Blipits

[Jason]

Reckon I'll break from my silence temporarily to provide what I consider some key informational links....

Why Isn't Illinois A Bigger Story Than Greece?
http://www.financialsense.com/contribut ... han-greece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. treasury raids federal employee pension funds to cover debts
http://www.naturalnews.com/034762_treas ... funds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/a ... ntPage=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spread the Wealth Around: 48.5% of American Households Receive Government Benefits; $6,640 For Every Member Of the Population
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/s ... n_01252012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAPD: Joint Military Drills In Downtown LA Won’t Disrupt Public’s ‘Daily Routines’
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/01/ ... -routines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Battle Los Angeles: Joint Military Training Exercises in L.A. Seek to Prepare Soldiers for Urban Warfare
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/b ... e_01242012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Opening A New Theater of War In The North American Homeland
http://disquietreservations.blogspot.co ... north.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

World War III Has Begun – It`s the First Asymmetric War Long Awaited by Pentagon Think Tanks
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2 ... tanks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mes5464]

Thank you Jason.

All very important and relevant message that are being completely ignored by the American people.

[BroJones]

Reckon I'll break from my silence temporarily to provide what I consider some key informational links....

Why Isn't Illinois A Bigger Story Than Greece?
http://www.financialsense.com/contribut ... han-greece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. treasury raids federal employee pension funds to cover debts
http://www.naturalnews.com/034762_treas ... funds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/a ... ntPage=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spread the Wealth Around: 48.5% of American Households Receive Government Benefits; $6,640 For Every Member Of the Population
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/s ... n_01252012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAPD: Joint Military Drills In Downtown LA Won’t Disrupt Public’s ‘Daily Routines’
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/01/ ... -routines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Battle Los Angeles: Joint Military Training Exercises in L.A. Seek to Prepare Soldiers for Urban Warfare
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/b ... e_01242012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Opening A New Theater of War In The North American Homeland
http://disquietreservations.blogspot.co ... north.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

World War III Has Begun – It`s the First Asymmetric War Long Awaited by Pentagon Think Tanks
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2 ... tanks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hurray -- keep those "key informational links" coming, Jason!
I have a friend in the boonies who asks me about news highlights -- I pointed him here!

This gem from #1 above:

The bottom line effect of all this stepping up and bailing out is to exchange a solvency/debt crisis for a currency crisis in which the markets at some point figure out that failed states are so numerous and their needs so great that the printing presses will never stop.

I intend to look at all those links before the evening is over. Thanks again. Steve

[BroJones]

Military "training" in Los Angeles:

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you notice a heavy military presence around downtown Los Angeles this week, don’t be alarmed — it’s only a drill.

Joint military training exercises will be held evenings through Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The LAPD will be providing support for the exercises, which will also be held in other portions of the greater Los Angeles area, police said.

Training sites “have been carefully selected to ensure the event does not negatively impact the citizens of Los Angeles and their daily routine,” a department official said.

The training, which a department official said would involve helicopters, has been coordinated with local authorities and owners of the
training sites, police said.

Police said safety precautions have been taken to prevent risk to the general public and military personnel involved.

The exercises are closed to the public, police said.

The exercises are designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments,

We could always chalk this off to standard military training, but considering the warnings coming from financial insiders, the chairman of our central bank, and world leaders, we suggest that these soldiers are being trained to deal specifically with scenarios recently outlined by the Pentagon, including civil unrest and large-scale economic breakdown right here in the good old USA:

According to President Obama, the Iraq mission has been accomplished and Afghanistan is soon coming to a close. This begs the question: For which urban environments and scenarios are these soldiers training?

State of Emergency Communique #1: America, Canada, and Mexico are financially and mentally colonized nations. But financial fraud and media propaganda are no longer enough to keep the people down. Due to the political awakening across the continent the need for the boots has come.

"It is clear that there has been a sustained move in the direction of martial law preparations, a trend that has been as continuous as it has been unheralded." - Professor Peter Dale Scott, "War, Martial Law, and the Economic Crisis," Global Research, February 23, 2011.

[Jason]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRMYMFD2fKQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e7KJerIit0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzCGBYcCta0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Baltic Dry Plunges 42% More Than Seasonal Norm To Start The Year
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/baltic-dr ... start-year" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....the whole world is slowing down economically as the credit lines are shut down (debt saturation)....is it time for war???

Also another little gem...

“Cash has been a problem for a long time. The people who are worried about it should use our whistle-blowing line to tell us. We are getting better and better at finding people who receive cash.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... tnett.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BroJones]

Thanks, Jason.
This RE: states asserting themselves against the TSA groping -- 10th amendment in support of the 4th amendment:

The TSA Won’t Stop Itself. So The States Will.
Bookmark and Share
Posted by Mike Maharrey

On Monday, TSA agents escorted Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) from the security checkpoint at the Nashville airport when he refused to submit to an invasive pat-down, once again focusing attention on this out of control federal agency. But even as the TSA continues its heavy handed treatment of Americans, a number of states around the country are currently considering legislation to put a stop to such actions.

Paul says he missed his flight, but later rebooked and passed through security without further incident.

The confrontation started after the Kentucky senator walked through a scanner and it alerted to an irregularity. Paul says he offered to walk back through the scanner again, but TSA agents insisted he must undergo a pat-down.

Paul refused. He says he showed them his leg, the area supposedly causing the problem, but that wasn’t good enough. When he tried to use his cell phone to call TSA headquarters in Washington D.C. to get clarification on the rules, he says agents told him that he would have to endure a full body pat-down.

“For an hour and a half, they said ‘absolutely, I would have to [accept a pat-down],’” Paul said in a phone interview with the Daily Caller. “And, because I used my cell phone, they told me I would have to do a full body pat down because you’re not allowed to use your cell phone when you’re being detained.”

Paul says agents detained him in a cubical area, actions TSA officials deny. They say local law enforcement officers simply escorted him away from the secure area and did not detain him.

“I tried to leave the cubicle to speak to one of the TSA people and I was barked at: ‘Do not leave the cubicle!’ So, that, to me sounds like I’m being asked not to leave the cubicle. It sounds a little bit like I’m being detained,” Paul told the Daily Caller.

Paul’s father, Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul reacted strongly to the incident.

“The police state in this country is growing out of control. One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities. The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe,” he said.

The White House defended the TSA’s actions.

“I think it is absolutely essential that we take necessary actions to ensure that air travel is safe,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

Rand Paul is not the first public official to endure harsh treatment at the hands of the TSA. One Alaska legislator’s experience led her to take up James Madison’s admonition and interpose for the people she represents.

In February 2011, Alaska State Rep. Sharon Cissna (D-Anchorage) was heading back to Juneau.

“The evening of the 20th of February 2011 started with relief, as I was anxious to get back to the important work of the Alaskan Legislature. Heading into security after time with the line of passengers, I felt upbeat.”

Her upbeat demeanor quickly turned into apprehension when TSA agents directed her into a full body scanner. She knew from experience what was coming.

“The horror began again. A female agent placed herself blocking my passage. Scan results would again display that my breast cancer and the resulting scars pointed a TSA finger of irregularity at my chest. I would require invasive, probing hands of a stranger over my body. Memories of violation would consume my thoughts again,” she wrote, chronicling her experience on her blog.

This time around, Cissna refused to comply.

“Being a public servant and elected representative momentarily disappeared. Facing the agent I began to remember what my husband and I’d decided after the previous intensive physical search. That I never had to submit to that horror again! It would be difficult, we agreed, but I had the choice to say no, this twisted policy did not have to be the price of flying to Juneau!” she wrote. “So last night, as more and more TSA, airline, airport and police gathered, I became stronger in remembering to fight the submission to a physical hand exam. I repeatedly said that I would not allow the feeling-up and I would not use the transportation mode that required it.”

Instead of undergoing the invasive pat-down, Cissna rented a car and then took a small private plane to Prince Rupert, B.C. From there, it was a two-day ferry trip up to Juneau.

“For nearly fifty years I’ve fought for the rights of assault victims, population in which my wonderful Alaska sadly ranks number one, both for men and women who have been abused. The very last thing an assault victim or molested person can deal with is yet more trauma and the groping of strangers, the hands of government ‘safety’ policy,” she said. “For these people, as well as myself, I refused to submit.”

Recognizing that the TSA wasn’t going to rein in itself, on Jan. 17, 2012, Cissna introduced HB 262 in the Alaska House, “An Act relating to the offense of interference with access to public buildings or transportation facilities.”

The bill would make it a class A misdemeanor for any agent to require a person seeking access to a public building or transportation facility to “consent or otherwise submit to (1) physical contact by any person touching directly or through clothing the genitals, buttocks, or female breast of the person seeking access; or (2) any electronic process that produces an electronic image of the genitals, anus, or female breast or otherwise creates an electronic image of the person seeking access that exposes or reveals a physical characteristic that is normally hidden by clothing and is not normally visible to the public.”

After her experience, Ciccna explained why stopping overreaching TSA searches means so much to Alaskans.

“The TSA threat of ‘Do you want to fly?’ means something very different to Alaskans, she said. “Flying in Alaska is not a choice, but a necessity. The freedom to travel should never come at the price of basic human dignity and pride.”

Alaska joins four other states considering legislation to halt invasive TSA searches within their borders. Lawmakers in New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan will also consider bills designed to rein in unwarranted TSA searches without probable cause.

The New Hampshire House passed a bill earlier this month that would require state and local law enforcement officials to document complaints from citizens who feel TSA searches cross the line and then place the report in a public data base. It would also allow citizens to videotape encounters with the TSA and require police officers to take the citizens’ side against any TSA officer trying to stop them. The legislation includes TSA searches conducted at bus stations or along the state’s roadways. The state Senate will now take up the bill.

Become a member and support the TAC!

The Tenth Amendment Center expects as many as 12 states to introduce legislation aimed at the TSA in 2012, and with recent events once again putting the agency in the spotlight, even more could follow suit.

To track freedom to travel legislation across the U.S., click HERE.

For model freedom to travel legislation you can encourage your legislators to file in your home state, click HERE.

[SmallFarm]

"Ring of Fire" annular solar eclipse to be seen from North America this spring.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sc ... areclipse/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly in front of the sun, but the lunar disk is not quite wide enough to cover the entire star. At maximum, the Moon forms a "black hole" in the center of the sun.

The “path of annularity” is a strip about 300 km wide and thousands of km long. It stretches from China and Japan, across the Pacific Ocean, to the middle of North America. In the United States, the afternoon sun will become a luminous ring in places such as Medford, Oregon; Chico, California; Reno, Nevada; St. George, Utah; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Lubbock, Texas.

Outside of this relatively narrow zone, the eclipse will be partial. Observers almost everywhere west of the Mississippi will see a crescent-shaped sun as the Moon passes by off-center. This event should not be confused with a total eclipse. In a total eclipse, the Moon covers the entire surface of the sun, bringing an eerie twilight to observers in the path of totality and revealing the sun’s ghostly corona.

Annular eclipses have a special charm all their own. During an annular eclipse, sunbeams turn into little rings of light. The best place to see this is on the sun-dappled ground beneath a leafy tree. Hundreds of circular shadows can be found there.

[BroJones]

Thanks Smallfarm, re: eclipse coming.

Here's what my wife and I saw in the sky tonight:

[Jason]

...Diebold Election Systems who became Premier Election Solutions (branding problem as a result of fraud and deception - i.e.whistleblowers)...













