the tally, so far: United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Belgium are officially Double Dippers.

To add to the European Union woes, France and Germany (considered the strongest economies in Europe) are seeing GDP contractions.

Then there’s Netherlands, which was considered to have a strong economy as well.  However, the government has fallen apart, over arguments concerning cutting government spending and raising taxes.  The Prime Minister resigned and new elections are to be held in September.  The Queen of Netherlands (yes, they are an evil elitist monarchy just like the U.K.) has ordered the Prime Minister to stay on until after the new elections.  (this is just more Trilateral Commission operations to create a singular privatized government system)

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

Corporate Evil: Did Monsanto create mutant wild dogs in Vietnam? Vietnam’s Kanup 480 SL is called “Roundup” in the United States.

Farmers in Vietnam, who’ve only just started using herbicides in the past two years, are suffering from terrible symptoms, even dozens of deaths.  On top of that, and seemingly in coincidence, wild mutant dogs have been terrorizing villages, attacking and killing domestic animals.

Local Vietnamese media reports are now blaming an herbicide that farmers were tricked, I mean convinced, into using.  Most of the farmers had never used herbicides before.

In Vietnam the herbicide in question is called Kanup 480 SL.  It’s made by a company called Thang Bac Giang (Vithaco).   Turns out that Kanup 480 SL is the very same herbicide known as Roundup in the United States.

Roundup was patented in the 1970s by Monsanto.  The patent expired in 2000.

Here’s the thing: In 1996 Monsanto was sued by the state of New York for lying about the safety of its products.  In 2007 Monsanto was convicted by the European Union for lying about Roundup being safe and biodegradable.  It turns out that Roundup is not safe or biodegradable (under European standards). The main ingredient, isopropylamine salt of glyphosate, is “dangerous for the environment” and “toxic for aquatic organisms”.  Another ingredient of Roundup is polyethoxylated tallow amine, it is known to be highly toxic to animals (humans are animals too, you know).

Lab test showed animals that were contaminated with Roundup resulted in mutated offspring.  Some media reports say Monsanto knew of this as early as 1980.  It’s interesting that the wild mutant dogs in Vietnam showed up in the very same areas that Kanup 480 SL is being used.

There have been dozens of studies on Roundup, showing it causes mutations and death. How much Roundup does it take to kill a human?  It depends, but studies have found as little as 85 ml could kill you, while some people have survived accidental doses of as much as 500 ml. The latest study was in 2009.

Another interesting point: Monsanto is also behind genetically modified plants (which involve using deadly bacteria to make the modifications stick).  The modified food crops are meant to be resistant to Roundup.  However, some of these crops (the first being Soy) cross pollinated with weeds and created super weeds.  The super weeds can not be killed with Roundup, however many people don’t know that and will just spray more and more Roundup.

I still deal with weeds the old fashioned way; I pull them up with my hands, or run over them with my electric lawn mower, or chop them down with a weed whacker.

Why just yesterday, after writing my article on the Mystery disease, I saw employees of the city of Chubbuck, in Idaho, busy with their yearly spraying of Roundup in the park adjacent to my back yard.  They like to run that crap along the fence lines of everyone’s property that butts up to the park. It’s so strong you can smell it.

I used to work for a retail property management company. The boss was obsessed with using Roundup, even on a single weed that was growing in the middle of a parking lot that could hold a hundred cars!  In less time than it took to mix the Roundup, then prime the pump and go about spraying, I was able to simply pull the weeds out of the asphalt. But I actually got reprimanded for that!

People in the United States better wake up and stop smelling the Roundup before you can’t smell the Roses anymore!

Warning!  Roundup’s warning label is misleading.  It basically says Roundup is just an ‘irritant’. Yet, on some Roundup warning labels (on their larger containers) it tells you to immediately call your local poison control center for help!

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? No jobs for one & a half million U.S. College Graduates!

I thought that me having a biology degree was a gold ticket for me getting into places, but every other job wants you to have previous history in the field. Everyone is always telling you, ‘Go to college’. But when you graduate, it’s kind of an empty cliff.”-Kelman Edwards Jr,  recent college graduate

A report by Northeastern University’s Center for Labor Market Studies, says 53.6% of college graduates with bachelor’s degree, and under the age of 25, are unemployed or grossly underemployed.

To give you a better idea of the size of the problem, 53.6% is about 1.5 million graduates!

The report was done on behalf of the Associated Press, and used official U.S. government data.

“Simply put, we’re failing kids coming out of college. We’re going to need a lot better job growth and connections to the labor market, otherwise college debt will grow.”-Andrew Sum, Center for Labor Market Studies

Here are college degrees to stay away from: Zoology, anthropology, philosophy, art history and humanities.

The degrees with the best employment chances are nursing, teaching, accounting or computer science.

