Tag Archives: ows

International

Pope & Patriarch officially call for new Christian Crusade against Muslims!!!

12 February 2016 (15:29 UTC-07 Tango 01) /23 Bahman 1394/03 Jumada al-Ula 1437/05 Geng Yin 4714

For some reason translator’s audio is towards end of video, no mics on ‘christian’ leaders.

“Our gaze must firstly turn to those regions of the world where Christians are victims of persecution. In many countries of the Middle East and North Africa, whole families, villages, and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated…. ….We urge the international community to seek an end to the violence and terrorism and, at the same time, to contribute through dialogue to a swift return to civil peace.“-joint statement by Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, 12 February 2016

http://twitter.com/RT_America/status/698258324106645505/photo/1

Catholic & Orthodox churches to unite, thanks to Islamic State!

Business/Economics

“it’s killing me…but I have no choice.” Part 2 Mass Layoffs in CA & PA! Mom-n-Pops stab each other in the back? : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 12 February 2016

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Alabama: In Birmingham, after 30 years Cosmo’s Pizza shutting down by the end of the month.  The stressed out co-owner Leisa Bunn blames money troubles: “…I’ve worked here for over half my life, and it’s killing me to give it up, but I have no choice.”

Arizona: In Gilbert, the House of Cigars shutting down by the end of the month. The owner blamed a next door business: “I lost my lease and the land lord wants me out. the Tai Chi place next [door] has bitched enough to get what the [y] want.” 

California: What automotive industry recovery?  Napa Chrysler dealer now chapter 11 bankrupt busted.  The owner of the property the car dealership sits on is shocked saying he thought “they were bouncing back” from the recession.  However, it turns out the dealership hadn’t been paying its own debts, to the tune of as much as $10-million USD!   Bon Appetit Management issued a shutdown WARN for their San Francisco ops, 79 jobs lost by April.  Albertsons-SAfeway eliminating another 24 jobs from the old Safeway HQ in Pleasanton, by April.  JCPenney shutting down their Cupertino store, 147 jobs lost by April!  In Palo Alto, Space Systems-Loral revealed they eliminated 122 jobs in January!  VF Contemporary Brands shutting down their Vernon operations next week, 73 jobs lost.  In Orcutt, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas issued a layoff WARN, 64 jobs lost by April.  United Technologies issued a shutdown WARN for their San Diego operations, 103 jobs lost by the end of March!  United Technologies recently revealed they are moving some of their electronic controls manufacturing to Mexico.  Iowa based government IT contractor Rockwell Collins will conduct layoffs in Poway, by April.  Japan based tech company Toshiba shutting down its Livermore site, 50 jobs lost by the end of March.  In Milpitas, electronic sensor maker Moog eliminating 22 jobs by April, as part of their takeover of Crossbow Tech.  Hub CityTerminals shutting down their Brea operations by the end of March.  Hub Group Trucking shutting down their Ontario depot, 131 jobs lost by the end of March!  What housing market recovery?  Pennsylvania based mortgage company Urban Fulfillment Services ending their Westlake Village ops, 192 jobs lost by the end of March!  Hotel Westin Saint Francis shutting down in San Francisco, 52 jobs lost by the end of March.  Also in San Francisco, electronic health records keeping company Practice Fusion issued a layoff WARN, 74 jobs lost by the beginning of April.  Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California issued several layoff WARNs, 460 jobs lost across the state by mid-March!  Cardinal Health issued a layoff WARN, 73 jobs lost by the end of March.  Visiting Nurse Association shutting down their Victorville ops, 178 jobs lost by April!  Inland Early Steps issued a shutdown WARN for their Corona operation, 79 jobs lost by April. B&H Education shutdown their Whittier ops, 73 jobs gone.

Florida:  In North Miami, manufacturer World Emblem eliminating 51 jobs by the end of May.  Elitist fitness clothing seller Lululemon Athletica shutting down their Fort Myers ‘showroom’ by mid-March.

Illinois: Three Joe Caputo & Sons grocery stores shutdown, and more could follow!  The grocery store operator is being sued by its supplier who says they haven’t paid for any food delivered since June 2015!   The Kewanee child prison being shutdown: “This decision is about transitioning Illinois to a new model of rehabilitating youth that aligns with national best practices and improves community safety.”   

Louisiana: Oklahoma based Helmerich & Payne International Drilling issued a WARN saying it must shutdown its Gulf of Mexico Rig 105 due to a sudden loss of contract.  50 jobs lost.

