The following was taken from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center, Daily Summary #2009-036, Friday, 16 January 2009:
9 December 2008 Discovery of Radiological Dispersal Device
Components, Literature, and Radioactive Material at the
Maine Residence of an Identified Deceased US Person
On 9 December 2008, radiological dispersal device components and literature, and radioactive materials, were discovered at the Maine residence of an identified deceased USPER James Cummings. Cummings had possible ties to white supremacist groups.
On 9 December 2008, four one-gallon containers of 35 percent hydrogen peroxide, lithium metal, thermite, aluminum powder, beryllium, boron, black iron oxide, and magnesium ribbon were discovered at theCummings' residence. (FBI comments: Literature on constructing 'dirty bombs'; information referring to cesium-137, strontium-90, and cobalt-60; and possible evidence linking James ((Cummings)) to white supremacist groups were also discovered.)
(Source comments: Amber ((Cummings)) admitted to the shooting death of her husband James Cummings citing years of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. Amber Cummings retained legal counsel upon being questioned by law enforcement about any involvement with white supremacists. James Cummings was reported to have inherited two million dollars and to have resided in multiple states prior to relocating to Maine.)
Amber ((Cummings)) indicated James was very upset with Barack Obama being elected President. She indicated James had been in contact with 'white supremacist group(s)'. Amber also indicated James mixed chemicals in the kitchen sink at their residence and had mentioned 'dirty bombs'. (Source comment: State authorities detected radiation emissions in four small jars in the residence labeled 'uranium metal', as well as one jar labeled 'thorium.' The four jars of uranium carried the label of an identified US company.) (FBI comment: Further preliminary analysis on 30 December 2008 indicated an unlabeled jar to be a second jar of thorium. Each bottle of uranium contained depleted uranium 238. Analysis also indicated the two jars of
thorium held thorium 232.)
An application for membership in the National Socialist Movement, which had been completed by James Cummings was discovered.
FBI comments: Uranium, thorium, cesium-137, strontium-90, and cobalt-60 are radioactive isotopes. 35 percent hydrogen peroxide is a necessary precursor for the manufacture of peroxide-based explosives. Lithium metal, thermite, and aluminum are materials used to sensitize and amplify the effects of explosives.
The identified US Company in this report sold the depleted uranium online.
Source: FBI IIR 4 218 1563 09
Other than a mention in the Bangor Daily News, this story received only scant other publicity. Cummings plan was, apparently, to detonate the bomb at the inauguration. I might also note that had Cumming's wife not killed him, he would have succeeded since no law enforcement agency was aware of his plot.
This should have been headline news on every channel and front page news in every newspaper since this guy had the money and material to do his dirty deed. (And journalists wonder why they are considered jokes by most Americans)
American press, DO YOUR JOBS.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Obama in Russia-Way Over His Head
The following is an extensive excerpt from an article entitled "Obama in Russia-Way Over His Head" It is one of the best articles I have ever seen on the Russian mentality and echoes some of Don Rich's posts made over at Open Salon. It also offers some details on secret Russian nuclear weapons production facilities that I had not been aware of.
Obama In Russia - Way Over His HeadBy Joel Skousen
Editor - World Affairs Brief 7-10-9
Before moving on to the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, where the US and other major powers made only token and unattainable commitments to lower the earth's temperature-in obeisance to the man-made global warming hoax-Obama made his first foray into Russia, a nation schooled in centuries of political intrigue and foreign policy deceptions. Even though Obama was reared in a far-Leftist culture with fellow travelers and communists he was clearly out of his league in Russia where the art of luring the West into further disarmament treaties is their number one priority. I suppose Obama is smart enough to know when he's out of his league, but having surrounded himself with CFR globalist advisors only ensures that the message he peddles will only further the globalist agendas of more intervention and conflict.
Russia's major objectives vis a vis the United States and Europe are: 1) weaken the US nuclear stockpile by locking in deeper disarmament agreements with the US on nuclear weapons while concealing its own secret manufacturing facilities. 2) Encourage US continued intervention in Afghanistan and Iran in order to exhaust US military capabilities. 3) Facilitate EU dependence on Russia for strategic minerals and fuels. 4) Play the anti-NATO card so as to exacerbate tensions between Russia and NATO/US over the former Soviet states where the presence of Russian immigrants will increasingly provide the rationale for future war. 5) Resist any attempt by the US to install anti-ballistic missiles and radar near Russia. 6) Milk the West for any financial, trade, or technology advantage it can by feigning being an ally.
As we analyze how Obama and his CFR team did in Russia, we must always keep in mind that there are secret deals made behind the scenes that are never revealed to the American public, just as there were in all the WWII meetings between Roosevelt and Stalin in Tehran and Yalta. Roosevelt, like Obama was guided by a coterie of globalist advisors like Alger Hiss. So, while at first glance, it may appear as if the US really got some free concessions from Russia, the under-the-table portions of the agreements, giving Russia more access to US technology, will accrue to Russia's favor.
The Obama CFR team secured Russian approval for transshipment of military hardware to Afghanistan through various Southern Russian enclaves. While this appeared to be a tactical victory for the Obama administration, it was really a strategic victory for Russia under goal #2, hoping to wear out the US military in foreign wars much like it did to the Soviets in Afghanistan.
This "concession" by Russia, hover, came only after the United States secured supply arrangements with a number of Central Asian states that Moscow controls, including whatever unsaid promises the US made to Russia. Russia never makes concessions out of good will. They are ruthless about getting equal or greater value out of any deal. The Russians engineered the expulsion of the US from the large Air Force logistics base at Manas airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and was only able to get it back by paying a huge bribe, both to Kyrgyzstan and Russia. In 2005 the US lost the use of the Karshi-Khanabad base in Uzbekistan which made the base at Manas all the more important. The US is clearly running up against the limits of its ability to project power into Central Asia. It's a vast area and even its huge basing structure in Iraq is not enough to provide logistical support further north.
Russia also got the renewal of past disarmament agreements in furtherance of goal #1, with virtually no commitments to bring their portion of these past agreements back into compliance. The reason the US didn't press for compliance is because Obama's CFR advisors are only interested in US disarmament and not in exposing Russia's secret arms programs in underground cities at Yamantau and Kosvinsky mountains.
The Obama team went out of its way to avoid a Senate ratification battle over Russian non-compliance by not seeking a new treaty but only "renewing" the old one, as ABC news explains: "With the clock running out on a new US-Russian arms treaty before the previous Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, expires on December 5, a senior White House official said Sunday said that the difficulty of the task might mean temporarily bypassing the Senate's constitutional role in ratifying treaties by enforcing certain aspects of a new deal on an executive levels and a 'provisional basis' until the Senate ratifies the treaty.
"White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control Gary Samore... said administration lawyers are exploring the 'different options that are available. One option is that both sides could agree to continue the inspections by executive agreement; that would work on our side. On the Russian side, as I understand it, that would require Duma approval.' The fact that the administration is preparing for such an extraordinary measure shows just how much pressure the two administrations are under to arrive at an agreement before the 18-year-old treaty expires."
The pressure, in fact, is self generated because further disarmament is necessary for the Russians, on the one hand, to feel comfortable launching their pre-emptive nuclear strike on the West, and that same disarmament is equally necessary from the globalist's viewpoint who have been trying to engender another world war for years, but can't seem to be able to induce the Russian strike even after years of concessions and secret gifts of technology.
"Both the US and Russia have agreed in principle to reduce the number of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles from the current level of 1,600 each, as was negotiated under START, and to reduce the number of nuclear warheads each nation has in its arsenal from 2,200 each, as agreed upon during the 2002 Moscow Treaty."
But Russia has never complied and US inspection teams are only allowed to see old Soviet nuclear stockpiles. They have never been allowed into Yamantau or Kosvinsky sites located in the Beloretsk area of the southern Urals. As I wrote clear back in 2004, "In 1998, US Strategic Commander (STRATCOM) General Eugene Habiger, the same naive commander who took part in the NPR propaganda documentary Missiliers, called Yamantau 'a very large complex -- we estimate that it has millions of square feet available for underground facilities.