...to spin through the rest of the videos in the series -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhBtfiRK ... 8F58B4CDB6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


...PES (Premier Election Solutions) who got bought by ES&S (Election Systems & Software) who was forced to sell to Dominion Voting Systems (a small private Canadian company who had recently moved to Denver, Colorado) which then purchased #3 market share leader Sequoia Voting Systems just a month later (wow...weren't they flush with cash for a little private Canadian company). Anyways...voting machine company history reads like a who's who of shadow folks...here's a snipit -

Sequoia was involved with voting systems for more than 100 years. At the end of the 19th century, Sequoia invented the lever-action mechanical voting system. Many machines of this type are still used today in some U.S. jurisdictions. In the 1980s Sequoia was bought by Jefferson Smurfit, an Irish printing conglomerate which in turn sold it to De La Rue, a British currency paper printing and security company. After losing money for several years, on March 8, 2005, Sequoia was acquired by Smartmatic, a multi-national technology company which had developed advanced election systems, voting machines included. Thereafter Smartmatic assigned a major portion of its development and managerial teams, dedicated to revamping some of Sequoia's old-fashioned, legacy voting machines, and replacing their technology with avant-garde proprietary features and developments, which resulted in new, high-tech products. As a result, Sequoia sold many new-generation election products and experienced a healthy financial resurrection during the fiscal years of 2006 and 2007. However in November 2007, following a verdict by the CFIUS, Smartmatic was ordered to sell Sequoia, which it did to its Sequoia managers having U.S. citizenship.

....fraud & corruption....

On June 4th, 2010 Dominion, a previously little-known company engaged in Internet voting and manufacturing of optical scanners, acquired Sequoia Voting Systems. Truth-out.org has reported that two academic computer security experts hacked an AVC Edge Sequoia/Dominion electronic voting machine in the months before the 2010 congressional election. The voting program was replaced with a Pac-Man game. The machine was opened with a screwdriver without breaking any of the "tamper-evident" seals. The AVC Edge is used in precincts with 9 million registered voters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_Voting_Systems" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...a couple blipits I find meaningful....

Baltic Dry Index Signals Renewed Market Decline

Introduced in 1985, the Baltic Dry Index first and foremost is a measure of the global shipping rates of dry bulk goods, mostly consisting of vital raw materials used in the creation of other products. However, it is also a measure of demand for said materials in comparison to previous months and years. This is where we get into the predictive nature of the BDI…

The BDI is not an accurate measure of the daily market gamble. It is, though, an accurate measure of where markets are headed in the long run and under extreme circumstances.

Over the course of the past month, the BDI has fallen around 65% from above 1600 to 726. Mainstream economists argue that the BDI’s fall in 2008 was a much higher percentage, and thus, a 65% drop is nothing to worry about. They fail to mention that shipping rates never recovered from the 2008 collapse, and have hovered in a sickly manner near lows reached during the initial credit bubble burst.

The BDI is not an accurate measure of the daily market gamble. It is, though, an accurate measure of where markets are headed in the long run and under extreme circumstances.

Along with this decline in global demand is tied another trend which many traditional deflationists and Keynesians find bewildering; inflation in commodities. Ultimately, the BDI is valuable because it shows an extreme faltering in the demand for typical industrial materials and bulk items, which allows us to contrast the increase in the prices of necessities. Global demand is waning, yet prices are holding at considerably high levels or are rising (a blatant sign of monetary devaluation).

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-pos ... et-decline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...another possibility for causing "stagflation" that they leave out is monopoly. If a business has a monopoly they can charge whatever prices they want....sure demand can fall....but they can raise the price even higher to compensate. Basically completely shut out the poor while sucking the last few dollars from the rich. In the world of the trillion dollar commodity trading clubs....I believe this is a real possibility and lean towards that scenario rather than money printing (which inherently raises demand as cheap money flows into the markets).

Third Aircraft Carrier Group Coming To Iran

For months now we have been following US naval developments and deployments in the Arabian Sea, which serve one purpose and one purpose only - to demonstrate US military strength in the Straits of Hormuz region and to keep Iranian 'offensive passions' subdued. Yet never has the US had a total of three aircraft carrier groups in the vicinity, always topping out at 2 in the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, most recently these being the CVN-70 Vinson and CVN 72 Lincoln, with a third boat present merely until a rotation in or out of the theater of operations was complete. That is about to change, and with it the prevailing price of Brent, which we are confident is about to take a new step wise price higher as the US makes it all too clear what the endgame is, because as Naval Today reports, the "US navy to deploy third carrier group to Persian Gulf", probably the CVN-77 George H.W. Bush which departed Norfolk two weeks ago according to the most recent naval update, or any other Norfolk-stationed aircraft carrier: there is a wide selection to chose from.

USS Abraham Lincoln had already entered the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Jan 22. She is escorted by a guided missile cruiser and two destroyers (USN), one British and one French warships.

Meanwhile, another US Navy’s carrier strike carrier group headed by USS Carl Vinson is stationed eastward the Strait of Hormuz, in northern part of the Arabian Sea washing southwest coast of Iran.

At present, the US has 15,000-men force deployed in Kuwait, expeditionary marine battalion, and amphibious landing group.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/third-air ... oming-iran" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....I'm going to digress from the economic and rumors of wars area for some information into health which is an ongoing priority for me (Type II diabetic - insulin junkie)....

New Evidence Refutes Fraud Findings in Dr. Wakefield Case
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... 9_SNL_MS_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




...to spin through the rest of the videos in the series -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIsFW5ph ... r_embedded" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;




...to spin through the rest of the videos in the series -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLCAF ... jJhh47Emao" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


...if you suffer from some of these diseases (or family members) I highly recommend looking into GAPS....I've stumbled into this area or focus on gut flora via my search to eradicate my diabetes (death to diabetes). I stumbled onto an article some time back that mentioned gut flora.....I spaced it but it came to mind later with additional force to look further into this connection. I finally followed up on this prompting with some google research and ended up getting exposed to GAPS. I'm currently reading Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride's book - "Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Natural treatment for autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia”....which I must say that I am highly impressed with thus far. It is very informative as to how our digestive system works and the damage that we are doing to it with our current processed food ("processed pap" as Dr Michael Colgan calls it) diets/lifestyles, drug habits, and environmental exposures....which we are then passing on to our children...and their children...not only via lifestyle/habit but also via our damaged gut flora that is passed on to our children after they are born with a sterile gut. If we think we have health problems.....multiple it by 10 fold for every proceeding generation. Anyways...multiple light bulbs have gone on in just the first 8 chapters of her book.

I believe that Dr. Terry Wahls in her pursuit of "brain foods" actually in application probably repaired her gut flora which then helped her body recover as well as her brain functions in the process. I've included her story previously in Blipits but to save time and effort I will include it here again below the GAPS information. The heart warming aspect of her story is the possibility of reversing some very serious health problems by changing what we eat. I reckon it shouldn't be quite that amazing as the reality is....we are what we eat. When one looks at the level of antibiotics used in the meat industry....it adds another depth of understanding to the Word of Wisdom and its intended use in the last days as the result of wicked and conspiring men.

GAPS - what is it?

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAP Syndrome or GAPS) is a condition, which establishes a connection between the functions of the digestive system and the brain. This term was created by Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, MMedSci (neurology), MMedSci (human nutrition) in 2004 after working with hundreds of children and adults with neurological and psychiatric conditions, such as autistic spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD), schizophrenia, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, obsessive –compulsive disorder, bi-polar disorder and other neuro-psychological and psychiatric problems.

To learn about Gut and Psychology Syndrome, how it develops and how to treat it effectively with a sound nutritional protocol please read Dr Campbell-McBride’s book "Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Natural treatment for autism, ADHD/ADD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression and schizophrenia”

[Jason note: I'm not through with the book yet....but very impressed thus far...she breaks down the complex into easy to understand layman terms as to how the body (gut flora) operates and how we can restore health.]

Not many people know that an adult on average carries 2 kg of bacteria in the gut. There are more cells in that microbial mass than there are cells in an entire human body. It is a highly organised micro-world, where certain species of bacteria have to predominate to keep us healthy physically and mentally.

A typical modern mother was probably not breast fed when she was a baby, because she was born in 60s or 70s when breast-feeding went out of fashion. Why is it important? Because it is well known that bottle fed babies develop completely different gut flora to the breast fed babies. This compromised gut flora in a bottle fed baby later on predisposes her to many health problems. Having acquired compromised gut flora from the start, a typical modern mum had quite a few courses of antibiotics in her childhood and youth for various infections. It is a well known fact that antibiotics have a serious damaging effect on the gut flora, because they wipe out the beneficial strains of bacteria in the gut. At the age of 16 and sometimes even earlier the modern mum was put on a contraceptive pill, which she took for quite a few years before starting a family. Contraceptive pills have a devastating effect on the beneficial (good) bacteria in the gut. One of the major functions of the good bacteria in the gut flora is controlling about 500 different known to science species of pathogenic (bad) and opportunistic microbes. When the beneficial bacteria get destroyed the opportunists get a special opportunity to grow into large colonies and occupy large areas of the digestive tract. A modern diet of processed and fast foods provides perfect nourishment for these pathogens and that is a typical diet a modern mum had as a child and a young adult. As a result of all these factors a modern mum has seriously compromised gut flora by the time she is ready to have children. And indeed clinical signs of gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora) are present in almost 100% of mothers of children with neurological and psychiatric conditions. The most common health problems in mothers are digestive abnormalities, allergies, auto-immunity, PMS, chronic fatigue, headaches and skin problems.

A baby is born with a sterile gut. In the first 20 or so days of life the baby’s virgin gut surface gets populated by a mixture of microbes. This is the child’s gut flora, which will have a tremendous effect on this child’s health for the rest of his/her life. Where does this gut flora come from? Mainly from the mother.
So, whatever microbial flora the mother has she would pass to her new-born child.

Gut flora is something we do not think much about. And yet the number of functions the gut flora fulfils is so vital for us that if some day our digestive tract got sterilised we probably would not survive.

The first and very important function is appropriate digestion and absorption of food. If a child does not acquire normal balanced gut flora, then the child will not digest and absorb foods properly, developing multiple nutritional deficiencies. And that is what we commonly see in children and adults with learning disabilities, psychiatric problems and allergies. Many of these patients are malnourished. Even in the cases where the child may grow well, testing reveals some typical nutritional deficiencies in many important minerals, vitamins, essential fats, many amino-acids and other nutrients. The most common deficiencies, recorded in these patients, are in magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, calcium, manganese, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, potassium, vanadium, boron, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, A, D, folic acid, pantothenic acid, omega-3, 6, 9 fatty acids, taurine, alpha-ketoglutaric acid, glutathione and many other amino-acids. This usual list of nutritional deficiencies includes some most important nutrients for normal development and function of the child’s brain, immune system and the rest of the body.

[Jason note: You can supplement to your heart's delight but if the micro organisms required to process and extract those nutrients/vitamins are not present, damaged, or in insufficient quantities.....won't do any good]

Apart of normal digestion and absorption of food healthy gut flora actively synthesises various nutrients: vitamin K, pantothenic acid, folic acid, thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), ciancobalamine (vitamin B12), various amino-acids and proteins. Indeed, when tested people with gut dysbiosis always present with deficiencies of these nutrients. Clinical experience shows that restoring the beneficial bacteria in their gut is the best way to deal with these deficiencies.