Michigan: In Detroit, Fountain Bistro shutting down due to being sold-off.

Missouri:  In Saint Louis, Gringo sold-off and shutting down, only to be replaced with yet another false Mexican food joint.

New Jersey:  Car renter Hertz issued a layoff WARN for Park Ridge, 63 jobs gone by the end of March.  New York Life Insurance issued two layoff WARNs,  at least 68 jobs gone by the end of April.  Mercer County eliminating hundreds of prison jobs as it preps to move 6-hundred inmates to neighboring Hudson County!

New Mexico: Taxpayer funded UTC Aerospace shutting down two factories, at least 150 jobs lost by September!

New York:  Remy USA Industries issued a shutdown WARN for its Bay Shore receiving-distribution operations, 112 jobs lost by May!  Allied Frozen Storage issued a shutdown WARN for its West Seneca frozen food warehouse, 64 jobs lost by the end of July.  NYC Department of Education shutting down three charter schools; Beginning with Children, Lefferts Garden and Staten Island Community.

North Carolina: XPO Logistics shutting down their Ralph Lauren warehouse ops in Whitsett, 108 jobs affected!  Company admin claims they are building a new warehouse elsewhere.

Ohio: In Youngstown, Mill Creek MetroParks announced it must conduct “internal reorganization” but refused to say how many employees will become unemployed.   The reorganization comes despite increased burden on local taxpayers in the form of a quarter million dollar levy.

Pennsylvania: Prudential Insurance eliminating 91 jobs in Montgomery County, by the end of April.  Metso Minerals issued a shutdown WARN for their York ops, at least 60 jobs lost in March.  Teleperformance issued a shutdown WARN for its Grindstone operations, 180 jobs lost by the end of March!  In Saint Mary’s, GrafTech eliminating 85 jobs by the end of March.   In Pittsburgh, cancer treatment center Helomics issued a mass layoff WARN, 125 jobs gone by the beginning  of March!  ATI Flat Rolled Products issued a mass layoff WARN for two locations, 241 jobs gone by the end of March!  QuadGraphics issued a shutdown WARN for Atglen, 152 jobs gone by the end of this month!  In Erie, Clover Tech-Environmental Reclamation eliminating 40 jobs by April.

Virginia:  State Army National Guard shutting down its Chatham readiness center due to dwindling tax funding.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”

Business/Economics

Mass layoffs for California & Pennsylvania! The real ‘christian god’ is money? : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 11 February 2016

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

Industry analysts Gavin/Solmonese reporting a 379% spike in oil company bankruptcies in 2015, compared to 2014!

California: Massive proof you brick-n-mortar store owners can’t blame the internet/high tech for your demise: Sunnyvale based Yahoo eliminating 107 HQ jobs by April!  Computer chip company Broadcom eliminating 850 jobs across The Golden State, by March!  In Irvine, software developer Sage revealed they laid off 67 people back in January.  Palo Alto computer tech company VMware issued a layoff WARN for March, 170 jobs lost due to their merger with Dell!  Virginia based technical engineering/military contractor VSE Corporation issued several layoffs WARNs, at least 115 Californians unemployed by the end of March!  Ditech Financial shutting down their Costa Mesa office in March, 87 jobs lost.                         Forever 21 shutting down their Yuba and Hanford clothing stores, 107 jobs lost by April!  Interestingly Yuba city administrators admitted they heard of the closing a year and a half ago!  In Los Angeles, F&E Aircraft Maintenance issued a layoff WARN, 25 jobs lost by mid-March.  In Petaluma, corporate insurer Allianz Global Risks issued a layoff WARN, 38 jobs lost by the end of March.  Illinois based Boeing issued yet more layoff WARNs, this time 53 jobs lost between March and April.   EXP Pharmaceuticals shutting down their Fremont operations, 111 jobs lost by the end of March!  In San Francisco, Pearson Education revealed they eliminated 34 jobs back in January.  What construction industry recovery?  Eaton’s Cooper Lighting shutting down their Richmond operations in March, 47 jobs lost.  Industrial equipment supplier SPX FLOW issued a shutdown WARN for their Modesto office, taking place at the end of March.

Florida: In Miami Beach, Shore Club Hotel issued a mass layoff WARN, 218 food service workers to be laid off in April! 

