FYI.
Part 1:
YouTube Added: Oct 19, 2013
Part 2:
YouTube Added: Nov 30, 2013
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
Trying to flee from Fukushima’s radiation plume, …
Flashback:
– Scientist: Leading edge of Fukushima plume is now showing up on West Coast
… but there’s no escape.
Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Long Marine Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Nov. 29, 2013: Pelicans, sea lions, whales, and dolphins have been in an unusual feeding frenzy, astounding all of us who have visited the coast in the past few weeks. From Natural Bridges to Capitola and beyond, and well as offshore, the food chain is in full bloom at a time when we don’t normally experience this concentration of feeding animals. […] The intense blooms of life in October and nearly into December are odd. […] Exactly why we are seeing these incredible numbers of anchovies isn’t completely clear. There are some ideas that surface, perhaps the warmer water in the bay is more conducive to anchovy egg and larval survival right now, and the fish know that. But we aren’t sure. […] Now if you were reading carefully, you would notice I changed subjects, diverted your interest, and never really answered the question of why there are all those anchovies out there. If I was absolutely certain I knew the answer, I would definitely share it with you.
Nancy Black, marine biologist with Monterey Bay Whale Watch, San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 11, 2013: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so people should see it […] This is just unheard of. It’s unbelievable. Nobody has seen this anywhere in California. This is a record year for this feeding aggregation of humpbacks and sea lions. There’s just miles and miles of fish out there.”
– US air carriers advised to comply with China air zone (USA Today/AP, Nov 30, 2013):
BEIJING (AP) — The United States advised U.S. carriers to comply with China’s demand that it be told of any flights passing through its new maritime air defense zone over the East China Sea, an area where Beijing said it launched two fighter planes to investigate a dozen American and Japanese reconnaissance and military flights.
It was the first time since proclaiming the zone on Nov. 23 that China said it sent planes there on the same day as foreign military flights, although it said it merely identified the foreign planes and took no further action.
Read moreUS Air Carriers Advised To Comply With China Air Zone
– For Nearly 2 Decades, The Launch Code At All US Minuteman Nuclear Missile Silos Was 00000000 (Business Insider, Nov 29, 2013):
Today I found out that during the height of the Cold War, the US military put such an emphasis on a rapid response to an attack on American soil, that to minimize any foreseeable delay in launching a nuclear missile, for nearly two decades they intentionally set the launch codes at every silo in the US to 8 zeroes.We guess the first thing we need to address is how this even came to be in the first place. Well, in 1962 JFK signed the National Security Action Memorandum 160, which was supposed to ensure that every nuclear weapon the US had be fitted with a Permissive Action Link (PAL), basically a small device that ensured that the missile could only be launched with the right code and with the right authority.
– The Other America: “Taxpayers Are The Fools… Working Is Stupid” (ZeroHedge, Nov 30, 2013):
While what little remains of America’s middle class is happy and eager to put in its 9-to-5 each-and-every day, an increasing number of Americans – those record 91.5 million who are no longer part of the labor force – are perfectly happy to benefit from the ever more generous hand outs of the welfare state. Prepare yourself before listening to this… calling on her self-admitted Obamaphone, Texas welfare recipient Lucy, 32, explains why “taxpayers are the fools”…
“…To all you workers out there preaching morality about those of us who live on welfare… can you really blame us? I get to sit around all day, visit my friends, smoke weed.. and we are still gonna get paid, on time every month…”
She intends to stay on welfare her entire life, if possible, just like her parents (and expects her kids to do the same). As we vociferously concluded previously, the tragedy of America’s welfare state is that work is punished.
As quantitied, and explained by Alexander, “the single mom is better off earnings gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045.“
We realize that this is a painful topic in a country in which the issue of welfare benefits, and cutting (or not) the spending side of the fiscal cliff, have become the two most sensitive social topics. Alas, none of that changes the matrix of incentives for most Americans who find themselves in a comparable situation: either being on the left side of minimum US wage, and relying on benefits, or move to the right side at far greater personal investment of work, and energy, and… have the same disposable income at the end of the day.
– Incredible Minutes from a 1974 Henry Kissinger Staff Meeting on Gold (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Nov 29, 2013):
The following excerpts are from a transcript of a 1974 meeting held by the then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his staff. This particular meeting was held on April 25, and focused on an European Commission Proposal to revalue their gold assets. What follows is an incredible insight into the minds of powerful American leaders scheming to maintain power and show other nations their place. What is most significant is how clearly they understood that demonetizing gold was a critical strategy to maintaining a dominant power position in the world.
So to those who continue to say that “gold doesn’t matter” because it hasn’t been used as an official asset in the monetary system for decades, I say give me a break. In fact, the reality of gold having been largely demonetized makes it an even greater threat going forward if the U.S. does not have all the gold it claims to, and other nations have more than they admit to.
