It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. -Samuel Adams Friday Evening - January 22, 2010 |
 Current bank closings as this time: BANK CLOSING FRIDAY FDIC Bank Closing Information - January 22, 2010 Bank of Leeton, Leeton, MO Premier American Bank, Miami, FL |
"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people" - John Adams - Second President (1797 - 1801) |
“The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.” - Noam Chomsky, M.I.T. emeritus Professor of Linguistics |
Children missing from Haiti hospitals
"We have documented around 15 cases of children disappearing from hospitals and not with their own family at the time," said UNICEF adviser Jean Luc Legrand.
"UNICEF has been working in Haiti for many years and we knew the problem with the trade of children in Haiti that existed already beforehand,” he said. "Unfortunately, many of these trade networks have links with the international adoption market."
The UN agency said it has warned countries around the world during the past week not to step up adoptions from Haiti in the immediate wake of the quake, ABC News reported.
Despite the warning, many fast-tracking adoption procedures are already under way in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States.
Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said child enslavement and trafficking in Haiti was "an existing problem and could easily emerge as a serious issue over the coming weeks and months."
The UN mission in Haiti has stepped up surveillance of roads, UNICEF officials said.
"We have seen over the past years many children being taken out of the country without any legal procedure," Legrand said. "This is going on. This is happening now. We are starting to have the first evidence of that, this is unquestionable."
He was unable to give details about 15 children missing from hospitals or their conditions.
LA Times : Haiti Day 10 Latest » Haiti Quake Made A Generation Of Amputees Rense.com | Seven Days Of Indifference By Jim Kirwan January 21, 2010 If you want to understand why the US response has been non-existent except for the fifteen thousand heavily armed and uniformed American vultures that we sent in to strip the corpse of Haiti, once that strife-torn country finally succumbs to the enforced indifference we have dictated for the survivors of the still questionable earthquakes: Earthquakes of any size that happen on islands always produce a Tsunami yet this one did not. In every other respect this event was no different than Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Katrina, or any of the other disasters that the USgovernment was called on to respond to, including 911. Priorities, for the last three decades, have always been given to 'security' and the military and to the secretive-mercenary contractors, to disarm and detain those that need help but then kill those that can be neglected-to-death, rather than to help them in any way. Why for instance are those 'troops' not being used to help dig out the victims or to assist in distributing the tons of aid that is stored on the new American military base which the airport has now become? To understand just how completely calculated this planned execution has been handled you only need look at who's in charge of directing the rescue and reconstruction efforts: The same three lying traitors, president's all, that created this mess in the first place; (Clinton, Bush Junior & Obama) plus the invisible one that already has one foot in the grave; the son of convicted Nazi-collaborator Prescott Bush. That hand-behind-this-scene would be George HW Bush, Junior's daddy. "Poppy" was the man that first seized the popularly elected Haitian president and deported him to France back in 1991. Bill Clinton then sent in the Marines to re-capture the Haitian president again, after he had been allowed to return to try and resurrect his own country in 1994. That time he was sent to Africa, where he still is being held without papers today. These four are the same people that personally oversaw the total privatization of Haiti. These are the people that we are supposed to believe are now suddenly acting in the best interests of Haiti at this most critical hour of their collective need? This unconscionable delay of seven full days could be seen as a major contributing factor in the needless death of hundreds of thousands of those that were killed by neglect-after-the fact of the destruction of Haiti's most populous city, in the first event eight days ago. READ MORE |
NEWS OUT OF PAKISTAN
Pakistan Observer Cartoon of the Day - January 22, 2010
Gates’ extremely disturbing threat to Pakistan
Pakistan Observer
Friday January 22, 2010
This reflects poorly on the analytical power of the Defence Secretary of the world’s only superpower. Gates himself blamed some militant groups for planning and executing Mumbai attack and feared that these groups could do it again and such an act could lead to a war between Pakistan and India. One fails to understand the rationale of war between the two countries if every one is mindful of the fact that the acts of terrorism are being sponsored by some militant groups and not by the Government or State of Pakistan. Obviously, this is both an attempt to pressurize Pakistan and a clear provocation and encouragement to India to go for aggression against its neighbour. Gates should have realized that the menace of terrorism is hitting more Pakistan than any other country, as there are almost daily acts of terror in different parts of the country leading to loss of precious lives and property. India is raising hue and cry over Mumbai incident but what about more serious tragedies of the sort in Pakistan. And Pakistan Army is fully involved in addressing the threat and a fierce operation is going on in South Waziristan, after Swat and Malakand. Gates also failed to appreciate that India was crudely interfering in Balochistan and FATA and Pakistan has provided evidence in this regard to American authorities as well. Under these circumstances, the statement of the Defence Secretary is highly deplorable and needs to be critically analysed by our defence experts and policy-makers. Prudence demands that even if there were apprehensions of terrorism in India, Gates should share the information with Pakistan and advise India to be patient and join hands with Islamabad in thwarting the threat. After the statement, the cat is now out of the bag and we should take serious notice of the jingoistic moves across our eastern border especially in the backdrop of threatening posture of the Indian Army and meaningful statements of its Army Chief. A joint session of Parliament should be convened to assess fuller implications of these moves and counter-strategy formulated to safeguard interests of the country.
Chief beneficiaries of war on terror
Pakistan Observer
Lt Col Zaheerul Hassan (R)
January 22, 2010
Global War on Terror (GWOT) is a consequence of 9/11 attacks on twin towers. Still nobody can authentically say that attack was planned by Jewish or Muslim extremists but as a result of it some bitter facts emerged, (One) American lost 3000 individuals in twin tower attacks. (Two) US led ISAF Forces have lost over 1684 soldiers. Their more than 6584 troops have suffered serious injuries since September 2001. (Three), the heavy losses in terms of finances are major set back to the economies of USA and its allies. (Four), Pakistan has also been forced to be a key player of GOWT. According to USA reports, Islamabad is facing major impact of the War and guerilla warfare has enveloped complete Pakistan. Over 3000 soldiers and civilian were martyred and many injured as result of war against terror.. (Five) Economy of USA and her NATO allies depleting continuously. (Six) Cancer of militancy is continuously maligning the whole world speedily. (Seven) gulf between two civilizations has also been widened and knocking the door of final nuclear war. However India, Israel and former USA Bush were the main beneficiaries of GWOT.