Georgia: The city of LaGrange shutdown a second homeless ‘overnight warming’ shelter in as many months, using the excuse they are not safe.

Illinois:  In Belleville, God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital.  Administrators blame ObamaCare for “increased utilization of outpatient services”.  26 non-nursing jobs eliminated, nurses will supposedly be transferred to smaller healthcare operations.

Chicago based Boeing is about to conduct mass layoffs (again).  This time inside information says “extreme cost cutting” is necessary because “Boeing cannot compete with Airbus right now on prices.”   News reports reveal that since 2012 Boeing has eliminated at least 7-thousand 8-hundred jobs!  This time the mass layoffs will supposedly start with top management.

Massachusetts:  The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is privatizing departments, affecting 250 jobs!  

Reports that Disney is shutting down its secretive Cambridge research center.  Disney operates three other secret labs rumored to be working on creating true AI (Artificial Intelligence) robots.

Oklahoma: A day after revealing it had sold off its Colorado natural gas operations, WPX Energy announced it was shutting down its OKC office, 60 jobs lost over the next few months.  Another 35 employees are being transferred to other locations.  Rental car company Hertz Global announced it will shutdown its Tulsa service center, 1-hundred employees will be transferred but another 80 will lose their jobs.  On top of that Hertz is out-sourcing its Information Tech jobs, affecting 230 OKC IT employees! 

Pennsylvania: What automotive industry recovery?  Auto parts maker Cardone issued a mass layoff WARN for two factories, 1-thousand 366 jobs gone by the beginning of May!  In Pittsburg, IBEX Global eliminating 153 jobs by mid-March! In Tunkhannock, Southwestern Energy eliminating 119 jobs by the end of March! Pennsylvania University School of Nursing shutting down, 96 jobs lost by the end of March. North Philadelphia Health System shutting down in mid-March, 7-hundred jobs lost!  In Thorndale, SABIC Innovative Plastics shutting down in mid-March, 53 jobs lost.  Sherwood Valve shutting down their Washington operations, 53 jobs lost by April.  Oil company Sunoco eliminating 176 jobs by April!  Food maker Mondelez eliminating 509 jobs in two locations, between March and May!  Macy’s shutting down their West Mifflin store, 101 jobs lost by mid-March!

Rhode Island:  In Cranston, Ted’s Montana Grill shutting down next week.  It’s blamed on the landlord wanting to jack up the rent.

South Dakota: Too Big to Jail Wells Fargo gettin’ the lead out, well they’re getting outta the city of Lead anyway.  They’re shutting down their Lead bank office, forcing residents to travel to nearby Deadwood if they want to continue doing business with evil Wells Fargo.

Tennessee: More proof the real ‘god’ is money; God refuses to stop the shutdown of three of ‘his’ LifeWay Christian Store on Southern Baptist seminary campuses.  It’s blamed on the sale of Southern Baptist Convention property and changing spending habits of Christian students.

Virginia: In Virginia Beach, after 70 years popular Charlie’s Seafood Restaurant shutting down this weekend, local news reports blame the bad economy.

Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin System-Extension eliminating 80 jobs due to a sudden and unexpected budget cut by Right to Work (you over) Scott Walker.  40 of the jobs were already vacant.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

10 February 2016: The insanity begins

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”

International

Germany admits to ‘creating’ jobs for illegal immigrants, beggars taxpayers for more money!

11 February 2016 (04:12 UTC-07 Tango 01) /22 Bahman 1394/02 Jumada al-Ula 1437/04 Geng Yin 4714

I’ve already written how German politicians admitted that their acceptance of mass migrants/refugees was going to “change Europe”, now the German labor ministry admits taxpayers are being forced to ‘create jobs’ for what are essentially illegal migrants!  But wait, there’s more!

Germany’s Minister of Labor Andrea Nahles now says she needs another 450-million euros ($509-million USD) in “additional funds for the integration of refugees”, adding that she wants to create an additional 100-thousand jobs for the migrants!  

And don’t blame the western created wars in the Middle East and North Africa.  Here’s a reality check; people migrating to Germany for jobs has been on the increase since before 2003, but admittedly spiking starting in 2010!

But it’s not just taxpayer funding being used to create jobs for migrants, Germany is even using taxpayer funding to create what I call Make Work jobs for German citizens.  On paper Germany’s employment rate looks good, near record levels of employment, yet it’s mainly due to artificial job creation by massive spending of government funding, which comes from taxes, bond sales, loans from the European Central Bank and even government money from other European Union countries.