We don't have a clue as to what they're doing there.' No clue, general? Not even one clue? People this stupid obviously get to be generals because they are predictable yes-men in a military determined to purge out any future George Pattons or Douglas MacArthurs. I noticed in Missiliers that Habiger never mentioned the Russian military's refusal to answer questions about Yamantau Mountain as he waxed eloquent about the deep camaraderie and trust he felt with his Russian military counterparts. If this is the best general we can find to head STRATCOM, the US is in mortal danger."
The Yamantau Mountain complex is not far from Russia's main nuclear weapons lab facility, Chelyabinsk-70. Honest military analysts suspect that Yamantau's huge 400-square-mile underground complex houses nuclear warhead and missile storage sites, launch control, and several full-blown nuclear weapons factories--all designed to continue production after a nuclear war begins. The US has no equivalent to such extensive protected production facilities--except perhaps deep within the bowels of Area 51 in Nevada. According to Ken Timmerman, the Russian government has provided no fewer than 12 separate and contradictory explanations for the site, none of which are believed to be credible.
Russia also has a massive national command and control system dispersed among three different hardened underground locations. Besides Yamantau Mountain, there is the Kosvinsky Mountain underground complex and the Sherapovo bunker site, south of Moscow. Sherapovo is the primary command center for Russia's "civilian" leaders. The Kremlin is connected to Sherapovo and other bunkers by a secret subway line. Once at Sherapovo, they can conduct the war effort using a highly redundant communications system "allowing the leadership to send orders and receive reports through the wartime management structure," according to a 1988 Pentagon report.
GlobalSecurity.org reports that "Kosvinsky Mountain in the Urals [850 miles east of Moscow] is the site of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces alternate command post. This deep underground command post for the general staff was built to compensate for the vulnerability of older command posts in the Moscow region. In early 1996 it was reported that Russia had finished the new underground command and control center at Kosvinsky Mountain. Said to be designed to resist US earth-penetrating warheads, the command and control facility was said to be equal to the American Cheyenne Mountain Complex." Note that all this was going on after the phony "collapse" of the Soviet Union.
Don't think, however, that the US will stop at renewing the START treaty. They intend to ratify other treaties once this "renewal" paves the way and softens up what opposition there may be. ABC continues: "One of the major sticking points so far has been Russia's continued frustration at US plans for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, an issue Samore said would 'have to be addressed in the new treaty,' though he would not specify just how." In Moscow, Obama and Medvedev simply put off the issue for "further study."
On disarmament specifics, "President Obama told Russia's ITAR-TASS/ROSSIYA TV that his 'goal is that both countries reduce their nuclear stockpiles in a way that doesn't leave either country with an advantage, but reduces tensions and the expense of maintaining such high nuclear stockpiles when they're not necessary for our defense and our deterrence.' But how to make sure neither side has an advantage is not a simple matter of numbers - because the counting is complicated [made complicated by the US desire to help facilitate Russia's ability to not count certain weapons systems].
"Another sticking point includes how to count nuclear weapons reductions given the asymmetrical nature of the US and Russian forces. Russian nuclear warheads are more land based; US warheads are more sea-based. Russians favor more warheads on fewer launchers; the US favors fewer warheads on more launchers.
"US negotiators are also arguing that weapons once used as part of the nuclear arsenal but since changed for conventional use - three Trident submarines with 48 launching tubes; the entire B-1 bomber force; and a number of B-52 aircraft that haven't been eliminated but aren't currently in operating condition - shouldn't be counted as nuclear weapon delivery vehicles. How the Russians would be able to verify the continued conventional use of these submarines and airplanes, as well as how general inspection rules for how the US and Russia will be able to verify their commitments, is also proving complex." Notice ABC makes no mention of the more difficult issues of judging Russian compliance, which has these same superficial variations, but also a number of sites off limits to US inspectors.
Another sore point in U.S.-Russian relations is Georgia. As Scott Horton pointed out, "In the weeks leading up to Obama's visit, Russia launched heavy military exercises on the Georgian frontier and has worked to get international observers out of South Ossetia and Abkhazia." Russia will continue to exacerbate tensions in Georgia as long as Russian citizens make up a large minority of the population and puppet president Saakashvili remains in power. Russia has also sabotaged the NATO observer mission for the ceasefire as a test of whether or not NATO is willing to act on its threats or just continue to talk. Obviously, it's the latter. The US and NATO will continue to use the Russia threat of carving out enclaves for Abkhazia and South Ossetia as a way of fomenting more conflict in the area. These two parts of Georgia are under de facto Russian control.
Eric Walberg of the Online Journal spoke to the NATO membership issue. "No public mention was made of Georgia and Ukraine actually joining NATO, with Obama stressing, 'NATO seeks collaboration with Russia, not confrontation.' But he nonetheless sent (allowed?) Vice President Joseph Biden to fly directly from Moscow to Georgia and Ukraine after the summit. 'We're not going to reassure or give or trade anything with the Russians regarding NATO expansion or missile defense,' warned [Obama advisor Michael] McFaul. Here again, the US administration is not united [at least publicly], with Obama having made no firm commitment to further NATO expansion. Just how much say he actually has in such strategic decisions is a moot point. Obama was hoping to throw the Russians another bone by assuring them admission to the World Trade Organization. But Putin unexpectedly suspended Moscow's membership bid in June, deciding to approach the issue jointly through a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, without the need for US 'help.'"
News commentators continue to tout Russia's role as a partner in negotiating a peaceful settlement between the US and Iran and between the US and North Korea. This is a pipe dream. Russia should be correctly viewed as an instigator of trouble and not as a facilitator of peace. Ariel Cohen, a neocon type at the Heritage Foundation says that he "sat through numerous briefings by senior Russian officials who poo-pooed Iranian missile and nuclear programs and swore that Iran would never develop long-range missile and nuclear programs. To Russia's feigned surprise, Iran recently launched a satellite----a fact that indicates much progress in their ballistic missile program. In fact Russia may not have been so surprised. Russians have much better intelligence out of Iran than we do [being Iran's principle supplier of missile and nuclear technology]. The Kremlin has sought to use Iran as a battering ram against the United States, and against U.S. allies: the moderate Sunni states of the Gulf, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. Iran is a major market for Russian technology and services. Iran generates instability in the Gulf, which contributes to high oil prices. That's good for Russia, which is a high-cost oil producer."
Cohen also noted that "Russia demonstrated support for Ahmadinejad when the Basij militia was cracking skulls and shooting young women in the streets of Teheran." It is my view that Ahmadinejad has been selected to rule and remain in power because his rhetoric will eventually inflame war. But I think this provocative choice, while accruing to the US globalist's benefit--who want an excuse to attack Iran, is a product of Moscow's intervention with Iran's Mullahs rather than the CIA. If anyone is working for the CIA to destabilize Iran's political rule by theocratic tyranny, it is Mousavi and his opposition forces.
- End of Excerpt -
World Affairs Brief - Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted.
Cite source as Joel Skousen's World Affairs Briefhttp://www.worldaffairsbrief.com
World Affairs Brief, 290 West 580 South, Orem, Ut 84058, USA
(Originally taken from a Rense.com post)
Obama In Russia - Way Over His HeadBy Joel Skousen
Editor - World Affairs Brief 7-10-9
Before moving on to the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, where the US and other major powers made only token and unattainable commitments to lower the earth's temperature-in obeisance to the man-made global warming hoax-Obama made his first foray into Russia, a nation schooled in centuries of political intrigue and foreign policy deceptions. Even though Obama was reared in a far-Leftist culture with fellow travelers and communists he was clearly out of his league in Russia where the art of luring the West into further disarmament treaties is their number one priority. I suppose Obama is smart enough to know when he's out of his league, but having surrounded himself with CFR globalist advisors only ensures that the message he peddles will only further the globalist agendas of more intervention and conflict.
Russia's major objectives vis a vis the United States and Europe are: 1) weaken the US nuclear stockpile by locking in deeper disarmament agreements with the US on nuclear weapons while concealing its own secret manufacturing facilities. 2) Encourage US continued intervention in Afghanistan and Iran in order to exhaust US military capabilities. 3) Facilitate EU dependence on Russia for strategic minerals and fuels. 4) Play the anti-NATO card so as to exacerbate tensions between Russia and NATO/US over the former Soviet states where the presence of Russian immigrants will increasingly provide the rationale for future war. 5) Resist any attempt by the US to install anti-ballistic missiles and radar near Russia. 6) Milk the West for any financial, trade, or technology advantage it can by feigning being an ally.
