The 'oh, crap' news for today...

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Col. Flagg
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The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Col. Flagg »

RIP-OFF BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE: How they stole it all...
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/ri ... le-it-all/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This mathematical analysis shows how:

1. The present practice in the U.S. of creating book-entry money via T-securities (deficit spending) in the amount of the principal of the security, with a promise to repay the principal PLUS the interest, is impossible. The interest is never created; the debt is perpetual and must continually be increased or the economy will collapse from de-leveraging;

2. All other fiscal obligations of the nation must be curtailed while the growth in debt will escalate. The exponential growth of the interest and snow-balling debt will increase until the entire wealth of the nation, and of future generations, is inadequate to fund it;

3. ALL money created by Treasury securities goes into the pocket of the Fed ($8.4 trillion for 2010). Not only does the Fed receive the interest (if not sold), but also the value of the security upon maturity (or by sale). Congress has temporary benefit of $1.4 trillion deficit money (until maturity) during 2010;

4. The operation is, as in any Ponzi scheme, predestined for inherent national bankruptcy when buyers to roll over the debt cannot be found. As the scheme becomes visibly precarious, the interest rate will sky-rocket and accelerate the collapse.

The Federal Reserve uses euphemistic smoke and mirrors to obscure their scam. With full knowledge the following is not the way the Fed/government describes the system, allow me to offer a different analysis of their operation.

Congress can pay for federal expenses with funds collected from taxes, but Congress is never satisfied with this amount. The desire to buy votes/campaign contributions from special interest groups induces congress-critters to spend more, and this is identified as deficit spending. To create this make-believe money requires the assistance of the Federal Reserve.

Congress will give the Fed a T-security (bill, bond, or note) and the Fed will accept the document as an asset of one of the twelve FR Banks. The Fed will then establish a line of credit for the U.S. government (a book entry) in the same amount and list the liability as Federal Reserve Notes. Voila !! Fiat money has just been created for Congress to spend

In actual practice within the United States, a collection of taxes for part of the government spending is well known. Payment of part of the government expenses by taxation does not alter the government’s usury program; for analytical analysis they can stand alone. The current pattern of increasingly larger deficit spending is the escalation as the climax of chaos beyond description approaches.

DICTATORSHIP COMING SOON...
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/03/29 ... our-state/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A plot is currently in motion to overthrow the government of the United States. It has already begun and has moved forward in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin but more states are waiting to act. Shooting incidents and bombings are planned and some may already have been carried out. A major false flag terror attack on the United States is expected, followed by states openly defying the federal government, suspending the constitution and declaring a joint “state of emergency.”

Those involved are told 5 Supreme Court justices will back them up, paralyzing the United States.

Michigan has already suspended most constitutional guarantees already and plans are in motion to enact martial law. Police departments will be “defunded,” union contracts illegally dissolved and police powers will pass to mercenary groups derived from Blackwater International.

Schools are being closed in some cities, classrooms being overloaded with students stacked like “cordwood” in others. Universities are facing cutbacks while curriculums face politically inspired gutting.

Those who used to fear increasing taxes, always death to a reelection campaign are now taxing the middle class to death. There will be no more elections, not real ones anyway. In Michigan, in fact, plans are moving forward to dissolve dozens of local governments. They are being replaced by “political consultants” who will be above any court or recall authority. This law has already been written and it says exactly this.

On a federal level, a terror attack of such magnitude is in the works as to force a full scale invasion of Iran, something currently beyond the military capabilities of the United States. America will be left in such a weakened state that a “dark horse” candidate, certainly not one of the gang of political failures waiting in the wings for 2012, will be “placed” into the presidency as in 2000, approved by the Supreme Court.

The name “Petraeus” is being bandied about but there are others.

Emergency decrees are currently being enacted or planned in a dozen states which will suspend elections.The perpetrators? A cabal of international corporations and financial institutions have formed a ruling council that will replace the current government.

First the trade unions will be disbanded, later their leaders will be “shunned”
City and country governments, all municipal boards and authorities, schools and utilities, will be placed under private control
Police, fire, emergency services will be privatized as have prisons in many areas already
Courts will be “suspended,” replaced by appointed boards that will “adjudicate” both civil and criminal issues
A VAT (value added tax) of 15% will be placed on all retail purchases. All Corporate taxes will be ended
George W Bush left the United States economically destroyed, its infrastructure crumbling and its reputation a shambles. Rule of law had failed at home, draconian laws subverted the rights of every American. Our standard of living plunged, home values are still in free fall and most American families have no net worth whatsoever with the majority of middle class families who once had equity in homes are now in debt.

