Tag Archives: germany

International, U.S.

World War 3: United Kingdom recognizes Syrian rebels as legitimate rulers of Syria, implies threat of war against Russia & China

Right before the Friends of Syria conference began, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said they will recognize the U.S. created Syrian National Council as a “….legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”

This supports yesterday’s claim by Russia, that the Friends of Syria conference is biased and therefore not legitimate.

Hague went on to imply a threat of war against Russia and China, if they did not comply with the wishes of the west: “It is very important in Moscow and Beijing for there to be a re-evaluation of the position….We have in the European Union an arms embargo on Syria, so of course we will observe that arms embargo in all directions.“

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Black Horse & What Economic Recovery? Bail out delays; Greece needs loans equal to its total GDP! Greece warned of Third World status. Greeks believe the World is against them, sinister plots

February 20, 2012, European Union finance minister, Johan van Overtveldt, said one of the reasons bail out loans keep getting put on hold is because everyday new problems are revealed.

He says Greece now needs loans at least equal to its GDP, in order to get through the next few years: “So we are talking now about a package that in reality is about 200 billion euros, which happens to be exactly the amount equal to Greek gross domestic product.”

Overtveldt also said what many independent, and traditional economists have been saying; that cuts to Greek government spending will only make things worse: “The negative spiral in which the Greek economy and Greek society have been imprisoned for almost two years will only get worse. The austerity program that is imposed on the country will worsen the recession, which in its turn will worsen the budget outlook.”

He added that it was probably a good thing for Greece to leave the European Union: “It will lead, of course, to a devaluation of the new drachma but that is exactly what is needed to get the economy growing again through international trade.”

In fact many Greeks have been wanting their government to leave the EU, because they think it’s all part of a sinister plot.

Greek author, politician and songwriter, Mikis Theodorakis, says there is a conspiracy to destroy his country: “Germans, for instance, as well as the French, English and Americans, earned billions of Euros from annual sales of war materials, to the detriment of our national wealth….Siemens, for instance, maintained a special department for buying off the influential Greeks in order to sell its products in the Greece market.”

Theodorakis might be right about his beloved Greece being destroyed.  Economist Harlan Green, said the Mediterranean country is on its way to Third World status, and implied that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was behind it: “Greece is sliding very quickly into being a third world country, and the IMF knows how to deal with third world countries.”

As far as sinister plots go; don’t forget that the new unelected Prime Minister of Greece is a member of the Trilateral Commission!

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Incompetence & World War 3: United States increasingly isolated over Sanctions against Iran. India and Japan still buying Iranian oil. South Korea gets exemption

“India’s decision to walk out of step with the international community on Iran isn’t just a slap in the face for the U.S. – it raises questions about its ability to lead. The Indian government’s ill-advised statement last week that it will continue to purchase oil from Iran is a major setback for the U.S. attempt to isolate the Iranian government…”-Nicholas Burns, former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs

India joins a growing list of countries basically telling the U.S., and U.K., to go stuff themselves.  Indian government officials are working with Indian companies to create a system that will let them pay for Iranian oil with Indian rupees.

In Japan, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell, says they will continue buying Iranian oil despite pressure from the U.S. government. Showa Shell Sekiyu KK is Japan’s 5th largest refinery, and uses 100,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil.  Officials say they are affiliated with Royal Dutch Shell, but they operate independently and have their own contracts with Iran.  This is also why Iran has not stopped oil shipments to Japan (Royal Dutch Shell is a British/U.S./Dutch controlled company).

Then there’s South Korea, which has managed to convince U.S. lawmakers to exempt more than 2,000 Korean companies from the sanctions.  Not only that, but South Korea’s Woori Bank, and the Industrial Bank of Korea, do business directly with Iran Central Bank.  Their transactions are done in Korean money, thus avoiding the U.S. petro-dollar.

International, U.S.

Resolution against Syria passes UN General Assembly, France pushes for new Security Council Resolution

The United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution calling for Syria’s president to step down.  However, since it is non-binding the UN can not force the issue.

France is making a new push for a new UN Security Council resolution.  This new resolution is focusing on using UN Peacekeeping forces to enforce access to humanitarian aid.  Russia might support such a resolution.

12 countries voted against the UN General Assembly resolution. They are: Bolivia, Belarus, Cuba, China, Ecuador, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

15 countries abstained: Angola, Armenia, Fiji, Cameroon, Comoros, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Saint Vincent, Suriname, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Uganda and Vietnam.

 

Influenza

Pale Green Horse & Global Food Crisis: Don’t blame wild birds, modern H5N1 human caused! Chicken feed contaminated with crap! Remember Mad Cow?

The earliest form of H5N1 was discovered in Scotland in 1959, where it killed off a couple of flocks of poultry.  That’s the thing, H5N1 bird flu seems to target domesticated birds, poultry, not wild birds.

Since 1959 H5N1 has mutated into more than 700 versions (depending on your source), and the main target is still domesticated poultry.  In some U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies, it was noted that many wild birds who died from H5N1 became infected after eating chicken feed!