As we analyze how Obama and his CFR team did in Russia, we must always keep in mind that there are secret deals made behind the scenes that are never revealed to the American public, just as there were in all the WWII meetings between Roosevelt and Stalin in Tehran and Yalta. Roosevelt, like Obama was guided by a coterie of globalist advisors like Alger Hiss. So, while at first glance, it may appear as if the US really got some free concessions from Russia, the under-the-table portions of the agreements, giving Russia more access to US technology, will accrue to Russia's favor.
The Obama CFR team secured Russian approval for transshipment of military hardware to Afghanistan through various Southern Russian enclaves. While this appeared to be a tactical victory for the Obama administration, it was really a strategic victory for Russia under goal #2, hoping to wear out the US military in foreign wars much like it did to the Soviets in Afghanistan.
This "concession" by Russia, hover, came only after the United States secured supply arrangements with a number of Central Asian states that Moscow controls, including whatever unsaid promises the US made to Russia. Russia never makes concessions out of good will. They are ruthless about getting equal or greater value out of any deal. The Russians engineered the expulsion of the US from the large Air Force logistics base at Manas airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and was only able to get it back by paying a huge bribe, both to Kyrgyzstan and Russia. In 2005 the US lost the use of the Karshi-Khanabad base in Uzbekistan which made the base at Manas all the more important. The US is clearly running up against the limits of its ability to project power into Central Asia. It's a vast area and even its huge basing structure in Iraq is not enough to provide logistical support further north.
Russia also got the renewal of past disarmament agreements in furtherance of goal #1, with virtually no commitments to bring their portion of these past agreements back into compliance. The reason the US didn't press for compliance is because Obama's CFR advisors are only interested in US disarmament and not in exposing Russia's secret arms programs in underground cities at Yamantau and Kosvinsky mountains.
The Obama team went out of its way to avoid a Senate ratification battle over Russian non-compliance by not seeking a new treaty but only "renewing" the old one, as ABC news explains: "With the clock running out on a new US-Russian arms treaty before the previous Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, expires on December 5, a senior White House official said Sunday said that the difficulty of the task might mean temporarily bypassing the Senate's constitutional role in ratifying treaties by enforcing certain aspects of a new deal on an executive levels and a 'provisional basis' until the Senate ratifies the treaty.
"White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control Gary Samore... said administration lawyers are exploring the 'different options that are available. One option is that both sides could agree to continue the inspections by executive agreement; that would work on our side. On the Russian side, as I understand it, that would require Duma approval.' The fact that the administration is preparing for such an extraordinary measure shows just how much pressure the two administrations are under to arrive at an agreement before the 18-year-old treaty expires."
The pressure, in fact, is self generated because further disarmament is necessary for the Russians, on the one hand, to feel comfortable launching their pre-emptive nuclear strike on the West, and that same disarmament is equally necessary from the globalist's viewpoint who have been trying to engender another world war for years, but can't seem to be able to induce the Russian strike even after years of concessions and secret gifts of technology.
"Both the US and Russia have agreed in principle to reduce the number of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles from the current level of 1,600 each, as was negotiated under START, and to reduce the number of nuclear warheads each nation has in its arsenal from 2,200 each, as agreed upon during the 2002 Moscow Treaty."
But Russia has never complied and US inspection teams are only allowed to see old Soviet nuclear stockpiles. They have never been allowed into Yamantau or Kosvinsky sites located in the Beloretsk area of the southern Urals. As I wrote clear back in 2004, "In 1998, US Strategic Commander (STRATCOM) General Eugene Habiger, the same naive commander who took part in the NPR propaganda documentary Missiliers, called Yamantau 'a very large complex -- we estimate that it has millions of square feet available for underground facilities.
We don't have a clue as to what they're doing there.' No clue, general? Not even one clue? People this stupid obviously get to be generals because they are predictable yes-men in a military determined to purge out any future George Pattons or Douglas MacArthurs. I noticed in Missiliers that Habiger never mentioned the Russian military's refusal to answer questions about Yamantau Mountain as he waxed eloquent about the deep camaraderie and trust he felt with his Russian military counterparts. If this is the best general we can find to head STRATCOM, the US is in mortal danger."
The Yamantau Mountain complex is not far from Russia's main nuclear weapons lab facility, Chelyabinsk-70. Honest military analysts suspect that Yamantau's huge 400-square-mile underground complex houses nuclear warhead and missile storage sites, launch control, and several full-blown nuclear weapons factories--all designed to continue production after a nuclear war begins. The US has no equivalent to such extensive protected production facilities--except perhaps deep within the bowels of Area 51 in Nevada. According to Ken Timmerman, the Russian government has provided no fewer than 12 separate and contradictory explanations for the site, none of which are believed to be credible.
Russia also has a massive national command and control system dispersed among three different hardened underground locations. Besides Yamantau Mountain, there is the Kosvinsky Mountain underground complex and the Sherapovo bunker site, south of Moscow. Sherapovo is the primary command center for Russia's "civilian" leaders. The Kremlin is connected to Sherapovo and other bunkers by a secret subway line. Once at Sherapovo, they can conduct the war effort using a highly redundant communications system "allowing the leadership to send orders and receive reports through the wartime management structure," according to a 1988 Pentagon report.
GlobalSecurity.org reports that "Kosvinsky Mountain in the Urals [850 miles east of Moscow] is the site of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces alternate command post. This deep underground command post for the general staff was built to compensate for the vulnerability of older command posts in the Moscow region. In early 1996 it was reported that Russia had finished the new underground command and control center at Kosvinsky Mountain. Said to be designed to resist US earth-penetrating warheads, the command and control facility was said to be equal to the American Cheyenne Mountain Complex." Note that all this was going on after the phony "collapse" of the Soviet Union.
Don't think, however, that the US will stop at renewing the START treaty. They intend to ratify other treaties once this "renewal" paves the way and softens up what opposition there may be. ABC continues: "One of the major sticking points so far has been Russia's continued frustration at US plans for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, an issue Samore said would 'have to be addressed in the new treaty,' though he would not specify just how." In Moscow, Obama and Medvedev simply put off the issue for "further study."
On disarmament specifics, "President Obama told Russia's ITAR-TASS/ROSSIYA TV that his 'goal is that both countries reduce their nuclear stockpiles in a way that doesn't leave either country with an advantage, but reduces tensions and the expense of maintaining such high nuclear stockpiles when they're not necessary for our defense and our deterrence.' But how to make sure neither side has an advantage is not a simple matter of numbers - because the counting is complicated [made complicated by the US desire to help facilitate Russia's ability to not count certain weapons systems].
"Another sticking point includes how to count nuclear weapons reductions given the asymmetrical nature of the US and Russian forces. Russian nuclear warheads are more land based; US warheads are more sea-based. Russians favor more warheads on fewer launchers; the US favors fewer warheads on more launchers.
"US negotiators are also arguing that weapons once used as part of the nuclear arsenal but since changed for conventional use - three Trident submarines with 48 launching tubes; the entire B-1 bomber force; and a number of B-52 aircraft that haven't been eliminated but aren't currently in operating condition - shouldn't be counted as nuclear weapon delivery vehicles. How the Russians would be able to verify the continued conventional use of these submarines and airplanes, as well as how general inspection rules for how the US and Russia will be able to verify their commitments, is also proving complex." Notice ABC makes no mention of the more difficult issues of judging Russian compliance, which has these same superficial variations, but also a number of sites off limits to US inspectors.
Another sore point in U.S.-Russian relations is Georgia. As Scott Horton pointed out, "In the weeks leading up to Obama's visit, Russia launched heavy military exercises on the Georgian frontier and has worked to get international observers out of South Ossetia and Abkhazia." Russia will continue to exacerbate tensions in Georgia as long as Russian citizens make up a large minority of the population and puppet president Saakashvili remains in power. Russia has also sabotaged the NATO observer mission for the ceasefire as a test of whether or not NATO is willing to act on its threats or just continue to talk. Obviously, it's the latter. The US and NATO will continue to use the Russia threat of carving out enclaves for Abkhazia and South Ossetia as a way of fomenting more conflict in the area. These two parts of Georgia are under de facto Russian control.