One report said the near record level of female employment in Germany is the result of the government tripling the number of government funded daycare centers, and paying for working women to put their newborns into daycare so they can go back to work.

This massive use of taxes to create jobs works only in the short term, it’s a House of Cards.  In the long term if you don’t have huge gains by the private sector, without using government funding, then your House of Cards comes crashing down, precisely because government funding is totally dependent on a strong private sector creating jobs that pay taxes.

 

Fukushima, Idaho

‘Christian’ G4S “Shadow CIA” connected to Indian Point nuke meltdown?

10 February 2016/19:29 UTC-07 Tango 01 (22 Bahman 1394/02 Jumada al-Ula 1437/04 Geng Yin 4714)

“We stripped them naked and you throw water so the electricity can work nicely….you want them to be afraid of you.”-‘Mpho’, former G4S prison guard interviewed by BBC

G4S Nuclear Security Services Corporation (NSSC) employee

The same evil British empire based ‘christian’ G4S that was called out in a BBC investigation for torturing prisoners, is in charge of nuclear power plant security in the United States (and other western countries), including Entergy operated Indian Point, in New York.

G4S Secure Solutions (formerly G4S Wackenhut) claims to be the world’s biggest security company.  It started with Florida based Wackenhut which was taken over by a Netherlands based company and then merged with another company to create the United Kingdom based G4S plc.  The U.S. Department of Energy contracts with G4S’s Nuclear Security Services Corporation (aka NSSC).

The ‘christian’ G4S is heavily involved with the illegal Israeli apartheid/holocaust prison operations against Palestinians.   Bishop Desmond Tutu, a true Christian who experienced South Africa’s apartheid first hand, accused G4S of torturing Palestinian child prisoners in 2014!  In 2010, three British ‘christian’ G4S guards killed a man on a British Airways flight by suffocating him.  Passengers stated they heard the victim saying “They’re trying to kill me!”  

Wackenhut has been accused of security lapses at several U.S. military bases within the United States, and at nuclear power plants as well.  In 2007, Idaho’s Dirk Kempthorne (mentor of current Idaho governor Butch Otter) was asked to investigate Wackenhut’s nuclear power plant security performance while he was U.S. Secretary of the Interior.  Wackenhut was even accused of ripping off its own employees: “It is important that federal contractors like Wackenhut benefiting from taxpayer dollars and protecting our country’s vital interests demonstrate fairness toward their employees and support efforts to raise the standards of the security profession to the highest level possible.”-Bob Casey, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania

Apparently Kempthorne’s ears were deaf to such requests of investigation.

Security guard instructor pointing to a remote controlled machine gun at the Y-12 nuke weapons factory in Tennessee

Wackenhut has even been called The Shadow CIA: “A big private company – one with a board of former CIA, FBI and Pentagon officials; one in charge of protecting Nuclear-Weapons facilities, nuclear reactors, the Alaskan oil pipeline and more than a dozen American embassies abroad; one with long-standing ties to a radical ring-wing organization; one with 30,000 men and women under arms – secretly helped IRAQ in its effort to obtain sophisticated weapons?”  

To end the growing news media attention on a seemingly corrupt and inept G4S Wackenhut, in 2010 they changed their name to G4S Secure Solutions.  Their contracts include providing ‘security’ for U.S. nuke disaster reactors (as Nuclear Security Services Corporation), including those operated by Entergy.

Christian U.S. military behind child porn and sex abuse! 

Fukushima

80% increase of Indian Point radiation leak, in less than one week!

10 February 2016 (16:43 UTC-07 Tango 01) / 21 Bahman 1394/01 Jumada al-Ula 1437/03 Geng Yin 4714

The inept Entergy has revealed an 80% increase in the radiation leak first discovered at the end of last week!  This ongoing nuclear disaster is taking place about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of New York City.

Last week all three water monitoring wells showed a sudden increase in radiation, with one well emmitting a 65-thousand percent increase in tritium radiation!  Administrators claim groundwater for drinking is not being affected (yeah, try that on the residents of Flint, Michigan).

Entergy administrators are now whining that the real reason they’re getting all the negative attention is because state government officials want to shutdown the nuclear reactors.  Apparently they don’t think massive percentages of radiation level increases are the cause for the ‘attention’.

Entergy says the tritium leak probably took place in January when fuel rods were being changed out.  They think water used to keep the rods cool might have overflowed into drains.