The majority of children and adults with neurological and psychiatric conditions look pale and pasty. When tested they show various stages of anaemia, which is not surprising. To have a healthy blood we require many different nutrients: vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, K, A, D, etc), minerals (Fe, Ca, Mg, Zn, Co, Se, boron, etc.), essential amino-acids and fats. These patients not only cannot absorb these nutrients from food, but their own production of many of them in the body is damaged. On top of that people with damaged gut flora often have particular groups of pathogenic bacteria growing in their gut, which are iron-loving bacteria (Actinomyces spp., Mycobacterium spp., pathogenic strains of E.Coli, Corynebacterium spp. and many others). They consume whatever iron the person gets from the diet, leaving that person deficient in iron. Unfortunately, supplementing iron only makes these bacteria grow stronger and does not remedy anaemia. To treat anaemia the person requires all the nutrients we have mentioned, many of which healthy gut flora supplies.

Apart from taking a direct part in nourishing the body, beneficial bacteria in the gut act as the housekeepers for the digestive tract. They coat the entire surface of the gut protecting it from invaders and toxins by providing a natural barrier and producing a lot of anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal substances. At the same time they provide the gut lining with nourishment. It is estimated that 60 – 70% of energy, the gut lining derives, is from the activity of bacteria, which live on it. So, it is no surprise that when the gut flora is abnormal the digestive tract itself cannot be healthy. Indeed most children and adults with learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders and allergies present with digestive problems. In many cases these problems are so severe, that the patients (or their parents) talk about them first. In some cases they may not be very severe, but when asked direct questions the parents describe that their child never had normal stool, that their child suffered from colic as a baby and that tummy pains, bloating and flatulence are a common part of the picture. Adult sufferers describe the same kind of symptoms. In those cases where these children and adults have been examined by gastro-enterologists inflammatory process in the gut was found along with faecal compaction and an over-spill syndrome. Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his team at the Royal Free Hospital in London in the late 90s found an inflammatory condition in the bowel of autistic children, which they have named Autistic Enterocolitis. Schizophrenic patients were always known to have serious digestive problems. Dr. Curtis Dohan, MD has devoted many years to researching digestive abnormalities in schizophrenia. He found a lot of similarities between coeliac disease and the state of the digestive tract in schizophrenics. Indeed, in my clinical practice long before these patients develop psychotic symptoms they suffer from digestive problems and all other typical symptoms of gut dysbiosis pretty much from the start of their lives. Children and young adults with ADHD/ADD, OCD, depression and other neuro-psychological problems are very often reported to suffer from digestive abnormalities.

What other symptoms of gut dysbiosis do we know?

Well-functioning gut flora is the right hand of our immune system. The beneficial bacteria in the gut ensure appropriate production of different immune cells, immunoglobulins and other parts of the immunity. But most importantly they keep the immune system in the right balance. What typically happens in a person with gut dysbiosis is that two major arms of their immune system Th1 and Th2 get out of balance with underactive Th1 and overactive Th2. As a result the immune system starts reacting to most environmental stimuli in an allergic or atopic kind of way.

A baby is born with an immature immune system. Establishment of healthy balanced gut flora in the first few days of life plays a crucial role in appropriate maturation of the immune system. If the baby does not acquire appropriate gut flora then the baby is left immune compromised. The result is lots of infections followed by lots of courses of antibiotics, which damage the child’s gut flora and immune system even further. The most common infections in the first two years of life in the children with neurological, psychological and atopic disorders are ear infections, chest infections, sore throats and impetigo. At the same time in the first two years of life the child receives a lot of vaccinations. A child with compromised immune system does not react to vaccinations in a predicted way. In most cases vaccines deepen the damage to the immune system and provide a source of chronic persistent viral infections and autoimmune problems in these children. There has been a considerable amount of research published into the state of the immune system in children and adults with learning disabilities and psychiatric problems. The research shows deep abnormalities in all major cell groups and immunoglobulins in these patients. The most common autoantibodies found are to myelin basic protein (MBP) and neuron-axon filament protein (NSFP). These antibodies attack the person’s brain and the rest of the nervous system.

So, the modern patient (child or adult), who we are talking about, did not get normal gut flora from the start and then got it damaged even further by repeated courses of antibiotics and vaccinations. As a result these children and adults commonly suffer from digestive problems, allergies, asthma and eczema. But apart from that in people who then go on to develop neurological and psychiatric problems something even more terrible happens. Without control of the beneficial bacteria different opportunistic and pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi have a good chance to occupy large territories in the digestive tract of the patient and grow large colonies. Two particular groups which are most commonly found on testing are yeasts (including Candida species) and Clostridia family. These pathogenic microbes start digesting food in their own way producing large amounts of various toxic substances, which get absorbed into the blood stream, carried to the brain and cross the blood – brain barrier. The number and mixture of toxins can be very individual, causing different neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Due to the absence or greatly reduced numbers of beneficial bacteria in the gut flora, the person’s digestive system instead of being a source of nourishment becomes a major source of toxicity in the body.

So, what kind of toxins are we talking about?

There are many toxins, which we have not studied very well yet. But some toxins have received a considerable amount of research. Let us have a look at them.

Acetaldehyde & Alcohol
The most common pathogenic microbes shown to overgrow in the digestive systems of children and adults with neuro-psychiatric conditions are yeasts, particularly Candida species. Yeasts ferment dietary carbohydrates with production of alcohol and its by-product acetaldehyde. Let us see what does a constant exposure to alcohol and acetaldehyde do to the body.

Liver damage with reduced ability to detoxify drugs, pollutants and other toxins.

Pancreas degeneration with reduced ability to produce pancreatic enzymes, which would impair digestion.

Reduced ability of the stomach wall to produce stomach acid.

Damage to immune system.

Brain damage with lack of self-control, impaired co-ordination, impaired speech development, aggression, mental retardation, loss of memory and stupor.

Peripheral nerve damage with altered senses and muscle weakness.

Direct muscle tissue damage with altered ability to contract and relax and muscle weakness.

Nutritional deficiencies from damaging effect on digestion and absorption of most vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Deficiencies in B and A vitamins are particularly common.

Alcohol has an ability to enhance toxicity of most common drugs, pollutants and other toxins.

Alteration of metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids in the body.

Inability of the liver to dispose of old neurotransmitters, hormones and other by-products of normal metabolism. As a result these substances accumulate in the body, causing behavioural abnormalities and many other problems.

Acetaldehyde is considered to be the most toxic of alcohol by-products. It is the chemical, which gives us the feeling of hangover. Anybody who experienced a hangover would tell you how dreadful he or she felt. Children, who acquire abnormal gut flora with a lot of yeast from the start, may never know any other feeling. Acetaldehyde has a large variety of toxic influences on the body. One of the most devastating influences of this chemical is its ability to alter the structure of proteins. Acetaldehyde – altered proteins are thought to be responsible for many autoimmune reactions. Children and adults with neuro-psychiatric problems are commonly found to have antibodies against their own tissues.

Clostridia Neurotoxins
There are about 100 different Clostridia species known so far. They are present in the stools of people with autism, schizophrenia, psychosis, severe depression, muscle paralysis and muscle tonus abnormalities and some other neurological and psychiatric conditions. Many Clostridia species are normal inhabitants of a human gut. For example Clostridium tetani is routinely found in the gut of healthy humans and animals. Everybody knows that tetanus is a deadly disease, due to an extremely powerful neurotoxin Clostridium tetani produces. Clostridium tetani, which lives in the gut, is normally controlled by the beneficial bacteria and does us no harm, because its toxin cannot get through the healthy gut wall. Unfortunately, patients, which we are talking about, do not have a healthy gut wall. In gut dysbiosis this powerful neurotoxin can get through the damaged gut lining and then cross the blood-brain barrier affecting the person’s mental development. Many other species of Clostridia (perfringens, novyi, septicum, histolyticum, sordelli, aerofoetidum, tertium, sporogenes, etc) produce toxins similar to tetanus toxin as well as many other toxins. Dr. William Shaw at Great Plains Laboratories describes in detail number of autistic children, who showed serious improvements in their development and biochemical tests while on anti-Clostridia medication. Unfortunately, as soon as the medication was stopped the children slipped back into autism, because these children do not have healthy gut flora to control Clostridia and not to allow their toxins through the gut lining into the bloodstream. In many cases Clostridia were not identified in the stools of these children, because Clostridia are strict anaerobes and are very difficult to study. We need to come up with some better ways of testing for these potent pathogens.

Yeasts and Clostridia have been given a special opportunity by the era of antibiotics. Broad-spectrum antibiotics do not touch them while killing the beneficial bacteria in the gut, which are supposed to control the yeasts and Clostridia. So, after every course of antibiotics these two pathogenic groups get out of control and overgrow. The patients that we are talking about usually are exposed to numerous courses of antibiotics pretty much from the beginning of their lives.

Gluteomorphins & Casomorphins or opiates from gluten and casein.
Gluten is a protein present in grains, mainly wheat, rye, oats, barley. Casein is a milk protein, present in cow, goat, sheep, human and all other milk and milk products. In the bodies of children and adults with autism and schizophrenia these proteins do not get digested properly due to the fact that their digestive systems are full of abnormal microbial flora and hence unhealthy. As a result of misdigestion gluten and casein turn into substances with similar chemical structure of opiates, like morphine and heroin. There has been quite a substantial amount of research done in this area by Dohan, Reichelt, Shattock, Cade and others, where gluten and casein peptides, called gluteomorphins and casomorphins, were detected in the urine of schizophrenic patients and autistic children. Incidentally, these substances were also found in patients with depression and rheumatoid arthritis. These opiates from wheat and milk get through the blood-brain barrier and block certain areas of the brain, just like morphine or heroin would do, causing various neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Based on this research the gluten and casein free diet (GFCF diet) has been developed.

Dermorphin & Deltorphin
These are two frightening toxic substances with opiate structure, which have been found in autistic children by a biochemist Alan Friedman, PhD. Dermorphin and deltorphin were first identified on the skin of a poison dart frog in South America. Native people used to dip their darts into the mucous on these frogs in order to paralyse their enemy, because deltorphin and dermorphin are extremely potent neurotoxins. Dr Friedman believes that it is not the frog that produces these neurotoxins, but a fungus, which grows on the skin of this frog. It is possible that this fungus grows in the gut of autistic children, supplying their bodies with dermorphin and deltorphin.

Organic Acid Testing available now in many laboratories around the world identify various metabolites of microbial activity in the gut, which get absorbed and finish up in the patient’s urine. Many of these metabolites are highly poisonous substances.

Low Serum Sulphate is a common picture in these patients, which is an indirect indication of toxicity in the body, because sulphates are essential for many detoxification processes and normal metabolism of brain neurotransmitters. In many cases the person may be getting plenty of sulphates through the diet, but they all get consumed by the detox pathways struggling with the river of toxicity, which is constantly coming from the person’s gut. At the same time another large group of bacteria, which commonly overgrow in the gut dysbiosis situation are sulphate-reducing bacteria, which make sulphur unavailable for the body to use. These bacteria metabolise sulphate coming from food into sulphites, many of which are toxic like hydrogen sulphide for example, which is the gas with rotten egg smell. Some parents of autistic, hyperactive and other children tell me that their child’s stool has this characteristic smell.

The mixture of toxicity in each child or adult can be quite individual and different. But what they all have in common is gut dysbiosis. The toxicity, which is produced by the abnormal microbial mass in these people, establishes a link between the gut and the brain. That is why I have grouped these disorders together and gave them a name: the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAP Syndrome). The GAPS children and adults can present with symptoms of autism, ADHD, ADD, OCD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, schizophrenia, depression, sleep disorders, allergies, asthma and eczema in any possible combination. These are the patients who fall in the gap in our medical knowledge. Any child or adult with a learning disability, neurological or psychiatric problems should be thoroughly examined for gut dysbiosis. Re-establishing normal gut flora and treating the digestive system of the patient has to be the number one treatment for these disorders, before considering any other treatments with drugs or otherwise.

