Governments and Central Banks Are Bringing on Second Round of Economic Crisis
October 19, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
October 19th, 2010
Sic Semper Trannis
By: Mark Matheny
Although President Obama and his bought and paid for media (The Ministry of Truth) are calling this year the “summer of recovery”, it is apparent to anyone living in our nation that it should be more likely called the “summer of discontent”.
As the U.S. economy feels the withdraw symptoms of a failed “bailout” and “stimulus” high, the UK’s economy is also feeling the effects of the robber barrons as their road to recovery leads only to more coming dissappointment.
According to a report on Russia Today, certain respected financiers are blaming the Bank of England as the culprit for UK’s economic woes, saying that instead of solving the issues that lead to the last crisis, governments and central banks, like the Bank of England are leading the world toward a bigger meltdown.
Although many economists see another crisis looming, there is no agreement between the institutions on how to avert it. On the one hand, the powers that be in Europe are stopping the printing presses, while the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States has the printers at full steam ahead. The Ministry of Truth (the media) in the United States then converts the real language of “inflating the monetary system” into the new speak term “quantitative easing”.
According to Patrick Young, editor of The Gathering Storm, no one is on the right track to true economic recovery:
“Nobody is right – I mean that’s really the problem. The difficulty is that when you’ve drunk three bottles of vodka, then you may well think that you are capable of putting the world to right. But at the same point in time you know you are going to wake up in the morning with a hangover. This is the point where we’re waking up in the morning with a terrible hangover.”
Many people in the UK are in denial to the fact that things will get worse and not better. Most people (in the UK as well as the U.S.) are ignorant to the fact that policy makers around the world are applying outdated models to their economic projections which will more than likely lead to inflation hitting the average citizen dramatically.
The government of the UK is expected to announce large cuts to public services this week, in an effort to stave of the looming crisis ahead.
Steve Lewis, Founding Partner of Monument Derivatives warns there could be much worse episodes of collapse to come:
“We shouldn’t assume that the period of extreme global weakness which followed the Lehman Brothers’ collapse is the worse episode in this long drawn out depression. There could be much worse episodes still to come.”
In an interview on the Glenn Beck Show back in the early part of 2010, Congressman Ron paul stated that all of his attempts at auditing the Federal Reserve, (in order to get at the heart of the real reasons for the crisis) have been stonewalled by the administration, and blames both Republicans and Democrats for this blocking of H.R 1207 and other attempts at transparency.
“I know one thing, if Obama wanted change, and change in the system, at least exposure, ah he could do something, but you know he got nearly a million dollars from Goldman Sachs… so we don’t expect anything from the administration……this to me is a perfect example of my argument that I made… there’s not a whole lot of difference between the two parties. You know they’re owned by the same people..”
And if you think Ron Paul stumbled on to some new revelation, then think again. Here’s what Carroll Quigley wrote in his book Tragedy and Hope:
“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers…Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy.”
(1910-1977) Professor of History at Georgetown University, member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), mentor to Bill Clinton
In the interview with Glenn Beck, Ron Paul continued by saying:
…as this system continues to falter, they’re not going to give up, they’re going move all these shananigans over to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), they’re gonna have a world organization. So the powerful Elite then will have a world currency. That’s….what they’re planning for right now..”
To back up what Ron Paul is stating in regards to the powerful Elite’s plans for a world currency, a document called Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability was published by the IMF on April 13, 2010, shortly after the interview where Ron Paul stated the facts.
In short, all the currencies of the world are Fiat currencies now, and are only as good as the governments backing them (God Help Us), and so we surely will see a world currency soon, if we don’t step up our act of preserving our Sovereignty and ending the Criminal organizations of the IMF and the Federal Reserve.
Carroll Quigley also stated once:
“Thus, the use of fiat money is more justifiable in financing a depression than in financing a war.”
While our government pretends to fight “the War on Terror” the real war will be once again our war for independence and freedom from a Feudalist World Regime.
Click here for the full report from Sic Semper Tyrannis
Pharmaceutical Company Fined Over Waste
October 19, 2010 by Andrew
Filed under Government
October 19th, 2010
IrishTimes.com
A pharmaceutical company and one of its contractors have been fined €40,000 each at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on charges relating to their waste management practices.