Most American pension plans are insolvent and almost all state and municipal governments are facing having their credit rating lowered enough for their bonds to be rated as “junk.”

Moves have already been made to push many state and city governments into insolvency. The books are being “cooked” and revenues are being slashed while funds for vital services are being rerouted and held up. If an insurrection doesn’t begin with the failure of basic services, plans are there to create one. Martial law will follow. Groups are moving, “policy formulation advisors,” from state to state, pre-staging “emergencies” through sabotage of government functions.

This wasn’t an accident, it took years of careful planning.

Two moves in particular made what is coming up possible.

9/11, the “false flag” and “inside job” of all time and
The Supreme Court’s bizarre decision granting political rights and citizenship to foreign owned corporations that register in the US
The intended result of these acts is the destruction of the United States and its people.

We might ask why but there is no way to find anyone who is accountable other than those who serve the foreign masters.

We are not going to be able to vote our way out of this. That right disappeared a long time ago.

Tens of thousands of Americans are protesting now. It won’t be enough, not until all of us take the first step of calling for a national strike.

Rule of law and the constitution need to be restored, but not by the pack of criminals who wormed their way into office with drug money and promises of constitutional reform.

There is a legal basis to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas immediately. That will afford the American people some immediate basic protections of their freedoms. Other justices are, we believe, equally corrupt.

The moves against the people of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida and other states has to end. There is no question of the severity of this or how illegal and unconstitutional.

It is time to abandon “left” and “right” and go American only, people, not corporations.

The mass of security bureaucracies created over the past decade have to be dismembered and the network of data collection through our cell phones, computers, cars, credit card tracking, healthcare information and more has to end.
Thoughts, opinions?

loquaciousmomma
captain of 100
Posts: 743

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by loquaciousmomma »

The Veterans Today Story smacks of propaganda that is intended to accompany the protests of unions in the midwest.

Someone is trying to foment a civil war.

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Col. Flagg
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Location: Utah County

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Col. Flagg »

loquaciousmomma wrote:The Veterans Today Story smacks of propaganda that is intended to accompany the protests of unions in the midwest.

Someone is trying to foment a civil war.
Maybe. I've found most (if not all) of the articles on the Veteran's Today website to be educational, insightful and intent on delivering the truth - guess we'll see how it plays out.

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Songbird
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Location: South Central Iowa

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Songbird »

This is scary...I will use it as a warning...the first thing I thought of when they said they would put someone in the presidency and said maybe Petraeus, I wondered immediately if he was Greek...The next thing that comes to mind is that if this is true and elections are suspended, what about the Greek for pres prophecy. How will that be affected? Then,...we might be saying goodbye to each other a lot sooner than thought...Who knows...Anyone have any chocolate??? =))

loquaciousmomma
captain of 100
Posts: 743

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by loquaciousmomma »


Tens of thousands of Americans are protesting now. It won’t be enough, not until all of us take the first step of calling for a national strike.

Rule of law and the constitution need to be restored, but not by the pack of criminals who wormed their way into office with drug money and promises of constitutional reform.

There is a legal basis to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas immediately. That will afford the American people some immediate basic protections of their freedoms. Other justices are, we believe, equally corrupt.

The moves against the people of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida and other states has to end. There is no question of the severity of this or how illegal and unconstitutional.

It is time to abandon “left” and “right” and go American only, people, not corporations.

The mass of security bureaucracies created over the past decade have to be dismembered and the network of data collection through our cell phones, computers, cars, credit card tracking, healthcare information and more has to end.
This is particularly what stood out to me.

The only people protesting that I know of are the unions.

Most of the states listed are the states with "union-busting" legislation being considered, or republican governors.

I am sure Veterans Today has been reliable, my eyebrows just went up at these particular assertions.

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John Locke
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Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by John Locke »

loquaciousmomma wrote:

Tens of thousands of Americans are protesting now. It won’t be enough, not until all of us take the first step of calling for a national strike.

Rule of law and the constitution need to be restored, but not by the pack of criminals who wormed their way into office with drug money and promises of constitutional reform.

There is a legal basis to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas immediately. That will afford the American people some immediate basic protections of their freedoms. Other justices are, we believe, equally corrupt.