From Drudge.com today, January 22, 2010 BANK BUSTER: President calls for biggest regulatory overhaul since 1930s... Bloomberg rips; Warns of more lay offs in city... SPLIT: Geithner has concerns over proposed limits... Senate Dems Not Sure Enough Votes to Reconfirm Bernanke... Dow Suffers Worst Week SInce Last Month... Obama seen as anti-business by 77% of investors... Europe welcomes bank plan, won't imitate it... Have to chuckle at the way Drudge heads some of his linked news articles From the Wall Street Journal "The New Political Rumbling - Massachusetts may signal an end to old ways of fighting" Drudged head it: |
Ron Paul Warns Of Coming “Social And Political Chaos”
Congressman delivers timely State Of The Republic address
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, Jan 22, 2010
Texas Congressman Ron Paul has delivered a riveting “State of The Republic” address on his Campaign for Liberty website, orating his thoughts on where the U.S. stands as a nation and what the future holds.
Military Pays for Booze for Congressional Trips Abroad Friday, January 22, 2010 When members of Congress travel overseas at the expense of the Department of Defense, they are treated to thousands of dollars worth of alcohol and other amenities. A review by The Wall Street Journal of congressional disclosure documents for 43 trips found that expenditures averaged $4,300 per trip—and that’s just what has been reported. Lawmakers are required to declare what they spend on travel but not what others like the Pentagon do on Congress’ behalf. In March 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and nine other lawmakers traveled to England, India and Spain. Their flight included $438.75 worth of alcohol, including three cases of beer, 15 bottles of wine, three bottles of vodka, Crown Royal, Dewar’s and other liquor, plus another $750 worth of chips, cakes and other snacks—all of which were paid for by the U.S. Air Force. A junket taken by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) to Africa in December 2008 included $3,360 in “emergency requests” paid for by the military. Some of Inhofe’s party went to a Wal-Mart and bought $130 worth of cookies, mints and other munchies for the trip. They also spent $250 at Total Wine & More. Joel Johnson, a defense-industry analyst with the Teal Group Corporation and former staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the military-funded trips help provide a “bonding” experience between lawmakers and Pentagon officials which “is helpful for the military when they are seeking particular things in appropriations or authorizations.” -Noel Brinkerhoff Military Helps Fund Congressional Trips (By T.W. Farnam and Brody Mullins, Wall Street Journal) Should Foreign War Criminals Be Allowed to Live Free in the U.S.? Friday, January 22, 2010 The former head of Somalia’s military is now the focus of a potential landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court which will decide whether foreign officials now living in the country can be subject to U.S. law. Mohamed Ali Samantar, once Somalia’s minister of defense under the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s, now lives in Fairfax, Virginia. He has been accused by some Somalis of overseeing a campaign of torture, imprisonment and executions directed at political prisoners. The allegations include authorizing the 1988 military attacks that killed more than 5,000 people in Hargeisa, the nation’s second ...read more |
Ron Paul and a Timeline of CIA Crimes and Atrocities
The CIA has committed thousands of illegal and immoral acts around the world, including almost unfathomable mass murder and countless acts of terrorism and torture.
DRONES "Every one of these dead non-combatants represents an alienated family, a new revenge feud, and more recruits for a militant movement that has grown exponentially even as drone strikes have increased." - David Kilcullen (Counterinsurgency Expert) Center for New American Security |
NEWS OUT OF KASHMIR: Who says Pakistan is a puppet?
Kashmir Watch, Jan 22 By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal Now at least three of the Muslim nations in Mideast have become safe havens for the US-led anti-Islamic terrorist forces. The Pakistani, Afghani, Iraqi peoples have lost millions of their brethren till now and they are victim to regular US drone plus bombings. Every where human rights wings witness human and material ashes in these nations and the Western rogue states preaching rules of law democracy for Muslim nations are responsible for this and they should be brought to justice. US terror military Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Pakistan on 21 Jan for his first visit since US President Barack Obama took office last year ostensibly for talks on combating Taliban fighters. Gates failed to break the Indian gates on terrorism and was pushed to continue to tour the region without giving any solid whisky. . As part of failed Obama’s new Afghan policy of escalation of NATO terror wars inside Muslim nations, the US wants Pakistan to expand an offensive against militants launching cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. But in a clear snub to Washington, Pakistan's army has said it will launch no new offensives on militants in 2010 and the "overstretched" military had no plans for any fresh anti-militant operations over the next 12 months. The use of armed drones by US forces in strikes against militants in Pakistan has led to huge anti-American feeling. So, the USA now is thinking of providing Pakistan with a dozen unarmed drone aircraft to help strengthen its fight against the Muslim Taliban, after all the great “idea” is to keep killing Muslims in their own countries. US terror military Chief R. Gates, rubbing his own nose paining from recent Pak smash, revealed the new American shame scheme for Pak-Af. Hundreds of people, most of them are civilians - have died in attacks by armed drones in tribal areas of Pakistan. READ MORE ... |
In a recommendation to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Afghanistan and Pakistan Regional Stabilization Strategy has recommended bringing extremists back into the mainstream society, the AFP reported.
It has also recommended that the US should help rebuild the Afghan farm sector and improve Afghan governance.
Meanwhile, ranking officials have shown interest in finding non-violent solutions in order to reduce regional instability and promote dialogue with the militants.
"While our military mission in Afghanistan is not open-ended, we are committed to building lasting partnerships with Afghanistan and Pakistan…. I believe this strategy offers the best prospect for stabilizing Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "I look forward to working with Congress to secure the non-military resources needed to achieve our mission and to signal our commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also supported the idea.
