Tag Archives: war

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? While India experiences GDP growth above 5%, the United States continues to stagnate and stink! Blame the government, blame inflation! Could have been worse!

31 May 2012, The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the U.S. GDP continues to stagnate at 1.9%!  That was for January through March.

Once again, the experts were expecting it to be higher, like around 2.2% (which is still stagnation).  The problem is that the experts were expecting business inventories to be around $69.5 billion USD, instead they ended the 1st quarter at $57.7 billion.

Also, consumer spending was a tiny bit lower than what the experts were expecting; 2.7% instead of the expected 2.9%.

Government spending dropped by 3.9%, also more than what the experts were expecting.

Inflation went up 2.4% (price index for personal consumption), which is twice that of the 1st quarter of 2011!  By the way, the experts got this one right.

The inflation rate for core PCE gauge, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was at 2.1%, which is up from the 4th quarter of 2011.

But wait, there’s more!  The Commerce Department said the 1st quarter GDP could have been even lower if it weren’t for an unexpected increase in business spending! Business spending went up 1.9%, the experts were expecting it to drop by 2.1%!

By the way, one of the BRICS countries, India, reported an explosive GDP growth rate of 5.3%, during the same time period, and keep in mind that’s a decline from the previous year!

Business/Economics

What Economic Recovery? Toyota cash hoarding by selling bonds. Preparation for coming World economic collapse!

31 May 2012, Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation announced a huge bond sell off, to raise lots of cash in case of global economic crash!

Reuters reporting that Toyota wants $2.5 billion USD to buy new equipment, however, NHK (nippon housou kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is reporting that Toyota needs “…to increase its cash on hand in case of contingencies stemming from the European credit crisis.”

Toyota already has $62 billion USD in cash on hand, so that doesn’t explain Reuter’s report saying they need the $2.5 billion for new equipment.   The last time Toyota sold bonds was in 2009, in response to the global credit crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers!

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; May 28-30. 5 more U.S./NATO troops killed. Several Dozens of Afghans killed. Proof the War on Drugs is a joke!

30 May 2012: International Security Assistance Force reports two U.S./NATO personnel killed by Mujahideen attacks, and explosions in southern Afghanistan.

At least 172 occupying personnel killed since the beginning of 2012.

According to local security officials in Badakhshan Province, at least eight cops were killed and two wounded after an attack by Mujahideen.  Several police officers are missing.  The attack began late on 29 May and continued into the early hours of 30 May.  Local police officials claim they killed six Mujahideen. The Mujahideen launched coordinated attacks on three police check points.

In Herat Province, Mujahideen attacked an Afghan army check point, killing one soldier and wounding four others. Officials claim they killed four Mujahideen.

In Farah Province one Afghan soldier was killed, and another wounded after an explosion.

In Nangarhar Province about eight civilians were killed.  Five people were killed after their house was attacked with grenades.  Three other people were killed when they drove over a mine.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of the Interior reports that in the past 24 hours 30 Mujahideen were killed or wounded in battles in the following provinces: Kabul, Nangarhar, Faryab, Helmand, Uruzgan, Logar, Ghazni, Paktika and Paktia.

29 May 2012: Another school was targeted with poisoning of the female students. At least 120 girls became sick. This is the third school poisoning in Takhar Province in the past two weeks.  The “Taliban” are being blamed, however, “Taliban” reps swear they’ve had nothing to do with the poisonings.  Public health officials say blood tests are not revealing what poison (if any) is being used.  “Taliban” reps say the Afghan government is behind the poisonings.

Another tribal elder was assassinated while praying in a Mosque in Ghazni Province. Also, in Ghazni city, Mujahideen attacked the eastern part of the city and wounded between three and seven people.

The United Nations reported that only 5% of the Afghan population is involved in producing more than 5,800 tons of opium, or 90% of the World’s illegal opium!  The UN also said that so far less than 2% of the opium produced is being captured and destroyed.  That’s par for the course when you study the lack of success in the 30+ years of the U.S. War on Drugs!

