The Economic Collapse
Most Americans are still operating under the delusion that this "recession" will end and that the "good times" will return soon, but a growing minority of Americans are starting to realize that things are fundamentally changing and that they better start preparing for what is ahead. These "preppers" come from all over the political spectrum and from every age group. More than at any other time in modern history, the American people lack faith in the U.S. economic system. In dozens of previous columns, I have detailed the horrific economic problems that we are now facing in excruciating detail. Many readers have started to complain that all I do is "scare" people and that I don't provide any practical solutions. Well, not everyone can move to Montana and start a llama farm, but hopefully this article will give people some practical steps that they can take to insulate themselves (at least to an extent) from the coming economic collapse.
But before I get into what people need to do, let's take a minute to understand just how bad things are getting out there. The economic numbers in the headlines go up and down and it can all be very confusing to most Americans.
However, there are two long-term trends that are very clear and that anyone can understand....
#1) The United States is getting poorer and is bleeding jobs every single month.
#2) The United States is getting into more debt every single month.
When you mention the trade deficit, most Americans roll their eyes and stop listening. But that is a huge mistake, because the trade deficit is absolutely central to our problems.
Every single month, Americans buy far, far more from the rest of the world than they buy from us. Every single month tens of billions of dollars more goes out of the country than comes into it.
That means that every single month the United States is getting poorer.
The excess goods and services that we buy from the rest of the world get "consumed" and the rest of the world ends up with more money than when they started.
Each year, hundreds of billions of dollars leave the United States and don't return. The transfer of wealth that this represents is astounding.
But not only are we bleeding wealth, we are also bleeding jobs every single month.
The millions of jobs that the U.S. economy is losing to China, India and dozens of third world nations are not going to come back. Middle class Americans have been placed in direct competition for jobs with workers on the other side of the world who are more than happy to work for little more than slave labor wages. Until this changes the U.S. economy is going to continue to hemorrhage jobs.
The U.S. government has helped to mask much of this economic bleeding by unprecedented amounts of government spending and debt, but now the U.S. national debt exceeds 13 trillion dollars and is getting worse every single month. Not only that, but state and local governments all over America are getting into ridiculous amounts of debt.
So, what we have got is a country that gets poorer every single month and loses jobs to other countries every single month and that has accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world which also gets worse every single month.
Needless to say, this cannot last indefinitely. Eventually the whole thing is just going to collapse like a house of cards.
So what can we each individually do to somewhat insulate ourselves from the economic problems that are coming?....
1 - Get Out Of Debt: The old saying, "the borrower is the servant of the lender", is so incredibly true. The key to insulating yourself from an economic meltdown is to become as independent as possible, and as long as you are in debt, you simply are not independent. You don't want a horde of creditors chasing after you when things really start to get bad out there.
Read Full Article HERE
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
"We’re seeing way more dispersant than ever before” Large, thick oil plumes, freshly sprayed with poison!
The Intel Hub.com
Today, Project Gulf Impact is out on the waters in and around Orange Beach Alabama. What they have found is exactly the opposite of what BP and the federal government have told the American people. Not only did they find oil but they apparently found what looks to be freshly sprayed dispersant, still in powder form.
Why is this toxic dispersant still being sprayed? Warnings from scientists and independent journalists have indicated that Corexit could effect the gulf for at least twenty years.
“Dead fish in Alabama – cells ruptured with lots of corexit and dispersed oil all around….The oil is thick, dispersant already trying to hide it, with dead catfish in plumes.”
As I am writing this article, Project Gulf Impact is still out on the waters. They are documenting the existence of oil and dispersant and will be uploading more videos/pictures. This is absolutely disgusting.
The federal government needs to stand up and tell BP that they will NOT be allowed to continually screw the American people. Why is CNN openly lying and covering up for the very corporations that have financially and chemically attacked the Gulf?
While our Gulf is being chemically raped, CNN has not only kept quiet, they have actually ran stories which indicate that if you aren’t for banksters than you are a domestic terrorist.
As more and more people wake up, the corporate news will continue to change the story, demonizing all movements against the banks, and continually lying about the severity of the Gulf Oil Disaster.
Read Online HERE
Today, Project Gulf Impact is out on the waters in and around Orange Beach Alabama. What they have found is exactly the opposite of what BP and the federal government have told the American people. Not only did they find oil but they apparently found what looks to be freshly sprayed dispersant, still in powder form.
Why is this toxic dispersant still being sprayed? Warnings from scientists and independent journalists have indicated that Corexit could effect the gulf for at least twenty years.
“Dead fish in Alabama – cells ruptured with lots of corexit and dispersed oil all around….The oil is thick, dispersant already trying to hide it, with dead catfish in plumes.”
As I am writing this article, Project Gulf Impact is still out on the waters. They are documenting the existence of oil and dispersant and will be uploading more videos/pictures. This is absolutely disgusting.
