The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Time To Celebrate The Recovery: Food Stamp Usage Hits Fresh Record (ZeroHedge, May 31, 2011):
That average monthly benefit of $133.24 for 44.199 million people will help with the purchase of one third of a very edible iPad. Food stamp participation chart presented without further commentary.
– Falling Home Prices Hit Big Banks, Fannie, Freddie (CNBC, 31 May 2011):
Home prices began double-dipping months ago, but now that S&P/Case Shiller has chimed in, it really must be so.
This report is the most widely-followed home price index, equally quoted in bank boardrooms, Treasury Department back rooms, and Congressional Committees.
The report finds home prices in Q1 of this year are now 2.9 percent below the previous quarterly bottom in Q1 of 2009, effectively giving up all the gains of the past few years, which were of course fueled by the home buyer tax credit.
“Just about everybody agrees we’re going to miss the seasonally strong period in 2011, which we should be at the very beginning of right now with May, but nobody thinks that will make any difference,” says S&P’s David Blitzer. “Everybody’s now keeping their fingers crossed for 2012 and wondering whether people just don’t want to own homes anymore.”
Keeping your fingers crossed for the housing market is just the tip of the iceberg. Prices have now fallen, on this index, more than they did during the Great Depression. “On that occasion, the peak in prices was not regained until 19 years after they first fell,” notes Paul Dales at Capital Economics.
Read moreUS House Prices Have Now Fallen More Than They Did During The Great Depression
See also:
– Matt Taibbi: The People vs. Goldman Sachs (Rolling Stone)
– Matt Taibbi: Why is the Federal Reserve Bailing Out Gaddafi?
– Goldman Traded $1.3 Billion In Libyan Funds – Report (Reuters, May 31, 2011):
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs invested more than $1.3 billion (786.1 million pounds) from Libya’s sovereign-wealth fund in currency bets and other trades in 2008 and the investment lost more than 98 percent of its value, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing internal Goldman documents.
When the fund, controlled by Col. Muammar Gaddafi, made huge losses Goldman offered Libya the chance to become one of its biggest shareholders, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Read moreGoldman Sachs Traded $1.3 Billion In Libyan Funds (Reuters)
– Damn! Aussies to be fined for swearing (AFP, May 31, 2011):
Australians may have a love of plain speaking but new laws are set to curtail some of their more colourful language with police issuing on-the-spot fines for obnoxious swearing.
The country’s second most populous state Victoria is due to approve new legislation this week under which police will be able to slap fines of up to Aus$240 (US$257) on people using offensive words or phrases.
See also:
– US: House Passes Authority for Worldwide War (ACLU)
– Rep. Ron Paul: ‘The Fate Of The American Republic Is Now Sealed’
– Pentagon: All options on table in cyber-attack (AFP, May 31, 2011):
The Pentagon said Tuesday that it would consider all options if the United States were hit by a cyber-attack as it develops the first military guidelines for the age of Internet warfare.
President Barack Obama’s administration has been formalizing rules on cyberspace amid growing concern about the reach of hackers. Major defense contractor Lockheed Martin said it repelled a major cyber-assault a week ago.
The White House on May 16 unveiled an international strategy on cyber-security which said the United States “will respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country.”
“We reserve the right to use all necessary means — diplomatic, informational, military, and economic — as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law, in order to defend our nation, our allies, our partners and our interests,” the strategy said.
Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said Tuesday that the White House policy did not rule out a military response to a cyber-attack.
“A response to a cyber incident or attack on the US would not necessarily be a cyber response,” Lapan told reporters. “All appropriate options would be on the table if we were attacked, be it cyber.”
Lapan said that the Pentagon was drawing up an accompanying cyber defense strategy which would be ready in two to three weeks.
The Wall Street Journal, citing three officials who said they had seen the document, reported Tuesday that the strategy would classify major cyber-attacks as acts of war, paving the way for possible military retaliation.
Leuren Moret, PhD
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:52:00 — 78.7MB) | Embed
The basis of this conversation is the horrendous events at Fukushima and the ever present dangers of nuclear energy. The positive note behind it all is that when we bond together, we can turn these disasters into opportunities and rise above the pathetic materialistic worldview, and grow into the wonderful spiritual beings that we really are. ..
May 29, 2011
Source: Argusoogradio
See also:
– Fukushima workers exposed to high radiation (ABC News, May 30, 2011)
– High radioactivity found in Japan nuclear workers (AFP, May 30th, 2011):
TOKYO — Two workers from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been contaminated by high levels of radioactive iodine, the operator said Monday, prompting fears over their long-term health.