Gut And Psychology Syndrome (GAP Syndrome or GAPS) establishes the connection between the state of the patient’s gut and the functioning of the brain. This connection has been known by medics for a very long time. The father of modern psychiatry French psychiatrist Phillipe Pinel (1745–1828), after working with mental patients for many years, concluded in 1807: “The primary seat of insanity generally is in the region of the stomach and intestines.” Long before him Hippocrates (460-370 BC), the father of modern medicine has said: “All diseases begin in the gut!” The more we learn with our modern scientific tools, the more we realise just how right they were!

References

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Dr. Wahl's website -
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[Jason]

"Despite continued low interest rates and better real GDP growth in the fourth quarter, home prices continue to fall," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a statement. "The trend is down and there are few, if any, signs in the numbers that a turning point is close at hand."

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Note that I described this as a mini-cycle because in the new normal such bursts of consumer spending cannot sustain a high growth virtuous cycle. Without asset price inflation to drive consumers’ sense that their wealth is growing faster than their debt, savings rundowns always reverse.

And now it appears we are there again. Last night’s release of Personal Income Expdenditures (PCE) showed that that give back began in December.

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The budget for this year was to have more JGB issuance than government revenue (about 50% of spending to be borrowed), then the earthquake hit. There are projections that the end total may approach two thirds of total spending will be borrowed for the current fiscal year. There are no new large buyers to replace the above and to sell bonds outside of Japan would require much higher rates. The Japanese people have trusted their financial institutions to the government and the trust has been violated. The money is gone and the government is not fiscally responsible. This party is about to end. John Mauldin called Japan, “A bug looking for a windshield” and Kyle Bass, “A giant ponzi scheme that is running out of time”.

Tattoo this on your forehead, CBs hold well over 15 trillion in securities and loans to banks of various and often dubious quality, an immense gamble. These are all ultimately the responsibility of the sponsoring country, and represents a monster contingent liability. That will be the end game.

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When commodities came back in late 2009-2011, shipping construction surged forward unchecked. Now with China rolling over, the shipping that was produced during this period is increasingly lined up and stacked in Asian harbors around the world. 22.7% of the existing fleet, is due for delivery this year. Shipping rates have collapsed, another event which the markets continue to largely ignore.

Now the IHT is out quoting industry observers stating that European banks may be facing writedowns on these loans on the order of $100 billion, which is even more than their Greek losses.

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You simply can’t satisfy all of the vested parties in a fundamentally broken and collapsing system. After a prolonged period of running around in circles, someone is bound to crash into someone else. The revolutions of the Euro Crisis Wheel are bound to spark an actual revolution that forces the system to do that which is unspeakable - change. It is now starting to look like the disorderly Greek default in March (there is no "orderly" version), which was always inevitable but never until now capable of being marked on a calendar, will be the event that sets that particular ball rolling.

Let’s face it – even after a credit market "rally", the Greek government is paying close to 400% for a year’s worth of money. The hold outs in the PSI right now are the hedge funds who have loaded up on Greek bonds and CDS insurance, as they figure it is better for them to try and get paid out in full on one or the other than agree to "voluntarily" participate in the swap deal and relinquish their rights as bondholders. Indeed, this literal leverage has given them a degree of negotiating leverage that was certainly under-estimated by the mainstream until now.

We should also remember that no one really knows what the knock-on effects of CDS triggers would be throughout the global financial system, since it is entirely unclear how many billions worth of derivatives have been written on Greek debt.

There is absolutely no way that European private banks can afford to take another 50-100% haircut on the bonds of Portugal or Ireland on top of Greece, let alone Spain or Italy. Any attempts towards such an outcome would be even less "voluntary" than the Greek swaps, and that’s really saying something. And who would even want to buy the bonds of these countries after the most coercive restructuring in history just took place? This time it was a few hedge funds that have brought us to the brink of potentially catastrophic debt deflation, next time (if there is one) it will be a much broader force of resistance.

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According to Bullman, its initial collapse in October was driven primarily by a fall-off in demand from China, where declining housing prices pushed purchasing managers to cut back on orders for the raw materials whose transport the Baltic Dry Index reflects.

Bullman said that shipping companies have also been deliberately slowing down their journeys to save fuel, with trips from China to the US going now taking around 50% longer than they were early in 2011.

"What this is signalling is that the world economy is slowing down much more quickly than people have been thinking."

When you have economic contraction you also have a substantial contraction of the trust horizon. This deprives political institutions at the national and international level of the trust that would give them political legitimacy. They become stranded assets from a trust perspective. People no longer internalize the rules that those institutions are attempting to impose. The response is typically surveillance, coercion, and repression. This picture basically suggests that it is pointless to look for solutions from the top down. It is not solutions that will come from the top down but more problems.

So politicians typically make a bad situation worse as expensively as possible. The systems that we have established have become sclerotic and unresponsive, hostage to vested interests with no ability to adapt quickly to give people abilities to cope with rapid change. I don’t look for solutions from them. The people who are part of that system are typically the people who have gained significant amounts from the status quo. These are the last people who are likely to change things, so I don’t look for political actions.

This is a bit like when a body becomes hypothermic, not enough heat. It shuts off circulation to the fingers and toes in order to preserve the body temperature of the core. That’s what we can expect politicians and political systems to do. Unfortunately for us, we are the fingers and toes and we have to look after ourselves. Nothing is coming from the top.

Our centralized life support systems will fail over time because they’re critically dependent on tax revenues that won’t be there and cheap energy that won’t be there. These centralized systems won’t be able to deliver the goods and services we’ve come to rely on.

What we need are alternatives that come from the bottom up. The reason these work is because they operate within the trust horizon. They don’t have to stay small. They can grow to whatever size the trust supports and that can be different in different places. The crucial thing is that they come from the bottom up, they’re small and responsive and not bureaucratic, they make the best use of very small amounts of resources because they don’t have enormous administrative overhead.

It’s amazing what can be done at a very small scale. It wouldn’t replace what the centralized services have given us, but we can cover the basics. The key point is that we have to do it right now because we don’t have much time before we start to see centralized systems failing to deliver what they have delivered in the past. The amount of money in the system can contract very quickly.

We need to begin at the individual level because if we are on a solid foundation ourselves we can then help others. If we are not then our attempt to help others is fundamentally weakened. So we have to get our own house in order but then we have to think much more broadly. We must build community. Relationships of trust are the foundation of society. So we need to work with our neighbors, we need to know our neighbors and we need connections with family and community so we’re less dependent on money.

In many parts of the world where people really don’t have any money anyway, their society functions on barter and gifts, working together, exchanging skills. This works as a model. It doesn’t get you a large fancy sophisticated industrial society because it doesn’t scale up that well. But it works very well at a small scale, and this is the kind of structure that we need to rebuild.

The analogy I use is that if you’re going to fall out of a window how much it hurts when you hit the ground depends on how many floors up you were at the time. If you were on the hundredth floor and you do nothing to prepare before you fall it’s going to be fatal. If you’re much further down it’s less painful. If you fell out of a ground floor window you might not even notice. You just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and not very much has changed.

So the places that will do best are the places where there is already a lot of trust at the foundational level, where people are used to working together, where people are not that far removed from the land. Places where there’s an enormous disconnect between resources that are available in that area and what resources that are actually used, where societies are highly atomized and used to a very high standard of living, those places will see enormous shock to the system because those people don’t have any skills or connection to land or family to fall back on.

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Portugal is going to need a debt haircut. If done properly it may not have to be much more than 25%. But in my view, Portugal is another victim of the bond subordination nonsense going on in Europe [see for more]. The math is pretty straightforward here, and I will not even include the potential banking liability. About €25 billion in UK-law Portuguese bonds trade out of €104 billion and the ECB holds €20 billon, leaving €59 billion in the hands of local-issue holders, namely Tia Miriam (Aunt Millie) pensions and Portuguese and Spanish banks. So if Portugal needs a 25% debt reduction to get back on track, and the ECB refuses to participate, and the UK law bondholder generally refuse to play along, that means to get to the 25%, the local remaining bondholders (59 bn) get marked down as much as 45%.

Given that arrangement, what would you want to be paid on bonds in a country that is in a austerity induced depression, and now trapped into bank failures. 15-17% makes sense by those rules. If the rules of engagement change, then 17% on Portuguese bonds might be a bargain. Or since retail investors really don’t have access to Portuguese bonds, perhaps Portugal Telecom (PT) can be utilized. Unfortunately the Trioka seems committed to the strangulation path, more debt, more impoverishment, and more subordination.

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Here's your trigger -- I'll go out on a limb and make a prediction that if Sarcozy loses the second half is going to be very bad in global markets.

One potential hiccup emerged when Sarkozy said that ratification of the fiscal treaty in France will likely be delayed until after elections in April and May that polls suggest he will lose. The front-runner, Socialist Francois Hollande, has vowed to renegotiate the treaty, saying it is biased toward austerity.

If France refuses to ratify and then goes hogwild trying to borrow its way out of the hole the entire European game will blow up, especially if other nations have accepted and partially (or entirely) implemented fiscal measures first.

Watch this closely and mark this post -- by the end of the first half, we'll know.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=2855117" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If anyone is tired of the daily European soap opera with surrealistic tragicomic overtones, they can simply shift their gaze to the 8th largest economy in the world: the insolvent state of California, whose controller just told legislators has just over a month worth of cash left. From the Sacramento Bee: "California will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/californi ... ller-warns" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GSK fined measly $90,000 by Argentine court for killing 14 babies in illegal vaccine trials; drug giant actually appealing
http://www.naturalnews.com/034821_GSK_v ... abies.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FDA hacked into private Gmail accounts of its own whistleblower scientist using covert spy technology
http://www.naturalnews.com/034824_FDA_s ... owers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Massive U.S. Military Buildup Reported Around Iran; Up to 100,000 Troops Ready By March
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/m ... h_01302012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

WASHINGTON — Iran's top officials now may be more willing to sponsor attacks in the United States, the top U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday in a warning that reflected rising tensions over Tehran's suspected nuclear weapons program.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/01/31/1 ... sment.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In Advance Of Third Aircraft Carrier Approaching Iran, US Nuclear Sub And Destroyer Enter Red Sea

While a few days ago we reported that the US was set to place a third aircraft carrier, ostensibly the USS Enterprise, in the Arabian Gulf in the indefinite future, it appears that the US is wasting little time in making preparations for this latest military escalation against Iran. As RT reports, "two ships of the US Navy, the nuclear submarine USS Annapolis and the destroyer USS Momsen have passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Although their destination is confidential, they are now getting dangerously close to the Persian Gulf. ­The ships’ passage was a major operation for the Suez administration as due to safety reasons they had to close off the canal to all other traffic and even shut down the bridge, disrupting the link between the banks for some four hours. The traffic on the roadways alongside the canal was also restricted, Interfax news agency reports." What's next: reports that Russian destroyers in Syria are also moving in the general direction of the Arabian Gulf?

More from RT:

There are no reports regarding the destination of the vessels, but the news come amid the ongoing crisis in the relationship between the US and Iran. There is mounting speculation that the Annapolis and the Momsen are heading to the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US naval forces already present in the region.

Currently the US has two aircraft carrier groups in the region headed by USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Carl Vinson. It is expected that another aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, will join the strike force in March.