Eric Walberg of the Online Journal spoke to the NATO membership issue. "No public mention was made of Georgia and Ukraine actually joining NATO, with Obama stressing, 'NATO seeks collaboration with Russia, not confrontation.' But he nonetheless sent (allowed?) Vice President Joseph Biden to fly directly from Moscow to Georgia and Ukraine after the summit. 'We're not going to reassure or give or trade anything with the Russians regarding NATO expansion or missile defense,' warned [Obama advisor Michael] McFaul. Here again, the US administration is not united [at least publicly], with Obama having made no firm commitment to further NATO expansion. Just how much say he actually has in such strategic decisions is a moot point. Obama was hoping to throw the Russians another bone by assuring them admission to the World Trade Organization. But Putin unexpectedly suspended Moscow's membership bid in June, deciding to approach the issue jointly through a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, without the need for US 'help.'"
News commentators continue to tout Russia's role as a partner in negotiating a peaceful settlement between the US and Iran and between the US and North Korea. This is a pipe dream. Russia should be correctly viewed as an instigator of trouble and not as a facilitator of peace. Ariel Cohen, a neocon type at the Heritage Foundation says that he "sat through numerous briefings by senior Russian officials who poo-pooed Iranian missile and nuclear programs and swore that Iran would never develop long-range missile and nuclear programs. To Russia's feigned surprise, Iran recently launched a satellite----a fact that indicates much progress in their ballistic missile program. In fact Russia may not have been so surprised. Russians have much better intelligence out of Iran than we do [being Iran's principle supplier of missile and nuclear technology]. The Kremlin has sought to use Iran as a battering ram against the United States, and against U.S. allies: the moderate Sunni states of the Gulf, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. Iran is a major market for Russian technology and services. Iran generates instability in the Gulf, which contributes to high oil prices. That's good for Russia, which is a high-cost oil producer."
Cohen also noted that "Russia demonstrated support for Ahmadinejad when the Basij militia was cracking skulls and shooting young women in the streets of Teheran." It is my view that Ahmadinejad has been selected to rule and remain in power because his rhetoric will eventually inflame war. But I think this provocative choice, while accruing to the US globalist's benefit--who want an excuse to attack Iran, is a product of Moscow's intervention with Iran's Mullahs rather than the CIA. If anyone is working for the CIA to destabilize Iran's political rule by theocratic tyranny, it is Mousavi and his opposition forces.
- End of Excerpt -
World Affairs Brief - Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World
Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted.
Cite source as Joel Skousen's World Affairs Brief
World Affairs Brief, 290 West 580 South, Orem, Ut 84058, USA
(Originally taken from a Rense.com post)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
So, economically, where are we, and where are we going?
So, Just what is going on, currently, with our economy? Let's eyeball an excerpt from a Reuters article "U.S. Consumers fall behind on loans at a record pace": NEW YORK (Reuters) - Soaring U.S. unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit card debt and home equity loans to all-time highs in the first quarter as a record number of cash-strapped consumers fell behind on their bills.
Delinquencies on the value of all card debt soared to a record 6.60 percent from 5.52 percent in the fourth quarter as more cardholders relied on plastic to meet day-to-day expenses, the American Bankers Association said.
Late payments on home equity loans rose to 3.52 percent from 3.03 percent, and on home equity lines of credit climbed to 1.89 percent from 1.46 percent.
A broader gauge showing late payments on eight categories of loans rose for a fourth straight quarter to a new record, edging up to 3.23 percent from 3.22 percent. That rate actually understates consumer pain because it excludes credit cards. The ABA tracks loan payments that are at least 30 days late.
"The biggest driver is job losses," ABA Chief Economist James Chessen said in an interview. "When people lose their jobs or work fewer hours, it makes it that much harder to meet their obligations. Unfortunately, we're going to see higher job losses in the next year, and I expect elevated delinquencies."
The ABA represents most large U.S. banks and credit card companies. Tuesday's data are a bad sign for them as they prepare to report second-quarter results starting next week.
While improved capital markets may boost the bottom lines of some, analysts expect lenders such as Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Capital One Financial Corp and American Express Co to suffer higher credit losses, especially in cards.
BRIDGE TO EMPLOYMENT
Borrowers are struggling as the nation's jobless rate sits at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, with 6.5 million jobs having disappeared since the recession began in December 2007. The Obama administration expects the unemployment rate to hit double digits before declining.
U.S. consumers ended March with $939.6 billion of revolving credit outstanding, a rough approximation of credit card debt, according to Federal Reserve data.
"Consumers tend to rely on credit cards as a bridge to cover their daily needs until they find new jobs," Chessen said. "It's taking longer to find those jobs."
===========================
Well OK, but what does this lead to? An excerpt from another Reuters article "U.S Mortgage fraud rampant and growing-FBI": SAN FRANCISCO, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage fraud reports jumped 36 percent last year as desperate homeowners and industry professionals tried to maintain their standard of living from the boom years, the FBI said on Tuesday.
Suspicious activity reports rose to 63,713 in fiscal year 2008, which ended last September, from 46,717 the year before. California and Florida, centers of the housing bust, had the highest numbers of suspicious reports as foreclosures jumped, the stock market dropped and credit dried up.
"These combined factors uncovered and fueled a rampant mortgage fraud climate fraught with opportunistic participants desperate to maintain or increase their current standard of living," the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in its report."
==================
And for future employment prospects, based on the current number of actual unemployed? From an MSN moneycentral article "True unemployment rate already at 20%": Really, how hard is it to find a job? Was June's horrid numbers, in which 467,000 people lost their jobs compared to 345,000 in May, a one-time fluke? Or does it mean that all those Wall Street economists who believe the economic recovery is starting are dead wrong?
Not to scare you, but the situation is actually worse than it seems. Over the years, the government has changed the way it counts the unemployed. An example of this is the criticized Birth-Death Model which was added in 2000. The model is designed to account for the birth and death of businesses and the resultant lag in survey data. Unfortunately, the model doesn't work that well during economic contractions (like we have now) and consistently overstates the number of jobs being created each month.
John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics specializes in removing these questionable tweaks to the government's statistical data to better align current numbers with the methodology used to gather historical data. After reviewing the data, Williams believes that "the June jobs loss likely exceeded 700,000." David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff notes that the fall in the number of hours worked in June (to a record low of 33 per week) is equivalent to a loss of more than 800,000 jobs.
There are similar issues with the way the unemployment rate is measured. The headline rate only jumped from 9.4% to 9.5% because of a drop in the number of people in the workforce. The more inclusive "U-6" measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers, jumped from 16.4% to 16.5%. But even this doesn't adequately capture the situation on the ground: Back in the Clinton Administration, the definition of discouraged worker was changed to only include those that had given up looking for work because there were no jobs to be had within the last year.
By adding these folks back in, William's SGS-Alternate Unemployment Measure rose to a jaw-dropping 20.6%. Separately, the Center for Labor Market Studies in Boston puts U.S. unemployment at 18.2%. Any way you cut the numbers, the situation is very bad. According to David Rosenberg, one-in-three among the unemployed have been looking for a job for more than six months and still can't find one.
This brings us to another issue: expiring unemployment benefits. Continuing unemployment claims fell 53,000 to 6.7 million last week, but Deutsche Bank's chief U.S. economist Joseph LaVorgna wonders how much of this decline is due people exhausting their standard 26-week benefit. He says: "We are concerned about what will happen when a significant share of out-of-work individuals' benefits completely expire, because this could lead consumer spending to re-weaken, hence jeopardizing a fragile recovery."
Unless the economy starts getting traction here in the third quarter, we could face a situation where people find that they have no job and no unemployment benefits. For these people, 2009 will feel an awful lot like 1932. As a result, spending cuts will be deep and dramatic.
=================
Wake up America!!!!
Delinquencies on the value of all card debt soared to a record 6.60 percent from 5.52 percent in the fourth quarter as more cardholders relied on plastic to meet day-to-day expenses, the American Bankers Association said.
Late payments on home equity loans rose to 3.52 percent from 3.03 percent, and on home equity lines of credit climbed to 1.89 percent from 1.46 percent.