The federal government needs to stand up and tell BP that they will NOT be allowed to continually screw the American people. Why is CNN openly lying and covering up for the very corporations that have financially and chemically attacked the Gulf?
While our Gulf is being chemically raped, CNN has not only kept quiet, they have actually ran stories which indicate that if you aren’t for banksters than you are a domestic terrorist.
As more and more people wake up, the corporate news will continue to change the story, demonizing all movements against the banks, and continually lying about the severity of the Gulf Oil Disaster.
Read Online HERE
Microwave Weapons: Los Angeles County Jail to Heat Up Misbehaving Inmates with Target Wave Technology
Aug 25, 2010, By Russell Nichols, Staff Writer
Govtech.com
If a fight breaks out at one Los Angeles County jail, inmates might get shot -- not with bullets, but a millimeter wave from a military-based device that penetrates the skin to heat up nerves.
Dubbed the Assault Intervention Device (AID), the 7½-foot-tall nonlethal weapon transmits a focused, invisible beam at a specified target, causing an unbearable burning sensation that forces individuals to recoil. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department unveiled the device this month at the Pitchess Detention Center for the launch of a six-month operational evaluation to see if the tool will help stop or lessen the severity of inmate assaults.
"We believe that technology can help solve problems facing the corrections community, including addressing issues of inmate violence," Sheriff Lee Baca said in a statement. "This device will allow us to quickly intervene without having to enter the area and without incapacitating or injuring either combatant."
The technology, developed by Raytheon Co., stems from a family of bigger, more powerful military solutions created for the battlefield. These larger versions work the same way, but on a grander operational scale, such as creating a protective zone to safeguard aircraft or using lasers to disrupt shoulder-fired missiles from combat helicopters. In L.A. County, the device will be installed near the ceiling in a dormitory that houses about 65 inmates at the Pitchess Detention Center's North County Correctional Facility (NCCF).
Read Full Article
The New Phoenix Program
Govtech.com
If a fight breaks out at one Los Angeles County jail, inmates might get shot -- not with bullets, but a millimeter wave from a military-based device that penetrates the skin to heat up nerves.
Dubbed the Assault Intervention Device (AID), the 7½-foot-tall nonlethal weapon transmits a focused, invisible beam at a specified target, causing an unbearable burning sensation that forces individuals to recoil. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department unveiled the device this month at the Pitchess Detention Center for the launch of a six-month operational evaluation to see if the tool will help stop or lessen the severity of inmate assaults.
"We believe that technology can help solve problems facing the corrections community, including addressing issues of inmate violence," Sheriff Lee Baca said in a statement. "This device will allow us to quickly intervene without having to enter the area and without incapacitating or injuring either combatant."
The technology, developed by Raytheon Co., stems from a family of bigger, more powerful military solutions created for the battlefield. These larger versions work the same way, but on a grander operational scale, such as creating a protective zone to safeguard aircraft or using lasers to disrupt shoulder-fired missiles from combat helicopters. In L.A. County, the device will be installed near the ceiling in a dormitory that houses about 65 inmates at the Pitchess Detention Center's North County Correctional Facility (NCCF).
Read Full Article
The New Phoenix Program
Aerial Surveillance Used To Enforce Laws
FRANK ELTMAN
Huffington Post
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — On New York's Long Island, it's used to prevent drownings. In Greece, it's a tool to help solve a financial crisis. Municipalities update property assessment rolls and other government data with it. Some in law enforcement use it to supplement reconnaissance of crime suspects.
High-tech eyes in the sky – from satellite imagery to sophisticated aerial photography that maps entire communities – are being employed in creative new ways by government officials, a trend that civil libertarians and others fear are eroding privacy rights.
"As technology advances, we have to revisit questions about what is and what is not private information," said Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology.
Online services like Google and Bing give users very detailed images of practically any location on the planet. Though some images are months old, they make it possible for someone sitting in a living room in Brooklyn to look in on folks in Dublin or Prague, or even down the street in Flatbush.
Sean Walter, an attorney and first-term town supervisor in Riverhead, N.Y., insists he is a staunch defender of privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.
But Walter supported using Google Earth images to help identify about 250 Riverhead homes where residents failed to get building permits certifying their swimming pools complied with safety regulations. All but about 10 eventually came to town hall.
Walter said the focus was safety, not filling town coffers with permit money, which averaged about $150 depending on the size of the pool. A 4-foot fence is required, gates have to be self-closing and padlocked. All pools must have an alarm that sounds when sensors are activated indicating someone is in the pool.
"We have a town employee who is a personal friend of mine whose son was found face-down in a swimming pool," Walter said. "He's OK, but I don't want to be the supervisor that attends the funeral of a child that drowns in a swimming pool."
Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., fears that while Walter's focus was safety, other municipalities may use the images to check for other transgressions.
Read Full Article
Huffington Post
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — On New York's Long Island, it's used to prevent drownings. In Greece, it's a tool to help solve a financial crisis. Municipalities update property assessment rolls and other government data with it. Some in law enforcement use it to supplement reconnaissance of crime suspects.
High-tech eyes in the sky – from satellite imagery to sophisticated aerial photography that maps entire communities – are being employed in creative new ways by government officials, a trend that civil libertarians and others fear are eroding privacy rights.
"As technology advances, we have to revisit questions about what is and what is not private information," said Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology.
Online services like Google and Bing give users very detailed images of practically any location on the planet. Though some images are months old, they make it possible for someone sitting in a living room in Brooklyn to look in on folks in Dublin or Prague, or even down the street in Flatbush.
Sean Walter, an attorney and first-term town supervisor in Riverhead, N.Y., insists he is a staunch defender of privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.
But Walter supported using Google Earth images to help identify about 250 Riverhead homes where residents failed to get building permits certifying their swimming pools complied with safety regulations. All but about 10 eventually came to town hall.
Walter said the focus was safety, not filling town coffers with permit money, which averaged about $150 depending on the size of the pool. A 4-foot fence is required, gates have to be self-closing and padlocked. All pools must have an alarm that sounds when sensors are activated indicating someone is in the pool.
"We have a town employee who is a personal friend of mine whose son was found face-down in a swimming pool," Walter said. "He's OK, but I don't want to be the supervisor that attends the funeral of a child that drowns in a swimming pool."
Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., fears that while Walter's focus was safety, other municipalities may use the images to check for other transgressions.
Read Full Article
The ABC’s Of The Great American Housing Crisis
End of The American Dream.com
It doesn't take a genius to realize that a horrific housing crisis in unfolding right in front of our eyes. Yesterday it was announced that existing home sales plummeted 27 percent in the month of July. Today it was announced that new homes sales dropped to the lowest level ever recorded in July. But why is this happening? Why is the American Dream still dying for millions of American families? Wasn't the recession supposed to be over by now? Weren't home prices supposed to be moving back up by this time? Well, in this article we will attempt to succinctly break down the ABC's of the Great American Housing Crisis. Hopefully this will help people understand why all of this is happening.
A - The Gigantic Mountain Of Unsold Homes Combined With Very Few Buyers Is Going To Force Home Prices Down
For decades, Americans could purchase a home and know that it was inevitable that the value of that home would eventually just keep going up and up and up. But those days are over.
Over the past two decades, we experienced a huge bubble in the housing market. As prices skyrocketed, home builders built homes like crazy and it seemed like virtually everyone in the world was getting a home loan.
But then a funny thing happened.
The bubble popped.
It turns out that millions and millions and millions of Americans could not afford all of those crazy mortgages that were being passed out, and foreclosures have set record after record after record over the last couple of years.
This has resulted in a gigantic mountain of foreclosed homes being forced back on to the market. As of this March, U.S. banks had an inventory of 1.1 million foreclosed homes, which was a new all-time record and which was up 20 percent from one year ago.
Meanwhile, banks and lending institutions have learned their lessons and now it is much, much tougher to get a home loan. Therefore, there are a whole lot less qualified buyers in the marketplace.
So with a ton of homes on the market and very few buyers, it is going to take a long, long time to get all of those homes sold. In fact, there is now over a year's worth of unsold homes sitting on the market in the United States.
And do you realize what happens when supply is very high and demand is very low?
Prices go down.
Right now home owners are very hesitant to lower the prices of their homes much further, but if they want to sell their homes, that is what has got to happen.
B - Without Good Jobs The American People Cannot Buy Homes
Read Full Article HERE
It doesn't take a genius to realize that a horrific housing crisis in unfolding right in front of our eyes. Yesterday it was announced that existing home sales plummeted 27 percent in the month of July. Today it was announced that new homes sales dropped to the lowest level ever recorded in July. But why is this happening? Why is the American Dream still dying for millions of American families? Wasn't the recession supposed to be over by now? Weren't home prices supposed to be moving back up by this time? Well, in this article we will attempt to succinctly break down the ABC's of the Great American Housing Crisis. Hopefully this will help people understand why all of this is happening.
A - The Gigantic Mountain Of Unsold Homes Combined With Very Few Buyers Is Going To Force Home Prices Down
For decades, Americans could purchase a home and know that it was inevitable that the value of that home would eventually just keep going up and up and up. But those days are over.
Over the past two decades, we experienced a huge bubble in the housing market. As prices skyrocketed, home builders built homes like crazy and it seemed like virtually everyone in the world was getting a home loan.
But then a funny thing happened.
The bubble popped.
It turns out that millions and millions and millions of Americans could not afford all of those crazy mortgages that were being passed out, and foreclosures have set record after record after record over the last couple of years.
