Tag Archives: war

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & Red Horse: Greed for Oil and Cattle Rustling shuts down international health care services for people of South Sudan. U.S. involved

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.

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.

Since the United States lifted its economic embargo on South Sudan in July 2011, the young country has been spiraling out of control.

Recently South Sudan officials accused Sudan of stealing its oil.  In the latest case they say Sudan stole 650,000 barrels of oil, which was loaded onto a Sudan ship.  Sudan replied by saying South Sudan failed to pay import duties on the oil.  Currently South Sudan must ship its oil through Sudan to ports on the Red Sea.

To make matters worse, South Sudan is in a civil war.  More than seven groups claim that the pro-U.S. government of South Sudan has no intention of living up to its democratic promises (typical of pro-U.S. governments).

But the fighting has gotten so bad that it has international health care providers, and innocent people of South Sudan, running for their lives: “Thousands of people in Lekongole and Pibor fled in the last week and are now hiding in the bush, frightened for their lives. They fled in haste and have no food or water, some of them doubtless with wounds. Now they are hiding on their own, beyond the reach of humanitarian assistance.”-Parthesarathy Rajendran, Medecins Sans Frontieres (French for Doctors Without Borders)

On January 13, the UN World Health Organization announced that fighting in the northern state of Jonglei had destroyed all international health facilities in that area.  So far more than 200 international health care workers have been airlifted out.

In one report, the fighting in the state of Jonglei is being blamed on two rival tribes, who accuse each other of cattle rustling.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

White Horse & World War 3: China may be moving away from Iran. Making deals with pro-U.S. Saudi Arabia, Qatar & UAE. Cuts oil imports from Iran

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.

The Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, is visiting several Arab Peninsula countries, signing major oil deals with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.  

Saudi Arabia is already China’s biggest supplier of oil.  The new deals include building a 400,000 barrel per day refinery just for China, and Chinese companies expanding the infrastructure of the Arabian Peninsula countries.

This comes after China announced it would cut oil imports from Iran, blaming contractual issues (not pressure from the U.S.).

However, Premier Wen said China and Saudi Arabia needed to deepen their cooperation “…in the face of changeable and complicated regional and international trends.”

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Pale Green Horse: Crime no longer number one killer of Americans; Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes and other illnesses beat out murderers. So much for America’s great capitalist health care system!

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.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their list of top disease/illness killers, and when compared to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) crime report, health issues now kill more people than criminals.

The FBI says murder has dropped to 16th place in their list of crimes in 2010.  That made health issues the number one killer in the U.S.

The top killers are heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory illnesses, cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, influenza, pneumonia & pneumonitis, septicemia, Parkinson’s and suicide.

 

 

International, U.S.

White Horse & World War 3: Russia to make U.S. Missile Defense system a waste of U.S. taxpayer money

“It seems strange that it is Russia who is required to show flexibility. This is not our project. If an architect is building a house, it is up to him to offer a design which would not violate property rights, area design and neighbors’ interests. So it is our U.S. colleagues who should demonstrate miraculous flexibility to ensure that their AMD system does not violate the interests of other countries if it is to be located in Europe.”-Dmitri Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

Russians refer to the U.S. missile defense system in Europe as American Missile Defense (AMD).  It’s also known as EMD (European Missile Defense).  It is an extension of the U.S. National Missile Defense, which is why the Russians see it as an expansion of the Empire of the United States.  The U.S. has been expanding its missile defense system into Europe under the cloak of fighting “terrorism”!

“I will certainly ensure Russia will give a corresponding technical response if the AMD system endangers our national interests. This will result in the American AMD being considered a waste of money.”

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.

International, U.S.

White Horse & World War 3: Russia restates warnings to the United States, concerning Syria and Iran

“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military hardships, this will be a direct threat to our national security.”-Dmitri Rogozin, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia

“Syria must be left alone and the sides to the conflict must be assisted in breaking the stand off and starting negotiations. No one must interfere with Syria. This is dangerous.”

“If we add the escalating tensions around Iran to the situation in Syria and the consequences of the Libyan war, then the upcoming ‘scorching’ Arab Summer, which is following the Arab Spring, will hardly be to anyone’s taste.”

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, Idaho, U.S.