A broader gauge showing late payments on eight categories of loans rose for a fourth straight quarter to a new record, edging up to 3.23 percent from 3.22 percent. That rate actually understates consumer pain because it excludes credit cards. The ABA tracks loan payments that are at least 30 days late.
"The biggest driver is job losses," ABA Chief Economist James Chessen said in an interview. "When people lose their jobs or work fewer hours, it makes it that much harder to meet their obligations. Unfortunately, we're going to see higher job losses in the next year, and I expect elevated delinquencies."
The ABA represents most large U.S. banks and credit card companies. Tuesday's data are a bad sign for them as they prepare to report second-quarter results starting next week.
While improved capital markets may boost the bottom lines of some, analysts expect lenders such as Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Capital One Financial Corp and American Express Co to suffer higher credit losses, especially in cards.
BRIDGE TO EMPLOYMENT
Borrowers are struggling as the nation's jobless rate sits at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, with 6.5 million jobs having disappeared since the recession began in December 2007. The Obama administration expects the unemployment rate to hit double digits before declining.
U.S. consumers ended March with $939.6 billion of revolving credit outstanding, a rough approximation of credit card debt, according to Federal Reserve data.
"Consumers tend to rely on credit cards as a bridge to cover their daily needs until they find new jobs," Chessen said. "It's taking longer to find those jobs."
===========================
Well OK, but what does this lead to? An excerpt from another Reuters article "U.S Mortgage fraud rampant and growing-FBI": SAN FRANCISCO, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage fraud reports jumped 36 percent last year as desperate homeowners and industry professionals tried to maintain their standard of living from the boom years, the FBI said on Tuesday.
Suspicious activity reports rose to 63,713 in fiscal year 2008, which ended last September, from 46,717 the year before. California and Florida, centers of the housing bust, had the highest numbers of suspicious reports as foreclosures jumped, the stock market dropped and credit dried up.
"These combined factors uncovered and fueled a rampant mortgage fraud climate fraught with opportunistic participants desperate to maintain or increase their current standard of living," the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in its report."
==================
And for future employment prospects, based on the current number of actual unemployed? From an MSN moneycentral article "True unemployment rate already at 20%": Really, how hard is it to find a job? Was June's horrid numbers, in which 467,000 people lost their jobs compared to 345,000 in May, a one-time fluke? Or does it mean that all those Wall Street economists who believe the economic recovery is starting are dead wrong?
Not to scare you, but the situation is actually worse than it seems. Over the years, the government has changed the way it counts the unemployed. An example of this is the criticized Birth-Death Model which was added in 2000. The model is designed to account for the birth and death of businesses and the resultant lag in survey data. Unfortunately, the model doesn't work that well during economic contractions (like we have now) and consistently overstates the number of jobs being created each month.
John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics specializes in removing these questionable tweaks to the government's statistical data to better align current numbers with the methodology used to gather historical data. After reviewing the data, Williams believes that "the June jobs loss likely exceeded 700,000." David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff notes that the fall in the number of hours worked in June (to a record low of 33 per week) is equivalent to a loss of more than 800,000 jobs.
There are similar issues with the way the unemployment rate is measured. The headline rate only jumped from 9.4% to 9.5% because of a drop in the number of people in the workforce. The more inclusive "U-6" measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers, jumped from 16.4% to 16.5%. But even this doesn't adequately capture the situation on the ground: Back in the Clinton Administration, the definition of discouraged worker was changed to only include those that had given up looking for work because there were no jobs to be had within the last year.
By adding these folks back in, William's SGS-Alternate Unemployment Measure rose to a jaw-dropping 20.6%. Separately, the Center for Labor Market Studies in Boston puts U.S. unemployment at 18.2%. Any way you cut the numbers, the situation is very bad. According to David Rosenberg, one-in-three among the unemployed have been looking for a job for more than six months and still can't find one.
This brings us to another issue: expiring unemployment benefits. Continuing unemployment claims fell 53,000 to 6.7 million last week, but Deutsche Bank's chief U.S. economist Joseph LaVorgna wonders how much of this decline is due people exhausting their standard 26-week benefit. He says: "We are concerned about what will happen when a significant share of out-of-work individuals' benefits completely expire, because this could lead consumer spending to re-weaken, hence jeopardizing a fragile recovery."
Unless the economy starts getting traction here in the third quarter, we could face a situation where people find that they have no job and no unemployment benefits. For these people, 2009 will feel an awful lot like 1932. As a result, spending cuts will be deep and dramatic.
=================
Wake up America!!!!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Where are the carriers?
Gary Baumgarten, in an Open Salon post today, mentioned the news items that indicated the Saudis gave the Israelis the green light to overfly their airspace if they need to attack Iran and the other item mentioned that Israel had sent a sub through the Suez Canal. In my opinion, it looks like the Israeli attack will soon be on.
Another indicator that Uncle Sam may be aware of an imminent attack is that we currently have nine of our aircraft carries deployed. The Enterprise is not scheduled to leave dry dock until August 2009 and the Lincoln is currently in dry dock.
We also recently tested a Titan III ICBM which had three independently targetable dummy warheads on it. Now, every military tests it's equipment to make sure it is functioning properly, but a successful test launch of a MIRVed Titan III at this particular time sends a very clear signal to some of our enemies, namely, that despite whatever other problems we are having in America at the moment, we can still drop a nuclear warhead on a gnat's ass from over 4,000 miles away.
Something is going to happen soon.
Another indicator that Uncle Sam may be aware of an imminent attack is that we currently have nine of our aircraft carries deployed. The Enterprise is not scheduled to leave dry dock until August 2009 and the Lincoln is currently in dry dock.
We also recently tested a Titan III ICBM which had three independently targetable dummy warheads on it. Now, every military tests it's equipment to make sure it is functioning properly, but a successful test launch of a MIRVed Titan III at this particular time sends a very clear signal to some of our enemies, namely, that despite whatever other problems we are having in America at the moment, we can still drop a nuclear warhead on a gnat's ass from over 4,000 miles away.
Something is going to happen soon.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Forgotten History: The Sultana Disaster
As July 4th approaches and we take the day to remember our declaration of independence from the motherland, I thought it might be worthwhile to mention a generally forgotten bit of History.
The Sultana Disaster, as it was known, occurred on April 27, 1865 and was the greatest loss of life in an American maritime disaster. An estimated 1700-1800 men, mostly Union soldiers returning home after the war were killed. This was not, however, the greatest loss of life in a maritime disaster. I'm going to mention a few other tragedies and then return to the Sultana.
The worst maritime disaster in world history was the sinking, by the Russians, of the German MV Wilhelm Gustloff, on January 30, 1945 with the loss of an estimated 9,000 lives.
Another massive maritime tragedy of WWII was the sinking of the German transport Goya by the Russians in 1945. An estimated 7,000-8,000 German troops and civilians were killed.
Finally we have the loss of the Junyo Maru, a Japanese hell ship, which was sunk by the British sub HMS Tradewind on September 18, 1944 and resulted in the deaths of over 5,000 men including American, Australian, Dutch and British POW's.
Back to the Sultana. She was a paddlewheel steamboat built in 1863. Leading up to, and at the time of the disaster, the Sultana was under the command of J.C. Mason of St. Louis. A bit of background, " At Vicksburg, Mississippi, the steamship stopped for a series of hasty repairs to the boilers and to take on more passengers. Rather than have a bad boiler replaced, a small patch weld job was done to reinforce a leaking area. A section of bulged boiler plate was removed, and a patch of less thickness than the parent plate was riveted in its place. This repair only took about a day, whereas to replace the boiler completely would have taken about three days. Captain Mason was itching to be on his way and had the patch job done because it was faster. During the Sultana's time in port, men tried to muscle, bribe, and threaten their way on board, until the ship was bursting at the seams with soldiers. More than two thousand men crowded aboard." This was more than six times the rated capacity of the ship. Additionally, high water caused greater than usual currents which required the use of more power to paddle against. Can you say "recipe for disaster?"