"We have said all along, in Iraq as in Afghanistan, political reconciliation ultimately has to be a part of settling the conflict … The Taliban, we recognize, are part of the political fabric of Afghanistan at this point," Gates said.
This comes as President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 troops to be added to those 100,000 currently present in Afghanistan.
MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL-BANKING COMPLEX NEWS |
Gates confirms Blackwater presence in Pakistan US Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirms that American security firms Xe Services LLC, formerly known as Blackwater, and DynCorp have been operating in Pakistan. The two firms are operating in private capacities, Gates said on Thursday, adding that the companies were abiding by Pakistani laws. However, he said that if the Pakistani parliament votes for a ban on the presence of the firms, the US government would comply with it. Blackwater won notoriety for having gone on a shooting rampage in a heavily trafficked Baghdad intersection in September 2007 killing more than a dozen Iraqi civilians. Blackwater Worldwide changed its name to Xe Services LLC in February 2009, after it came under international criticism for its disregard for civilian lives. Two former Blackwater mercenaries have also been charged with the 2009 murder of two Afghan civilians in Kabul. Asad Durani, former head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), had earlier told Press TV that the notorious firm, Blackwater, was involved in the deadly drone attacks on Pakistani territories, which usually result in civilian casualties. "I learned somewhere that these people are employed certainly for…the logistic support at the drone bases. That is understandable," Durani said earlier in January. Gates, meanwhile, said that Washington is considering sharing its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology with Pakistan. "These UAVs are useful and we have a budget for them," Gates said in an interview with a privately-run Pakistani television on Thursday. He claimed that the drones had proved productive in Afghanistan and Iraq. "We are working together with Pakistan army in this connection," Gates said, adding that discussions were underway with Pakistan military leadership on technical matters in this regard, a Press TV correspondent reported late Thursday. Defense officials in his delegation later said that the US will provide 12 Shadow drones to Pakistan. The Shadow drone is about 3.3 meters (11 feet) long and has a wing-span of 4.2 meters (14 feet), with sensors and cameras feeding video images back to operators on the ground. Number Of Private Security Contractors In Afghanistan Doubles In Just Four Months January 21, 2010 The congressional report discusses pros (e.g., ease of firing and hiring) and cons of using private security contractors. Some analysts say contractor abuses, allowed in part by lax oversight, can badly damage U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan. The report says: U.S. efforts can also be undermined when DOD has ties with groups that kill civilians or government officials, even if the perpetrators were not working for DOD when the killings took place. In June 2009, the provincial police chief of Kandahar, Afghanistan, was killed by a group that worked as a private security contractor for DOD. An Army Times story in December described how Afghan national security contractors were "wreaking havoc" along a convoy route in Kandahar, including "killing and wounding more than 30 innocent civilians." The numbers in this report do not account for security contractors working for agencies like the State Department and the CIA (for example the two Blackwater guards who were killed at a CIA base in Afghanistan earlier this month). Ray Guns Real: Army Betting Big on Laser Weapons FOXNews.com The military envisions a future of laser warfare -- ultra-precise weapons based on devastatingly powerful beams of light. It's only a matter of time until the U.S. Army fights terrorists and other enemy combatants with laser beams, engaging in battles seen previously only in movies like 'Starship Troopers' and 'Star Trek.' The ray gun is real ... or at least it will be soon. The U.S. Army is betting big on laser warfare -- designing, testing and perfecting ultra-precise weapons based on devastatingly powerful beams of light. And given recent developments, it's only a matter of time until the military has in its arsenal a weapon that until now has been the staple of science fiction -- the ray gun. Set your phasers to kill. Boeing, one of the Pentagon's top contractors, already has a laser weapon that will improve the military's ability to counter artillery, mortar, drone aircraft and even rockets, a spokesman tells FoxNews.com. Boeing's is the highest-profile program of all of the projects under development for the Department of Defense, and last week it took a step closer to reality. At its facility in Huntsville, Ala., Boeing accepted a military truck built by Oshkosh Defense that will carry its laser beam control system into battle. The device is the cornerstone of a high-priority U.S. Army project, called the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL-TD), touted as the future of American war, which will enable the military to fight at the speed of light. "The system is technically not in production right now," says Marc Selinger, a spokesman for Boeing's missile defense systems unit in suburban Washington, near the Pentagon. "Boeing is building only a demonstrator now ... in this case, a test unit." |
Israel OKs new controversial weapon
The cannon called "the Thunder Generator" has been produced by the Netanya-based technology development advisory firm, Army-Tec company, is capable of creating shockwaves that pass through people.
The feeling of "being hit" produced by the stun gun is said to be similar to that of standing in front of a firing squad.
The weapon uses a mixture of liquefied petroleum, cooking gas and air which traveling through the cannon barrel detonates and intensifies until it exits.
The process generates a succession of 60 to 100 high-velocity shock bursts per minute, each traveling at about 2,000 meters per second and lasting up to 300 milliseconds, according to a report by Defense News website, citing company data.
"That's more than enough for hours of continuous operation," said ArmyTec President Shlomo Tabak, a former Israeli military special operations officer, describing the new device as "controlled and safe."
Experts, however, say the Thunder Generator could be lethal or inflict permanent damage if fired at less than 10 meters.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the is an international oil and gasMiddle East, North Africa, and South America Occidental Petroleum Corporation to develop massive Iraqi oil field RELATED: Al Gore Set To Become First “Carbon Billionaire”
Climate Gate: Is “Big Oil” really behind the Global Warming deniers?
In 2005, Occidental was among 53 entities which contributed the maximum of $250,000 to the second inauguration of President George W. Bush. In 2008, Oxy contributed $301,579 to Democratic candidates and $204,587 to Republican candidates. |
Paraphrasing Denis Diderot:
"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last banker." Banker was originally "priest."
Popular Honduras resistance blog. Click here .
QUAKE NEWS
- Haiti relocating 400,000 quake survivors. Almost half a million people to be moved into new "villages" outside of Port-au-Priince. Maybe they are going to use those moldy travel trailers from Katrina.