The moves against the people of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Florida and other states has to end. There is no question of the severity of this or how illegal and unconstitutional.

It is time to abandon “left” and “right” and go American only, people, not corporations.

The mass of security bureaucracies created over the past decade have to be dismembered and the network of data collection through our cell phones, computers, cars, credit card tracking, healthcare information and more has to end.
This is particularly what stood out to me.

The only people protesting that I know of are the unions.

Most of the states listed are the states with "union-busting" legislation being considered, or republican governors.

I am sure Veterans Today has been reliable, my eyebrows just went up at these particular assertions.
Ya i'm with you on this, anyone who wants to support the union rallies/protests probably doesn't have the constitutions best interests at heart.

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Col. Flagg
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Location: Utah County

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Col. Flagg »

The protests in the streets in this country will begin once food stamps, medicaid, medicare, financial assistance and handouts are severely cut back, the dollar loses its reserve currency status and becomes worth much less resulting in severely diminished purchasing power, the dollar is de-valued, the dollar collapses, job losses escalate and/or when food, fuel and commodities become too expensive to buy for most people. Throw in depreciating assets and you've got one heckuva recipe for rioting on your hands. We're not too far away from things reaching a boiling point, sadly.

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mes5464
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Location: Seneca, South Carolina

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by mes5464 »

I for one agree with the writers assessment. I just wish he had included references to the state laws he referred to. I would like to read them for myself.

Additionally, my father-in-law had an impression a few years ago that there wouldn't be an election in 2012. He didn't get anything more than that. Just no election in 2012.

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Original_Intent
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Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Original_Intent »

mes5464 wrote:I for one agree with the writers assessment. I just wish he had included references to the state laws he referred to. I would like to read them for myself.

Additionally, my father-in-law had an impression a few years ago that there wouldn't be an election in 2012. He didn't get anything more than that. Just no election in 2012.
I don't think there has been an election since the late 70s that it wasn;t predicted the next election "wasn't going to happen" for one reason or other.

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John Locke
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Posts: 1077

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by John Locke »

mes5464 wrote:I for one agree with the writers assessment. I just wish he had included references to the state laws he referred to. I would like to read them for myself.

Additionally, my father-in-law had an impression a few years ago that there wouldn't be an election in 2012. He didn't get anything more than that. Just no election in 2012.
thats because we will be gearing up for the world to end of course :D

In all seriousness though i'll keep my eye out for that....

HeirofNumenor
the Heir Of Numenor
Posts: 4229
Location: UT

Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by HeirofNumenor »

There is a legal basis to impeach Justice Clarence Thomas immediately. That will afford the American people some immediate basic protections of their freedoms. Other justices are, we believe, equally corrupt.
I am curious as to why the singling out of Clarence Thomas? What has he done, while on the bench that warrants any kind of punishment? (at least more than anyone else). Why not go after Elena Kagan, who apparently was the solicitor general refusing to argue Obama's birth certificate issue before the SC?

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Jason
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Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Jason »

A First in American History: 2011 Federal Aid Set to Overwhelm State General Funds

NEW ORLEANS, La. - New research indicates 2011 will be the first year that federal aid becomes the largest component of state revenues. Already 27 states, including Louisiana, rely on federal aid as their primary source of funding, but the report’s author describes this year’s level as a critical breaking point.

“It sends a profound message,” says Sven Larson, a research fellow with the Wyoming Liberty Group. “There is a growing consensus among the states that dependency on the federal government is tolerable, even desirable.”

While state revenues have declined during the Great Recession, debt-financed federal aid has risen. Nationwide it now stands at more than one third of total state revenues, with greater state conformity over the level of federal aid dependence.

In 2010, Oklahoma and Louisiana were the most dependent, with federal aid comprising 50 percent or more of their revenue. Ten other states were more than 40 percent dependent, compared to only one state in 2005 – Louisiana at 45 percent.
http://www.thepelicanpost.org/2011/03/2 ... ral-funds/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Percentage of State Revenues from Federal Aid
http://www.thepelicanpost.org/percentag ... deral-aid/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Federal Aid-to-State Programs Top 1,100
http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb_63.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The Unitary State of America
State dependency on U.S. government now at a critical breaking point

From a fiscal viewpoint 2011 may be the year when the United States ceases to function as a federation and effectively becomes a European-style unitary state.