In an unbelievably cruel twist of fate, many of the Sultana passengers were Union soldiers who had just been released from the notorious Confederate POW/Death Camp. [Aside: Andersonville was also known as Camp Sumpter. Of roughly 45,000 Union prisoners interred there 12,913 died of starvation and disease. Keep in mind that 45,000 prisoners were all kept in a 26 acre compound without modern sewage or running water. The asswipe camp commandant Captain Henry Wirz was justly convicted of war crimes and hanged.]
Andersonville Survivor
From the article: The Story of the Sultana Disaster: The soldiers, one supposes, were dozing. Two or three days more and they would be home again. Then they could sleep and eat and rest, and the terrible prison camp experiences could begin to fade into their memories. The War was over... just a few more hours on this crowded steamboat, and they would be home.Midnight passed, and the Sultana kept on going. By two in the morning, she was just a few miles north of Memphis. She was making progress, but progress was slow; the current was powerful, the boilers were tired, the load was much greater than usual. The Sultana swung 'round a bend and began to labor her way past a cluster of islands known as the "Hen and Chickens."
Then it happened. The leaky boilers gave up. They really gave up! They quit holding the heavy pressure of steam and suddenly exploded with a tremendous crash that was heard all the way back to Memphis. The explosion sent an orange-colored flame boiling up into the black sky. A sudden stabbing pillar of fire that lit up the black, swirling river and was visible for miles. Back at Memphis, the watch on U.S.S. Grosbeak, a river gunboat saw the light and heard the noise. The skipper was called, and he had them cast off the mooring lines and the Grosbeak went pounding up the river. Other steamers on the Memphis waterfront did likewise, hurrying against the strong current to give any help they could give.
It was a loosing race. The Sultana had been half blown apart by the terrific force of the explosion. Hundreds of sleeping soldiers were blown bodily into the river... snugly asleep one moment, hurling through the air into the cold black water the next. With them went great chunks of twisted machinery, a shower of red-hot coals that hissed and spurted as they hit the river, and great fragments of wood, cabin furniture, railings, deck beams, half of the steamboat had simply disintegrated. One man was said to have been thrown more than two hundred feet.
By some freak, he was not seriously hurt and landed in the river, floundered a few yards to a floating tree, clung to it and was picked up by a boat of the Grosbeak, miles downstream. Three other men were blown clear of the ship, a big piece of the afterdeck under them. Deck and men made a square landing seventy five feet from the wrecked vessel; dazed and still no more than half awake, the men clung to the wreckage until it had floated down to Memphis where rescue boats saved them.
Few of the returning prisoners fared that well. The water was icy-cold, many of them could not swim, and there was little wreckage to cling to. Men died by the hundreds in the water near the wreck. They had been half-starved for months and were in no physical shape to swim even if they had known how.
One man recalled afterward; "When I got about three hundred yards away from the boat clinging to a heavy plank, the whole heavens seemed to be lighted up by the conflagration. Hundreds of my comrades were fastened down by the timbers of the decks and had to burn while the water seemed to be one solid mass of human beings struggling with the waves."
For fire followed the explosion. The blast scattered hot coals from the furnaces all over the midships section of the steamer, and in moments the disabled vessel was on fire. The upper works were all collapsed, there was a huge, gaping hole in the middle of the hurricane deck and the flames were taking hold everywhere. To stay aboard could be worse than to be in the river, even if a man was too weak to swim. So men who had not been knocked into the water went there of their own accord, willing to face anything rather than the spreading flames. One man who clung to the wrecked upper deck wrote afterward: "On looking down and out into the river, I would see men jumping from all parts of the boat into the water until it seemed black with men, their heads bobbing up and down like corks, and then disappearing beneath the turbulent waters, never to appear again."
The Sultana, of course, was totally out of control by now and was drifting helplessly downstream. The deck supporting the main rank of passenger cabins where the officers were housed, collapsed at one end, forming a horrible steep ramp down which into the hottest fire, slid screaming men and a tangle of wreckage. The huge twin smokestacks, hallmark of every Mississippi packet boat, tottered uncertainly and then came crashing down, pinning men under them and holding them for the flames. The superstructure was falling in and the whole midships section was nothing better than a floating bed of coals. Survivors clung desperately to the bow and stern sections, which the fire had not yet reached and among them panic born, there started the cry: "The boat's sinking!" Many voices took up the cry as if it were a death chant and men who were as yet unhurt began to throw themselves into the water, thrashing about frantically for some bit of wreckage that might help them stay afloat.
Somewhere aboard the Sultana was a ten foot alligator in a stout wooden cage... a man-eater... according to soldier gossip. One soldier bayoneted the reptile, rolled the wooden crate over the side, jumped in after it, and hung onto it until a passing boat rescued him.
Hundreds of horribly burned and scalded men remained aboard the drafting hulk. Some had the strength and presence of mind to wrench doors or window blinds from their hinged, toss them overboard and jump in after them. Others simply huddled in the diminishing spaces that the flames had not yet reached and shouted, prayed or screamed helplessly for aid. Someone had gotten the steamer's lifeboats into the water and desperate, floating men tried to struggle aboard.So far the flames had not reached the bow, and there most of the survivors were jammed. Then the wind shifted, or perhaps the drafting boat swung around and took it from another direction,and the flames leaped forward.
Most of the men preferred drowning to being burned alive, and leaped into the water. One man remembered, "The men who were afraid to take to the water could be seen clinging to the sides of the bow of the boat until they were singed off like flies."
As we enjoy our 4th of July holiday, let's take a minute to remember those who gave their lives, not just in combat, but the friendly fire and accidental casualties as well, so that we may continue to enjoy our freedom. (though we are getting pretty darn close to july 4th being renamed dependence on the government day--let's put a stop to that, shall we)
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Is the glass half full or half empty?
Another estimated 473,000 jobs were lost in June, according to ADP data. Yet, I look at some of the other headlines, such as "Manufacturing in U.S. Shrinks at Slower Pace in Sign Recession is Ending" and I have to wonder if the economy is really all that bad. Well, the economy IS that bad. ADP data indicates a loss of 250,000 manufacturing and construction jobs. Service providers cut many workers as well.
The stock market is up, however, which is no longer surprising since all the bailout money is improving balance sheets and analysts are continuing to bury their heads in the sand. Looking at the S&P advances we see that many of the specified companies earnings increases were due to Chinese and Russian purchases, but the American market is still weak. Also, China is having some serious economic issues as well and they will only get much worse. Some fast food businesses were showing increased profits, but I do not see that as a positive sign since many higher end restaurants are closing. Basically, there is much false optimism occurring.
I'm continuing to beat a dead horse on my real estate predictions and I still conclude the housing market will not bottom out until 2011 or 2012 when the surplus inventory MAY be depleted, but with upwards of a half million Americans a month losing their jobs, I do not see the housing market rebounding and we have yet to see the really significant commercial real estate market declines.
Frankly, any market optimism is just smoke and mirrors. Twenty percent of Detroit is out of work and that market has reached critical mass, with an exponential increase in job losses. Overall unemployment is at 9.6%, which we all know is a low number based on how the Labor Department calculates unemployment. Actual unemployment is pushing 15% and a two or three point increase in unemployment will put the rest of the country in a critical mass situation in which further catastrophic job losses are unavoidable. Many states are out of money.
The outlook is grim. Buy some beans and ammo.
The stock market is up, however, which is no longer surprising since all the bailout money is improving balance sheets and analysts are continuing to bury their heads in the sand. Looking at the S&P advances we see that many of the specified companies earnings increases were due to Chinese and Russian purchases, but the American market is still weak. Also, China is having some serious economic issues as well and they will only get much worse. Some fast food businesses were showing increased profits, but I do not see that as a positive sign since many higher end restaurants are closing. Basically, there is much false optimism occurring.
I'm continuing to beat a dead horse on my real estate predictions and I still conclude the housing market will not bottom out until 2011 or 2012 when the surplus inventory MAY be depleted, but with upwards of a half million Americans a month losing their jobs, I do not see the housing market rebounding and we have yet to see the really significant commercial real estate market declines.
Frankly, any market optimism is just smoke and mirrors. Twenty percent of Detroit is out of work and that market has reached critical mass, with an exponential increase in job losses. Overall unemployment is at 9.6%, which we all know is a low number based on how the Labor Department calculates unemployment. Actual unemployment is pushing 15% and a two or three point increase in unemployment will put the rest of the country in a critical mass situation in which further catastrophic job losses are unavoidable. Many states are out of money.