- Earthquake rattles Greece. Quake centered 100 miles northwest of Athens.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- Gordon Brown to testify at Iraq war inquiry. Testimony to come before election.
- Missing Haitian children from hospitals raises fear of child trafficking for exploitation. It occurred after the Asian tsunami, as reported only by WMR. What AFP is not reporting is that pedophiles are always on the loose after such major disasters.
- Iranian paper Javan, 17 January: Mossad killing Middle East nuclear scientists. "Killing of Ali-Mohammadi, a basic atom researcher of Iran, has a special meaning for countries that have the background in attempts against the lives of their elite. The background of physical elimination of key scientists by Israelis has a history of several decades . . . There have been rumours about involvement of Mossad in killing of Ardeshir Hasanpour, the prominent scientist of Iran's nuclear program in 2007 . . . Sa'ed Badir, Egypt's nuclear scientist in the field of missile technology. . . was found in 1988 in his house and his hand was cut from the wrist. He had just returned from a trip to Germany. His wife termed Mossad directly responsible for the death of her husband. Samir Najib was another scientist who was killed in 1967 in Detroit, US in an accident with a truck. But one of the most important persons who were killed by Mossad is Yahya al-Mashu, who was responsible for Iraq's nuclear program during Saddam Hosayn's government. His body was found in 1980 in a hotel in Paris . . . Some Iraqi nuclear scientists have announced it to Islam-Online through emails and said that the American occupying forces have been threatening them. Haddi Amash is one of those scientists who have been threatened by the US. URL n/a.
NATIONAL NEWS
- FBI and telecoms jointly conspired to violate federal wiretap laws. FBI's Communications Analysis Unit (CAU) conspired with AT&T, Verizon, and MCI.
- Sentencing for Pentagon spy for China, James Fondren. Fondren is a former Air Force officer.
- More from Barack "W" Obama: 50 Gitmo detainees to be held without trial. Detainees are "too difficult to prosecute." What the hell does that mean? They are either guilty or not guilty -- not too difficult to prosecute. What law school did you go to Obama? the Harvard Beets Law School where three beet can labels earn you a law degree?
COUNTRY FOCUS: Cuba. American jailed in Cuba for espionage was working with Cuban Jewish groups. Alan P. Gross worked for Development Alternatives Inc. of Bethesda. As usual, Washington Post comes to the defense of one of its own..
ESPN-Sports January 21, 2010 LAS VEGAS — In the parallel world where the likes of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi live, the enlightened govern the ignorant masses by applying one set of universal rules, and it's not the Constitution of the United States. In Hillary's world, radical ideas progress at first with baby steps that ultimately become great strides to harness the destructive forces in society. That's why the current Secretary of State and the other Hillarys in her world are drawing a bead on gun owners, mainly those in the United States. In 2012, the United Nation's will push for the Arms Trade Treaty, which, among other things, will establish goals regarding the ownership and disposition of firearms on a global basis. This new world order is apt to take various forms, but none of them are likely to be good for gun owners in this country. The Arms Trade Treaty, along with attempts to reconstitute the so-called "assault weapons ban," and efforts to ban lead-based ammunition are among the biggest challenges facing the shooting sports industry in the coming years, according to Steve Sanneti, president and CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. |
BANKSTERS NEWS
Watch the banksters and their puppet politicians squirm
Obama hammers Wall Street Banks
January 22, 2010
The global banking industry was thrown into turmoil on Thursday after President Barack Obama , responding to public rage over the financial crisis, proposed the most far-reaching overhaul of Wall Street since the 1930s.
Republicans responded coolly, but did not reject the proposals out of hand. Richard Shelby, senior Republican on the Senate banking committee, called for more details and new hearings.
Others accused the White House of adopting a populist message to divert attention away from the blow delivered by the Democrats’ defeat in the Senate race in Massachusetts. READ MORE
Obama Taps Voter Anger in Call for Risk-Taking Limits for Financial Firms
Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner spoke with Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chief Executive Officer Warren Buffett, JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein on the day of the bailout of American International Group Inc., phone logs show.
Geithner ran the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which helped organize AIG’s rescue, on Sept. 16, 2008, when the calls took place. The logs were submitted by the New York Fed in response to a subpoena last week from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
McDonald's profit is $1.22B in 4th quarter CHICAGO -- McDonald's says its sales and profit grew in the fourth quarter as more hungry diners gobbled up its cheap eats and it continued to weather the downturn better than most businesses. For the three months that ended Dec. 31, McDonald's Corp. says it earned $1.22 billion, or $1.11 per share. That's 23 percent more than a year earlier and above analyst estimates. The results included a one-time benefit of 8 cents per share Revenue climbed 7 percent to $5.97 billion. Analysts expected the world's largest burger chain to earn $1.02 per share on revenue of $5.94 billion. They usually exclude one-time items. McDonald's is based in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill. |
Jan 22 2010 - A ship with 30 crew on board sent a distress signal on Friday, warning that it could sink after becoming stuck in ice in the Sea of Okhotsk, off Russia's Pacific coast, local emergencies officials said.
"The information that the refrigerator ship had become iced-in was received by the emergencies department of the Sakhalin Region at 07:40 Moscow time," the official said.
All crew members on board the vessel are Russians, he said, adding that bad weather conditions could hamper any rescue operation.
He said that emergency and maritime rescue officials were "exploring the possibility of involving ships located in the area...to conduct a rescue operation."
A local rescue center official said the trapped vessel had lost power and was unable to move.