Since the EU placed a new round of sanctions on Iran by putting an embargo on Iranian oil, Iran is once again threatening to use military force to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, a Kuwaiti maritime official said on Monday that the Gulf Cooperation Council group of Arab countries have contingency plans for coastguards and naval forces should there be an attempt by Iran to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

When one reads of such developments, what can one think but: Nobel peace prize.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/advance-t ... er-red-sea" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. and allies transfer troops to Persian Gulf
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/usa/1986968.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel sets up elite command unit to strike behind 'enemy' lines
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 97652.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

France to send nuclear aircraft carrier to Persian Gulf
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/europe/1986977.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BRUSSELS - Gazprom has begun cutting gas supplies to the EU in order to meet higher demand in Russia caused by severe cold weather.
http://euobserver.com/19/115097" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eurozone unemployment at new record high
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 97441.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rate on 30-year home mortgage drops to record 3.88%

This is great news if you have solid employment, 20% down payment range and good credit. My from perspective we can have 1% mortgages rates and 100K average home prices and it won’t matter. People need jobs and income that support these types of debt service levels. Rates will continue to fall until the market finds a rate the works for our current economic situation. With more jobs being sent overseas and income stay flat if not declining, I see these rates going even lower.

http://www.bankreorealestate.com/real-e ... -3-88.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What we do know is that the Fed’s perpetually low interest rates and the potential for another few hundred billions in QE are very unlikely to make a dent in the ongoing global deleveraging tsunami, and therefore the natural flight to safety away from currencies such as the Euro for U.S. Treasuries and the U.S. Dollar. That is even truer if the ECB floods the European banks with another €500b to €1tn of LTRO funds in February, since very little of that money will actually make it to the distressed consumers, businesses and sovereigns that need it the most.

The reality is that the Fed has no other choice but to leave open the possibility of further monetary easing in the near future, because otherwise it would be responsible for an uncontrollable downward cascade of markets around the world.

And if one is looking hard enough to be vindicated for consistently repeated predictions of money printing to, as Buzz Lightyear would declare, “infinity and beyond”, then one will certainly find latent threats of such printing contained within almost all of the statements released by almost every central banker in the world. What’s much more disturbing is the notion that knee-jerk market reactions to these statements by precious metals (which is fittingly compared to “general risk” in the graph) are somehow indicative of a sustainable price trend.

In the next paragraph, we get the caveat that it is not all “smooth sailing” for gold, because rumors of CME margin hikes or actual hikes could surface at any moment and destroy the otherwise developing moonshoot in gold and silver.

That’s actually not really a caveat as much as a re-assertion of the flawed premise that market demand for PMs is indestructible outside of centrally-coordinated “takedowns”. What they don’t mention is that debt deleveraging (something quite prevalent these days) is the equivalent of demand destruction, and that’s all a margin hike really is.

Among the plethora of very useful reports/analyses produced by ZeroHedge on a daily basis, these brief postings may not seem like such a big deal. However, they represent a goal-seeked mentality and modus operandi that is frequently on display within the HI/gold crowd and can lead to very misleading conclusions.

None of the above is to suggest that the price of gold will necessarily plunge into the abyss in the near future, but it most certainly does suggest that there are significant risks gold will fail to hold its current valuations around $1700/oz, let alone reach $2000/oz and beyond. The risks are especially formidable when we stop pretending like the Fed, ECB, Bernanke, Geithner or anyone else is in a good financial or sociopolitical position to halt the upcoming waves of debt deflation. We here at The Automatic Earth only ask that you keep these risks in mind as you continue to read and contemplate.

http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... c+Earth%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Dutch team’s aim was to create a more powerful and easily transmitted version of the avian flu, a goal that on the face of it seems disquieting and unnecessary: H5N1 as it occurs naturally already is highly potent when it passes from birds to humans.

Fouchier’s team, supported in part by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)...

A 2009 Congressional Research Service report on oversight of high-containment biological laboratories noted that “the total amount of planned or existent BSL-4 space in the United States has increased by an estimated twelve-fold since 2004.”

On the New York Times Consults blog, Laurie Garrett, author of the first tome to sound the alarm, back in 1994, about the dangers of emerging diseases, pointed to a decade’s worth of papers in which scientists have published “blueprints for the organisms that caused the Black Death, several types of influenza outbreaks, Ebola epidemics, the 2003 SARS pandemic and many more.”

Garrett, now senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, noted that, in the past, sequencing organisms was expensive and time consuming; it is now cheap and speedy, and added that “So-called life hackers are now swapping genes for diseases in and out of hundreds of species of microbes.” Garrett opined that “Nothing currently written into law, treaties or scientific codes of ethical behavior anticipated the synthetic biology revolution.”

http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=6049" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...must be a lot of research money floating around for this type of work to create that kind of expansion....

The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Tuesday elevated the alert status for Cleveland Volcano.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/31/422915 ... forms.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Food Crisis as Drought and Cold Hit Mexico

MEXICO CITY — A drought that a government official called the most severe Mexico had ever faced has left two million people without access to water and, coupled with a cold snap, has devastated cropland in nearly half of the country.

The government in the past week has authorized $2.63 billion in aid, including potable water, food and temporary jobs for the most affected areas, rural communities in 19 of Mexico’s 31 states. But officials warned that no serious relief was expected for at least another five months, when the rainy season typically begins in earnest.

Nearly 7 percent of the country’s agricultural land, mostly in the north and center, has suffered total loss, according to Victor Celaya del Toro, director of development studies at the Agriculture Ministry.

The drought, which has been compounded by freezing temperatures, has already pushed up the cost of some produce, including corn and beans. The governor of the Central Bank, Agustín Carstens, speaking last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, cautioned that it might cause inflation to rise later this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/world ... .html?_r=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hunger, drought affect Mexico's Tarahumara natives
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Hunge ... s_999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China's largest freshwater lake dries up
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... e-dries-up" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The stunning image of a UFO was captured on video last week, but is it an alien craft, or is there a simpler explanation?

Anthony Piceno, of American Fork, Utah, said he was drawn to the sight in the air because it was like nothing he had ever seen before.

His footage of the object later appeared on The Weather Channel.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -Utah.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AGalagaChiasmus]

YAYAYAYAYAY! Thanks for coming back rounding up the news!

[Jason]

YAYAYAYAYAY! Thanks for coming back rounding up the news!

LOL...your welcome. Going to try and stick to highlights....aim for a garden hose instead of the past fire hose.

[jcricket6048]

Reckon I'll break from my silence temporarily to provide what I consider some key informational links....

Why Isn't Illinois A Bigger Story Than Greece?
http://www.financialsense.com/contribut ... han-greece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. treasury raids federal employee pension funds to cover debts
http://www.naturalnews.com/034762_treas ... funds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/a ... ntPage=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spread the Wealth Around: 48.5% of American Households Receive Government Benefits; $6,640 For Every Member Of the Population
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/s ... n_01252012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAPD: Joint Military Drills In Downtown LA Won’t Disrupt Public’s ‘Daily Routines’
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/01/ ... -routines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Battle Los Angeles: Joint Military Training Exercises in L.A. Seek to Prepare Soldiers for Urban Warfare
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/b ... e_01242012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Opening A New Theater of War In The North American Homeland
http://disquietreservations.blogspot.co ... north.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

World War III Has Begun – It`s the First Asymmetric War Long Awaited by Pentagon Think Tanks
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2 ... tanks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

that is too bad that they had to stoop so low as to take away those who has earned their retirement and then the federal government take it away because they screwed up. I for one use to work for the government and my dad is retired from there and I am wondering if he will enjoy his retirement he worked so had for his golden years. It is not right and the government should not have that right to take away those who worked so hard to earn their keep.

[Jason]

Reckon I'll break from my silence temporarily to provide what I consider some key informational links....

Why Isn't Illinois A Bigger Story Than Greece?
http://www.financialsense.com/contribut ... han-greece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. treasury raids federal employee pension funds to cover debts
http://www.naturalnews.com/034762_treas ... funds.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/a ... ntPage=all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Spread the Wealth Around: 48.5% of American Households Receive Government Benefits; $6,640 For Every Member Of the Population
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/s ... n_01252012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

LAPD: Joint Military Drills In Downtown LA Won’t Disrupt Public’s ‘Daily Routines’
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/01/ ... -routines/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Battle Los Angeles: Joint Military Training Exercises in L.A. Seek to Prepare Soldiers for Urban Warfare
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/b ... e_01242012" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Opening A New Theater of War In The North American Homeland
http://disquietreservations.blogspot.co ... north.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

World War III Has Begun – It`s the First Asymmetric War Long Awaited by Pentagon Think Tanks
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2 ... tanks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

that is too bad that they had to stoop so low as to take away those who has earned their retirement and then the federal government take it away because they screwed up. I for one use to work for the government and my dad is retired from there and I am wondering if he will enjoy his retirement he worked so had for his golden years. It is not right and the government should not have that right to take away those who worked so hard to earn their keep.

We are all going to suffer....and most if not all will not enjoy their golden years. And quite frankly those generations are just as liable, if not more so, for voting in all the idiots that did all the damage. We reap what we sow...individually and collectively....for better or worse.

[Jason]

The 'Baltic Dry Index' (a measure of global shipping demand/prices) has fallen for a month straight to record lows. When this index falls it suggests that there is trouble in the shipping industry, raising questions over the stability of shipping firms. As it turns out many of these firms have secured their financing from Greek and other European banks – meaning if they start defaulting on their loans these banks could take losses. This raise further questions over the bank recapitalisation plans and whether such contingencies have been thought of in the second Greek bailout (which sets aside €20bn for Greek banks).

Furthermore, not only does global demand seem to be faltering (although the index may not be the best judge of this), there is also a massive over supply of ships – due to orders put in during the boom period in 2008 which are only just being completed now (the equivalent of 22.7% of the cargo shipping fleet is due be produced this year alone). This suggest a combination of supply and demand issues which means this could become a lasting problem and will not just be tackled with a boost in growth in Asia.

Data on exposure to shipping loans is scarce, but in 2010 Greek banks had a portfolio of $16bn just on Greek owned shipping. Other European banks had about a $50bn exposure. Of this the 4 largest UK banks had $16bn and 10 German banks had $18bn.

The volatility of the index should be kept in mind but it’s an interesting fresh angle on the problems in Europe. If things keep going badly in the shipping sector, which it seems almost certain they will, some banks could face an increase in the level of non-performing loans on their books. Given that capital buffers already seem to be spread pretty thin this could cause problems. Of course this could take time to have an impact, if it does at all, but worth keeping an eye on.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/greece-ba ... -and-oh-my" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A month ago, we joked when we said that for Obama to get the unemployment rate to negative by election time, all he has to do is to crush the labor force participation rate to about 55%. Looks like the good folks at the BLS heard us: it appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million. No, that's not a typo: 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month! So as the labor force increased from 153.9 million to 154.4 million, the non institutional population increased by 242.3 million meaning, those not in the labor force surged from 86.7 million to 87.9 million. Which means that the civilian labor force tumbled to a fresh 30 year low of 63.7% as the BLS is seriously planning on eliminating nearly half of the available labor pool from the unemployment calculation. As for the quality of jobs, as withholding taxes roll over Year over year, it can only mean that the US is replacing high paying FIRE jobs with low paying construction and manufacturing. So much for the improvement.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/record-12 ... e-tumbles-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Actual jobs, not seasonally adjusted, are down 2.9 million over the past two months. It is only after seasonal adjustments – made at the sole discretion of the Bureau of Labor Statistics economists – that 2.9 million fewer jobs gets translated into 446,000 new seasonally adjusted jobs." A 3.3 million "adjustment" solely at the discretion of the BLS?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/trimtabs- ... ast-2-mont" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....based on income tax collections....a lot of liars (or no filers - congressman) out there....