In Nangahar Province two potential suicide bombers were killed, and three wounded after the car they were in exploded.  Officials think there was a mechanical problem which caused one of their bombs to go off too soon.

International Security Assistance Force is claiming they killed an al-Qaeda “leader” in Kunar Province.  They said he was from Saudi Arabia, an ally of the United States.

In Baghlan Province, Afghan officials claim they killed two Mujahideen “commanders”.

28 May 2012: International Security Assistance Force said at least one U.S./NATO soldier was killed by Mujahideen attack, in southern Afghanistan.  Two other U.S./NATO personnel were killed when the helicopter they were in went down in eastern Afghanistan.

Five police officers in Baghlan Province were killed when they drove over a mine.

An Afghan government official was arrested on murder and rape charges. The former deputy chief of the Afghan Passport Department is accused by several people from Badakhshan province of raping and killing women.

In Helmand Province, at least three people were killed when they drove over a mine.  Local officials said they arrested a man suspected of planting the mine.

ISAF, Afghan Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of the Interior, report six Afghan soldiers killed, and between 21 and 38 Mujahideen killed in the past 24 hours.  The battles took place in Laghman, Paktiya, Baghlan, Kabul, Kunar, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Faryab, Kandahar, Ghazni, Khost, Helmand, Uruzgan, Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces.

International Security Assistance Force claims two “leaders” were captured in Kandahar and Paktiya provinces.

 

 

 

Influenza

H5N1 Update, 27 May 2012: Only one vaccine? U.S. changing rules. Global Food Crisis as Egypt’s food supply hit hard, blame the U.S.

H5N1 is not only making people in Egypt sick, it’s also destroying their food supply.  Bird flu, along with foot & mouth disease, is taking down precious livestock.  It’s becoming not only a health issue, but an economic one as well.

According to a 14 May report in the Atlantic, H5N1 is also threatening livestock in “…Sudan, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jordan.” But the article says everyone should blame the U.S./NATO backed war in Libya!

The Atlantic says that the U.S./European created war in Libya is responsible for more than 10% of livestock deaths, as a result of disease, making Libya “ground zero” of a public health emergency.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is “…warning that the epidemic in Egypt was threatening human food supplies for all of the Middle East and North Africa.”

The Atlantic also explains that six years of efforts to control H5N1 in Egypt are not working. That’s because the current vaccine is no longer valid against the new strain of H5N1.  It’s estimated that millions of chickens (a main protein source in Egypt) have died, or been culled because of H5N1 infection.

Now ducks are showing up with a new version of H5N1.  The UN World Health Organization says Egypt is number two for human cases of H5N1, Indonesia is number one!

On 7 May 2012, another dead wild bird in Hong Kong tested positive for H5N1.

At the beginning of May the controversial H5N1 study was made public. This was the study that shows how to make H5N1 transmissible between humans. As a result the U.S. National Institutes for Health (NIH) wants new rules regarding dual-use research of concern (DURC).

DURC refers to studies which look at the possibility of current diseases becoming more deadly, so that the medical community could be better prepared.  The problem is that those studies could also serve as instructions for making biological warfare agents.

The NIH is considering advise from local health organizations before coming up with the new DURC rules.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese company, is the “…only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine to the [Chinese] government-stockpiling program.”

The vaccine is called Panflu, and they are working on a new version called Panflu 1.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: New study shows lack of business had a lot to do with the collapse of the Mayan Empire. Similar to the collapse of the Caliphate. “It’s the Economy stupid.”

A new study published in the journal Antiquity, reveals a new factor in the collapse of the Mayan Empire.  You can now add ‘bad economy’ to social unrest, disease, warfare, drought and deforestation.