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, January 22 (RIA Novosti)
Webster G. Tarpley
www.tarpley.net
Washington, January 18, 2010 — In an interview with Dina Gusovsky of Russia Today, Webster Tarpley pointed out that the escalating clash between Google and the People’s Republic of China comes in the context of rapidly deteriorating relations between the two countries on a broad front. Google is part of a cartel of Internet companies which notoriously works closely with the US intelligence community for political purposes, including the subversion and overthrow of foreign governments. We need only recall the central role of Twitter in the CIA’s attempted coup d’état in Iran last summer. Political manipulation by means of the Internet is an indispensable part of the CIA’s recipe for color revolutions, velvet revolutions, people power coups, and postmodern coups. When the Internet is introduced into previously authoritarian countries, it is often possible to dupe, manipulate, and stampede large numbers of enthusiastic young people who are not politically sophisticated. The results are often disastrous. In Georgia, a color revolution installed into power the madman Sakaashvili, who has already started one war. Yushenko, the beneficiary of the Orange Revolution of 2004, has just been massively repudiated by voters after a catastrophic presidency. The hangover of disillusionment surrounding Obama is related to the fact that he took power in something of the same way. The Chinese government therefore feels that there are valid reasons to prevent Western intelligence agencies from massively pumping black propaganda into China using the Internet. This is in any case a purely domestic Chinese issue, and Americans in particular ought to focus on putting their own house in order before starting to give lectures to the rest of the world.
On the morning of January 4, it was reported by the Los Angeles Times that the Great Firewall maintained by the Chinese government to filter Internet content had momentarily come down. Was this the handiwork of the United States, or did China believe that it was the handiwork of the United States? About 10 days later, Google, Adobe, and Northrop Grumman accused Chinese hackers of entering their sites to gather information. The Chinese government has informed Google if they insist on violating Chinese law, they cannot continue to operate, and Google has announced their imminent departure from the Chinese market. Rumors of espionage swirl around the Google offices in China.
Many press accounts allege that Google is opposed to censorship in principle. This is pure baloney. Google supports censorship to the extent that it is dictated by the United States intelligence community. Analysts and researchers delving into questions about the September 11 attacks or the London 7/7 bombings of 2005 are familiar with the many ways that Google attempted to hinder public access to facts and analysis that were not part of the official narrative. Google has been fundamentally hostile to anyone criticizing the US government official versions of these false flag terror provocations. To say that Google is opposed to censorship is therefore monumental hypocrisy.
US-Chinese relations are now rapidly deteriorating towards a new Cold War or something worse. The entire foreign policy of the United States is strongly motivated by anti-Chinese considerations. Pakistan is targeted for destruction, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Burma, and many other points across the globe is fundamentally dictated by a desire to checkmate China. The news is that China is fighting back far more effectively. At the recent Copenhagen climate change conference, the basic strategy of the US and the British was to use the big lie of global warming to institute a world carbon dictatorship which could then be used to strangle the economic development of China, India, and other developing sector nations. As accounts in the British Guardian have pointed out, Chinese Prime Minister Wen directed a successful blocking operation with the help of countries such as Sudan, Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, and others, personally snubbing Obama several times in the process. When it comes to sanctions against Iran, the Chinese are signaling that they will block them in the UN Security Council, and they are also circumventing them in various ways.
in large part because it could function as an energy corridor between Iran and China, to the benefit of the latter. What is done by the United States in
US State Dept 'Not Foreign Policy Arm Of Google'
HILLARY NOW: Urges Internet freedom!
China media hits back at Clinton...
Reuters - China's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. criticisms could hurt relations between the world's biggest and third biggest economies, already strained by disagreements over trade imbalances, currency values and U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.
PressTV: American Outrage This documentary shows how two elderly Native Americans have been denied their right of property and are forced to evict their ancestral lands, leaving them for corporations to take over. Broadcast Date: 06 Feb 2010. |
Obama USDA Poised to Take Away Our Right to GMO-Free FoodJanuary 21, 2010 - Don't believe Monsanto's green-washing. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), aren't meant to feed the world or survive the evermore frequent droughts and floods brought on by global warming - they're designed to sell Monsanto's herbicide Roundup and the patented "Roundup Ready" genes now spliced into millions of acres of corn, cotton, soy, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa. A 2009 study showed that, in 13 years, Roundup Ready crops increased herbicide use by 383 million pounds. During the Bush administration, the movement to stop GMOs was making progress. Reflecting public concern over GMOs, in 2007, a Federal court ruledcontamination of conventional and organic alfalfa and the development of "super-weeds." The court banned the planting of GM alfalfa until USDA completed a rigorous analysis of these impacts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice affirmed the national banSupreme Court! that the Bush USDA's approval of Roundup Ready alfalfa violated the law because it failed to analyze risks such as the on Roundup Ready alfalfa planting, but Monsanto is appealing. They're taking organic alfalfa farmers all the way to the Barack Obama, despite promising us "change we can believe in," is unfortunately turning out to be just as pro-GMO as the preceding Bush and Clinton administrations, packing the USDA and other government bureaucracies with Monsanto men and biotech cheerleaders such as former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, named "Biotech Governor of the Year" in 2001, now serving as USDA Secretary. Vilsack, notorious for flying around in a Monsanto company jet during one of his previous election campaigns, is now busy trying to get the court-ordered ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa lifted by issuing a new draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that denies or downplays the obvious environmental and human health hazards of GM alfalfa. Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a key source of dairy forage and hay. The first perennial crop to be genetically engineered, GM alfalfa can regenerate itself from its root-stock. It is open-pollinated by bees, which can cross-pollinate at distances of several miles, spreading Monsanto's patented, foreign DNA to non-GMO and organic crops. Widespread GMO-contamination of organic alfalfa is inevitable if the Obama Administration successfully distorts science and ignores public opinion and allows Monsanto's GM Roundup Ready alfalfa to be planted across the U.S. Mounting evidence shows damage to animals and humans from unlabeled and untested Frankenfoods. Consumers who ingest GM alfalfa are likely risking their health; since even the USDA's EIS admits that, "acute toxicity in mice was observed." According to the EIS, consumers who ingest foods with residues of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide may experience "general and non-specific signs of toxicity from subchronic and chronic exposure to glyphosate includ[ing] changes in liver weight, blood chemistry (may suggest mild liver toxicity), liver pathology, and weight of the pituitary gland." The EIS warns that, "Based on upper estimates of exposure ... infants consuming fruit and all age groups consuming vegetables may be at risk of adverse effects associated with acute exposure to glyphosate [the active ingredient in Roundup] residues." Consuming milk and meat from animals fed crops that are genetically engineered is also risky. In Europe, where farmer and consumer rejection has kept GMO crop acreage to a bare minimum, massive quantities of GMO-tainted animal feed is imported from the U.S. and a survey of 60 samples of 12 different milk brands sold in stores in Italy demonstrated the presence of GM maize sequences in 15 (25%) and of GM soybean sequences in 7 samples (11.7%). Most consumers, especially organic consumers, are determined to avoid Roundup Ready alfalfa, and meat and dairy products derived from animals ingesting Roundup Ready alfalfa, but according to the EIS, we don't have that right because, "At the present time, there is no policy regarding the unintended presence of GE (genetically engineered) material in organic products or food, consistent with the fact that the NOP (National Organic Program) is a process-based program for certifying a farm or production system as organic, and not a product-based program that tests or certifies individual products as organic." We must stop the Obama administration from taking away our right to grow and consume organic and GMO-free food. The "change we believe in" is a healthy and sustainable future based upon organic food and farming and a green economy. |
| POLICE STATE USA REMEMBER THAT 'YOU' MAY ALSO BE A PERSON DEFINED AS A 'TERRORIST' Take a look at our government's 'NO FLY LIST' Justice panel backs indefinite detention 22 Jan 2010 Washington Post A Justice Department-led task force has concluded that nearly 50 of the 196 detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be held indefinitely without trial under the laws of war, according to Obama administration officials. The task force's findings represent the first time that the administration has clarified how many Interrogation Teams Are Months Away 22 Jan 2010 Wall Street Journal The head of a new elite terrorism-interrogation program said Thursday that it will take several more months to establish teams that could question high-profile suspects. The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, or HIG, will consist of three to five teams of interrogators based in Washington and largely drawn from the ranks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with some from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Department. Andrew McCabe, a veteran FBI counterterrorism investigator who is leading the new program, and deputies from the CIA and Defense Department are seeking office space in Washington's Virginia suburbs and preparing to pick members of the interrogation teams. Man gets jail for throwing taco at manager (Just threw this news article in ... thought it was funny) |
Free Checking Could Go the Way of Free Toasters
New York Times | Overdraft fees had helped to subsidize free checking, but as those fees begin to fall, free checking may disappear.
| INCOMING FROM SPACE Doctor's Office Hit By Meteorite Friday, 22 Jan 2010, 9:27 AM EST myfoxdc When Lawrence Reese was cleaning up his sub shop in Lorton, Virginia, late Monday afternoon, he heard a tremendous impact outside. "Loud. Loud enough [that] you could hear it, maybe, a block or two away," recalls Reese. "I'm surprised it didn't break our glass. That's how loud it was." Something had come hurtling out of the sky, and crashed through the roof of a nearby doctor's office, landing in an empty examination room. "I thought something fell in Dr. Gallini's office," explained his partner, Dr. Frank Ciampi. "I thought a bookshelf fell on him, so I ran out and saw that he was okay. And then I looked to the left and saw the debris in the hallway." The debris was smoldering and metallic. The two physicians puzzled over the items. Whatever had come through the roof had broken into several pieces. The two doctors speculated that part of an airliner had come off and fallen through their roof. A nearly circular hole was punched through the building's roof. An acquaintance suggested the possibility of a meteorite, so the debris was sent to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in nearby Washington, D.C. "It's definitely a meteorite," concluded Linda Welzenbach, who oversees the museum's collection of natural space objects. "It has a black fusion crust which tells us that it's passed through the atmosphere." Most meteorites are small -- about the size of a pea. The one that landed in Lorton was bigger than a human fist, before it broke into pieces inside the doctors' office. Space rocks land tourists in Sudanese jail Three European tourists have been detained in Sudan for acquiring the remnants of a rare meteorite that hit a remote region in 2008, their lawyer said. Lawyer Adil Yacoub Ahmed says the tourists, two from France and the other from Belgium, were arrested 500 kilometres north of the capital Khartoum. "They were arrested two weeks ago in Abu Hamad and were transferred on Sunday to the Bahri prison," he said. Mr Ahmed says the trio were "just tourists, who had no intention of committing a crime". A Western diplomat confirmed the arrest of the three, without giving further details. Sudan's interior ministry previously released a statement confirming French and Belgian tourists had been arrested "for acquiring ... the remains of meteorites, which constitutes an offence" under Sudan's laws governing archaeological activity. The meteorite, named 2008 TC3, struck north Sudan in October 2008, near the Egyptian border. Space rocks that make it through the Earth's atmosphere can be extremely valuable and this rare example has been the object of research by Sudanese and United States scientists. The arrests come in the context of tense relations between Sudan and France, which is harbouring Abdel Wahid Nur, the exiled leader of a key Darfuri rebel group. Paris is also a fervent supporter of the decision in March by the International Criminal Court to issue a warrant for the arrest of Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. But Mr Ahmed says the case is criminal, not political. "They are doing well, they are being well treated, they have been able to speak to their families, and I hope to be able to secure their release tomorrow," he said. He added the Sudanese authorities still had to determine the nature of the rocks in their possession. - AFP RELATED: Space.com | June 10, 2009 - Incoming space rocks now classified by U.S. military |
Tough economy expected to spark surge in tax refund loans
Liberty Tax Service, the nation's fastest-growing tax preparation chain, reports that sales of refund loans already are running 10 percent ahead of last season. But are the loans a good deal? They're very profitable for the companies that make them, but consumers may be better served to avoid the fees and wait the 10 days for their refund from the government.
| "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" - Benjamin Franklin | ||||
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Shocking U.S. Senate Hearing Confirms Dangers of Cell Phones
Widespread antibiotic use in 1960s sparked MRSA Telegraph.co.uk January 22, 2010 Early use of antibiotics in the 1960s may have given birth to one of the most common strains of MRSA, a study has found.