By 2008 global health officials felt secure, because vaccines against several types of H5N1 had been developed and seem to be working.  But now, just two months into 2012 and several Asian countries are dealing with epidemic sized outbreaks, killing tens of thousands of poultry, and at least two people in Vietnam.

In regards to Vietnam, back in the summer of 2011, Vietnamese health officials stopped their vaccination program.  They discovered it wasn’t working, due to the fact that they were dealing with a completely new version of H5N1!

I noticed that part of the culling of poultry involves the feed itself.

Some bloggers have posted stories and pics of catfish farms in Jakarta and Java, that regularly feed dead chickens, chicken manure and chicken feed to their catfish!  The bloggers’ concern is over the spread of H5N1 from the chickens through the catfish to humans who eat the catfish.  There is apparently no health organization in the world investigating this.  Health officials do say that cooking the food long enough will kill the virus.

Since H5N1 spreads only through domesticated poultry, how in the hell does it get from Scotland, all the way ’round the world to Asia?  Poultry products are normally eaten in the country that produces them.  Apparently wild birds don’t get too far once they get infected (it makes you wounder why health officials seem to be so concerned over migratory birds).

Here’s another problem, H5N1 doesn’t spread well in the air, so it’s hard to get it from someone coughing or sneezing.  The World Health Organization has postulated that humans get it from being in very close contact with poultry.  It might be kicked up in the dust as they walk, or it actually sticks to something that the human brings near their face, or it gets into cuts on the skin.

So how is it spreading so fast and so intensely? Vietnam admits that their latest outbreak is due to a new version of H5N1, and, poultry being brought into their country illegally.  They don’t know where the domesticated birds came from!

Australia does not have a problem with H5N1 cases. But it’s not because Australia shoots down all the migratory wild birds, it’s because they have a strict quarantine policy on importing domesticated birds!  (and another very important reason you’ll read at the end of this article)

Again, it’s domesticated birds, mainly poultry that’re the target of H5N1.

As an example of how concerned some governments are getting over domesticated birds catching H5N1, in 2006 Germany went on a domesticated bird hunt, arbitrarily killing not only poultry, but pets like homing pigeons.  Two German free range farmers, who had their entire uninfected flocks culled, killed themselves in protest.  This brings up another issue; Germany used the H5N1 scare to shut down free range poultry farms, favoring the bigger corporate factory poultry farms!

What about the feed?  Health officials say don’t let the feed and water get contaminated.  But which really comes first?  Since it’s been proven that the 1959 H5N1, and it’s subsequent hundreds of mutations specifically target domesticated poultry, then it’s not wild birds that’re contaminating the feed and water (as some governmental health organizations insist).

Health officials claim that the feed and water gets contaminated when an infected bird craps in it.  That works if you don’t know where your getting your poultry from, like in Vietnam.  But what about places that have created more  rules like Hong Kong? Hong Kong is dealing with a new outbreak of H5N1, they know where the chickens came from; southern China.  Yet China seems to be dealing mainly with human cases of H5N1.  Two people died between December 2011, and January 2012, and one of them had no contact with birds of any kind.

I wonder if the guy who died without being around birds, got it from poultry feed?  He was a bus driver, could have been transporting chicken feed.

A December 2011 Journal of Virology report said there was a direct link between human H5N1 cases and poultry markets.  It is the first report to do so: “Among these 69 samples, we isolated a total of 12 highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses from four of the six live bird markets….the genetic sequence of the environmental and corresponding human isolates was similar (with a sequence identity of greater than 99%), demonstrating a solid link between human infection and live poultry markets.”-Yuelong Shu, author of study

They also studied 38 human H5N1 cases and found they “…were consistent with those identified in poultry outbreaks or in live poultry markets.”  In other words humans don’t get H5N1 from wild birds, they get it from poultry raised in close quarters (too bad Germany shut down their free range farmers).

Again, if wild birds are not the true source of the H5N1 virus, then how are the chickens getting it?

Check out this statement: “H5N1 is mainly spread by domestic poultry, both through the movements of infected birds and poultry products and through the use of infected poultry manure as fertilizer or feed.”

The use of manure as feed?   The above quote might have originated with the United Nations’ World Health Organization, but it’s being used by many health organization and on medical information websites.

Yes indeed, crap is used in farm animal feed, like feed for cows: “Recycled animal waste, such as processed chicken manure and litter, has been used as a feed ingredient for almost 40 years [Mmmm, this was posted in 2001, and the first H5N1 case was in 1959, that’s 42 years, mmmm]. This animal waste contains large amounts of protein, fiber, and minerals, and has been deliberately mixed into animal feed for these nutrients. Generally, animal waste is used within the State where it is produced because the bulk and weight of the product makes interstate shipment uneconomical. Normally, this animal waste is used by small farmers and owners of beef and dairy herds as a winter supplement for mother cows and weaned calves.”-U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine

In the United States most farm animal feed is augmented with chicken crap.  But the FDA says strict rules are followed.  It might explain why H5N1 isn’t a big deal in the U.S., yet (remember Mad Cow disease?).  It could also explain why Asian countries are having such a bad time with H5N1. What are their regulations regarding the use of chicken crap in their chicken feed?   Have they created a vicious cycle with unregulated chicken feed that’s full of infected chicken crap?