The workers, reportedly men in their 30s and 40s, may have already been exposed to radiation levels higher than the recently boosted official annual limit, Japanese media suggested.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said it had been measuring the internal exposure to radiation of all employees involved in emergency work at the Fukushima Daiichi plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Internal exposure occurs when people take radioactive substances into their bodies through tainted air or food and drink.
Read moreHigh Levels Of Radioactive Iodine Found In Fukushima Nuclear Workers
– An Inversely-Correlated Take On Corporate Profits And Dollar Destruction (ZeroHedge, May 31, 2011):
One of the more interesting correlations (not causations) to have emerged following the surge in corporate profit margins is that of the inverse relationship between now record corporate profit margins, and net exports & services originating from the US. While we certainly will not imply one is a cause of the other or vice versa, we would be remiss to not point out the irony of what would happen should this correlation preserve itself in an environment in which US exports end up being curbed due to a surge in the US dollar once the frailty of the Eurozone no longer allows the EUR to appreciate on desperate one-time (if recurring) rescue measures. And with China largely ignoring US demands to revalue its currency and import more US goods and services (no laughing), is it safe to say that this chart is the one most direct confirmation that the weak dollar policy adopted by the Fed has had it most proximal impact nowhere else than on surging corporate profit levels (and Wall Street bonuses of course).
– Japanese nuclear plant hit by explosion and oil spill (Guardian, 31 May, 2011):
An oil spill and a small explosion have caused limited damage, but no further radiation leaks, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in north-east Japan, the plant operator has said.
Workers at the crippled plant found an oil spill on Tuesday in the sea near reactors 5 and 6, which were shutdown when the earthquake and tsunami struck on 11 March, the Tokyo Electric Power Company said. The spill was contained by an oil fence, a Tepco spokesman, Taichi Okazaki, said.
An explosion workers heard at reactor 4 on Tuesday was likely to have come from a gas tank and did not cause any additional radiation leaks, Okazaki added. The cause was being investigated.
Read moreFukushima Nuclear Plant Hit By Explosion And Oil Spill
The original title was ‘Kamikaze Pensioners?’.
– Japan pensioners volunteer to tackle nuclear crisis (BBC NEWS, 31 May, 2011):
A group of more than 200 Japanese pensioners are volunteering to tackle the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power station.
The Skilled Veterans Corps, as they call themselves, is made up of retired engineers and other professionals, all over the age of 60.
– Poll: Most Japanese distrust gov’t on nuke crisis (AP, May 29, 2011):
TOKYO — A new poll showed Monday that more than 80 percent of Japanese voters do not trust government information about the country’s nuclear crisis.
The poll conducted by Fuji Television Network also found that nearly 85 percent of respondents said the utility that operates the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is dealing with the crisis poorly.
See also:
– Fukushima Now Equal To 50 Plus Chernobyls & 3,000 Billion Lethal Doses Of Radiation
– Fukushima Risks Chernobyl ‘Dead Zone’ (Bloomberg, May 30, 2011):
Radioactive soil in pockets of areas near Japan’s crippled nuclear plant have reached the same level as Chernobyl, where a “dead zone” remains 25 years after the reactor in the former Soviet Union exploded.
Soil samples in areas outside the 20-kilometer (12 miles) exclusion zone around the Fukushima plant measured more than 1.48 million becquerels a square meter, the standard used for evacuating residents after the Chernobyl accident, Tomio Kawata, a fellow at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, said in a research report published May 24 and given to the government.
– Milk cows moved outside Fukushima evacuation zone (NHK, May 30, 2011):
Dairy farmers have begun moving cows out of a village in the evacuation zone for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
The move came after radiation levels in raw milk from Iitate Village and part of Kawamata Town cleared the government’s safety standards. A ban on the shipment of raw milk was lifted last Wednesday on the condition that these cows are kept outside the evacuation zone.
Read moreMilk Cows Moved Out Of Fukushima Evacuation Zone (NHK)
Added: 29.05.2011
As of 110am CST a possible tornado listed on titan storm tracking via intellicast.com. heading towards New York City , NY .
See also:
Read moreSevere Storms And Possible Tornado Heading Towards NEW YORK CITY (05/30/2011)
Added: 29.05.2011
Expect severe weather up to and including tornadoes in the following areas due to HAARP Ring activity over each named town:
Goodland Kansas
Omaha Nebraksa
Des Moines Iowa
Springfield Illinois
North Indiana along the Michigan Border as far west as Chicago as far east as Lorain Ohio / Cleveland Ohio.