$5 Trillion and Change - Obama's four years have seen the four highest deficits since 1946
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... n_newsreel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Providence Rhode Island Faces "Bankruptcy by June" says Mayor; Pension Plan 32% Funded (and About to Get Worse)
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Former DEA Chief: Hezbollah Eyeing Southwest Border, ‘Hell to Pay in the Not Too Distant Future’
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/former- ... ant-future" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel says Iran seeking U.S.-range missile
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/ ... 9Q20120202" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel Warns US Jews: Iran Could Strike Here
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/israel-wa ... yxPkuTd58E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





War Against the Weak: How Philanthropy Funded the US Eugenics Movement
http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2012/02 ... -movement/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Farm State Outrage Intensifies Over Labor Dept. Proposal to Ban Children From Doing Some Chores on Farms
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/farm-st ... ome-chores" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Microsoft buys eugenics technology from Merck, becomes drug development partner with top global vaccine manufacturer
http://www.naturalnews.com/034848_Micro ... enics.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Officials Recommend the HPV Vaccine for All Boys
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/healt ... ss&emc=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...gotta prevent that cervical cancer....

Vaccines Are Exploding Kids’ Immune Systems
http://vactruth.com/2012/02/02/vaccines ... e-systems/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Diet Drinks: America's Passion for Poison
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php? ... &aid=29029" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...not to mention a whole slew of other products (like bubble gum)....

Japanese government is going to raise the safety limit for infant
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/02/japa ... or-infant/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Major flooding hit parts of Australia's east Friday, stranding thousands of residents, prompting a military airlift and leaving some communities only accessible by helicopter
http://news.yahoo.com/floods-create-inl ... w--;_ylv=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Scramble for Fuel as Record Cold Snap Blasts Europe
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46242928" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thousands Trapped As Eastern Europe Freezes
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16161638" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dozens killed as icy weather grips Japan
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breakin ... 6261147670" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eight months of ceaseless activity have covered the landscape around Chile’s Puyehue Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex in ash.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natura ... 65&src=nha" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....your one link update on most of the extreme weather and earth related issues -
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

US closes embassy in Damascus, pulls American diplomats out of Syria
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ ... ingtonpost" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. closes embassy in Damascus due to Syria violence
http://news.yahoo.com/u-closes-embassy- ... 45655.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iran launches observation satellite: media
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Iran_ ... a_999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

USS Enterprise Holding Drills To Attack Made Up 'Faux Theocracy' Shahida States And 'Pesky Garnetians'
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/uss-enter ... garnetians" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Israel: Iran's nuclear arms program is complete, its missiles can reach US
http://www.debka.com/article/21700/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Iranian battle group docks in Saudi Arabia
http://en.trend.az/regions/iran/1988224.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama: Israel has not decided on attacking Iran
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-573 ... king-iran/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Magnitude 5 Earthquake Strikes Near Iran’s Bushehr Nuke Plant
http://en.rian.ru/world/20120205/171156414.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Oil may hit $160 amid tension: Kuwait official
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/06/o ... -official/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“Unity is the cure to lots of ailments in our country.” -Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

In predicting the outcome of a war or serious conflict scenario in the Middle East, unfortunately the threat of U.S. military presence and western economic sanctions in itself will do nothing to detour Iran from wrapping up its nuclear program. In fact these circumstances and the harm to Iran’s economy seem only to raise Iran’s ire even more. Therefore, I see U.S. moves as nothing more than running down the clock on non-military tactics. Meanwhile, this weekend Iran is starting new military exercises on the ground. What’s interesting about this exercise is that it involves Revolutionary Guards and not Iran’s navy. This tells us the obvious, that Iran will employ asymmetric and non-conventional tactics to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian (and American) politics are also playing a role. In a stacked election coming on March 2, the new Iranian parliament (the Majles) will arrive. With its arrival, all remaining vintages of a moderate faction will be swept out. This is a power consolidation by religious Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to eliminate all opposition from Ahmadinejad and any surviving moderates. In some respects, Khamenei makes Ahmadinejad seem a bit tame. He is convinced that the West’s political-economic system is decayed and is ripe for a fall, and he seems more than willing to put his theory to the test. He compares the West today to the crumbling Soviet Union of the late 1980s, which was “swept away” because it had “no logic.” ["Khamenei Won't Retreat"]

After the power consolidation, Khamenei will be more than willing to employ the more aggressive asymmetric tactics used by the Revolutionary Guard to try and bait Israel and the U.S. into some accident or retaliation, even before a strike against Iran’s facilities. Daring a strike would be a way of flipping a big middle finger and demonstrating to all that Iran’s nukes were buried safely underground. If that doesn’t work, he will provoke. After all, the U.S. was recently warned by Iran about its presence in its home court, the Persian Gulf. The U.S. responded by employing three aircraft carrier groups.

Post March 2, Iran will become even more hardline and will literally bunker down. At this point, Iran and its nuke capability will become a central topic of U.S. elections. Republican presidential candidates are going to play to the idea that potentially secular and democratic voices are being suppressed by a tyrannical regime in Tehran and Obama is not lifting a finger. There is going to be saber-rattling calls in the U.S. to “support the Green Movement,” and for “regime change” in Iran. Once sanctions fizzle and this heats up, Obama will be more and more on the defensive politically.

As a variable to all this, Israel could strike before these March 2 elections in a somewhat wild gamble to rattle the cage in Iran and hope for a different internal outcome other than the table that is now being set. But for real opposition to materialize within Iran — and given that the Green Movement was hung out to dry by the world in 2009 — the U.S. would also have to be heavily engaged militarily, taking out the Revolutionary Guard, the hardline cleric leadership in addition to the nuke facilities. That’s a tall order.

On the other hand, the huge dilemma for Israel is that the Iranians have enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon. Israel has serious doubts about that. The immediate tactical variable driving Israel’s apparent push toward strikes is the ongoing installation of centrifuges in the new enrichment facility at Fordo near Qom [Iran nuclear work at underground bunker confirmed]. The Fordo facility is located inside a small mountain, making it very difficult to destroy from the air, at least not without using nuclear weapons. That would force Israel into using the dreaded and devastating “N” word against Iran, which would be far more disastrous in terms of worldwide opinion than a more conventional preemptive strike right now. Even if Israel used its conventional capabilities of precision bombing and Israeli commandos, this will be a difficult and possibly inadequate mission. Further, the odds of tactical success are dropping by the day.

With the rise of the Arab Spring and the threat of more unfriendly regimes in places like Egypt, Israel may be tempted to make it known that they will reestablish the credibility of what Israeli elites like to call their “deterrent edge.” If Israel gets talked out of using preemptive deterrence against a nuke facility deep inside an Iranian mountain, what credibility would they have for much of anything that involved risk or cost in that neck of the woods? Israeli journalist Rachel Wood in a New York Times interview calls the atmosphere in Israel ”afflicted with anxiety” with the perception of an “existential threat.” This is translating into unbearable political pressure to do something soon.

I think the press is now being used to leak back-channel threats and decoys. The U.S., and western mainstream media in particular, seem to be more about foreign policy propaganda than real assessment right now. Beyond that, there is a huge amount of pyschops and propaganda on the Internet on this topic — stories such as Iranian women training to be ninjas, etc. — making research very difficult. My instincts tell me something is up.

For example, the Turkish media reports that Israel denies a story out of the Herald of London that states Israel would do a flyover of Turkey and would even use the U.S. base in Turkey to hit Iran. The Herald story is nonsense and is used to put Turkey on notice. Turkey might try to engage this flight. The flyover of Saudi Arabia would be destabilizing to the House of Saud and would be a very poor choice. Yet the Times of London ran a story claiming a deal with the Saudis was made. As Max Keiser puts it, the problem is that the U.S./UK/Israel only know what Murdoch feeds them. Even Hillary Clinton admitted recently that “we are losing the information war.”

With the U.S. occupation of Iraq concluded and its air space returned, Jordan and Iraq would become the gateway for the Israeli flyover, rendering the routes on this map obsolete. Nevertheless, this route would imply a green light from the U.S. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Panetta is using April to June as the strike period to both create a decoy and as an attempt to claim plausible deniability when the strike comes early. In conclusion, I think the strike will come in February, and before the March 02 Iranian house cleaning.

http://forums.wallstreetexaminer.com/to ... k-on-iran/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Royal Navy is sending a nuclear submarine to the Falkland Islands amid heightened tensions between Britain and Argentina over the disputed islands, it was reported today.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 58981.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shipping Rates Go... Negative

Following the endless collapse in the Baltic Dry, it was only a matter of time before the shipping industry one-upped the Chairsatan, and was the first to introduce, dum dum dum, negative rates. That's right: you are now paid to hire a ship. Via Bloomberg:

GLENCORE HIRES SHIP AT MINUS $2,000 A DAY, GMI SAYS
GMI TO CONTRIBUTE $2,000 A DAY TO GLENCORE'S FUEL COSTS
GLOBAL MARITIME'S U.K. MD STEVE RODLEY CONFIRMS DEAL BY PHONE

Why is this happening? Perhaps because ships have to be kept seaworthy and in motion or else they become scrappage in as little time as 3 months. Think sharks. Needless to say, this will play havoc with shipping company (and affiliated entities') liquidity, as the biggest default wave in the history of the industry is about to be unleashed and tens if not hundreds of billions of European secured loans are about to be "impaired."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/shipping- ... o-negative" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Huge Plunge In Petroleum and Gasoline Usage

As I have been telling you recently, there is some unprecedented data coming out in petroleum distillates, and they slap me in the face and tell me we have some very bad economic trends going on, totally out of line with such things as the hopium market - I mean stock market.

This past week I actually had to reformat my graphs as the drop off peak exceeded my bottom number for reporting off peak - a drop of ALMOST 4,000,000 BARRELS PER DAY off the peak usage in our past for this week of the year.

I have added a new graph to my distillates report, a "Graph of Raw Data" to which I have added a polynomial trendline. You can easily see that the plunge is accelerating and more than rivals 2008/09 and in gasoline is greatly exceeding the rate.

An amazing thing to note is that in two out of the last three weeks gasoline usage has dropped below 8,000,000 barrels per day.

The last time usage fell that low was the week of September 21, 2001! And you know what that week was! Prior to that you have to go back to 1996 to have a time period truly consistently below 8,000. We have done it two out of the last three weeks.

...

Note that on a best curve fit, petroleum usage is back to 1997 level and gasoline usage is back to 2001 level. Moreover, as Wallace points out, two out of the last three weeks gasoline usage has dropped below 8,000,000 barrels per day.

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CRE: Another Half Off Sale
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/ ... ed+Risk%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....ahh that pesky deflation.....buy more gold/silver (j/k)....

Magnitude 6.0 - NEGROS - CEBU REGION, PHILIPPINES
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 007wiv.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Magnitude 6.7 - NEGROS - CEBU REGION, PHILIPPINES
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 007wgq.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Magnitude 6.0 - VANUATU
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 007w87.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Magnitude 6.1 - VANUATU
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... 007w23.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Solar activity has been low, however Sunspot 1410 continues to expand as it approaches the northwest limb. A new sunspot is trying to form to the east of 1410 as well on Monday. There will be a chance for C-Class flares within the next 24 hours.