AHP Manufacturing, trading as Wyeth Medica Ireland, pleaded guilty through their financial director Tim Brosnan to two counts that on dates in 2000 and 2001 it disposed of or recovered waste materials by means of a company which was not an agreed hazardous waste contractor.
Wyeth Medica Ireland, based in Newbridge, Co Kildare, further pleaded guilty to shipping waste out of the State without a certificate; and being the consignors of waste, in the course of transferring hazardous waste, engaged an agent who mixed hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste on dates in 2001.
Dublin-based Cara Environmental Technology Limited pleaded guilty, through their solicitor Mr Norman Fitzgerald, to four counts of shipping waste out of the State without a certificate on dates between September 18th, 2000 and November 28th, 2001.
Judge Patricia Ryan said the prosecution had accepted at all times that Wyeth Medica Ireland believed its waste was being treated properly by Bioland but that the medical company acknowledged that it failed to take further steps in the matter.
“There has been strenuous efforts made by Wyeth Medica since these offences occurred and they haven’t reoccurred and Bioland acted in a criminal fashion in order to make money,” said Judge Ryan.
Wyeth had been charged with 18 offences arising out of the export of the waste product of medroxyprogesterone acetate, a contraceptive drug.
The case came to light in May 2002 when pig farmers in the Netherlands noticed that their sows were infertile.
The source of the infertility was traced back to waste water from Wyeth’s Newbridge plant, which was exported, recycled and then processed into treacle to be fed to pigs. Some 55,000 pigs were slaughtered, while half of the 7,000 pig farmers in the Netherlands were forced to close their businesses temporarily.
Click here for the full report from IrishTimes.com
US Wants to Ease Telecom Wiretapping
October 19th, 2010
Agence France Presse
An Obama administration taskforce is seeking to overhaul a federal law requiring telephone and broadband carriers to ensure their networks can be wiretapped, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials from the Justice and Commerce Departments, the FBI and other federal agencies told the Times tougher legislation was necessary because some telecommunications firms have launched new services and system upgrades that impede surveillance.
As part of their draft legislation to expand and strengthen the 1994 law, the officials want more legal incentives and penalties to push AT&T, Comcast, Verizon and other carriers to make sure any changes to their networks will not disrupt efforts to conduct wiretaps, the report added.
According to the Times, President Barack Obama’s administration intends to submit a package of draft legislation to Congress next year. Citing officials familiar with the deliberations, it noted there was still no agreement over the details.
Officials cited two previously undisclosed episodes during which major carriers struggled for weeks or months when they tried to comply with court-approved wiretap orders in criminal or terrorism investigations.
The newspaper said the FBI spends about 20 million dollars a year on efforts to help companies fix such problems.
Last month, the Times reported that the White House is also pushing to require all online services that enable communications — such as Gmail, Facebook, BlackBerry and Skype — to be technically capable of complying with a wiretap order, bringing them under the law’s mandate for the first time.
Among proposals floated by the Obama administration, one would increase the likelihood that a firm would pay a fine for wiretapping lapses, while another would create incentives for companies to show new systems to the FBI before implementing them, the Times said.
Click here for the full report from the Raw Story
VT Judge Weighs Cell Phone Tracking Suit by ACLU
October 19th, 2010
The Associated Press
A Vermont judge heard arguments but didn’t rule Monday on a lawsuit aimed at forcing the state to reveal whether and how its criminal investigators use cell phone tracking technology to keep tabs on people and their whereabouts.
The ACLU of Vermont sued the state in March after filing public records requests that sought information on the state Attorney General’s use of data from cell phone service providers to pinpoint the location of people.
The state contends that the information is exempt from public records statutes because it involves criminal investigations, which were specifically exempted from disclosure when the Legislature adopted the Access to Public Records Act.
After the state denied the ACLU’s records requests, the ACLU filed a civil suit asking a judge to compel the release of information about instances in the previous two years in which the Attorney General’s office had sought mobile telephone location information from any provider.
At issue in the suit is not the practice itself, but whether the Attorney General’s office acted lawfully in denying the public records request seeking details of its use.
“In a way, the ACLU is bringing a collateral attack on a whole bunch of proceedings without being a part of any of those proceedings,” said Assistant Attorney General Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, who argued the state’s case. “And it’s trying to get into that through a public records request, and that’s not appropriate.”