Economic Recovery? 100% inflation: January 14 last day to get your Powerball Lottery ticket for only $1

Saturday, January 14, will be the last day you can get a Powerball Lottery ticket for  $1.00.  To “celebrate” the lottery’s 20th anniversary the price of one “play” will now cost $2.00.

Lottery officials claim the 100% increase in the price of a lottery ticket is worth it because they’ve increased the size of most jackpot winnings.  For example the new starting jackpot amount will double from $20 million to $40 million.

They also claim it will be easier to win.  They’re reducing the number of red Powerball numbers used.  Instead of 39 red numbers, there will be 35.  But since I’ve played the lottery for at least two decades, and never won anymore than $10.00, the 100% increase in the price of one play is enough to make me stop playing.

 

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

Corporate & Government incompetence: USPS paid FedEx $1.4 billion in 2010! Or did they?

Cash strapped U.S. Postal Service paid FedEx (called Federal Express until 1994) $1.4 billion in 2010, to send USPS packages!

It’s ironic because not only is FedEx a contractor with the USPS (one of the biggest), it’s also a rival of the USPS.

One consulting group, SJ Consulting, suggested the USPS stop sending so many airfreight packages through FedEx.  But here’s the thing, before anyone gets upset with the Postal Service, didn’t we postal customers actually pay for the cost of shipping those packages on FedEx?

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & What Economic Recovery? USDA to close 259 offices, how safe will your food be now?

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.

On January 9, 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced they will have to close 259 offices across the country.  Budget concerns overrule food safety concerns.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is trying to cut $150 million from the USDA budget. The closures will affect 46 states, and includes seven foreign offices.

“They wiped out the entire Midwest.”-Andrew Lorenz, deputy district manager for the Food Safety and Inspection Service in Minneapolis

Lorenz says the office closings in his area have effectively shut down federal food inspection in Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming!

Lorenz also said this could only mean USDA employees losing their jobs (on top of the 7,000 who were forced to take early retirement last year).

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed concern: “Our workload is at record highs, we have less money and fewer people and work to do and we tried to address how do you do that without interrupting service.”

However, USDA undersecretary for food safety, Elisabeth Hagen, contradicted her own boss’s statement: “There will be no reduction in inspection presence at slaughter and processing facilities and no risk for consumers. Not only do we have a statutory obligation to be in every facility, we have an unwavering commitment to food safety. We will still be on the job, in every facility, every day.”

Now how do you do that with thousands less employees?

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

World War 3: Finland allows Patriot missiles to sail to South Korea

After an investigation, Finnish officials decided to let a British registered ship sail to South Korea, with it’s cargo of 69 Patriot missiles.

On December 21, Finnish port authorities discovered improperly packed, and labeled, Patriot missiles and explosive acid on the ship M/S Thor Liberty.   The explosives were exposed to the elements, and the missiles were labeled “fireworks”.

It turns out the German government had sold some of its Patriot missiles to South Korea.  The Germans demanded the Finns let the cargo go.

The two top officers of the ship were charged with safety violations.  The cargo was repacked safely and the ship was allowed to sail with its crew (the Finns originally wanted to hold and try the crew in court, but something changed their minds).

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Only 330 cats & dogs rescued from radiation zone in Japan, hundreds more still roaming lose!

The Japanese government announced that 330 cats and dogs have been rescued from the no entry zone around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, just in the month of December.

The Environment Ministry, and government of Fukushima Prefecture, have conducted rescue operations for dogs and cats.  However, citizens groups have been doing their own rescuing since 11 March 2011.

Several pet rescue blogs talk about the difficulty of dealing with government bureaucracy, in trying to get into the no entry zone.  Some citizen pet rescuers broke the law by going into the highly contaminated area without government permission.

Pet shelters in Japan need financial support to help care for those pets that’ve been rescued. Many pets lost their human companions to the tsunamis. Most pet rescues took place in the tsunami hit areas, but relatively little has been done in the radiation danger zone.

For those who can help, you can check out globalanimal.org. They have contact info of several of the private rescue groups in Japan, and interesting animal rescue stories.

FOOD CRISIS: HALF MILLION LIVESTOCK STARVING TO DEATH IN JAPAN!