The outlook is grim. Buy some beans and ammo.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Maybe it's time to join the Amish.
Shown above is the latest ad from Burger King. The ad is currently only running in Singapore, but how long before ads such as this start appearing in BK joints in America.
Vulgar ads are nothing new, but fast food restaurants such as McDonald's and Burger King have built a reputation on kid friendly/family friendly establishments. Though this is a Burger King ad, it sullies the reputation of all such restaurants in my opinion.
Christian parents can limit their children's exposure to such trash by limiting their kid's computer access, doing without television etc., but it's getting to the point that you cannot leave the house and go anywhere to get a reprieve from trash like this. While this ad may be suitable for placement in Hustler magazine, it has no place in kid-friendly restaurants.
Evangelicals who are so inclined may contact:
Burger King
Consumer Relations - 305-378-3535
Corporate Headquarters - 305-378-3000
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Michael and Elvis: Nowhere else to go.
Michael Jackson began his career around the age of 11. Elvis Presley began his career at roughly 18. One a child and the other a young adult, but both young.
Both performers were immensely talented. Elvis was the King of rock and Roll and Jackson was the King of Pop.
I suppose as a conservative Christian I could make the statement that both men lived sinful, unrepentant lives and were called home earlier than one would expect due to judgement being rendered on them, but there is another issue.
Michael Jackson produced some of the world's most popular records and so did Elvis Presley. Both men were and are idolized. Both men were pioneering entertainers and there were times when both men lived fast, hard lives.
Elvis Presley died from a drug overdose and so, it appears did Michael Jackson. (It looks like both had overdosed on Demerol) Elvis had been making something of a comeback and Jackson had planned to return to live performances.
The bottom line is both men had to die when they did. Though they were on the comeback trail, they were simply not the men they were at their peak. There were the drug and scandal issues and could anyone really have wanted to see these two men continue a performance slide into their seventies or later?
No, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley had to die when they did because they had nowhere else to go.
Both performers were immensely talented. Elvis was the King of rock and Roll and Jackson was the King of Pop.
I suppose as a conservative Christian I could make the statement that both men lived sinful, unrepentant lives and were called home earlier than one would expect due to judgement being rendered on them, but there is another issue.
Michael Jackson produced some of the world's most popular records and so did Elvis Presley. Both men were and are idolized. Both men were pioneering entertainers and there were times when both men lived fast, hard lives.
Elvis Presley died from a drug overdose and so, it appears did Michael Jackson. (It looks like both had overdosed on Demerol) Elvis had been making something of a comeback and Jackson had planned to return to live performances.
The bottom line is both men had to die when they did. Though they were on the comeback trail, they were simply not the men they were at their peak. There were the drug and scandal issues and could anyone really have wanted to see these two men continue a performance slide into their seventies or later?
No, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley had to die when they did because they had nowhere else to go.
Monday, June 22, 2009
China's need for "living space."
In a previous post I mentioned a speech by the then Vice-Chairman of China's Military Commission, Chi Haotian (http://www.rense.com/general85/China'sPlanToConquer.htm ) to top officers and generals in which Chi opined:
" The first pressing issue facing us is living space. This is the biggest focus of the revitalization of the Chinese race. In my last speech, I said that the fight over basic living resources (including land and ocean) is the source of the vast majority of wars in history. This may change in the information age, but not fundamentally. Our per capita resources are much less than those of Germany's back then. In addition, economic development in the last twenty-plus years had a negative impact, and climates are rapidly changing for the worse. Our resources are in very short supply. The environment is severely polluted, especially that of soil, water, and air. Not only our ability to sustain and develop our race, but even its survival is gravely threatened, to a degree much greater than faced Germany back then Anybody who has been to Western countries knows that their living space is much better than ours. They have forests alongside the highways, while we hardly have any trees by our streets. Their sky is often blue with white clouds, while our sky is covered with a layer of dark haze. Their tap water is clean enough for drinking, while even our ground water is so polluted that it can't be drunk without filtering."
===================
Now we have an excellent article by Paul Goble on his windowoneurasia blog (http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2009/06/window-on-eurasia-chinese-bestseller.html )
about a Chinese bestselling book that suggests China will attempt to dominate the Russian Far East. The article is reprinted below:
Paul GobleVienna, June 20
A new Chinese bestselling book suggesting that Beijing will dominate the Russian Far East in the coming decades has raised questions among Russian experts not only about how much this book reflects official thinking in China but also about what the Russian government can and should consider doing to counter such an outcome.The book entitled “China Gets Angry” has sold some 700,000 copies since its release three months ago, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” reports today. Written by five Chinese intellectuals, the book’s basic message is that China is destined be the leader of the world and does not need to kowtow to anyone.
(www.kp.ru/daily/24313/506551/).In discussing Russia, the book talks about it as “a living space” for the still growing Chinese people, and it pointedly suggests that “sober-thinking Chinese need to get rid of any doubt on this point: sooner or later we will be” in Siberia and the Russian Far East developing the vast areas that Moscow has not.To assess this book, its implications of its argument for Russia, and whether Moscow has the time necessary to change course, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” turned to Vil’ Gel’bras, a longtime and internationally recognized Russian specialist on China who works at Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African countries.Gel’bras, for his part, said Beijing’s interest in Russian territories east of the Urals was hardly surprising given the imbalance of population and agricultural land in China. For the 900 million peasants of China, there are only about 120 million hectares of land, approximately 0.13 per agricultural laborer. In Russia, on the other hand, there are 2.5 hectares per rural worker.
In addition to that reason to look north, Chinese demographic policy also is playing a role. Because of Beijing’s one child policy and the preference Chinese parents have for boys, the Russian sinologist says, the number of Chinese men will be 30 million greater than the number of Chinese women by 2015.
Asked by the paper where they will look for mates, Gel’bras responded with a question of his own “Haven’t you guessed already?”All of this is a matter of concern, Gel’bras says. But he says that he “does not believe that [the Chinese] at the official level are thinking up any serious actions against [Russians].” They have “more than sufficient internal problems” – including unemployment – to occupy themselves at the present time.But the Moscow China specialist continues, “the powers that be in China are not going to interview with the development of nationalist ideas like those contained in the book.” Indeed, he says, they have every reason to do so at the present time: such ideas expressed so bluntly “distract the people from the crisis.”In response to a query as to how far the book expresses the views of officials, Gel’bras says that on the one hand, the book could not have been published if the authorities did not have a certain sympathy for its ideas. And on the other, he quotes Dun Tsin, the editor of “Jenmin Jibao,” as having expressed similar views.
In a recent article, Dun wrote that “in the final analysis, China apparently is preparing to subject the Russian Far East to its fundamental influence but in such a way that it will not cause Moscow nervousness. This influence will be based not on the enormous influx of Chinese settlers but on the not foreseen before ‘sinification’ of Russians.”And the Chinese editor continued, “one fine day a serious crisis will arise, and in the face of the weakening political and military influence of Moscow, these Russians possibly will prefer to make the choice in favor of Beijing and not of their own government.
In such a hypothetical situation, the Russian Far Eastern region possibly will become a province of China.”According to Gel’bras, the Chinese are working in this direction already, offering Russian specialists “favorable conditions to acquire residences,” to study the Chinese language, and to work normally. And he adds, “many Far Easterners, cut off from Moscow, already are adapting themselves to these programs.”Beijing’s approach which also involves the construction of highways and other infrastructure up to the Russian border and into Central Asia, something the Russian government has not done on its side of the line. And as a result, the Chinese are simply exploiting Moscow’s failures in this and other areas.
Looking out five to ten years, Gel’bras sees little reason for optimism from a Russian perspective, although he suggests “it is possible that [Russians] will yet change their approach … if of course [they] do not want to lose a sixth of the area of the country” through the quiet expansion of China that the bestselling book there suggests.The Russian military has often played up the Chinese threat as have some Russian nationalists and residents of the Far East seeking investment from the center, but the statement of Gel’bras is more disturbing than any of their writings precisely because it is so calm and matter of fact about something that most Russians and many others would see as a huge tragedy.