Thanks to In Gold We Trust for bringing this to my attention.
Choice excerpts are provided below, and breaks in the conversation are denoted with an “…” Enjoy. (Full transcript here.)
Secondly, Mr. Secretary, it does present an opportunity though—and we should try to negotiate for this—to move towards a demonetization of gold, to begin to get gold moving out of the system.
Secretary Kissinger: But how do you do that?
Mr. Enders: Well, there are several ways. One way is we could say to them that they would accept this kind of arrangement, provided that the gold were channelled out through an international agency—either in the IMF or a special pool—and sold into the market, so there would be gradual increases.
Read moreIncredible Minutes From A 1974 Henry Kissinger Staff Meeting On Gold
– Marc Faber: “We Are In A Gigantic Speculative Bubble” (ZeroHedge, Nov 29, 2013):
“We have to be careful of these kind of exponentially rising markets,” chides Marc Faber, adding that he “sees no value in stocks.” Fearful of shorting, however, because “the bubble in all asset prices” can keep going due to the printing of money by world central banks, Faber explains to a blind Steve Liesman the difference between over-valuation and bubbles (as we noted here), warning that “future return expectations from stocks are now very low.”
Nope no bubble here…
Along with this pattern…
which has emerged with striking fidelity since 2010, we observe a variety of other features typically associated with dangerous extremes:
Read moreMarc Faber: ‘We Are In A Gigantic Speculative Bubble’ (Video)
– Black Friday: A Shameful Orgy Of Materialism For A Morally Bankrupt Nation (Economic Collapse, Nov 29, 2013):
It has been called “America’s most disturbing holiday”. Black Friday is the day when millions of average Americans wait outside retail stores in the middle of the night in the freezing cold to spend more money that they do not have for more cheap Chinese-made products that they do not need. It is a day when the rest of the world makes fun of Americans for behaving like “rabid animals” and “zombies” as we indulge in a tsunami of greed. It truly is a shameful orgy of materialism for a morally bankrupt nation. It is being projected that approximately 140 million Americans will participate in this disgusting national ritual this year. Sadly, most of them have absolutely no idea that they are actively participating in the destruction of the economic infrastructure of the United States. If you don’t understand why this is true, please be sure to read this entire article all the way to the end.
Read moreBlack Friday: A Shameful Orgy Of Materialism For A Morally Bankrupt Nation
– Inflation, Shortages, and Social Democracy in Venezuela (Ludwig von Mises Institute, Nov 29, 2013):
The economic turmoil in Venezuela has received increasing international media attention over the past few months. In September, the toilet paper shortage (which followed food shortages and electricity blackouts) resulted in the “temporary occupation” of the Paper Manufacturing Company, as armed troops were sent to ensure the “fair distribution” of available stocks. Similar action occurred a few days ago against electronics stores: President Nicolás Maduro accused electronics vendors of price-gouging, and jailed them with the warning that “this is just the start of what I’m going to do to protect the Venezuelan people.”
Earlier this month, in another attempt to ensure “happiness for all people,” Maduro began to hand out Christmas bonuses, in preparation for the coming elections in December. But political campaigning is not the only reason for the government’s open-handedness. The annual inflation rate in Venezuela has been rapidly rising in recent months, and has now reached a staggering 54 percent (not accounting for possible under-estimations). Although not yet officially in hyperinflation, monetary expansion is pushing Venezuela toward the brink.
In such an environment, paychecks need to be distributed quickly, before prices have time to rise; hence, early bonuses. This kind of policy is nothing new in economic history: Venezuela’s hyperinflationary episode is unfolding in much the same way Germany’s did nearly a century ago.
– WaPo’s Modest Proposal: Dictator Obama (ZeroHedge, Nov 29, 2013):
“It’s time to put that power back where it belongs,” explains Jonathan Zimmerman in today’s Washington Post, “Barack Obama should be allowed to stand for re election just as citizens should be allowed to vote for — or against — him. Anything less diminishes our leaders and ourselves.” The 22nd Amendment, limiting the Presidential term, according to Zimmerman, reflected “a shocking lack of faith in the common sense and good judgment of the people.” Of course, in the increasingly ‘entitled’ America, it would only cost a few hundred million to bribe all the newly downgraded Middle-to-Lower class Americans with Obamaphones in order to finally get a “dictatorial democracy” by indirectly funding the lower common denominator with $400 in free money every election cycle.
