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Japan’s Deadly Radioactive Black Dust – Fairewinds Interview With Scientist Marco Kaltofen (Video & Transcript)

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– Japan’s Black Dust, with Marco Kaltofen (Fairewinds, July 10, 2013):

About This Podcast

This week Fairewinds Energy Education interviewed Marco Kaltofen, a leading scientist who studies radiation as well as specific radioactive isotopes. Marco and Arnie discuss a recent sample that contained highly concentrated radioactive material from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. As the sound quality of this recording varies, we have transcribed the podcast so you can read along.

Read Marco’s Report: Radiological Analysis of Namie Street Dust

Podcast Transcript

English

NWJ:   Welcome to Fairewinds Energy Education Podcast for Wednesday, June 26th. Joining me today is Marco Kaltofen, the President of Boston Chemical Data Corp and doctoral student researcher at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as well as Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer for Fairewinds.

MK:    Thanks for having me.

Read moreJapan’s Deadly Radioactive Black Dust – Fairewinds Interview With Scientist Marco Kaltofen (Video & Transcript)

US Banks As Broken As Ever: JPM Excess Deposits Rise To New Record; Loans At Pre-Lehman Levels

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– US Banks As Broken As Ever: JPM Excess Deposits Rise To New Record; Loans At Pre-Lehman Levels (ZeroHedge, July 12, 2013):

The final item of note from today’s JPM release is perhaps also the most important one, and once again serves as evidence of all that is broken with the US financial system. To wit: deposits held by JPM rose modestly to a new all time high of $1,202,950 million, or $1.2 trillion. This compares to $970 billion in Q3 2008 at the time Lehman failed. What about the flip side of this key bank liability: loans. As of June 30, 2013, total JPM loans declined from $729 billion to $726 billion, the lowest since September 2012. But more disturbing, this number is $35 billion less than the $761 billion at September 2008. It means that JPM’s excess deposits have now risen to a new all time high of $477 billion, up from $474 billion last quarter.

Why is this a problem? Two reasons.

Read moreUS Banks As Broken As Ever: JPM Excess Deposits Rise To New Record; Loans At Pre-Lehman Levels

Insanity Just Hit New Record Highs: Spanish Banks Petition To Convert Historical Losses Into Bank Capital

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– Spanish Banks Petition To Convert Historical Losses Into Bank Capital (ZeroHedge, July 12, 2013):

In what has to be the most insane level of desperation, the Spanish banking system is lobbying to turn its deferred tax ‘assets’ into fungible capital to meet new stricter Basel III requirements. In other words, the Spanish banks believe that capitalizing historical losses provides a fungible ‘stash’ of capital against future losses… Following this morning’s round of incredulity from the Spaniards, we have no words…

Via Reuters,

Spanish banks are lobbying the government to turn more than two thirds of their 50 billion euros ($65 billion) in deferred tax assets into state-backed tax credits that would boost their capital but add to the state’s debt, three banking sources said.

The so-called deferred tax assets (DTAs) are created when a bank makes losses or writedowns that it can offset against future tax bills when it returns to profit.

Under stricter Basel III rules on capital, being phased in as of January 2014, most forms of DTAs will no longer be allowed to count towards capital, while tax credits will be.

Spanish banks are asking the government to convert between 15 billion and 30 billion euros of their DTAs into tax credits, the banking sources said.

Fed’s Charles Plosser Admits Fed Was Responsible For Last Housing Bubble, Doesn’t Want To ‘Create Another’

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– Fed’s Plosser Admits Fed Was Responsible For Last Housing Bubble, Doesn’t Want To “Create Another” (ZeroHedge, July 12, 2013):

The “mutinying” half of the Fed – that which the FOMC minutes indicated wanted an end to QE by the end of 2013 – is not going to take Bernanke’s Wednesday steamrolling lying down. Enter Charles Plosser, who becomes a voting member next year:

  • PLOSSER SAYS FED SHOULD HALT QE BY END OF THIS YEAR

Good luck there. But here is the punchline:

