Tag Archives: wall street

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. citizen, posing as travel agent, caught illegally mapping Chinese cities which just happen to be near military bases

The Xinjiang Bureau of Surveying and Mapping has revealed that they detained a U.S. citizen after he was caught using two GPS devices to map out cities in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The detention happened back on January 31, 2012.  Chinese officials say he collected and stored over 90,000 geographic coordinates using his GPS receivers.

Officials with Xinjiang Bureau of Surveying and Mapping were tipped off in August 2011, after several people told them they had spotted a U.S. citizen using GPSs around a local military base.

China’s National Administration Bureau of Surveying and Mapping confirmed the man did not have permission to do any GPS mapping of China.  The U.S. citizen claimed he was establishing routes for tourists from the United States!

 

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Idaho’s Republican governor pays his female officials less than his male officials, much less

Governor Butch Otter pays the females in his administration an average of $20,000 less than his male administrators.

“Director Gould is about $38,000 under the newly employed Jeff Sayer. You can’t argue she doesn’t have as many employees. Our state is no different than the national averages that show women reach a ‘glass ceiling’ for promotion and pay.”-Representative Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum

Idaho Agriculture Director, Celia Gould, has worked for Butch Otter since 2007.  She’s paid $106,621 per year.   Jeffrey Sayer, Commerce Director (running a smaller agency), has worked for Butch Otter since October 2011, yet he gets paid $145,018 per year.

The median salary for females in Butch Otter’s cabinet is $85,446.  The median salary for males is $103,002.

Oh, but Idaho is a Right to Work state.

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? 20,000 Teachers laid off, $4.8 billion in more cuts could be coming

March 18, 2012, California has notified at least 20,000 teachers that they will not be coming back to work.

Tom Torlakson, California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, says the notices reflect a financial emergency: “Though the very future of our state depends on California’s teachers …(they) will now spend months in limbo, worrying about their futures and the future of their students.”

It could be worse.  In November elections, Californians will decide if they can afford a huge tax increase, that could keep even more teachers from losing their jobs.

If the tax increase fails to get the vote, then a $4.8 billion trigger cut to education funding will go into effect, which could result in another 55,000 teachers being laid off!

Beware the old saying: “As California goes, so goes the nation.”

 

International, U.S.

Week of Terror Drone strikes, March 11-17

March 13, two U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, one in North Waziristan, one in South Waziristan, killed 15 people.  Two of those killed were pro-government militants!

March 11, Israeli drone hits family as mother walked her children home. All ended up in the hospital with cuts and fractures. One 15 year old boy died.

“We were coming back from school along with six of our companions when suddenly a drone hit us. I had the sensation of flying.”-Hani Al-Qanoo, boy injured in attack

“The drones fly low over the night sky, the explosions are now less frequent but nobody is relaxing or being lulled in to any false sense of security, Gaza is awake and will not sleep tonight.”-eyewitness living in Gaza Strip

March 11, nine people killed in Yemen by U.S. drone strike. Three people killed in Jabal Khanfar, a hill overlooking the Abyan town of Jaar. Six people killed in Makhzan, southeast of Jaar.  Witnesses say at least six missiles were fired from several U.S .drones.

 

 

Technology, U.S.

United Police States of America: CIA will spy on you through your TV, radio, computer, etc

“Items of interest will be located, identified, monitored, and remotely controlled through technologies such as radio frequency identification, sensor networks, tiny embedded servers, and energy harvesters, all connected to the next generation internet using abundant, low cost, and high power computing. The latter now going to cloud computing, in many areas greater and greater supercomputing, and, ultimately, heading to quantum computing.”-David Petraeus, CIA boss, statement made at meeting of In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital firm

Technology, U.S.

United Police States of America: Utah National Guard base to become site of largest personal data center in the U.S. You are the target!

Photo via National Security Agency, 28DEC2011.

This is a 2011 photo of the  National Security Agency’s $340-million Gordon Regional Security Operations Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and it wasn’t big enough so they’re building a bigger one in Utah.

“this is more than just a data center….Everybody’s a target; everybody with communication is a target.”-unnamed intelligence official

Camp Williams is expanding by 240 acres to become Utah Data Complex, run by the National Security Agency. It will be the biggest ever, and should be completed by 2013.

The center will not only spy on, and collect, domestic emails and phone calls, but even what you buy!

The domestic spy center is costing taxpayers $2 billion to build.

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

Whistleblower & Wikileaks founder Julian Assange running for Australian Senate, hosts Russian TV show

Despite being under house arrest in United Kingdom, Assange is getting a new TV show, and running for political office in Australia.

Assange is scheduled to host The World of Tomorrow for RT (Russia Today): “Assange to record TV series for RT while under house arrest – I am sure it will be an amazing show!” -Margarita Simonyan, RT editor in chief

Assange is also running for a seat in Australia’s Upper House.  Wikileaks is also sponsoring a candidate to challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Cadmium contaminated farmland takes 30 years to replace

30 years ago, 1,600 hectares (3,953.6 acres) of farmland in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, was contaminated with cadmium.  The cadmium came from a mine.

What happened was that the mine was dumping cadmium into the river, the local farms used the river for irrigation.  The contamination caused a debilitating condition among local residents, called “itai-itai disease“.

A ceremony was held in Toyama City, on March 17, 2012, to mark to end of 30 years of replacing the contaminated soil!  It is considered the biggest restoration project for farm land in history!

International, U.S.

World War 3: Afghan march on Al Quds (Jerusalem) reaches Iran, March 30 target date for surrounding Israel

“Peoples of the world demand the freedom for Jerusalem… People of the world demand to end the occupation of Palestine”-Global March on Al Quds

In February Afghans announced a Global March on Al Quds (aka 30th of March Operation).  Today those taking part in the march have rendezvoused in Terhan, Iran.

Organizers had hoped to be in Jordan by now: “Although it was supposed to reach to Jordanian borders to join the 30th of March program but due to situation in Syria and Iraq, no land rout to the borders of Jordan was possible and available and the caravan has to follow the rout from Turkey to Lebanon”– Salim Qafouri, Iranian participants of Global March on Al Quds

Organizers stress that anyone can join the march, which is hoping to surround Jerusalem with thousands of international protesters by March 30, 2012

The next rendezvous point will be Beirut, Lebanon on March 27.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Evil: Canadians to be raped of at least half a million dollars by Royal family

The visit of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, to Canada this year, is expected to cost the Canadian taxpayers more than $500,000.

The travel expenses documents were published by the Department of Canadian Heritage.  The published costs do not reveal the costs by federal departments and agencies, nor do they take into consideration the security costs.

The last two “royal” visits ended up raping Canadian taxpayers of more than $1 million for each visit.  The 2011 visit by Prince William and Kate Middleton cost the taxpayers more than $1.2 million.  The 2010 visit by Queen Elizabeth cost taxpayers $2.8 million!