End Presidential Term Limits (Jonathan Zimmerman),
I’ve been thinking about Kilgore’s comments as I watch President Obama, whose approval rating has dipped to 37?percent in CBS News polling — the lowest ever for him — during the troubled rollout of his health-care reform. Many of Obama’s fellow Democrats have distanced themselves from the reform and from the president. Even former president Bill Clinton has said that Americans should be allowed to keep the health insurance they have.
– When They Say The Global Economy Is Growing They Really Mean This… (ZeroHedge, Nov 29, 2013):
Forget “A Tale Of Two Cities,” the entire world is “A Fiction Of Two ‘Economies'”…
Related info:
Police grab a man in the visitor’s gallery as he shouts protests against the special secrets bill at the House of Representatives special committee on national security, at the Diet building in Tokyo on Nov. 26. (Mainichi)
Mainichi, Nov. 27, 2013: The ruling coalition’s ramming of a controversial special state secrets bill […] through the House of Representatives on Nov. 26 has stunned the public. […] it could discourage citizens as well as journalists from seeking access to such information for fear of harsh punishment, blocking government information from circulating in society […]
Japan-based Investigative Journalist Jake Adelstein, Nov. 29, 2013: […] even politicians inside the ruling bloc are saying, “It can’t be denied that another purpose is to muzzle the press, shut up whistleblowers, and ensure that the nuclear disaster at Fukushima ceases to be an embarrassment before the Olympics.” […] And most tellingly, Masako Mori, the Minister of Justice, has declared that nuclear related information will most likely be a designated secret. For the Abe administration this would be fantastic way to deal with the issue of tons of radiated water leaking […] There seems to be no end to stopping the toxic waste leaks there but the new legislation would allow the administration to plug the information leaks permanently. As [it] continues to pour into the ocean and our food supply, it is an ominous sign that the Japanese government refuses to disclose information about the levels of pollution […]
Mainichi, Nov. 27, 2013: Under the bill, ordinary citizens who aid and abet or conspire with others in leaking information classified as special state secrets could face up to five years in prison even if the information were not actually revealed. If citizens were indicted for obtaining special secrets under the legislation, they could be convicted without the content of the information being clarified.
Even before the Fukushima disaster seafood was heavily contaminated and in my opinion unfit for human consumption.
– ENSSER Comments on the Retraction of the Séralini et al. 2012 Study (European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, Nov 29, 2013):
ENSSER Comments on the Retraction of the Séralini et al. 2012 Study
Journal’s retraction of rat feeding paper is a
travesty of science and looks like a bow to industry
Elsevier’s journal Food and Chemical Toxicology has retracted the paper by Prof. Gilles-Eric Séralini’s group which found severe toxic effects (including liver congestions and necrosis and kidney nephropathies), increased tumor rates and higher mortality in rats fed Monsanto’s genetically modified NK603 maize and/or the associated herbicide Roundup[1]. The arguments of the journal’s editor for the retraction, however, violate not only the criteria for retraction to which the journal itself subscribes, but any standards of good science. Worse, the names of the reviewers who came to the conclusion that the paper should be retracted, have not been published. Since the retraction is a wish of many people with links to the GM industry, the suspicion arises that it is a bow of science to industry. ENSSER points out, therefore, that this retraction is a severe blow to the credibility and independence of science, indeed a travesty of science.
Inconclusive results claimed as reason for withdrawal
Read moreENSSER Comments On The Retraction Of The Séralini Et Al. 2012 Study
– Chernobyl’s arch: Sealing off a radioactive sarcophagus (BBC News, Nov 27, 2013)
– Quarter of UK adults in food poverty (PressTV, Nov 28, 2013):
More than a quarter of adults in Britain have experienced food poverty during the last 12 months, a new survey shows.
According to the poll, conducted by food bank charity the Trussell Trust, store giant Tesco and food redistribution charity FareShare, some 27 percent of British adults said they found it harder to feed their family than a year ago.
The survey, released on Thursday, also found that 40 percent of households in the UK believe their ability to put food on the table worsened over the last year.
Meanwhile, some 37 percent of British families admitted choosing between heating and eating this winter.
About 30 percent of households also said they have either skipped meals, gone without or relied on friends or family for food.
Read moreFood Poverty: 37% Of British Families Choosing Between Heating And Eating This Winter
– And So It Begins: New York Sending Out Gun Confiscation Notices (The Truth Abouth Guns, Nov 27, 2013):
New York’s SAFE Act is a bad, bad thing. It requires people to register, sell or transfer (out of state) “assault rifles” and “high capacity” magazines. Many Empire State gun and standard capacity ammunition magazine owners have complied. Many have not. So, at some point, the State’s gonna go get ‘em. People on both sides of the law enforcement divide will die and the s will hit the fan. Meanwhile, there it is: the reason why expanded background checks, indeed all background checks and any type of registration, set the stage for confiscation. And tyranny. [ED: This notice was sent for New York City residents, based on New York City laws, not necessarily SAFE Act provisions.]