The bad economy was due to a shift away from inland centers of business, to coastal centers.  Researchers at the University of Illinois say the main product the Mayan’s traded was obsidian.  It was used for making tools, as the Mesoamericans had not yet learned how to make metals strong enough for tools.

Researchers say Mayan maps show that the obsidian, and other products, were increasingly sent to coastal areas for trade.  They are not sure why, but speculate that military/political/social/environmental problems inland could be factors. Also, methods to ship over water probably improved.

I think they are correct, because if you study the demise of the Islamic Caliphate you realize that it was a combination of internal political disputes and, mainly, the ability of the Europeans to sail directly to Asia, thus avoiding the traditional Silk Road.

The invasion of North Africa by Napoleon, and finally the demise of the Ottoman Empire, were only the end result of a long period of decline for the Muslim Empire.

From the beginning of the Caliphate there were always internal problems arising out of differences of opinions as to how the Empire should be run, but that’s typical with all societies. The true cause of their collapse is economic. The Muslim Empire controlled most of the famous Silk Road trade routes, and the Christian Crusades were attempts by Europeans to regain a piece of that pie (of which they had since the time of Alexander the Great, forget the rhetoric about religion and god).

It actually began in earnest when the Portuguese, followed by the British and Dutch, were able to finally sail around Africa to the point where the Silk Road actually began, in a sense cutting out the middle men who controlled the trade routes through the Muslim Empire.

What’s been going on since the discovery of oil in the Middle East, is an attempt by Western societies to maintain control of the region, and prevent the locals (who have radically different ideas about politics/religion/economics) from regaining a position of economic power.

So, as usual, most wars are economic, that is, an attempt to monopolize international trade. As one infamous U.S. President said, before he became president: “It’s the economy, stupid!”-Campaign slogan created for Bill Clinton, by James Carville, criticizing then U.S. President George H.W. Bush

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; May 23-27. 5 U.S./NATO deaths in 2 days. More civilian deaths. Civilians fighting back. Politicians cave to U.S. bribes. Cops stealing oil and running drugs. France will keep troops in country after all!

“Afghanistan would sign long term partnership agreement with the People’s Republic of China and the agreement will probably be inked during President Hamid Karzai’s participation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on June 6-7 in China.”–Zalmai Rasoul, Foreign Minister of Afghanistan

China will join United States, Britain, Germany, India, Italy and Australia in long term “strategic” pacts with Afghanistan.

27 May 2012, local officials in Paktia Province are now confirming that a U.S./NATO airstrike, on the night of 26 May, has killed eight civilians, and that not a single Mujahideen was killed.

Earlier, reports said as many as 20 Mujahideen were killed by the U.S. led airstrike, but when local officials investigated all they found were the bodies of one man, his wife and their six children!

Also on 27 May 2012, Afghan Ministry of Defense says five of their soldiers were killed, and 13 wounded in battles in the following provinces: Kapisa, Kunar and Laghman.

The Ministry of the Interior claims that six Mujahideen were killed, two wounded, and nine captured in the following provinces: Kapisa, Kandahar, Maidan Wardak and Khost.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says three U.S./NATO personnel were killed by Mujahideen attacks in eastern Afghanistan, on 27 May.  ISAF also confirmed that four U.S./NATO personnel were killed by explosions on 26 May.  ISAF did not give much info (SOP) other than the explosions were separate incidents.

About 169 occupying personnel have been killed since the beginning of 2012.

In Baghlan Province, five people wearing police uniforms tried to steal a truck hauling oil. They were arrested.  Owners of the oil tankers are praising local authorities because hi-jackings of tankers by people wearing police uniforms has been ongoing on Baghlan-Samangan highway.

26 May 2012, in Kabul Province two police officers were arrested and accused of helping alcohol and drug traffickers. Officials say one of the arrested cops is a high level officer.

The counter-narcotics and intoxicants court, in Kabul city, says in the past month at least 50 people have been detained.  Compare that to last year when a total of 53 people were detained.  Now realize that those 53 people included 33 cops!