Some advise from a college professor: “If you’re not sure what you’re going to be doing, it probably bodes well to take some job, if you can get one, and get a sense first of what you want from college.”-Richard Freeman, Harvard economist

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Spain officially in double dip recession, Britain on the verge

April 23, 2012, Spain’s Central Bank has declared the country officially in recession.

Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 0.4% in the first quarter of 2012, following a 0.3% decline in the last quarter of 2011.   Decline for two quarters in a row makes an official recession.

The Spanish government says it will cut spending by $11 billion USD, and will increase taxes!

The United Kingdom is on the verge of double dip recession. Britain’s Office for National Statistics is expected to say on Wednesday that the economy grew(?) by a meager 0.1%.  

By the way, in order to be considered true growth your GDP needs to be at 3% or higher.  So Britain’s GDP is only 0.1%?  Close enough to call it double dip!

To make matters worse, the two “strong” European economies, Germany and France, are actually contracting!

Belgium and Italy have already crossed into double dip recession.

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

Corporate Evil: Mystery disease kills children, people can’t build immunity to it, military involved, entire district quarantined, mutant dogs killing pets. Kanup 480 SL. Quang Ngai Province is Cursed!

“The development of the disease at Ba Dien commune is really complicated and critical; the numbers of new cases and recurrence cases are increasing dramatically.”-Han Phong, People’s Committee in Ba To District

April 22, 2012, health officials in Vietnam are asking for help from the United Nations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in trying to identify and treat a skin disease that’s already killed 27 people including 19 children.

More than 100 people are hospitalized.  At least 171 people are infected.  Many people are getting sick a second time (29 so far), which indicates that you can not build an immunity to it!

Last year the province recorded more than 150 people with similar symptoms.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health says the virus spreads through direct contact with an infected person’s oral discharges or saliva, the fluid from burst blisters or the feces.

You end up with a high fever, loss of appetite and a rash that covers the hands and feet.  If treated right away people seem to get better, but those who wait too long end up with liver problems and eventually multi-organ failure.

Vietnam’s Military Chemical Institute is now investigating the Ba To District of Quang Ngai Province.  There are reports the district is now under quarantine: “We have to block the entrances here to stop patients from getting out and spreading the disease. Since we don’t know what caused the disease, we will have to rely on our rituals and prayers.”-Pham Van Tray, Reu village

Quang Ngai Province is that area where the infamous My Lai Massacre took place at the hands of U.S. Army soldiers.  The same province saw forced relocation of Vietnamese villagers, by the U.S. and its puppet government of South Vietnam, in the name of protecting them from the “commies”.

In May, 2011, another district in the same Province was harassed and terrorized by an unknown beast.  Roaring sounds and strange footprints were found at the base of the Dinh Mountain in Son Tra Commune.  At least 20 dogs were killed, most were found with their heads and internal organs missing.

In Lao Cai Province people claimed to have seen the beast that’s killing pet dogs, and other domesticated animals.  They said it is a mutant dog, tall with a fur coat varying in description from white spots to yellow stripes.

This year fires torn through two huge markets, in the provinces of Quang Ngai and Quang Binh, causing about $300,000 USD in damage.

Also this year, farmers on central Quang Ngai Province‘s Ly Son Island, known as the garlic kingdom, have suffered their biggest crop failure ever.  Farmers lost 80% of their garlic to unusually heavy rain!

(now you see why I say they’re cursed)

Back to the killer “virus”.  I say “virus” because there are reports that the reason the Military Chemical Institute is involved is because some officials think the “virus” is really an herbicide called Kanup 480 SL.

Another report said that most farmers in the area started using herbicides only two years ago, that’s when the symptoms began (and sightings of mutant feral dogs).

Many reports say the herbicide is made by the United States, however my research revealed that it is made by a Vietnamese company called Thang Bac Giang (Vithaco), not the other company that’s being named in most reports (there are several companies using the misreported name, one of which turns out to be a major textile manufacturer).

The primary ingredient in Kanup 480 SL is Glyphosate IPA Salt 480gr / l.   It was patented by U.S. corporation Monsanto in the 1970s.  It is widely used in the United States.  Lab tests on animals revealed mutations, which could explain the mutant dogs killing people’s pets in Vietnam.  U.S. lab studies were supposedly inconclusive as to what happens to humans who’re contaminated with it.

According to some poor translations of local Vietnamese news media, most people who are sick, or who died, had just finished spraying their fields with Kanup 480 SL.   From what I read, it seems like many did not mix the chemical properly and used it in concentrated form.

This might be another case of a corporation that tricked farmers who had never used chemicals in their life, into buying a new fangled contraption (Kanup 480 SL).  The local reports I read say the farmers in Quang Ngai Province only started using the herbicide in the past two years, and it really looks like they do not understand how to use it, or how harmful it could be.

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Government & Corporate Evil: Ritual Animal Sacrifice under the guise of Michigan’s new Corporate created “feral” farm animal law. What do other state’s say about feral pigs?