Rickets Warning As Vitamin D Deficiency Widens Guardian.co.uk January 22, 2010 Computer-obsessed children who spend too long indoors and over-anxious parents who slap on excessive sunscreen are contributing to a sharp rise in cases of the bone disease rickets, doctors are warning. Vitamin D deficiency, which causes the condition, could be rectified by adding supplements to milk and other food, a research team at Newcastle University suggests. Vitamin D Cuts Bowel Cancer By 40% Telegraph.co.uk January 22, 2010 People who have more vitamin D in their blood are less likely to develop bowel cancer than those with low levels, researchers claim. |
Defense Secretary Cohen's 1997 Warning about Scalar EM Geotechnical Terrorism
“Others [terrorists] are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves… So there are plenty of ingenious minds out there that are at work finding ways in which they can wreak terror upon other nations…It's real, and that's the reason why we have to intensify our [counterterrorism] efforts.”
Secretary of Defense William Cohen at an April 1997 counterterrorism conference sponsored by former Senator Sam Nunn. Quoted from DoD News Briefing, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Q&A at the Conference on Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and U.S. Strategy, University of Georgia, Athens,
Apr. 28, 1997.
OUR PLANET'S PROTECTIVE MAGNETOSPHERE UPDATE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| About Real-Time Magnetosphere Simulation http://www2.nict.go.jp/y/y223/simulation/realtime/index.html JANUARY 22, 2010 AT 5:58 PM CDT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current Moon Phase http://www.die.net/moon/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SUN UPDATE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/sunspots/ http://solarcycle24.com/ Classification of Solar Flares Magnetic fields trigger solar wind A small new sunspot is trying to form in the northern hemisphere of the sun at high latitude. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Update time = Sat Jan 23 0:00:04 UTC 2010
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VOLCANISM NEWS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory http://www.seis.utah.edu/req2webdir/recenteqs/Maps/Yellowstone.html Earthquake Swarm continues at Yellowstone National Park Update time = Fri Jan 22 16:25:51 MST 2010 MAG DATE LOCAL-TIME LAT LON DEPTH LOCATION 1.1 2010/01/22 12:31:09 44.551N 110.956W 10.6 17 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.8 2010/01/22 12:30:50 44.574N 110.973W 9.3 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.4 2010/01/22 12:29:47 44.574N 110.939W 8.5 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.8 2010/01/22 07:34:17 44.559N 110.937W 10.4 18 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 2.5 2010/01/22 07:33:28 44.559N 110.966W 9.6 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.0 2010/01/22 04:42:42 44.581N 110.975W 9.6 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.6 2010/01/22 04:29:04 44.542N 110.968W 9.0 17 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.0 2010/01/22 04:15:25 44.579N 110.966W 10.4 14 km ( 9 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.8 2010/01/22 03:54:21 44.571N 110.962W 11.4 15 km ( 9 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.6 2010/01/22 03:49:41 44.556N 110.918W 9.4 19 km (12 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.3 2010/01/22 03:40:58 44.563N 110.980W 8.9 15 km ( 9 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.7 2010/01/22 02:53:06 44.554N 110.962W 11.1 17 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.3 2010/01/22 02:43:26 44.553N 110.969W 9.2 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 2.5 2010/01/22 02:41:50 44.562N 110.967W 9.2 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.8 2010/01/22 02:41:14 44.568N 110.950W 9.4 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.2 2010/01/22 01:54:41 44.581N 110.980W 7.6 13 km ( 8 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.9 2010/01/22 01:31:33 44.536N 110.966W 9.6 18 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.3 2010/01/22 01:30:11 44.549N 110.962W 8.3 17 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.5 2010/01/22 01:29:52 44.550N 110.963W 9.4 17 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.4 2010/01/22 01:17:51 44.550N 110.964W 10.6 17 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.6 2010/01/22 01:16:13 44.556N 110.965W 11.5 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.3 2010/01/22 00:59:26 44.565N 110.961W 10.3 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.6 2010/01/22 00:57:04 44.557N 110.956W 11.6 17 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.7 2010/01/22 00:56:17 44.564N 110.963W 9.5 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.9 2010/01/22 00:49:20 44.556N 110.921W 8.8 19 km (12 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.3 2010/01/22 00:29:30 44.549N 110.962W 10.3 17 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.3 2010/01/22 00:21:04 44.598N 110.936W 10.7 15 km ( 9 mi) ESE of West Yellowstone, MT 1.2 2010/01/22 00:20:09 44.556N 110.961W 10.6 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 0.8 2010/01/22 00:19:09 44.561N 110.928W 9.4 18 km (11 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT 3.0 2010/01/21 22:38:40 44.550N 110.972W 8.4 16 km (10 mi) SE of West Yellowstone, MT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CHANGING WEATHER PATTERNS - NEWS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Severe Weather Map Surface Temperature Forecast Map www.511nebraska.org Entire Arizona Town Underwater Following Overnight Storm... Des Moines, Iowa Register | Power still out for many as ice storm fallout continues January 22, 2010 - Some Central Iowans have grown frustrated with the pace power is being restored to their homes but MidAmerican Energy officials say the situation has improved since yesterday. In Des Moines, more than 400 MidAmerican Energy customers are still without power. That has improved since yesterday when more than 2,500 customers had no electricity. Statewide, over 15,000 MidAmerican customers remained without power as of 11:40 a.m. More Stockton, California -- P.G.& E. is reporting close to 10,000 power outages National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications Emergency and Disaster Information Services (EDIS) Budapest Hungary |
"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." Benito Mussolini | ||
Climategate: Climatic Research Unit (CRU) Was But the Tip of the Iceberg January 22, 2010 American Thinker Not surprisingly, the blatant corruption exposed at Britain’s premiere climate institute was not contained within the nation’s borders. Just months after the Climategate scandal broke, a new study has uncovered compelling evidence that our government’s principal climate centers have also been manipulating worldwide temperature data in order to fraudulently advance the global warming political agenda. Not only does the preliminary report [PDF] indict a broader network of conspirators, but it also challenges the very mechanism by which global temperatures are measured, published, and historically ranked. Last Thursday, Certified Consulting Meteorologist Joseph D’Aleo and computer expert E. Michael Smith appeared together on KUSI TV [Video] to discuss the Climategate -- American Style scandal they had discovered. This time out, the alleged perpetrators are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). NOAA stands accused by the two researchers of strategically deleting cherry-picked, cooler-reporting weather observation stations from the temperature data it provides the world through its National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). D’Aleo explained to show host and Weather Channel founder John Coleman that while the Hadley Center in the U.K. has been the subject of recent scrutiny, “[w]e think NOAA is complicit, if not the real ground zero for the issue.” And their primary accomplices are the scientists at GISS, who put the altered data through an even more biased regimen of alterations, including intentionally replacing the dropped NOAA readings with those of stations located in much warmer locales. As you’ll soon see, the ultimate effects of these statistical transgressions on the reports which influence climate alarm and subsequently world energy policy are nothing short of staggering. READ MORE | ||
| The United Nations is just a debating society and a 'front' for banks |
(RTTNews)
Buckingham Place said the Queen will address the UN General assembly on 6th July, following a 9-day visit to Canada from June 28 to July 6 with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen is scheduled to return to London immediately after her address to the UN.