Read moreFed’s Charles Plosser Admits Fed Was Responsible For Last Housing Bubble, Doesn’t Want To ‘Create Another’

JPMorgan Slashes U.S. Q2 GDP Forecast By Half To 1%

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– JPMorgan Slashes Q2 GDP By Half To 1% (ZeroHedge, July 12, 2013):

Following closely on the heels of Barclays significant downgrade, JPMorgan has cut its forecast for second-quarter GDP by 50% to a mere 1% growth (from their previous 2% expectation). Citing downside surprises to inventories, they note that “Fed officials won’t be thrilled about easing back on stimulus in September in the face of back-to-back one-handles on GDP growth.” Have no fear tyhough, as the rest of the year prmises to hockey-stick right back up to 2.5% (and 2.7% in 2014).

Via JPMorgan,

We are revising down our estimate for Q2 real annualized GDP growth from 2.0% to 1.0%, and revising up our projection for Q3 growth from 2.0% to 2.5%. We came into this week tracking a little light on our second quarter estimate, and the large downside surprise to May wholesale inventories moved that estimate much lower. Inventory accumulation was running light in Q1, and we had expected a significant contribution to Q2 growth from a rebuilding of stockpiles.

Read moreJPMorgan Slashes U.S. Q2 GDP Forecast By Half To 1%

Janet Napolitano Quits … Will Be Next University Of California President

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– UNiVeRSiTY oF GuLaGFoRNiA…

– Janet Napolitano Quits: Will Be Next University Of California President (ZeroHedge, July 12, 2013):

While everyone is focused on whether Mr. Burns, aka Larry Summers  will take over for Ben Bernanke (he won’t), lots of peripheral resignations are flying around. the most recent one: that of the U.S. secretary of the $60-billion budget and 240,000 employees Department of Homeland Security – Janet Napolitano, who will be named the next president of the University of California system. As the LA Times reports, “nothing was pushing her out of Washington now, although the Senate’s recently approved compromise plan on immigration faces an uncertain fate in the Republican-controlled House.” The good news: we await for UCLA to be promptly upgraded to AAA and issue bonds inside of the US.

From LATimes:

Janet Napolitano, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security and former governor of Arizona, is being named as the next president of the University of California system, in an unusual choice that brings a national-level politician to a position usually held by an academic. Her appointment also means the 10-campus system will be headed by a woman for the first time in its 145-year history.

Read moreJanet Napolitano Quits … Will Be Next University Of California President

Pepsi Still Contains High-Levels Of Cancer-Causing Ingredient

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– Pepsi still contains cancer-causing ingredient (Natural News, July 10, 2013):

Last March, a third party watchdog group, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found dangerous levels of a carcinogen in the caramel coloring of Coke and Pepsi products.

The carcinogen, 4-methylimidazole, is a byproduct created during the production of caramel coloring. As the caramel coloring goes under high pressures and temperatures, sugars react with ammonia and sulfites, forming the 4-MEI byproduct.

When animal studies showed “clear evidence” that 4-MEI was a toxic carcinogen, including thyroid, liver, and lung cancer incidents, the National Toxicology Program threw up red flags.

It was in 2011 that the state of California responded to the lab results, effectively banning the carcinogen from their state. Since then, all cola products in the state of California have been required to be properly marked with a cancer causing warning label, according to Prop 65 consumer protection laws.

Over a year later, Pepsi still contains high levels of 4-MEI

Read morePepsi Still Contains High-Levels Of Cancer-Causing Ingredient

Is GMO Rewiring Our DNA?

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– Is GMO Rewiring our DNA? (World Truth, July 8, 2013):

New studies in cell research are bringing up some alarming new questions concerning GMOs, and one of them in particular makes liver failure or cancer seem like child’s play compared to the garish possibilities that arise when we start to look at how genetically modified foods likely affect our DNA.

Let’s get one thing straight, first. All kinds of things can alter our DNA, for the better or worse. Bruce Lipton, a pioneering biology scientist, proved that emotions can change our DNA; research has shown that even exercise or chemotherapy can alter our DNA; ancient cultures have known that sound can affect our DNA; and the newest research states that we aren’t relegated to a specific destiny because of our genes, but it seems our brains are being rewired via DNA to become ‘new humans.’