U.S.

U.S. Civil War: California schools official safe houses for illegal immigrants!

10 February 2016 (15:18 UTC-07 Tango 01) / 21 Bahman 1394/01 Jumada al-Ula 1437/03 Geng Yin 4714

The Golden State of California is proving to be a golden hide out for illegal immigrants.  First a record number of California Drivers Licenses (CDL) have been knowingly issued to illegal immigrants, under the guise of making sure illegal limmigrants are proven to know the rules of the road!

Now the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is openly safe-housing illegal immigrants, protecting them from being captured by federal ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) agents.

LAUSD administrators officially ordered principals and teachers to resist ICE agents who come knocking on their school doors!  The school district says within the next 90 days they’ll come up with a “rapid response plan” for hiding illegal immigrants from ICE.

But the LAUSD is not the only district in California creating an ‘underground railroad’ for illegals, San Francisco is too.  Even Montgomery County, in Maryland, gave the Obama regime notice that they would interfere with ICE agent’s efforts to apprehend illegals.

Banks & illegal drugs cause illegal immigration to U.S.! 

immigration a False Flag op to make corporations richer! 

History shows immigrants are greatest self-inflicted threat to Empires! 

LEGAL immigration kills thousands of jobs in California while Off-shoring of U.S. jobs continues! 

Idaho loses jobs, record number of people in workforce, yet unemployment rate remains the same? Blame immigrants!

“The Border Patrol asked me the same question, but when I told them I was born in Germany they held me up! They demanded to see my state issued birth certificate, which I do not have (I have a U.S. Department of State FS 240 notice of birth) and nobody in the U.S. carries it around on them anyway, and we began arguing. They refused to accept my Arizona driver’s license as ID! Mexicans waiting to walk into the U.S. began backing away, wide eyed at the fact the U.S. Border Patrol was refusing an obvious Gringo from entering the U.S. Finally I pulled my Army National Guard ID and the Border Patrol let me in! Yes, this ‘immigration’ thing really pisses me off because it has directly impacted me, more than once!” -This happened in 1995, when all a U.S. citizen needed to legally cross the border with Canada or Mexico was a state issued driver’s license

Business/Economics, Idaho

The insanity begins; massive video gaming losses as Casinos blame video gaming for their own losses! : U.S. Job Losses & Closings 10 February 2016

Incomplete list of job loss announcements and shutdowns.

California: More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners and casino operators can’t blame video games for your demise; San Diego based internet video game accessory maker Mad Catz laid off 37% of its employees due to crashing sales, claiming a net loss of $4.4-million USD in its 3rd quarter of 2015!  University of California at Berkeley warning of mass layoffs and program cuts.  It’s blamed on years of overspending resulting in a shortfall of at least $150-million USD!  Morgan Hill based custom aftermarket bicycle parts maker Specialized says it will layoff less than 50 people due to crashing sales.

Colorado: WPX Energy sold its Colorado drilling ops to a Texas company, affecting at least 2-hundred jobs! The natural gas producer once boasted “WPX Energy produces more natural gas in Colorado than anyone else….”

Florida: More proof brick-n-mortar store owners and casino operators can’t blame their demise on the internet; fantasy sports gaming site FanDuel issued a WARN for its Maitland ops, 55 jobs lost in April.

Idaho: Right to Work (you over) state level ‘lawmakers’ are considering a bill that would make it illegal for local level ‘lawmakers’ to increase the minimum wage in their cities!  State ‘lawmakers’ also passed a bill that would cap homeowner property tax exemptions.

Illinois: Par-A-Dice Casino laid off 40 employees, ignorantly blaming video games: “The layoffs are regrettable, but they’re 100% due to the impact of video gaming.”   I say ignorantly because if you’ve noticed I’ve written (especially in this episode of Job Losses) about numerous video game makers, and even video gambling operators, who’re experiencing crashing revenues as well (I’ve said this before, maybe it’s ’cause consumers don’t have no-mo money to spend?)!   The Kishwaukee College budget for next school year calls for the elimination of 17% of its jobs and other austerity measures.  It’s blamed on the loss of $275-thousand USD caused by reduced student enrollment, and the loss of $2.5-million in state taxpayer funding that was promised but never delivered!  God refuses to stop the shutdown of ‘his’ Franciscan Saint James Health hospital, blaming millions of U.S. dollars in losses over several years (I guess this proves the real ‘god’ is money).