Washington County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford, who presided at Monday’s hearing, said that in a sense, the ACLU had already won by virtue of his previous decision to unseal a document submitted by the state in which it said it had made such requests four times.
The requests, which spanned four days last January, had to do with an Orleans County case or cases, but the parties to them weren’t named in the document, nor was it clear if they were criminal or civil.
“So we know something we didn’t know six months ago when we filed this case, and that is that yes, the Attorney General is asking for information from cell companies about data that shows where any of us is at any one time if we had our cell phones on,” said Allen Gilbert, executive director of the ACLU’s Vermont chapter.
“The next question, probably, is how widespread a practice is this? We only asked the AG. We only asked for a limited amount of time. We could ask the same question of police agencies or state’s attorneys around the state,” Gilbert said.
Crawford didn’t rule on the state’s request to dismiss the suit, or say when he would.
What the ACLU wants, according to Gilbert, is a ruling that affirms the public’s right to know what techniques law enforcement is using to investigate crime.
But revealing when and how cell phone tracking is used in an investigation would have widespread ramifications in the criminal process, according to Jacobs-Carnahan.
“The legislature has said that it’s going to protect the investigatory process, and you’re trying to break it up into little pieces and saying `Oh, it would be nice to have this piece of information or that piece of information.’ But once you start going down that road, you’re going to get into all the questions of how you decide which ones are appropriate to disclose and which aren’t.”
Click here for the full report from the Associated Press
Kids Drinks Contaminated With Lead
October 19th, 2010
Natural News
By: David Gutierrez
Eighty-five percent of beverages marketed to children contain levels of lead high enough to require a warning under California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, popularly known as Prop. 65.
The nonprofit Environmental Law Foundation used previously published studies to evaluate which kinds of food products were most likely to contain lead, then used an Environmental Protection Agency-certified lab to test 146 products from these categories that are specifically marketed for children. In addition to juices, products tested included fruit cocktail mixes, packaged peaches and pears, and baby food.
A full 125 of the products tested — more than 85 percent — contained more than the 0.5 microgram threshold beyond which Prop. 65 requires a “clear and reasonable” warning on the packaging.
The FDA classifies lead exposures up to 6 micrograms per day as tolerable, but the American Academy of Pediatrics has warned that no “safe level” of lead exposure exists, in part because the heavy metal accumulates in the body over the course of a lifetime.
“Lead exposure among children is a particular concern because their developing bodies absorb lead at a higher rate and because children are particularly sensitive to lead’s toxic effects, including decreased I.Q.,” said Dr. Barbara G. Callahan of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Lead damages the central nervous system, including the brain, and can produce anemia, behavioral problems, learning disabilities and hearing loss.
The products found to be contaminated included Earth’s Best Organics Apple Juice, Trader Joe’s Certified Organic Apple Juice (pasteurized), Del Monte 100% Juice Fruit Cocktail, Safeway Diced Peaches in Light Syrup, and S&W Sun Pears Premium.
The Environmental Law Foundation has sent a letter to the producers of the contaminated products, as well as to California law enforcement, asking for compliance with Prop. 65.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Reusable Grocery Bags Are All Contaminated With Bacteria
October 19th, 2010
Natural News
By: David Gutierrez
Shoppers who do not regularly wash their reusable grocery bags may be placing themselves and their families at heightened risk of foodborne illness, according to a study conducted by researchers from Loma Linda University and the University of Arizona.
“It is estimated that there are about 76,000,000 cases of foodborne illness in the United States every year,” the researchers wrote. “Most of these illnesses originate in the home from improper cooking or handling of foods. Reusable bags, if not properly washed between uses, create the potential for cross-contamination of foods.”
Researchers asked shoppers at grocery stores in Arizona and California whether they washed their reusable shopping bags, finding that only 3 percent did so regularly. In addition, 75 percent of shoppers surveyed said they did not use separate bags for meat and produce. Another 33 percent said they also used the bags for toting objects other than food.
“[Contamination] potential exists when raw meat products and foods traditionally eaten uncooked (fruits and vegetables) are carried in the same bags, either together or between uses,” the researchers wrote. “This risk can be increased by the growth of bacteria in the bags.”