Read moreIs GMO Rewiring Our DNA?

Daily Habit Of Outrageously Successful People

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Transcendental Meditation is a scam:

– David Sieveking’s Documentary ‘David Wants To Fly’ Exposes Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation As What It Really Is: A Billion Dollar Business & A Total Scam

– The Daily Habit Of These Outrageously Successful People (Huffington Post, Updated: 07/10/2013)

Russian Inquiry To UN: Rebels, Not Army, Behind Syria Sarin Attack

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– Russian inquiry to UN: Rebels, not Army, behind Syria Aleppo sarin attack (RT, July 9, 2013):

Samples taken at the Syrian town where chemical weapons were allegedly used indicate that it was rebels – not the Syrian army – behind the attack, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin has said.

Russia has handed over the analyzed samples to the UN, he added.

“I have just passed the analysis of samples taken at the site of the chemical attack to the UN Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon),” Churkin said on Tuesday.

Evidence studied by Russian scientists indicates that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, Churkin pointed out.

“It was determined that on March 19 the rebels fired an unguided missile Bashair-3 at the town of Khan al-Assal, which has been under government control. The results of the analysis clearly show that the shell used in Khan al-Assal was not factory made and that it contained sarin,” he said.

Churkin added that the contents of the shell “didn’t contain chemical stabilizers in the toxic substance,” and therefore “is not a standard chemical charge.” The RDX – an explosive nitroamine commonly used for industrial and military a

Read moreRussian Inquiry To UN: Rebels, Not Army, Behind Syria Sarin Attack

How Edward Snowden Helped Kill CISPA (For Now)

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– How Edward Snowden Helped Kill CISPA (for now) (Liberty blitzkrieg, July 9, 2013):

If you forgot about CISPA, it’s the latest version of the internet spying bill that Congress has been trying to pass for years. So not only did Edward Snowden alert the American public and the world of the extraordinarily unconstitutional and immoral activities of the NSA and U.S. government, his information also stopped CISPA dead in its tracks…at least for now.  It seems the plan is to reintroduce the bill in the fall, by which time the powers that be assume the S&P 500 will be up another 200 points and the public won’t even remember what the NSA is.

From The Verge:

US lawmakers have been trying for the past two years to pass new bills that would set up information sharing programs between tech companies and the government. But those bills, including the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), look like they will be spending even more time in legislative limbo. Bloomberg news reports today that House and Senate lawmakers are holding back on introducing their own versions of CISPA or similar cyber information sharing legislation till at least this fall, due primarily to the public outcry following the revelations of the NSA’s secret internet spying program PRISM and its surveillance of millions of personal phone records.

Read moreHow Edward Snowden Helped Kill CISPA (For Now)

Canada: Bees Dying By The Millions

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One of many dead hives at Schuit’s Saugeen Honey, in Elmwood.

– Bees Dying by the Millions (The Post, June 19, 2013):

ThePost (Hanover, Ontario)
By Jon Radojkovic

ELMWOOD – Local beekeepers are finding millions of their bees dead just after corn was planted here in the last few weeks. Dave Schuit, who has a honey operation in Elmwood, lost 600 hives, a total of 37 million bees.

“Once the corn started to get planted our bees died by the millions,” Schuit said. He and many others, including the European Union, are pointing the finger at a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids, manufactured by Bayer CropScience Inc. used in planting corn and some other crops. The European Union just recently voted to ban these insecticides for two years, beginning December 1, 2013, to be able to study how it relates to the large bee kill they are experiencing there also.

Local grower Nathan Carey from the Neustadt, and National Farmers Union Local 344 member, says he noticed this spring the lack of bees and bumblebees on his farm. He believes that there is a strong connection between the insecticide use and the death of pollinators.

