Japan’s Meteorological Agency says a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit near the Torishima Island in the Pacific Ocean.
The tremors were felt from Tokyo up to Fukushima, on Honshu, and felt in the southern part of Hokkaido. On the land the quake registered as a 4 magnitude using the Japanese quake scale.
So far no damage reported, and no fears of tsunami.
“If it is fireworks, why was last year the first year it has ever happened? It is something else.”-@Shebalynnx
For the second New Year’s Eve in a row, blackbirds have fallen dead from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas.
Last year the mass death of birds were blamed on fireworks. But this year the local police banned fireworks use on New Year’s Eve, and yet they’re still blaming fireworks for the new deaths.
Here’s the problem with blaming fireworks: Much more fireworks are used around July 4, than on New Year’s Eve, yet no mass die off of birds around July 4??? Also, as one commenter pointed out, why hasn’t it happened more often?
One commenter on a local Arkansas news site said his magnetic compass went crazy New Year’s Eve: “fire works going off ALL night and all day – no problems! There were more 500 LIVE ones in our yard this morning. BUT when the birds started dying, I had my compass out – it went crazy – spinning and unable to find north – it did this at two different times tonight – so fireworks messed up the compass??? It is not the fireworks!”-Al
There are also reports that local TV weather personnel said weather radar returns showed a large mass over Beebe, Arkansas, about the time the birds fell out of the sky.
“If you’re an American citizen and you want to help…destroy your own country, here is what’s coming your way.”- Lindsey Graham, U.S. Senator from South Carolina
January 1, 2012, welcome to the new NAZI-land: The United Police States of America! On December 31, President Barack Obama (the BS Peace Prize winner) quietly signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.
“This is a giant step, this should be the biggest news going right now, literally legalizing martial law…This is big. This step where they can literally arrest American citizens and put them away without trial….is arrogant and bold and dangerous.”–Ron Paul, U.S. Representative for Texas
The 2012 Defense Act gives the President of the U.S. (regardless of who is President) the authority to use active duty military forces to police the United States, in the name of fulfilling the September 18, 2001, Authorization for Use of Military Force law. That law, signed by former President Bush Jr, was essentially a Congressional order given to the office of the President to conduct a War on Terror, after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
So, this new Defense Act not only provides the Defense Department with more than $600 billion in taxpayer dollars, but it expands the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force law to inside the United States.
It would “…permit the federal government to indefinitely detain American citizens on American soil, without charge or trial, at the discretion of the President.”-Justin Amash, U.S. Representative from Michigan, one of five House Republicans who voted against the bill
It allows the government to imprison anyone that is suspected of being a terrorist, indefinitely, without being charged or tried in a court of law! The clause in the new law is the old fail safe for control freak elitists who run this country: “National Security”.
President Obama (a graduate of Harvard Law School) claims he will not use the new law in an arbitrary way: “…I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law.”
Happy New Year!
December 31, 2011, and I just ate at the first Carl’s Jr burger joint in eastern Idaho! Love those Western Bacon Cheeseburgers (been eating them since the early 1980s!), and those luscious teriyaki burgers!
No more finding excuses to travel more than an hour to get Carl’s Jr. Although I still have to drive 45 minutes to Idaho Falls, but pretty soon, I hope, there’s gonna be Carl’s Jr in the Pocatello area. That’s according to a 2008 press release.
New Carl's Jr Resturant, Grand Teton Mall, Idaho Falls
One of the new east Idaho Carl’s Jr is located in the Grand Teton Mall parking lot, across from the Barnes & Noble.
There is a second Carl’s Jr in Idaho Falls, located at the intersection of Holmes and Northgate mile. I think they were a little overwhelmed; they were out of large size cups, and they just ran out of five dollar bills on the day I tried them out.
According to a 2008 press release eastern and southeastern Idaho will get five more Carl’s Jr by 2014. The new restaurants will be spread from Pocatello to Idaho Falls.
Carl's Jr, Idaho Falls, Idaho
The new restaurants are part of a huge expansion by California based Carl’s Jr. In December, 2008, Carl Karcher Enterprises announced they signed franchise deals for 51 new stores! Those new stores will be concentrated in Nevada and Idaho.
East and southeast Idaho will get a total of six restaurants, southern Idaho (Twin Falls area) will get three, and the Boise area (southwest Idaho) will get three more on top of the stores already there.
I noticed east Idaho’s local media paid no head to the new Carl’s Jr, but was all over the new Chick-fil-A (I’ve eaten at a Chick-fil-A in Georgia, never again).
Mmmm, how many Chick-fil-A stores will open in east Idaho, oh just the one in Ammon? (I checked Chick-fil-A’s list of future store openings) Lets see, Carl’s Jr opening a total of six stores in east and southeast Idaho (as well as new stores in south and southwest Idaho), I can see who’s gonna be helping the local economy more.
(By the way you can print off coupons from the Carl’s Jr website)
Late on December 30, the U.S. Treasury announced that the dumping of U.S. bonds, by foreign banks, continues and is accelerating.
Back in September the Treasury revealed a $56 billion drop in U.S. Treasury holdings by foreign banks, resulting in a 10 year yield of only 1.67%, the lowest yield since 1945!
Now, for December, an even bigger drop, by $69 billion!!! The result is that the 10 year yield on U.S. Treasuries ended 2011 below 1.9%.
Treasury Department officials also admitted that if it wasn’t for Japan buying up U.S. dollars and other Treasury securities (in August and October), the drop in 2011 foreign holdings would be even bigger!