Meanwhile, the British Mission to the UN said the Queen will address the General assembly in her capacity as head Head of State of the United Kingdom and 15 other nations, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Apart from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the British Queen is also the head of state for Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
The Queen's speech at the UN General Assembly in June would be her first in more than 50 years. The last time the British Monarch addressed the UN General Assembly was in 1957.
by RTT Staff Writer
NEBRASKA NEWS | |||
| Lincoln Nebraska Live Traffic Cams Nebraska unemployment up slightly to 4.7 pct in December
Tyson Foods layoffs of 480 a blow to Council Bluffs, Nebraska COUNCIL BLUFFS - January 22, 2010 — Tyson Foods will lay off about 480 of its 1,300-member work force in Council Bluffs and shift some production to company plants in Tennessee and Texas. Today's announcement came just two days after John Morrell & Co. announced that it would close its pork-processing plant in Sioux City, Iowa, in April, eliminating about 1,450 jobs. The second shift case-ready production at the Bluffs plant — which packages steaks, roasts, chops, ground beef and other items ready for the grocery meat case — likely will be ended March 22, Tyson said today. The announcement by company officials said the need to control costs and “the continued growth of case-ready beef and pork sales in the southern U.S.” led to the decision to shift work closer to that growth area. Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan called the announcement “a big loss to the local economy.” “The meat industry in this area is big for us,” Hanafan said. “This is a big loss, a big loss to the entire metro area.” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said the decision enables Tyson Foods to make more effective use of its existing case-ready production capacity. The facilities that will take on the work — in Goodlettsville, Tenn., and Sherman, Texas — are closer to the company's growing customer base, Tyson officials said. “Our overall case-ready business is operating successfully, and we must continue to control costs and improve efficiencies,” said Gary Sheneman, senior vice president of case-ready beef and pork for Tyson. “We believe shifting some production from Council Bluffs to our other plants is the right thing to do for our overall business, which continues to grow and diversify its customer base,” he said. “The unfortunate downside is the impact on some of our employees.” “We believe the Council Bluffs plant will remain an important part of our case-ready beef and pork business and continue to benefit the local economy,” Sheneman said. “In fact, if enough additional case-ready business develops in the Midwest, we'll consider reinstating the production we're suspending at Council Bluffs.” Tyson also has a cooked meats plant in the Bluffs and a bacon plant in Omaha, as well as facilities in Denison and Storm Lake in Iowa and in Madison and Dakota City in Nebraska. Tyson said the affected workers will be encouraged to apply for openings within the company and will be invited to a job fair that it plans to host. In addition, Tyson said it will work with Iowa officials to ensure that the employees are informed about unemployment benefits and potential retraining opportunities. Tyson Fresh Meats, formerly IBP, began a small, case-ready operation in Council Bluffs in 1999. Production at Council Bluffs grew, and in 2001 the company opened the case-ready plant in Goodlettsville. The Sherman plant opened in 2006. Tyson Foods Inc., founded in 1935 and based in Springdale, Ark., is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork. The company has about 117,000 workers at more than 400 facilities and offices worldwide. | |||
CARP NEWS |
Flying Carp Michigan congressman proposes protection against Asian Carp FOX 21 Online - - 1 hour ago This comes on the heels of reports this week that Asian Carp DNA has been found touching southern Lake Michigan. Republican Congressman Dave Camp's ... State lawmakers get carp update Chicago Tribune |
UFO NEWS |
| Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) UFO Database New Zealand Military UFO papers to be made public SECRET FILES: Stories in The Press from early January 1979 show that the air force had a Skyhawk readied to investigate UFO sightings following the mysterious lights which appeared over Kaikoura days before  New Zealand - January 23, 2010 - Hundreds of pages of secret files on New Zealand UFO sightings will be released by the military this year. The files include reports of UFO sightings from 1979 to 1984 and references to the Kaikoura sighting of December 1978. The files are held by Archives New Zealand and were to have been made public this month, but the Defence Force is removing personal information from them to comply with the Privacy Act. "At the moment we are working on making copies of these files, minus the personal information," a Defence Force spokeswoman said. "Once this work is completed, we are hoping to be able to release a copy of all the UFO files, including some ahead of their release time, within the year." Lights were seen in the sky over Kaikoura in December 1978 and were filmed by an Australian news crew. Aircraft tracked the lights, which were also seen on radar. A man who worked for the Transport Ministry's civil aviation division when the Kaikoura lights were seen said he would like to see the government files. The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was working at Christchurch International Airport at the time. He saw United States Air Force planes with unusual call signs touring the area and believes the full story about the lights has not been disclosed. "For the US Air Force to come all that way and spend three days here, there must have been something going on," he said. |
My News blog: The Cave