Read moreCanada: Bees Dying By The Millions

The Mother Of All Bubbles Pops, Mess Ensues

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.- Mother Of All Bubbles Pops, Mess Ensues (Testosterone Pit, July 9, 2013):

The asset bubbles the Fed’s money-printing and bond-buying binge has created are spectacular, the risk-taking on Wall Street with other people’s money a sight to behold. Among the big winners were mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts – and those who got fat on extracting fees. But now the pendulum is swinging back, and the bloodletting has started.

Mortgage REITs are highly leveraged. They borrow short-term in the repo market at near-zero interest rates, thanks to the Fed, then turn around and buy long-term government-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities issued by bailed-out Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. Along the way, they issue more stock and borrow even more. By distributing 90% of their profits, they avoid having to pay income taxes. Hence double-digit dividends. A phenomenal business model. Instead of getting their hands dirty in the real economy, they manufacture dividends, fees, and all sorts of goodies for insiders – while the party lasts.

But now the Fed, leery of the risks these drunken partiers were taking on, knocked on the door of that party and threatened to crash it. Annaly Capital Management, the largest mortgage REIT with $126 billion in assets as of March 31, dropped 34% from its September high to $11.53 on Wednesday; most of it since mid-March. American Capital Agency, the second largest, is even better: its entire history is linked to the Fed’s zero-interest-rate policy and money-printing binge.

Read moreThe Mother Of All Bubbles Pops, Mess Ensues

Meanwhile, In A European Galaxy Far, Far Away …

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– Meanwhile, In A (European) Galaxy Far, Far Away… (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2013):

Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners,

Another day of fraught wonderment ahead of us. What does it all mean? China economic data increasingly suggests there is a serious problem, (that’s still a few points below crisis – but recent experience suggests the politics of mobs can turn ugly with surprising speed!). On the other hand, yesterday’s US auctions went swimmingly well – so we can all relax about the taper? Er.. no. And while Spain gets a cheeky 15-yr bond issue completed (driven on the back of a large single order we strongly suspect), the Italians then get downgraded because of the weakening economy, deteriorating competitiveness and 1.9% negative growth outlook… “You can’t make this stuff up,” comments Chris, my head of Govvie Trading.

Read moreMeanwhile, In A European Galaxy Far, Far Away …

Austrian Steelmaker Offshores Production To … Texas

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– Austrian Steelmaker Offshores Production To … Texas (Testosterone Pit, July 9, 2013):

Labor is expensive in Austria, and heavily unionized with strict work rules governing what workers can and can’t do, and with long mandated vacations, and all sorts of other welfare-state goodies, and yet the unemployment rate of 4.7% is the lowest in the Eurozone, and one of the lower rates around the world. Austria is a small industrial powerhouse, dependent on its largest export partner, Germany, to which it is, economically, joined at the hip.

Nevertheless, there are issues: shaky TBTF banks exposed to Eastern European “growth opportunities,” such as Hungary; Alpine Bau, a construction group with 15,000 employees that just went bust; Germany whose economy is stagnating; and now offshoring by the steel industry.

The voestalpine Group, a steelmaker based in Linz, Austria, with over 46,000 employees, saw its revenues for 2012/13 decline by 4% to $15 billion. It blamed the “cooling down of the global economy,” and “dwindling momentum in Asia (especially China).” It doesn’t see a scenario that’s exactly rosy [the CEO of Siemens had sketched a similar scenario: my take…. “During The Last Crisis, We Had China,” Now We Have No One].

Read moreAustrian Steelmaker Offshores Production To … Texas

Scuba Divers Discover Primeval Underwater Forest In Gulf Of Mexico (Video)

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– Primeval Underwater Forest Discovered in Gulf of Mexico (LiveScience, July 8, 2013):

Scuba divers have discovered a primeval underwater forest off the coast of Alabama.

The Bald Cypress forest was buried under ocean sediments, protected in an oxygen-free environment for more than 50,000 years, but was likely uncovered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said Ben Raines, one of the first divers to explore the underwater forest and the executive director of the nonprofit Weeks Bay Foundation, which researches estuaries.

The forest contains trees so well-preserved that when they are cut, they still smell like fresh Cypress sap, Raines said.