I wonder why Germany shut down their free range poultry farmers in favor of corporate factory farmers who feed their chickens their own crap?   Is the chicken crap industry that powerful?

Oh, and what about Australia?  It turns out that the real reason Australia is not having a problem with H5N1 is that chicken crap is banned from use as animal feed in Australia!!!

The Aussie law is called the Ruminant Feed Ban: “Farmers need to take precautions to ensure that poultry litter and poultry manure are not fed to any livestock species, and that poultry feed is not fed to ruminants [cows, goats, deers, ie plant eaters]. This is important both for guaranteeing the safety of our food and for ensuring that Australia can continue to demonstrate ongoing freedom from BSE  [aka Mad Cow, hello!] for the protection of vital export markets for meat and livestock.”

It looks like the best way to avoid getting some form of H5N1 is to raise your own chickens, or support free range poultry farming, or move to Australia.   Would you eat crap?

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

 

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Bailout deal for Greece taking so long because Germany doesn’t think it will be paid back. Germany preparing for Greece to leave the EU

“We are ready to help. But once again: we have and want only to help if there is something in return from the Greek side.”-Philipp Roesler, German Economy Minister

Early morning February 13, the Greek Parliament approved the latest round of social cuts, despite members of Parliament threatening to quit. The move comes after German Economy Minister, Philipp Roesler, gave a TV interview in which he said it’s all about Greece being able to convince the rest of Europe that they can pay back future bailout loans.

Roesler also implied that Germany and France have been working to position the EU, so if Greece was to exit the European Union (and default) it would not have an adverse affect on the EU.  He said such a move is now “less and less scary”.

International, U.S.

White Horse & World War 3: Germany wants war with Syria

Germany’s Defense Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, basically said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine that war is the only option for Syria: “The actions of the Syrian government against the people must be condemned internationally with a resolution of the United Nations….must isolate Assad….we must help the opposition in Syria.”

Maiziere says Germany and other countries do have the right to go to war with Syria: “International law does provide for a right to intervene to protect people in other countries against the violence of the rulers.”   (you think that might happen to the U.S. if Obama starts using his Republican Congress sanctioned national military police?)

I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: Germany & Turkey say Israeli war against Iran will be disastrous

Germany’s Defense Minister, Thomas de Maiziere, said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine that if Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear industry: “A success would be highly unlikely, and result in obvious political damage.”

Maiziere said the European Union sanctions should be allowed to go into effect before any military action takes place.  The EU sanctions will not be in place until July 2012.

Turkish officials also say war would be a mistake: “A military strike is a disaster. It should not be an option. Especially at a historic turning point in our region, we do not want to see another huge tension.”-Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister

International, U.S.

2009 Greek study says new strain of H3N2 is drug resistant! U.S. CDC says anti-flu drugs no longer work!

The European Union’s Eurosurveillance published a report in 2009, about Greece’s efforts to combat flu viruses: “Greece is a known crossroads among three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa) through which resistant strains can spread.”

From 2004 to 2008, Greek researchers looked at how the various viruses reacted to available anti-viral drugs.  Anti-viral drugs work mainly by attacking protein cells.  In flu viruses the specific proteins are called “M2”.  However, they are only effective in the early stages of infection.

For those of us who don’t like reliance on petroleum products, some anti-virals (like the now ineffective adamantanes) are based on petroleum hydrocarbons.

The Greek study concluded that current flu viruses have become resistant to most anti-viral drugs, precisely because the drugs were being used so much: “Resistance to M2 inhibitors first appeared following extensive drug use in Asia and the U.S. after the SARS epidemic in 2004. The worldwide spread of these resistant strains occurred through replacement of sensitive with resistant viruses, probably because of other selective advantages of the resistant strains connected to other genes than M2.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs the Greek study up. After studying the 2009 flu epidemic in the U.S. the CDC concluded that the viruses are now drug resistant!

 

Influenza

WHO says H3N2 will dominate this year’s flu season, Romania & Sweden at Epidemic levels!

On February 3, 2012, the UN’s World Health Organization said the new strain of H3N2 will dominate the 2011/2012 flu season.  This came after 1.74 million Japanese were infected in January.

The WHO said notable increases in flu cases are expected in North America, Europe and northern China.

The dominant flu is H3N2 (a type of influenza A, aka swine flu).  But Mexico is still being hit by H1N1 (also a type of swine flu), and China is dealing with influenza B (a type of virus that infects humans and seals).

Canada is seeing a steady increase in H3N2 cases.  The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control is reporting increases in H3N2 cases in Bulgaria, Iceland, Italy and Spain.  Romania and Sweden are now at epidemic levels.