When the researchers tested 84 bags for bacteria, they found that 83 were contaminated with some variety of bacteria. Fifty percent were contaminated with coliform bacteria, suggesting human feces or raw meat. Twelve percent were contaminated with E. coli.
Fortunately, washing the bags by machine or hand reduced bacterial presence to nearly zero.
The study was funded by the American Chemistry Council, which is lobbying on behalf of single-use plastic bag manufacturers against a bill that would ban those bags from California grocery stores. The bill has already passed the California Assembly, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will sign the bill if the Senate approves it.
Plastic grocery bags have been implicated as the foremost source of beach pollution and a major threat to marine life.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Plastic Products Contain Harmful Toxins Besides BPA
October 19th, 2010
Natural News
By: Ethan A. Huff
Much of the concern surrounding plastic products these days is centered around bisphenol-A (BPA), a plastics chemical that numerous studies have found disrupts proper hormonal function and interferes with proper sexual development, among other things. But phthalates, another type of plastics chemical, are also highly dangerous, and are found in all sorts of consumer products that contain plastic and rubber components.
A recent study conducted by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) found that all sorts of products — including pencils, toys, shoes, erasers, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, paint, electric cables, snack bags, and clothing — contain phthalates. According to a recent Reuters report, there are roughly 25 different phthalates used in various products, and while their purpose is to make plastics more flexible, their effects on health are devastating.
Phthalates are literally everywhere, from the plastics in cars to food packaging, and everything in between. And like BPA, phthalates are linked to sexual dysfunction, particularly male infertility. According to scientists and many governments, global sperm counts have decreased by roughly 50 percent over the past 50 years as a result of phthalates. Some phthalates have been shown to directly inhibit the production of testosterone in developing fetal rats.
“[Phthalates] are endocrine disrupting and medical literature suggests they may be linked to some reproductive defects in the male fetus,” says Allison Tannis in her book Probiotic Rescue: How You Can Use Probiotics to Fight Cholesterol, Cancer, Superbugs, Digestive Complaints and More. “Phthalates are gaining attention as a possible cancer-causing chemical that should be avoided.”
The European Union (EU) banned phthalates from children’s toys back in 1999, but there are many products children use that fall outside the regulations. In the U.S., phthalates are widely used, but some manufacturers have voluntarily dropped phthalates from their products.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Pharmacist Denies Inhaler to Woman Having Asthma Attack For Being a Dollar and Change Short
October 19th, 2010
Natural News
By: Jonathan Benson
A New Jersey woman suffering a severe asthma attack was recently denied an inhaler at her local CVS pharmacy because she was a little short on cash. According to a recent report at Fox 5 in New York, the pharmacist at the CVS in Garwood, N.J., left Katherine O’Connor to suffer on the ground because her boyfriend Jack only had a $20 bill, which was a dollar and some change short of covering the total cost of the inhaler.
“I had exactly a twenty-dollar bill. It came to twenty-one and change,” Jack said to Fox 5. “I offered him my cell phone, my wallet. I said I live right around the corner. I come in here all the time.”
But the pharmacist would not comply, said Jack. The couple ended up leaving the store empty-handed, Katherine still having an attack. Jack ended up calling a paramedic friend who was able to arrive quickly and treat Katherine. She recovered, but the couple is shocked at the way they were treated by the pharmacist.
When asked about the situation, the CVS store manager allegedly had no comment. The CVS corporate office, however, responded with a statement saying that “[t]he well-being of our customers is our highest priority and we are looking into this matter.”
CVS was recently implicated in a government lawsuit for illegally selling over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to criminals who used them to make methamphetamines. The pharmacy chain pleaded guilty to the charges, agreeing to pay a $75 million civil penalty and forfeit $2.6 million in profits from the drugs.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
Oktoberfest 2010 Pictures
October 19, 2010 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
As promised, here are some pictures from Oktoberfest 2010. Pay attention to the pictures of the menu. Everything is organic! Also, look at the pictures of the chicken, Bavarian ox and fish that were freshly prepared for everyone’s enjoyment! This would never happen in America!
My Pictures of Hiking Up The Mountain
October 19, 2010 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
Here are a few pictures of Brandy and I hiking up one of the mountains in Bavaria. Well, I hiked it… Brandy turned around about 20 minutes into it and took a cable car up!