Read moreScuba Divers Discover Primeval Underwater Forest In Gulf Of Mexico (Video)

The Wheels Are Coming Off The Whole Of Southern Europe (Telegraph)

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Europe’s debt-crisis strategy is near collapse. The long-awaited recovery has failed to take wing. Debt ratios across southern Europe are rising at an accelerating pace. Political consent for extreme austerity is breaking down in almost every EMU crisis state. And now the US Federal Reserve has inflicted a full-blown credit shock for good measure.

A leaked report from the European Commission confirms that Greece will miss its austerity targets yet again by a wide margin Photo: Reuters

– The wheels are coming off the whole of southern Europe (Telegraph, July 10, 2013):

None of Euroland’s key actors seems willing to admit that the current strategy is untenable. They hope to paper over the cracks until the German elections in September, as if that is going to make any difference.

A leaked report from the European Commission confirms that Greece will miss its austerity targets yet again by a wide margin. It alleges that Greece lacks the “willingness and capacity” to collect taxes. In fact, Athens is missing targets because the economy is still in freefall and that is because of austerity overkill. The Greek think-tank IOBE expects GDP to fall 5pc this year. It has told journalists privately that the final figure may be -7pc. The Greek stabilisation is a mirage.

Italy’s slow crisis is again flaring up. Its debt trajectory has punched through the danger line over the past two years. The country’s €2.1 trillion (£1.8 trillion) debt – 129pc of GDP – may already be beyond the point of no return for a country without its own currency.

Standard & Poor’s did not say this outright when it downgraded the country to near-junk BBB on Tuesday. But if you read between the lines, it is close to saying the game is up for Italy.

Edward Snowden: NSA Lying, Collecting All Communications Into And Out Of US (Video)

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Related info:

– NSA Surveillance Systems Not Aimed At Terrorists … ‘Best Suited For Gathering Information On Law-Abiding Citizens

– Meet The Man In Charge Of America’s Secret Cyber Army (In Which ‘Bonesaw’ Makes A Mockery Of PRISM)

– Main Core (The Last Roundup): A List Of Millions Of Americans That Will Be Subject To Detention During Martial Law

– Multiple Government Agencies Are Keeping Records Of Your Credit Card Transactions

– Snowden: NSA lying, collecting all communications into and out of US (PressTV, July 9, 2013):

American whistleblower Edward Snowden says despite U.S. claims that the National Security Agency only monitors foreign communications, all communications that go into and outside the U.S. are collected for analysis.

“The NSA doesn’t limit itself to foreign intelligence; it collects all intelligence that transits the United States,” according to a video released Monday by the Guardian.

Read moreEdward Snowden: NSA Lying, Collecting All Communications Into And Out Of US (Video)

NYSE Body To Run Libor

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H/t reader M.G.:

“Here is another story, it’s irony won’t be lost on you. Talk about feeding the chicken house to the wolves………..the corruption is so deep, so complete, we don’t have a prayer.”

– NYSE body to run Libor as City attempts to put scandal behind it (Guardian, July 9, 2013):

Move follows decision to strip BBA of its association with benchmark rate, which will be run by a London-based subsidiary

Libor might stand for the London interbank offered rate, but from next year the scandal-hit benchmark rate will be set by the body that runs the New York Stock Exchange in the latest attempt to clean up the City.

Libor, which is used to price $300tn (£192tn) of financial products around the world, has been overseen until now by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). But its integrity has been questioned after banks and other financial firms were found to have rigged the rate.

Read moreNYSE Body To Run Libor

‘Pilot X’: San Francisco Jetliner Crash Caused By Airlines Turning Pilots Into ‘Computer Geeks Who Can’t Fly’

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– Exclusive: San Francisco jetliner crash caused by airlines turning pilots into ‘computer geeks who can’t fly’ says commercial pilot (Natural News, July 10, 2013):

When flight 214 crashed last week at the San Francisco airport, killing two people and injuring dozens, many people were in a state of disbelief. How could a Boeing 777 — the “Titanic” of commercial airliners — be piloted so carelessly that the pilot seemingly flew it into the seawall and caused the accident?