ENENews, Nov 29, 2013:
– Fox News: Radioactive wave from Fukushima nears US… Is it safe? Expert: Risk of cancers or genetic effects ‘not zero’ for people on West Coast; Ongoing leaks increase the odds
ENENews, Nov 28, 2013:
ENENews, Nov 27, 2013:
– Netherlands loses ‘AAA’ credit rating at S&P (MarketWatch, Nov 29, 2013):
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Standard & Poor’s on Friday downgraded its long-term sovereign credit rating on the Netherlands to AA+ from AAA, citing growth concerns. S&P said the country’s growth prospects are weaker than it had previously anticipated. “We do not anticipate that real economic output will surpass 2008 levels before 2017, and believe that the strong contribution of net exports to growth has not been enough to offset a weak domestic economy,” S&P said in a statement. The outlook is stable, reflecting the agency’s view “that risks stemming from low growth and the related fiscal outturn are balanced against strong export performance, a net creditor position, and high GDP per capita.”
Veterans Today’s Gordon Duff calls her a lunatic and rightfully so.
– US congresswoman says Iran’s nuclear facilities ‘must be bombed’ (PressTV, Nov 29, 2013)
Flashback:
– Family that fled to Central America to stop Amish girl, 10, from getting chemotherapy claim her cancer is GONE thanks to natural remedies (Daly Mail, Nov 29, 2013):
An Ohio Amish girl diagnosed with leukemia who had fled the U.S. with her family to avoid chemotherapy has been cured after being treated with natural remedies in Central America, according to her grandfather. Doctors fought the family’s decision to end chemotherapy, saying Sarah Hershberger would die without it within six months.
Issac Keim told the Akron Beacon Journal that his granddaughter Sarah recently celebrated her 11th birthday and seems vibrant and healthy.
According to Mr Keim, blood and imaging tests indicated that Sarah’s cancer is gone.
November 27, 2013 BBC News<
– Japan Dispatches F-15s, E-767s And P-3 Into China’s Air Defense Zone, China Scrambles Su-30 In Response (ZeroHedge, Nov 29, 2013):
China’s escalation and re-escalation described in detail yesterday, has just been met with a corresponding re-re-escalation by Japan.
- China’s Ministry of Defense reports that the nation identified Japanese military planes that entered into Chinese air defense identification zone today.
- 7 batches of 10 Japanese planes consisting of E-767, P-3 and F-15 entered into the zone
- China has also identified 2 batches of 2 U.S. surveillance planes consisting of P-3 and EP-3, without specifying whether the planes entered into the zone
- China scrambled Su-30, J-11 and other aircraft in response.
And now it’s China’s turn to, once again, respond. And then Japan and the US again, and so on, until someone gets hurt.
– China Declares “Willing To Engage In A Protracted Confrontation” With Japan As “Prime Target” (ZeroHedge, Nov 28, 2013):
Following the to-ing and fro-ing of the last 2 days with US and Japan “testing” China’s new Air Defense Zone (ADIZ), China has not only escalated (as we noted earlier) but as the day begins in Asia is stepping up the rhetoric significantly. Official media said that Japan is the “prime target” and it is an “urgent task for China to further train its air force to make full preparation for potential conflicts.” Japanese lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing for a bill “demanding an immediate withdrawal of China’s ADIZ.” While the Western world goes on its merry way buying S&P futures, China’s concluding message rings its most defint so far, “We are willing to engage in a protracted confrontation with Japan. Our ultimate goal is to beat its willpower and ambition to instigate strategic confrontation against China.”
Imagine what these people will do in a total economic collapse situation when there will be no food available.
– Mobs, Stampedes, Fights, Brawls, A Stabbing And Shooting: A Video Compilation Of Black Thursday 2013 (ZeroHedge, Nov 29, 2013):
That greatest of all American traditions – the Black
FridayThursday stampede, this year accompanied with a stabbing and a shooting, is back. A quick review of all readers may have missed by not lining up in droves outside of stores that were selling products at just above cost instead of the usual massive pre-Thanksgiving markup, via the Mail:
- The rush for Black Friday bargains has resulted in outbreaks of violence as shoppers clash over reduced price goods
- Police in Virginia have reporting a stabbing incident after two men got into a fight in the car park over a space
- Shoppers cutting in line sparked a Black Friday Brawl at another Walmart
- Some retailers opened their doors as early as 6am on Thanksgiving Day
Some details before we get into the documentary evidence:
A man has been stabbed in Virginia, a shoplifter has been shot by cops in Chicago and brawls have broken out across the nation as shoppers clash in a scramble for the best Black Friday bargains.