=====================
Very interesting article and perspective on this issue.
" The first pressing issue facing us is living space. This is the biggest focus of the revitalization of the Chinese race. In my last speech, I said that the fight over basic living resources (including land and ocean) is the source of the vast majority of wars in history. This may change in the information age, but not fundamentally. Our per capita resources are much less than those of Germany's back then. In addition, economic development in the last twenty-plus years had a negative impact, and climates are rapidly changing for the worse. Our resources are in very short supply. The environment is severely polluted, especially that of soil, water, and air. Not only our ability to sustain and develop our race, but even its survival is gravely threatened, to a degree much greater than faced Germany back then Anybody who has been to Western countries knows that their living space is much better than ours. They have forests alongside the highways, while we hardly have any trees by our streets. Their sky is often blue with white clouds, while our sky is covered with a layer of dark haze. Their tap water is clean enough for drinking, while even our ground water is so polluted that it can't be drunk without filtering."
===================
Now we have an excellent article by Paul Goble on his windowoneurasia blog (http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2009/06/window-on-eurasia-chinese-bestseller.html )
about a Chinese bestselling book that suggests China will attempt to dominate the Russian Far East. The article is reprinted below:
Paul GobleVienna, June 20
A new Chinese bestselling book suggesting that Beijing will dominate the Russian Far East in the coming decades has raised questions among Russian experts not only about how much this book reflects official thinking in China but also about what the Russian government can and should consider doing to counter such an outcome.The book entitled “China Gets Angry” has sold some 700,000 copies since its release three months ago, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” reports today. Written by five Chinese intellectuals, the book’s basic message is that China is destined be the leader of the world and does not need to kowtow to anyone.
(www.kp.ru/daily/24313/506551/).In discussing Russia, the book talks about it as “a living space” for the still growing Chinese people, and it pointedly suggests that “sober-thinking Chinese need to get rid of any doubt on this point: sooner or later we will be” in Siberia and the Russian Far East developing the vast areas that Moscow has not.To assess this book, its implications of its argument for Russia, and whether Moscow has the time necessary to change course, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” turned to Vil’ Gel’bras, a longtime and internationally recognized Russian specialist on China who works at Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African countries.Gel’bras, for his part, said Beijing’s interest in Russian territories east of the Urals was hardly surprising given the imbalance of population and agricultural land in China. For the 900 million peasants of China, there are only about 120 million hectares of land, approximately 0.13 per agricultural laborer. In Russia, on the other hand, there are 2.5 hectares per rural worker.
In addition to that reason to look north, Chinese demographic policy also is playing a role. Because of Beijing’s one child policy and the preference Chinese parents have for boys, the Russian sinologist says, the number of Chinese men will be 30 million greater than the number of Chinese women by 2015.
Asked by the paper where they will look for mates, Gel’bras responded with a question of his own “Haven’t you guessed already?”All of this is a matter of concern, Gel’bras says. But he says that he “does not believe that [the Chinese] at the official level are thinking up any serious actions against [Russians].” They have “more than sufficient internal problems” – including unemployment – to occupy themselves at the present time.But the Moscow China specialist continues, “the powers that be in China are not going to interview with the development of nationalist ideas like those contained in the book.” Indeed, he says, they have every reason to do so at the present time: such ideas expressed so bluntly “distract the people from the crisis.”In response to a query as to how far the book expresses the views of officials, Gel’bras says that on the one hand, the book could not have been published if the authorities did not have a certain sympathy for its ideas. And on the other, he quotes Dun Tsin, the editor of “Jenmin Jibao,” as having expressed similar views.
In a recent article, Dun wrote that “in the final analysis, China apparently is preparing to subject the Russian Far East to its fundamental influence but in such a way that it will not cause Moscow nervousness. This influence will be based not on the enormous influx of Chinese settlers but on the not foreseen before ‘sinification’ of Russians.”And the Chinese editor continued, “one fine day a serious crisis will arise, and in the face of the weakening political and military influence of Moscow, these Russians possibly will prefer to make the choice in favor of Beijing and not of their own government.
In such a hypothetical situation, the Russian Far Eastern region possibly will become a province of China.”According to Gel’bras, the Chinese are working in this direction already, offering Russian specialists “favorable conditions to acquire residences,” to study the Chinese language, and to work normally. And he adds, “many Far Easterners, cut off from Moscow, already are adapting themselves to these programs.”Beijing’s approach which also involves the construction of highways and other infrastructure up to the Russian border and into Central Asia, something the Russian government has not done on its side of the line. And as a result, the Chinese are simply exploiting Moscow’s failures in this and other areas.
Looking out five to ten years, Gel’bras sees little reason for optimism from a Russian perspective, although he suggests “it is possible that [Russians] will yet change their approach … if of course [they] do not want to lose a sixth of the area of the country” through the quiet expansion of China that the bestselling book there suggests.The Russian military has often played up the Chinese threat as have some Russian nationalists and residents of the Far East seeking investment from the center, but the statement of Gel’bras is more disturbing than any of their writings precisely because it is so calm and matter of fact about something that most Russians and many others would see as a huge tragedy.
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Very interesting article and perspective on this issue.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Whose leadership is worse? N. Korea or the U.S.?
While pondering the Kim Jong Il leadership of North Korea, I could not help but think of the similarities to our own leadership. The N. Korean leadership is Godless, selfish, evil and ignorant. How is this different from our current leader. Liberal Democrats are Godless, selfish, evil and ignorant. Kim Jong Il ruthlessly murders his own citizens, while Obama supports infanticide.
Many North Koreans are experiencing poverty and starvation due to the greed and selfishness of their leaders; many Americans are experiencing poverty and starvation due to the greed and selfishness of their political and corporate leaders.
There are political prison camps and gulags in North Korea; there are FEMA camps in the United States and we can't forget places like GTMO.
OK, what about the Republicans? While cloaking themselves in the American flag, they gave us the Patriot Act which: "The Act increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expands the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and enhances the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expands the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded law enforcement powers can be applied."
Also, while there is no doubt Iraq was run by a ruthless dictator, the actual reason for our invasion was so that Bush 43 could try to make Bush 41 proud of him. Not a really good reason to send thousands of our troops to their deaths.
Now we have the latest on Obama (From Drudge):
"On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!"
and another issue,
"The Obama White House has denied requests by msnbc.com and a nonpartisan watchdog group for the names of White House visitors. The watchdog group says it will file suit Tuesday, accusing Obama of "following the same anti-transparency policy as the Bush administration."
and another,
"Under the (Obama) plan, expected to be released Wednesday, the government would have new powers to seize key companies -- such as insurance giant American International Group Inc. -- whose failure jeopardizes the financial system. Currently, the government's authority to seize companies is mostly limited to banks."
So we are now different than a petty, third world dictatorship how? If you look past the smoke and mirrors you will see that we aren't.
Many North Koreans are experiencing poverty and starvation due to the greed and selfishness of their leaders; many Americans are experiencing poverty and starvation due to the greed and selfishness of their political and corporate leaders.
There are political prison camps and gulags in North Korea; there are FEMA camps in the United States and we can't forget places like GTMO.
OK, what about the Republicans? While cloaking themselves in the American flag, they gave us the Patriot Act which: "The Act increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records; eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States; expands the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and enhances the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. The act also expands the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, thus enlarging the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act’s expanded law enforcement powers can be applied."
Also, while there is no doubt Iraq was run by a ruthless dictator, the actual reason for our invasion was so that Bush 43 could try to make Bush 41 proud of him. Not a really good reason to send thousands of our troops to their deaths.
Now we have the latest on Obama (From Drudge):
"On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!"
and another issue,
"The Obama White House has denied requests by msnbc.com and a nonpartisan watchdog group for the names of White House visitors. The watchdog group says it will file suit Tuesday, accusing Obama of "following the same anti-transparency policy as the Bush administration."
and another,
"Under the (Obama) plan, expected to be released Wednesday, the government would have new powers to seize key companies -- such as insurance giant American International Group Inc. -- whose failure jeopardizes the financial system. Currently, the government's authority to seize companies is mostly limited to banks."
So we are now different than a petty, third world dictatorship how? If you look past the smoke and mirrors you will see that we aren't.
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