Another farsided Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is seen in the latest images. We will begin to see returning active regions on the eastern limb by early next week.

http://www.solarham.com/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fukushima Reactors Heating Up Again … Water Fails to Cool Them Down - TEPCO says the rise in temperatures indicate that the flow of water in the reactor may have changed direction after plumbing work, and is no longer able to properly cool down the melted down nuclear fuel.
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/fu ... -them-down" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Bridges, Roads Being Built by Chinese Firms
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-brid ... t=14594944" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

China Rejects Genetically Modified Rice in Opposition to GMO Crops
http://naturalsociety.com/china-rejects ... gmo-crops/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Era of Falling Food Prices Seen at End on Growth in Population
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-0 ... -says.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...yeah weather or corporate farming methodology has absolutely nothing to do with it...

Droughts are deceptive disasters: they knock down no buildings, spread no debris. But they are disasters nonetheless. The Texas drought that started more than a year ago has cost ranchers and farmers billions of dollars in lost income or additional expenses. It has forced hundreds of towns and cities to restrict water use and has turned lakes into ponds. Last year was the driest in Texas since 1917, with a total statewide rainfall of 15 inches, much lower than the average of 27.64 inches, according to John Nielsen-Gammon, the state climatologist.

The Spicewood Beach well is one of 13 public water systems in the state that are projected to run out of water in 180 days or less and that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is tracking. Officials who oversee many of those systems are taking steps to increase their water supply, including digging new or deeper wells. One water system that serves about 1,500 people in Limestone County near Waco is estimated to run out of water on March 1.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/us/te ... .html?_r=2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deadly cold weather continues in Europe
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deadly ... 2012-02-05" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... ngineering" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Inspectors find ‘unusual’ wear on new tubes carrying radioactive water at Calif. nuclear plant
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What is the CDC hiding about Morgellons?
http://www.noonehastodietomorrow.com//i ... &Itemid=38" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Bird flu mutation sparks fears of deadly pandemic
http://www.smh.com.au/world/bird-flu-mu ... 1qxri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Scientists Find Correlation Between Autism and Aluminum in Vaccines
http://www.noonehastodietomorrow.com//i ... &Itemid=39" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(NaturalNews) Mass vaccination is apparently not the only depopulation strategy being employed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as new research funded by the organization has developed a way to deliberately destroy sperm using ultrasound technology.
http://www.naturalnews.com/034834_Bill_ ... ility.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress Welcomes Drones Into American Skies ASAP
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/02/con ... rican.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress Is Demanding That The FAA Make Room For The US Drone Fleet
http://www.businessinsider.com/congress ... 015-2012-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Offshore Everywhere: How Drones, Special Operations Forces, and the U.S. Navy Plan The End National Sovereignty As We Know It
http://www.noonehastodietomorrow.com//i ... Itemid=114" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Prison Business: Privatize Profits, Socialize Losses
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/02/us- ... ofits.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It was a murder mystery made for Hollywood, as well as made in Hollywood…Two weeks ago, on a hiking trail in the shadow of the iconic Hollywood Sign, a decapitated human head was found in a plastic bag.
http://www.madcowprod.com/02022012.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What’s the worst policy idea that would cause the most damage to society? I’m tempted to say the value-added tax since our hopes of restraining the federal government will be greatly undermined if we give the buffoons in Washington a new source of revenue. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why Mitt Romney may be an ever greater long-term threat to American exceptionalism than Barack Obama.
http://www.noonehastodietomorrow.com//i ... Itemid=122" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Original_Intent]

CRE: Another Half Off Sale
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... ed+Risk%29

....ahh that pesky deflation.....buy more gold/silver (j/k)....

very funny - but silver was around $10/oz. when the RE bubble burst - trading at $33 and change today...the bursting of one bubble creates another most often, obviously gold and silver have behaved nothing like RE, and RE clearly has a long way to go down yet.

I am not saying you are wrong on the overall deflation call - just saying the jab at silver and gold doesn;t really hold water...no comparison. PMs could still shed 2/3 of their current value and you still would be at a break-even - held their value.

It sure doesn't mean now is a good time to buy PMs or anything other than food and other necessities - sure glad that I have a few PMs to liquidate to buy more of that stuff, it's certainly held and gained value better than that fiat garbage...

[Jason]

CRE: Another Half Off Sale
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... ed+Risk%29

....ahh that pesky deflation.....buy more gold/silver (j/k)....

very funny - but silver was around $10/oz. when the RE bubble burst - trading at $33 and change today...the bursting of one bubble creates another most often, obviously gold and silver have behaved nothing like RE, and RE clearly has a long way to go down yet.

I am not saying you are wrong on the overall deflation call - just saying the jab at silver and gold doesn;t really hold water...no comparison. PMs could still shed 2/3 of their current value and you still would be at a break-even - held their value.

It sure doesn't mean now is a good time to buy PMs or anything other than food and other necessities - sure glad that I have a few PMs to liquidate to buy more of that stuff, it's certainly held and gained value better than that fiat garbage...

...that comment was intended mainly for the two items prior to that one....but inclusive of that one as well (thus thrown in at the end).....the point being - deflationary demand destruction....

silver/gold are in a bubble!!!

[Still Learning]

Jason,

I agree with you in most things regarding inflation/deflation. I have a question for you regarding SLV, GLD. In my opinion these are fraudulent vehicles that are not backed by the actual precious metal. Would you agree? If so, and people were to start calling in their PM's, only to find they don't exist (not sure how this would exactly happen), all of those buyers would be out all of their money...or at least a portion if it were partially backed. Correct? If that is right, then I tend to believe that in such an event, the PM market would go insane, with people buying up every ounce of gold or silver they could get their hands on, driving the price sky high. What are your thoughts on all of this?

As you and I have conversed in the past regarding inflation/deflation, I think that it simply doesn't fit the prophetic warnigs that we will see hyperinflation. Otherwise debt would be good. I was thinking that we would have seen more inflation across the board if the money that was printed was falling into the hands of the middle class. But it is in the hands of the bank. They can print and print all day long and we won't be affected by inflation if that money never hits the streets...i.e. get's spent by consumers...middle class. Thoughts on this?

Just a couple thoughts! Thanks in advance for your input!

[Jason]

Jason,

I agree with you in most things regarding inflation/deflation. I have a question for you regarding SLV, GLD. In my opinion these are fraudulent vehicles that are not backed by the actual precious metal. Would you agree? If so, and people were to start calling in their PM's, only to find they don't exist (not sure how this would exactly happen), all of those buyers would be out all of their money...or at least a portion if it were partially backed. Correct? If that is right, then I tend to believe that in such an event, the PM market would go insane, with people buying up every ounce of gold or silver they could get their hands on, driving the price sky high. What are your thoughts on all of this?

As you and I have conversed in the past regarding inflation/deflation, I think that it simply doesn't fit the prophetic warnigs that we will see hyperinflation. Otherwise debt would be good. I was thinking that we would have seen more inflation across the board if the money that was printed was falling into the hands of the middle class. But it is in the hands of the bank. They can print and print all day long and we won't be affected by inflation if that money never hits the streets...i.e. get's spent by consumers...middle class. Thoughts on this?

Just a couple thoughts! Thanks in advance for your input!

Interesting thoughts.....yeah SLV/GLD are paper assets....worth whatever is backing them. Like a deed to a car/home....if there is no car/home....then yes the paper is fraudulent or worthless. Question is....is there gold/silver behind the paper? I don't know the answer to that.

If there isn't and people started asking for the real stuff...then a lot of people bought worthless paper. Whether that has a material difference on actual gold/silver prices (likely local prices at that point as well)???

I guess the bigger question underlying all of this....is why gold/silver??? Is it demand for use in products/goods? Is it demand for use as money (where is that actually occurring)? Or is it just speculation???

If such a scenario develops such that paper assets (in all their varieties) are found irredeemable....imo there will be much bigger problems for people to worry about than trying to collect shiny safe deposits.

Agree with you on the money printing. If there was money printing....serious money printing as has been expounded upon by all the PM pundits....why is demand drying up for lack of money? Why are shipping companies footing part of the fuel costs to transfer goods around the world? Why is gasoline demand at a decade low and falling? Why is job demand at decades low and falling?

Too much debt and too little money to service it with....in fact not enough money in the system to service all the debt. I don't think we've begun to see the deflationary teeth come out....but when they do....all the nonessential stuff will plummet in comparison value....and I put gold/silver in that category....maybe erroneously...and maybe not. A great portion of the debt to my knowledge is in US dollars. I anticipate a massive rebound in the value of the US dollar....and even if by chance it doesn't materialize on the global market....they'll be plenty valuable to service debt at home. Time will tell the story though one way or the other. If people have all their ducks lined up...by all means have fun speculating in precious metals...

The essential commodity that I think is disappearing right when it is needed most....is food. Abnormal weather patterns are disrupting agricultural all over the planet. Industrial agriculture is highly dependent upon cheap fossil fuels which are subject to any number of disruptions....and is pretty much a monopoly for the most part. Any of the foretold disasters, calamities, etc....will stop the supply chain cold for a number of people in this world. If I were to balance debt reduction with anything else....it would be food storage/production.

...my thoughts fwiw....

[Jason]

Marines 'assault' US beaches in amphibious drill
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels ... -drill-794" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





Israel embassies preparing for Iran strike?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340 ... 99,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CNN: US preparing military contingencies for Syria
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=256941" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

US to send second ship to bolster Philippines
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 19/1/.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deployment of U.S. Marines to S.Korea Raises Questions
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/htm ... 01258.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Poland takes over US interests in Syria
http://www.wbj.pl/article-57961-poland- ... ml?typ=ise" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hugo Chavez says Venezuelan troops would fight with Argentina over Falklands
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... lands.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kirchner announces she will appeal to UN on Falklands issue
http://www.penguin-news.com/index.php/n ... ands-issue" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No way of stopping leak of deadly new flu, says terror chief
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 60997.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In a short sale, banks forgive the difference between what is owed and the sale price of the house. Recently, however, banks have started giving cash back to the sellers. So far, the programs are a drop in the bucket. There are millions of pent-up foreclosures and JP Morgan is doing 5,000 short sales a month, hardly enough to make a dent. Still, "short sales represented 9 percent of all U.S. residential transactions in November, the most recent month for which data is available, up from 2 percent in January 2008, according to Corelogic."

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How ‘Shadow Inventory’ Is Killing the Housing Market

The Case-Shiller housing index was released last week, stating that home prices had dropped 3.7% in 2011, compared with the previous year. CoreLogic, a real estate research firm, also recently released a report estimating that prices had dropped in 2011 — by 5%.

“While overall prices declined by almost 5% in 2011, nondistressed prices showed only a small decrease,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist. “Until distressed sales in the market recede, we will see continued downward pressure on prices.”

How much shadow inventory exists? No one knows for sure. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released the January Scorecard, which reported that the number of homes left off the market decreased from 3.9 million units at the beginning of 2011 to 3.6 million at the end of the year. These figures include homes that defaulted through a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. While lenders who participated in such loans are required to report data regarding how much inventory is left off the market, other lenders are under no such obligation. Therefore, it’s difficult for housing analysts to estimate just how much shadow inventory is out there at any given time. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number could be anywhere from 3 million to 10 million homes.