“Does anyone know what it feels like to open fire on 20 baby piglets in one group which weigh between 5 lbs and 15 lbs? They are so adorable and cute.“-Dave Tuxbury, forced by the state to kill off his entire herd

Under the NAZI’s in Germany in the 1930s-40s, you could get thrown in a concentration camp just because of your physical features.  If you ‘looked’ Jewish, or Gypsyish, or ‘behaved’ like a homosexual, in you go.

Now the U.S. state of Michigan has created a law (with Corporate America’s help) that allows state officials to trespass on small farms and shoot to kill any pig that doesn’t ‘look’ right.

Farmers who do not comply will be charged with a felony crime!

“I’m one of two farmers in Michigan that has said we will not comply, and we have filed suit against the Michigan DNR [Department of Natural Resources] and we’ll probably go to court with them this summer.”-Mark Baker, Bakers’ Green Acres in Marion, Michigan

Corporate America farmers have convinced the Michigan government that small family hog farmers are a health threat.  That’s because many family run hog farms have bred their pigs in a way that produces better meat.

The Corporate America farmers can’t compete, because the pigs they use have been designed for their mass production style of operation, which means tasteless meat (that’s the real reason they call it “the other white meat”).

Anyone hunt wild boar?  The meat is red, not white.  The small family farms have bred hogs with red meat, they’re called Heritage Pigs.  Under Michigan’s new law they are now considered “Invasive Species”!

The irony is that these “invasive” or “feral” hogs are actually a better food source than what the Corporate America farmers can produce!  So how are they a threat?  They’re only a threat to the profits of Corporate America!

And the state of Michigan has already forced farmers to kill off their entire hog herd, under threat of prison time:  “I was served a search warrant yesterday at 7:45am.  After 8 guys, 3 four wheelers, and 4 hours, DNR decided I was correct. I have killed all my hogs. They gave me papers that say I do not have any hogs on my property. All they saw were dead hogs laying around from my mass slaughtering. It took 12 guys 4 times in there to kill all of them, sows with young, pregnant sows, dozens of piglets, and old mature boars. It has been a sad few weeks.    

Does anyone know what it feels like to open fire on 20 baby piglets in one group which weigh between 5 lbs and 15 lbs? They are so adorable and cute.

They commented to everyone that they never saw a fence built so tough and no way would a hog get out of this area. I trenched 2′ then installed chain link fencing, then a 10′ high tightlock fence on top of that. ( 200 acre area ) They never saw a fence like that.”-Dave Tuxbury, deer tracks ranch

This new law affects 2,000 farms and private hunting ranches!

Here’s an incomplete list of the types of pigs that Michigan now bans: Wild boar, wild hog, wild swine, feral pig, feral hog, feral swine, Old world swine, razorback, Eurasian wild boar, and Russian wild boar.  Basically the same list as used by the Federal USDA.

Michigan is not the only state with bans on pigs that do not meet the needs of Corporate America’s mass production facilities.  However, most of those states focus only on truly wild pigs, not the pigs that family hog farmers have bred for better meat.

The state of Washington says:  “It is unlawful to import, hold, possess, propagate, offer for sale, sell, transfer, or release feral swine.”

The state of New York says it’s hard to tell domesticated pigs from feral pigs: “Feral swine crossbreed readily with domestic pigs, which has resulted in a wide range of coat colors and body shapes.  Many look like typical wild boars, while others may be hard to distinguish from domestic pigs.”

While New York supports the eradication of feral pigs, they do allow “…anyone with a small game license may hunt and keep feral swine year round with no limit.”

In Texas wild pigs are so numerous that people are encouraged to hunt them and eat them.  But, keep in mind they’re talking about pigs running free in the wild, not some family farm operation!

Realize that Michigan is saying that they now consider certain farm raised pigs to be invasive, and therefore to be killed and not used for food!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

U.S. Media Confuses: Home Construction actually dropped, blame the Too Big to Fail Banks

One U.S. media headline stated “…Housing Starts Remain Unchanged…”, yet when you read the article it actually admits that construction starts, for March 2012, have declined by 5.8%.

The overall decline was led by a 16.9% drop in construction of multifamily homes.

Construction reps blame the bad economy caused by the too big to fail banks not wanting to lend money to the working class: “…builders remain very cautious about starting new projects until they see more actual sales materializing. At the same time, in places where buyers are ready to go forward with a purchase, access to credit for both builders and buyers and difficulties in obtaining accurate appraisals are persistent challenges that continue to slow that process considerably.”-Barry Rutenberg, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

Another article pointed out that March is the second straight month with such a big drop in housing construction projects.  It was also not expected by the economic “experts”!

So what’s the real info?  According to the April 17, 2012, Joint Release U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development PDF, March 2012 housing starts are 5.8% down from February, yet up 10.3% from March 2011.  So; a drop from month prior, an increase from year prior.