Also on 26 May, officials in Ghazni Province say local civilians, and the local Mujahideen group Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Islami), repelled an attack from an outsider group.

The local civilian militia, and Hezb-e-Islami, claim to have killed 12 and captured 15 of the outsider militants.  The report also says the attacks took place in at least five villages.  Other sources say the attacks took place weeks ago and are only now being reported.

The new French President, Francois Hollande, has pulled an Obama! Just weeks ago he sounded like he was getting France out of Afghanistan altogether.  Now he admits that even after the official French withdrawal there will still be 1,400 French troops in country, to help the United States with training and logistics.

On 23 May, one member of the Afghan Parliament (National Assembly of Afghanistan), Qorban-Ali Erfani, said the United States was bribing officials with money and promises of immigration to the U.S., if they would approve the midnight military pact signed by Obama and Karzai on 1 May.

On 26 May the parliament approved the pact.  But wait, there’s more!  Of the 249 members of parliament only 183 were present, and only six of them voted against it. Where were the other 66?  Unnamed sources say the 66 who were no shows were threatened because they were openly against the Obama/Karzai pact.

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Despite defending Obama’s NATO meeting, Chicago can’t pay its cops!

“First, the City took the unusual position that Officers could not request to be credited with compensatory time for any overtime that they worked during the NATO Summit knowing that this was a clear violation of our contract. Now, after our Mayor, Superintendent, and the citizens of Chicago have heaped praise upon Chicago Police Officers for their excellent work at the NATO Summit, the City has taken the position that Officers are not entitled to compensation for working a sixth or seventh consecutive day during a single calendar week.”-Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Chicago Lodge 7

“NATO is not an excuse for the city of Chicago to circumvent the contract. It clearly states that officers working overtime are to be paid in either time or money…..This is just another example of the city not honoring the contract.”-Mike Shields, FOP president

Some Chicago cops are starting to realize that those elites they defend are about to screw them over, welcome to the club!

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? 45,000 U.S. Postal workers to be forced out

25 May 2012, the U.S. Postal Service is offering buyouts to 45,000 part time mail handlers.

It’s part of the USPS’s plans to layoff 150,000 employees by 2015.  Postal officials had no comment about how they were going to do that.

You can blame the U.S. Congress for forcing the Postal Service to over pay into government retirement and health plans, even though the USPS does not get any tax dollars!!!

The money for the U.S. Postal Service comes directly from sales of postage and mail services!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Food Crisis: Japan now dependent upon other countries for fish, as much as a 74% increase!

25 May 2012, Japan’s Fishery Ministry reports a huge decrease in fish catches.  Blame the 11 March 2011 disasters.

The reports says the fishing industry in the northeast of Japan was hit hard by the disasters, and has not been able to recover enough to supply Japan with enough fish.  Supplies of local fish to Japanese markets is at about 78% of what it was before the disasters.

About 70% of the fishing boats damaged or destroyed have been repaired or replaced.

And don’t forget the fish that are radioactive.

As a result Japan has increased imports of Pacific saury (aka mackerel pike) by as much as 74%.  Oyster imports are up 20%.

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Government Incompetence: U.S. Courts allow Japanese banks to do buisiness with Iran

On 17 May 2012, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ filed a suit against the U.S. government’s sanctions on Iran.

25 May 2012, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ said they’ve officially restarted transactions with Iran, after a U.S. court decided in their favor.

The whole thing was because of a U.S. federal judge deciding that Iran was responsible for the 1983 bombing of the USMC barracks in Beirut, after the U.S. invaded Lebanon.  Their is little evidence to back up such a claim. And by the way, shouldn’t the invader (the United States) by held responsible?

Attorney’s for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ argued that the U.S. court ruling is not valid under Japanese law.

It’s estimated that the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ handles 70-80% of Japan’s transactions with Iran.