This has resulted in a gigantic mountain of foreclosed homes being forced back on to the market. As of this March, U.S. banks had an inventory of 1.1 million foreclosed homes, which was a new all-time record and which was up 20 percent from one year ago.
Meanwhile, banks and lending institutions have learned their lessons and now it is much, much tougher to get a home loan. Therefore, there are a whole lot less qualified buyers in the marketplace.
So with a ton of homes on the market and very few buyers, it is going to take a long, long time to get all of those homes sold. In fact, there is now over a year's worth of unsold homes sitting on the market in the United States.
And do you realize what happens when supply is very high and demand is very low?
Prices go down.
Right now home owners are very hesitant to lower the prices of their homes much further, but if they want to sell their homes, that is what has got to happen.
B - Without Good Jobs The American People Cannot Buy Homes
Read Full Article HERE
ALERT: 13.3 ppm of COREXIT found INLAND, near Florida border — Chemist says tests show “toxic solvent” 2-butoxyethanol that “RUPTURES red blood cells” (VIDEO & PHOTOS)
Florida Oil Spill Law.com
Corexit found in Orange Beach Waters, WKRG Channel 5, August 19, 2010:
[Cotton Bayou, Ala. resident] Margaret Long… first got suspicious when she saw something in the water she had never seen before. She even took photographs, “Some times it’s about the size of a half dollar. Some times it streams along and its like floating sand.”
She got samples and sent them to chemist Bob Naman in Mobile whose tests results show 13.3 ppm of the chemical dispersant corexit. …
“It concerns me,” says Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon.
http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/corexit-found-in-orange-beach-waters/916773/Aug-19-2010_11-31-pm/
Bob Naman is the analytical chemist who performed the tests featured in WKRG’s broadcast. He was interviewed by Washington’s Blog for an August 24 report. Highlights include:
Naman found 2-butoxyethanol in the Cotton Bayou sample. [Ingredient in 'discontinued' Corexit 9527.]
Naman said found no propylene glycol, the main ingredient of Corexit 9500.
Naman said he went to Dauphin Island, Alabama last night and while there observed many 250-500 gallon barrels which were labeled Corexit 9527. Naman took pictures that he will soon be sharing.
Naman said he saw men applying the Corexit 9527 while he was in Dauphin Island and also in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
Naman said the Corexit 9527 is being haphazardly sprayed at night and is impacting beach sands in a highly concentrated form.
Scientists oppose the use of dispersant chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico, MSNBC, July 16, 2010:
Corexit 9527A contains 2-BTE (2-butoxyethanol), a toxic solvent that ruptures red blood cells, causing hemolysis (bleeding) and liver and kidney damage (Johanson and Bowman, 1991, Nalco, 2010). Both Corexit dispersants contain petroleum solvents that mix with the crude oil mass and move through it, thus increasing the uptake of oil by organisms (NRC, 2005, Nalco, 2010). Signed by:
Read Full Article HERE
Corexit found in Orange Beach Waters, WKRG Channel 5, August 19, 2010:
[Cotton Bayou, Ala. resident] Margaret Long… first got suspicious when she saw something in the water she had never seen before. She even took photographs, “Some times it’s about the size of a half dollar. Some times it streams along and its like floating sand.”
She got samples and sent them to chemist Bob Naman in Mobile whose tests results show 13.3 ppm of the chemical dispersant corexit. …
“It concerns me,” says Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon.
http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/corexit-found-in-orange-beach-waters/916773/Aug-19-2010_11-31-pm/
Bob Naman is the analytical chemist who performed the tests featured in WKRG’s broadcast. He was interviewed by Washington’s Blog for an August 24 report. Highlights include:
Naman found 2-butoxyethanol in the Cotton Bayou sample. [Ingredient in 'discontinued' Corexit 9527.]
Naman said found no propylene glycol, the main ingredient of Corexit 9500.
Naman said he went to Dauphin Island, Alabama last night and while there observed many 250-500 gallon barrels which were labeled Corexit 9527. Naman took pictures that he will soon be sharing.
Naman said he saw men applying the Corexit 9527 while he was in Dauphin Island and also in Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
Naman said the Corexit 9527 is being haphazardly sprayed at night and is impacting beach sands in a highly concentrated form.
Scientists oppose the use of dispersant chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico, MSNBC, July 16, 2010:
Corexit 9527A contains 2-BTE (2-butoxyethanol), a toxic solvent that ruptures red blood cells, causing hemolysis (bleeding) and liver and kidney damage (Johanson and Bowman, 1991, Nalco, 2010). Both Corexit dispersants contain petroleum solvents that mix with the crude oil mass and move through it, thus increasing the uptake of oil by organisms (NRC, 2005, Nalco, 2010). Signed by:
Read Full Article HERE
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