And this despite the Treasury’s attempt to increase sales through their Operation Twist. Operation Twist basically exchanges long term bonds for shorter term bonds.
Just a week after Hong Kong officials culled more than 17,000 poultry, a bus driver in China has died from H5N1 (bird flu).
The killing of tens of thousands of birds in Hong Kong was prompted after just one chicken died from H5N1. Now Hong Kong officials say a second bird has died from H5N1.
During that same week, a bus driver in China became ill and was put in the hospital for possible pneumonia. Tests showed he had H5N1. The 39 year old man died, December 31, 2011.
Officials in China are concerned because the man had no contact with birds. No one else, who’s been in contact with the man, has developed symptoms. The World Health Organization says H5N1 has a 60% mortality rate among humans (and they’re not talking about the genetically modified H5N1 that your taxpayer dollars were spent on developing).
A day after announcing a $2 one time bill payment credit/debit card fee, Verizon reversed course after being flooded with thousands of complaints, and threats to cancel service.
However, Verizon officials are keeping such a fee in mind for the future: “At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time.”– Dan Mead, Verizon CEO
GoDaddy has been losing domain names ever since it voiced support for SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). According to one source, 32,000 websites, in 36 hours, were transferred away from GoDaddy’s service. Keep in mind GoDaddy lost thousands of domain names even after they publicly reversed course, now officially opposing SOPA!
One reason that GoDaddy is still losing customers is because it’s involved in rogue website/domain lawsuits, in which federal courts have been using GoDaddy to hold web sites that’re being challenged in court. Most of those sites are being transferred, by court order, from Google and Yahoo to GoDaddy. In many of these cases the accused never have their day in U.S. courts because they live in another country.
The lesson is that consumers, like voters, must never let their guard down. Corporate America is not working for your best interest, they’re working for their best interest.
“The Secretary expressed his deep concern about the raids that took place on December 29 on the offices of American and other NGOs.”–George Little, Pentagon
On December 29, Egyptian police and court officials raided several non-governmental organizations (NGO), many supported with taxpayer dollars from the United States, on grounds they’ve been funding civil unrest in Egypt.
However, Egypt’s pro-U.S. military government stopped the raids after getting phone calls from U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson.
“…all international NGOs, including those that receive U.S. government support, (to) be able to return to normal operations as soon as possible…”-Victoria Nuland, U.S. State Department
The military government of Egypt has demonstrated they are the puppet of the United States, by their quick kowtowing to U.S. demands concerning U.S. taxpayer funded NGOs.
You’d expect the company that Mitt Romney co-founded to fund his presidential campaign, but not to fund President Obama’s re-election bid, but that’s what is happening.
It’s been revealed that between January and September 2011, employees of Bain Capital officially gave Mitt Romney $84,500, and, they gave Barack Obama $27,500!
Not only that but so far this year, Bain Capital employees donated $123,200 to the Democratic National Committee. Interestingly they’ve not donated any money to the Republican National Committee. However, they did donate to a pro-Romney super PAC; $1.25 million!
To be sure, employees of Bain Capital, and other affiliated companies, have sent 75% of this years election campaign donations to the Republicans. But, in the 2008 campaigns two thirds of their money went to Democrats! Mmmm.
They say follow the money to get your answers, so if it matters who and where a presidential candidate gets their money from then it looks like Mitt Romney will be President. After all, Bain Capital & Co supported Obama and the Democrats more than Romney in 2008, now it’s the other way ’round.
This is just more evidence that ‘our’ leaders are just two sides of the same coin.
Donation amounts compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Corporate Evil: SEARS & KMART CONNECTED TO ROMNEY’S BAIN CAPITAL! BAIN CAPITAL WORKING WITH CARLYLE GROUP!
“We are faced with a health crisis linked to a scam. The whole profession is aware of it.”-Laurent Lantieri, plastic surgeon
The case of Poly Implant Prosthesis (PIP) is spreading to other countries, and several cancer cases could now be linked, and insurance companies are now suing.
More than 300,000 women, in 65 countries including France, Italy, Spain, U.K., Venezuela, Brazil, Germany and Ukraine could be affected by the PIP silicon breasts. At least 1000 women in France had their implants rupture.
PIP filed for bankruptcy after they were sued in British court, and lost. Then it was revealed they were using industrial silicon, instead of medical grade silicon, in their breast implants. But now important company documents, along with the company’s founder, Jean-Claude Mas, have gone missing and Interpol is looking for them.
In 2010, at least one case of a woman who died from cancer, was being investigated as murder because of her PIP implants. On December 30, 2011, the French government revealed that at least 20 cases of cancer can be directly linked to PIP: “…there were three cases of lymphoma, 15 cases of breast adenocarcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer, one case of adenocarcinoma of the lung, and one case of acute myeloid leukemia.”-French Health Products Safety Agency
The government of Italy has ordered doctors and hospitals to report women who have PIP made implants. Brazil and the United Kingdom are telling women with PIP implants to get checked up right away. Brazil has banned the use of PIP products. France’s National Health Insurance Fund is now suing. Venezuela’s government says it will pay for removing PIP implants. In 2000, the U.S. FDA banned PIP products from the being used in the United States.
In a perverted twist, Jean-Claude Mas’s son and daughter have filed papers to create a new silicon implant company, and they list their father as an official consultant. I wonder if Interpol knows. The new company is scheduled to open in June 2012.