About 4.4 million homes were sold in 2011, according to Bloomberg. There are about 3.5 million homes on the market now, and if you were to add millions and millions of shadow inventory homes into the mix, it would take years to sell all these properties to get to a point where the market was “normal.”

http://business.time.com/2012/02/08/wha ... -for-sale/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For perspective, over 50 percent of all purchases last month in Las Vegas have come from all cash buyers. The median price paid was $80,000. And many of these hit the market as rentals. The number of people doing property management in Las Vegas is astounding.
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/doub ... e+SoCal%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rising U.S. student debt could be next ‘bomb’ for economy

The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, a group that represents consumer debtors and their lawyers, released a survey today of 860 bankruptcy attorneys in the U.S who are members of the organization.

Federal and private student-loan debt is approaching US$1-trillion and surpassed credit-card debt for the first time in 2010, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, a college grant and loan website. The borrowing represents a threat reminiscent of the mortgage crisis, the attorneys group said in a statement. Under U.S. law, student-loan debt — unlike credit-card borrowings — can rarely be discharged in bankruptcy court.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/ ... gle+Reader" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For most American families, who have to balance their living standards to their income, face this conundrum each and every month. Today, more than ever, the walk to the end of the driveway has become a dreaded thing as bills loom large in the dark crevices of the mailbox. What to do?

The conundrum exists because there is not enough money to cover the costs of the current living standard. The average family of four have few choices available to them. The burden of debt that was accumulated during the credit boom can't simply be disposed of. Many can't sell their house because 1 in 4 homes are worth less than what they owe. There is no ability to substantially increase disposable incomes because of a weak employment environment and deflationary wage pressures. Despite the mainstream spin on recent statistical economic improvements the burdens on the average American family are increasing. Nothing brought this to light more than yesterday's release of consumer credit data which rose $19 billion following a $20 billion increase in November.

Rising consumer credit means more consumption which leads to stronger economic growth. Let me explain. Individuals go to work to produce a good or service for which they are paid a finite amount of money for. With that income they pay taxes which leaves them with discretionary income from which to live on. Pay the rent, utilities, insurance and healthcare, food, clothes and put gas in the car and that pretty much consumes the majority of the paycheck. Today, the situation is quite different and a harbinger of potentially bigger problems ahead. The consumer is no longer turning to credit to leverage UP consumption - they are turning to credit to maintain their current living needs. Take a look at the chart of personal consumption expenditures (PCE) versus total consumer credit. Notice in the past year as consumer credit rose you saw an increase in PCE. In the last two months consumer credit has exploded higher but there has been virtually NO increase in PCE levels on a month over month basis. Retail sales during the Christmas shopping season we disappointing and this was even with a large decrease in gasoline prices. This situation becomes even more apparent when we begin to look at the longer term trends of real disposable incomes, consumer credit and personal saving rates.

Most of the deleveraging process that has been occurring up to this point has NOT been voluntary. Banks have been cutting off excess credit lines, consumers have been defaulting on debt, mortgage foreclosures, and personal bankruptcies. Consumers, on the other hand, are struggling just to make ends meet and are in reality doing very little in terms of voluntary debt reduction. As incomes have decreased over the past two years - the inflationary pressures in food, energy, medical and utilities have consumed more of that declining wage base. This is why today we have 1 out of every 2 Americans on some form of governmental assistance, more than 47 million people on food stamps and transfer receipts making up more than 35% of personal incomes.

That is why the recent increases in consumer debt are disturbing. The rise in NOT about increasing consumption by buying more "stuff" it is about just about being able to purchase the same amount of "stuff" to maintain the current standard of living.

It is very reminiscent of 1980 when Dolly Parton penned the lyrics for the movie "9 to 5"...those words will certainly resonate for those of the age 16-24, who weren't even alive when the movie was made, that are part of Occupy Wall Street and are protesting the "rich man" because they feel oppressed by the system. For that age group 1 in 4 are unemployed and they are living back home with parents. In turn, parents are now part of the "sandwich generation" that are caught between taking care of kids and elderly parents. The rise in medical costs and healthcare goes unabated consuming more of their incomes. The deleveraging cycle has only likely been put temporarily on hold. The recent increases in consumer debt without corresponding increases in personal consumption are concerning to say the least.

Hopefully, the recent upticks in the economic data are more than just temporary bounces post the economic crisis of last summer. Hopefully, the recent improvements in employment, while mostly temporary hires, will translate into higher incomes in the future. Hopefully, the recession in the Eurozone, which accounts for about 1/5th of exports and incomes to U.S. corporations, will not negatively impact the U.S.. Hopefully, the U.S. can begin to reduce to long term deficits and get the country back onto a sustainable growth trend.

That is an awful lot of hoping.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-pos ... -conundrum" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Baltic Dry Index pulls out of its death spiral to show a 1.9% gain. The move has all the earmarks of a dead cat bounce - instead of a confirmed market bottom - with shippers still willing to accept unprofitable charters due to an industry-wide oversupply of ships and weak demand.
http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/1 ... ource=feed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Consumer Credit Release: December 2011
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=2861388" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ECB printing does not and cannot trump runs on the banks . Banks can't lend on a fractional reserve basis when money is pulled - if approximately 350 billion has left the eurozone banks collectively since mid 2006 , then on a fractional reserve basis 3.5 trillion in lending power has evaporated ! And as european banks face demands to recapitalize and raise their reserves , further pressure on the banks will occur - putting more scrutiny and lack of trust in these banks. which means more money pulled out. The circular pattern facing the banks is similar to the circular problem facing Greece ( falling revenues beget austerity , causing revenues to further fall - resulting in further austerity which causes further revenue declines ... was , rinse , repeat . )

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2012/0 ... ng-as.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to the China Securities Journal, China's electricity consumption in January fell by 7.5%. We estimate this may be the first decline since 2002 (excluding the financial crisis period in 2008-09), indicating industrial production may have slowed sharply in January.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. ... nalysis%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Okay! So what happens when formaldehyde or Formalin in a vaccine suspension interacts with body chemistry in an infant whose immune system and blood brain barrier are not fully developed?

We know that the body metabolizes ‘ingredients’ differently depending upon whether they are ingested and transit the digestive tract, or if they are injected intramuscularly and can become problematic.

The Carcinogens Background Document found the following:

Formaldehyde ingestion results in severe corrosive damage to the gastrointestinal tract followed by CNS depression, myocardial depression, circulatory collapse, metabolic acidosis and multiple organ failure. The toxic effects of formaldehyde in experimental animals include irritation, cytotoxicity, and cell proliferation in the upper respiratory tract, ocular irritation, pulmonary hyperactivity, bronchoconstriction, gastrointestinal irritation, and skin sensitization. Other reported effects include oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, neurobehavioral effects, immunotoxicity, testicular toxicity, and decreased liver, thyroid gland, and testis weights (IARC 2006, Asian et al. 2006, Sarsilmaz et al. 2007, Golalipour et al. 2008, Ozen et al. 2005, Majumder and kumar 1995). [My emphasis added]

Shouldn’t the CDC and FDA be concerned about the use of formaldehyde and Formalin in vaccines in view of the above damage, especially since the report makes this incriminating statement about ingestion? What happens with injection? No one knows!

http://vactruth.com/2012/02/07/formalde ... na-adduct/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Reactor 2 may be over 90℃
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/02/reac ... %E2%84%83/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rising temperatures at Fukushima raise questions over stability of nuclear plant
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/fe ... ar-reactor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Congress Passes Bill That Opens US Skies To Unmanned Drones
http://www.businessinsider.com/congress ... nes-2012-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Drones: Coming soon to an airspace near you
http://news.yahoo.com/drones-coming-soo ... 01634.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Madonna’s Superbowl Halftime Show: A Celebration of the Grand Priestess of the Music Industry
http://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusines ... -industry/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Floods threaten Queensland town's levees
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/fe ... CMP=twt_fd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Australia urges residents to flee floods
http://www.modernghana.com/news/376653/ ... loods.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crops doomed as township wins reprieve from floodwaters
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-dept ... 6266178265" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mt Cameroon volcano - possible new eruption reported
http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/view_ne ... orted.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Deadly cold front continues as dam bursts in Bulgaria
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Deadl ... a_999.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Freezing weather causes highly contagious winter vomiting bug to spread across Britain
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... g-bug.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jason]

Debt Slavery: 30 Facts About Debt In America That Will Blow Your Mind
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archiv ... -your-mind" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The banking protection racket – 5 charts highlighting the laundering and dismantling of the middle class. New methods of looking at employment. Peak debt and tweaking statistics.
http://www.mybudget360.com/banking-prot ... inflation/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's 2008 Again
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?singlepost=2863358" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Why Is Gasoline Consumption Tanking?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-pos ... on-tanking" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mr. Hasas was a point man in a $400 million U.S. Agency for International Development campaign to build as much as 1,200 miles of roads in some of Afghanistan's most remote and turbulent places."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 91322.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Greece Reacts To the Games Played In Brussels !
http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2012/0 ... reece.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The largest donor to a SuperPAC supporting Ron Paul is Peter Thiel, the sort of ultra-wealthy, super-national figure Paul and his supporters love to hate.

Thiel — who gave $900,000 to the pro-Paul group Endorse Liberty — made his fortune as the co-founder of PayPal; he was also an early investor in Facebook, and is now a major player in the world of high-tech venture capital. He’s also a devoted libertarian and devoted Republican: He hosted a fundraiser for the confrontational gay conservative group GOProud at his grand apartment off Union Square in 2010.

Thiel is also a member of the steering committee of the Bilderberg Group, the elite, invitation-only conference that’s the frequent subject of conspiracy theories.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitic ... lderberger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....if you want to dig a little deeper into that aspect of Ron Paul politics you can start with Semp's deep dive here -
http://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopi ... 30#p258444" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obama official: All women will have ‘free contraceptive services’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/10/o ... w+Story%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hungary Destroys All Monsanto GMO Corn Fields
http://www.trueactivist.com/hungary-des ... rn-fields/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

SEATTLE -- Debris from last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan is already washing up on Washington beaches, and much more is expected. "Debris from Japan, from the tsunami of last March, started arriving last September," he said. "It's unprecedented in recorded history. We have a debris field the size of the state of California."
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Debr ... 94394.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wakefield–Hero or Villain–Decide For Yourself!
http://vactruth.com/2012/02/09/wakefiel ... r-villain/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rand]

"http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitic ... lderberger

....if you want to dig a little deeper into that aspect of Ron Paul politics you can start with Semp's deep dive here -
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11035&start=30#p258444"

Jason, I thank you for this. I hadn't seen it, and this gives me more peace about this whole election than anything else I have seen. This lack of peace about the candidates has been so frustrating. The more I studied and read the more frustrated I would get. I am filled with an ease and a peace again. Your posts are information filled. Thanks.

[Jason]

"http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitic ... lderberger

....if you want to dig a little deeper into that aspect of Ron Paul politics you can start with Semp's deep dive here -
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11035&start=30#p258444"

Jason, I thank you for this. I hadn't seen it, and this gives me more peace about this whole election than anything else I have seen. This lack of peace about the candidates has been so frustrating. The more I studied and read the more frustrated I would get. I am filled with an ease and a peace again. Your posts are information filled. Thanks.

Your welcome....yeah the Ron Paul issue was initially very difficult to swallow for me having put hard earned money behind him in 2008 and wanting to believe with all my heart that we had a chance to make a difference politically. I greatly appreciate Semp for having opened my eyes to some issues that upon further investigation and analysis have changed my belief structure. I have come to fully believe that the reality is this -

I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.

http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/10?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





...no matter who gets into office.....they will be faced with two choices. Either rule a wicked people with an iron fist....or let it all decay into chaos/anarchy. Either way the result is bad....