But that’s the problem, you see: There are no more pilots flying these planes. The real pilots have nearly all retired, leaving a bunch of “computer geeks” who have almost no flying skills and only know how to operate the computerized, automated flight equipment which is subject to catastrophic failure.

That’s what “Pilot X” told me in a phone interview. His identity is being secret for his own protection, but he recently retired from over two decades of flying Boeing’s largest aircraft for major U.S. airlines. He has received more actual flight time than 99% of today’s active commercial pilots, and he’s an expert in Boeing flight automation equipment. His testimony, below, reveals insider details that only a real commercial pilot would know.

Airlines are trying to dumb down the pilots

Read more‘Pilot X’: San Francisco Jetliner Crash Caused By Airlines Turning Pilots Into ‘Computer Geeks Who Can’t Fly’

Generic Drug Companies Granted Total Immunity Against All Lawsuits From Patients Harmed By Side Effects

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– Generic drug companies granted total immunity against all lawsuits from patients harmed by side effects (Natural News, July 10, 2013):

You may want to think twice before taking any more generic copies of brand-name pharmaceutical drugs, thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling that effectively eliminates manufacturer liability in injury cases resulting from negative side effects. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court recently overturned a $21 million judgment awarded to a New Hampshire woman injured by a generic pain drug, declaring in the process that generic drug manufacturers cannot be sued when the drugs they produce injure patients.

Since generic drugs are mere replicas of brand-name drugs that, at one time, were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as “safe,” generic drug manufacturers are exempt from being held liable in the event of injuries caused by harmful side effects. This is the opinion of the majority of the Supreme Court anyway, which has now made it that much harder for members of the public to seek remedy for injuries caused by pharmaceutical drugs.

According to Reuters, the ruling affects lawsuits filed under state law, which allegedly conflict with federal regulatory guidelines as they pertain to safety approval for brand-name drugs. When it comes to federal versus state law, federal always tends to win these days, which means the big boys in the drug industry basically get to call all the shots. And if you are injured by a drug, in this case a generic drug, well then tough luck for you.

Read moreGeneric Drug Companies Granted Total Immunity Against All Lawsuits From Patients Harmed By Side Effects

‘Financial Fascism’: Jon Corzine Will Not Face Criminal Charges Over MF Global

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Flashback:

– Congressional Investigators: MF Global’s Jon Corzine Ordered Funds Moved To JP Morgan

More links are down below.

– Jon Corzine will not face criminal charges over MF Global: report (MarketWatch, July 8, 2013):

There will be no criminal charges for former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine over the use of customer funds leading up to collapse of MF Global.

The criminal probe into whether there was wrongdoing on the part of Corzine by the Department of Justice will now be dropped due to lack of evidence, said a report in The New York Post, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

Read more‘Financial Fascism’: Jon Corzine Will Not Face Criminal Charges Over MF Global

Leader Of Fukushima Explosion Response Team Dies From Cancer

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Former Fukushima Nuclear Plant Head Masao Yoshida, an engineer by training, led the fight to bring the Fukushima nuclear station under control in the immediate aftermath of Japan’s strongest earthquake on record and an ensuing tsunami that hit the plant on March 11, 2011, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Photographer: Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images

– Leader Of Fukushima Explosion Response Team Dies From Cancer (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2013):

With a ridiculous monetarist experiment that is doomed to fail, currently raging in Japan, where girl bands plaud the masculinity of deranged FX and stock traders, it is easy to forget that some two years ago the country suffered the worst nuclear disaster in history. And what is worse, the delayed consequences, all of them tragic, will stay with Japan for the years and decades to come. We got a very sad reminder of the true Japanese tragedy (because deflation is only “horrible” if you live outside your means) earlier when we read that Masao Yoshida, the plant manager who led the fight to bring Japan’s Fukushima atomic station under control during the 2011 nuclear disaster, has died from esophageal cancer. He was 58. He died on July 9 at a hospital in Tokyo, according to a statement from Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

Read moreLeader Of Fukushima Explosion Response Team Dies From Cancer