Also watch Grand Rapids , Grayling, Mio, Michigan— although the state of Michigan may just be the accellerator moving the storms along their track…. we shall see about michigan getting severe.. i don’t quite know yet on this… since it seems the whole state is covered by two of the rings…
The rest of the named areas can also be seen by pausing this video and making note of the area, and then compare 2 days later to see what was hit.
See also:
Read moreHAARP Ring Outbreak Goodland, KS – Iowa – Chicago – Cleveland – Michigan (05/30/2011)
See also:
– Fukushima: 225 Sieverts Per Hour At Reactor No. 1 – Radiation Levels Are Now Off The Chart!!!
Watch the video here.
– High radioactivity level at No. 2 reactor (NHK, May 30, 2011):
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the radioactivity level and humidity are high in the Number 2 reactor building, which will make internal operations hard.
Workers entered the building last week to measure humidity and to gauge levels of radioactive substances in the atmosphere.
The results show the Number 2 reactor building’s radioactive cesium level is twice as high as the cesium level in air not purified in the Number 1 reactor building. Steam is filling the Number 2 building, and humidity has reached 99.9 percent.
The high humidity means an air purification unit cannot be used to lower the level of radioactivity.
For your information…
Adolf Hitler gives a Nazi salute with his deputy Rudolf Hess by his side
– Hitler ‘gave go-ahead to Rudolf Hess mission to secure peace with Winston Churchill’ (Daily Mail, 29th May, 2011):
Rudolf Hess’s flight to Britain during World War Two in a bizarre attempt to secure peace was backed by Adolf Hitler, fresh documents claim.
History has long recorded that the Nazi number three was acting alone when he piloted a Messerschmitt to Scotland in May 1941.
Added: 27.05.2011
Don’t miss:
– Rep. Ron Paul: ‘The Fate Of The American Republic Is Now Sealed’ (May 25, 2011)
– US: House Passes Authority for Worldwide War (ACLU) (May 26th, 2011)
– Fears over fluoride plans (Daily Mail, 30 May 2011):
Ministers have triggered a major health row by unveiling plans to allow fluoride to be added to all drinking water in England and Wales.
Water companies will be forced to add fluoride if local health authorities order it, despite controversy over the long-term effects on health, the Government confirmed.
Read moreMinisters Unveil Plans To Fluoridate All Drinking Water In England And Wales
Radiation levels are now off the chart!!!
– ???? 1?? / ?????????? ???????? (atmc, May 29, 2011):
Google translation:
Unit 1 nuclear power plant Fukushima / dose of a nuclear reactor nuclear reactor state Hukushima
Location: Unit 1 nuclear power plant Hukushima
Date: Sun Mar 15, 2011 (Tuesday) to May 29, 2011 (Sun)
Current values: D / W: 225Sv / h, S / C: 0.944Sv / h
|
Plant parameters are published by NISA (reactor state) to graph the amount of nuclear radiation.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reactor 1 can be checked on a daily basis – such as water temperature, pressure dose of 5 items.
As soon as the data is published and updated as the chart.
No. 4 was stopped for inspection in the absence of a nuclear reactor fuel assemblies, are excluded from the list.
Meaning of the terms in the graph below.
D / W … stands dry well. The main thing containment. S / C … Sapuresshonchenba stands. I pressure suppression chamber.
? The value of the graph shows the maximum absolute value of the day.
– Comin’ this summer… $5 gas (New York Post, May 29, 2011):
The forecast for the summer driving season: Hit the road early. Not to beat the traffic, but to beat the higher gas prices expected in mid-July.
Goldman Sachs’ crystal ball is proclaiming that oil will soon soar to $135 a barrel, and likely have service stations jacking up fuel prices to $5 a gallon in New York just like the summer of 2008 that preceded the recession.
Indeed, analysts say Goldman and the other oil trading giant that also has the might to move prices, JPMorgan Chase, have already placed their energy bets for the summer. JPMorgan predicts oil hitting $130 a barrel in the coming weeks.
Must-see:
– Rep. Ron Paul: ‘The Fate Of The American Republic Is Now Sealed’
– House Passes Authority for Worldwide War (ACLU, May 26th, 2011):
The House just passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a provision to authorize worldwide war, which has no expiration date and will allow this president — and any future president — to go to war anywhere in the world, at any time, without further congressional authorization. The new authorization wouldn’t even require the president to show any threat to the national security of the United States. The American military could become the world’s cop, and could be sent into harm’s way almost anywhere and everywhere around the globe.
Read moreUS: House Passes Authority for Worldwide War (ACLU)