Indiana: HVAC maker Carrier-United Technologies Electronic Controls announced it will move its Indianapolis and Huntington factories to Mexico, killing 2-thousand 1-hundred U.S. jobs over the next three years!

Kansas: Rumors that computer networking company Alexander Open Systems is eliminating jobs as part of preparations to sell itself to the highest bidder.

Minnesota: In Saint Paul, Lunds & Byerlys  on Suburban Avenue shutting down after 45 years, 65 jobs lost in March.  Administrators said the grocery store was “no longer viable”.

New York: NYC based NBCUniversal eliminated ten jobs with its Cable Entertainment division.

Oregon: Russia based steel maker EVRAZ issued a shutdown WARN for their Portland pipe factory,  230 jobs will be lost by the beginning of April!  Ironically the Russian company blamed their U.S. factory shutdown partly on foreign made pipe being ‘dumped’ within the U.S. due to U.S. import regulations that actually favor imports over domestically produced products.  Last month I reported that Climax Portable Machining & Welding Systems was quietly laying off employees, and ordered employees not to talk about it lest they lose their severance.  Now an unnamed source says as many as 36 people were laid off in January 2016, and about 30 people laid off in 2015.   Another shocking revelation is that former employees say the company was making decent profits, at least until 2013.  Climax Portable Machining & Welding Systems was founded 50 years ago, but in the past decade has changed ownership numerous times.  Currently the company is owned by Bortech.

Washington: More proof you brick-n-mortar store owners, and casino operators, can’t blame the internet/video games for your demise; Bellevue based internet video game operator Motiga conducted a second round of layoffs (referring to them as “redundancies”) in the past three months.  As usual with internet game makers no job loss numbers were reported.  In Walla Walla, after at least ten years elitist gourmet restaurant-gift shop Providence Fine Living shutting down due to the landlord “skyrocketing” the rent.  The operator of Providence Fine Living said his sales were good, but not good enough to cover what the landlord wants in the new lease.

WARN=Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification

09 February 2016: “I can’t believe it’s…the end.”

Former employees who receive severance are not counted as unemployed

The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) no longer issues mass layoff reports: “On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the- board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all ‘measuring green jobs’ products. This news release is the final publication of monthly mass layoff survey data.”

Business/Economics

Russia privatizes military helicopter production?

10 February 2016 (01:12 UTC-07 Tango 01) / 21 Bahman 1394/01 Jumada al-Ula 1437/03 Geng Yin 4714

During the unofficial Cold War we knew of Kamov and Mil, major producers of combat helicopters for the Soviet Union.  Those two companies merged and are now known as Russian Helicopters.

Neat looking ‘Alligators’ originally designed and produced by Kamov

Recently Russian news reports said their government was ready to allow private investments into Russian Helicopters, including investments by foreigners.  The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade is also considering ‘selling off’ a 25% “blocking stake” in the helicopter maker.

Latest version of the iconic ‘Hind’, originally designed and produced by Mil

At the end of 2014 Russian Helicopter reported that it was so busy with orders that it would be producing up to 280 helicopters every year, but only until the end of this year.  Perhaps that’s why they’re being opened up to foreign investment?

They make cool looking silly-vilian helicopters as well

Business/Economics

Iconic Russian armor maker now bankrupt?

10 February 2016 (00:44 UTC-07 Tango 01) / 21 Bahman 1394/01 Jumada al-Ula 1437/03 Geng Yin 4714

Despite getting a contract to build 2-hundred new BMP-3 vehicles for the Russian army, KurganMashZavod (KMZ) might be involuntarily declared bankrupt in its home oblast of Kurgan.

BMP is an acronym for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (literally Infantry Combat Vehicle).

East German BMP-1 (1st generation KMZ infantry fighting vehicle)

It was KMZ, during the time of the Soviet Union, who developed the world’s first fully enclosed infantry carrying tanks, later emulated by U.S.-led NATO countries (who called them Armored Personnel Carriers [APC] or Infantry Fighting Vehicles [IFV]).

Iraqi 2nd generation KMZ designed BMP-2

A Russian machine tool company called MTE Group is demanding the Kurgan court declare KMZ bankrupt because it failed to fully payoff its debts to MTE.  News reports say KMZ is also struggling with wage problems and debts to natural gas supplier Gazprom Mezhregiongaz.

About 30 countries around the world use the KMZ designed BMPs.