This year, Federal Funds may on average become the single largest fund in state budgets, for the first time passing General Funds as the prime source of state spending. A total of 27 states have already passed that point, but on average Federal Funds are still a smidge smaller than General Funds spending in state budgets.1

In 2005 Federal Funds (known as Federal Aid to States on the federal side of the transaction) represented 29 cents of every dollar spent in the average state budget. Due to sharp increases in General Fund spending that share dropped to 26 cents by 2008. In 2009 and 2010, the ARRA “Stimulus Bill” expanded existing federally funded programs and added new ones, discussed in a recent Cato Institute memo.2

Consequently, in 2010 the federal government on average supplied 34.1 percent of state spending. General Funds represented 36 cents on average, down from 40.3 percent in 2005 and 42.8 percent in 2008.

This somewhat technical analysis conveys a profound message. Every state has increased its dependency on Federal Funds, and low-dependency states have increased their dependency the most. In other words: there is growing fiscal consensus among states that dependency on the federal government is tolerable, even desirable.

Looking at actual dollar amounts, it is once again clear that the ARRA “Stimulus Bill” is the main culprit. From 2005 through 2008 the Federal Funds dollar amount in state budgets grew by, on average, 3.4 percent per year. From ’08 to ‘09, Federal Funds increased by 20.3 percent in absolute dollars; in 2010 the growth was 23.7 percent.

These figures represent non-weighted averages. A study of Federal Aid to States in its aggregate form yields slightly different numbers as the non-weight average is then neutralized. However, the non-weighted average method brings us closer to reality in state budgets.
http://www.thepelicanpost.org/wp-conten ... -11-11.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ilargi: As the US housing market continues its downward slope (do spend some time looking at the excellent graphs from Michael David White below), Fukushima is getting worse by the day, which has Tokyo pondering the sarcophagus (entombing) it should have opted for a long time ago (we will have a Stoneleigh update on the situation one of these days), Ashvin Pandurangi looks at wage arbitrage and workers fast-disappearing bargaining power through the lens of the NFL, the American Football league.

Surprise, surprise, there are many similarities with what is happening in Wisconsin and other states, where workers learn the harsh reality of bargaining for jobs and wages in times of financial crisis. There is no bargaining power left when there are ten people for every available job, many of whom are willing to do your work for much less than you have been paid to do it for years.

This in turn spells doom for the US real estate markets. At long last, we see experts and analysts say what we at The Automatic Earth have said from the very beginning: prices, which have come down over 30% to date, have much further to fall. 80-90% from the peak is in the cards. And not just in America.

There are still tons of voices which claim that the US dollar is about to collapse. That is a shame, because it is not. Banks failing stress tests in Ireland, Portugal seeking a bail-out, and above all dozens of Spanish banks that won't be able to roll over their debt will make sure of that. We are about to witness the start of real capital flight away from Europe and into America and the US dollar.

There are a few possible different scenarios: The Irish people could wake up and refuse bank bailout number 5. Here's thinking they should, and demand back the money from the first 4. This would mean initial total chaos. The Portuguese could do something similar. But the big one this spring is Spain. Too big to fail, and possibly too big to save. We may well see very difficult and protracted negotiations, lasting well into the summer. And because what the Irish are basically asked to do, and may refuse, is to bail out foreign banks (Germany, Britain, Holland), these banks could immediately start to wobble if and when the Irish choose to do the only thing that's good for them.

I wouldn't be surprised if one or more countries vote to leave the Eurozone before Christmas. But I admit, I can't look into the under the table goings-on that may be used to prop up the various corpses. It won’t hold up, but it may push things further down the line for a while. The EU powers that be have deep pockets (supplied by their citizens); their pockets, though, are not deep enough, as they have yet to find out. However this may all be and develop, I'm sure the events in Europe over the next six months won't allow for a dollar collapse. There is no room left for it. The dollar may stink into all hell and high water, but there are worse options out there. So buying USD it will be for the nervous investors around the globe, not euro, not gold, not silver. Not when in panic mode!. Greatly Mismatched Expectations indeed, for many experts and analysts.
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2 ... tched.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Jason
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Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Jason »

Latest SNAP figures are out -
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/29SNAPcurrPP.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Zero Hedge article on it here (using other data series) -
As some Americans managed to find part-time and temporary jobs in March, some other Americans dropped below the poverty level threshold. 105 thousand in one month to be precise. The total foodstamp participation in January hit an all time record 44,187,831 according to the USDA. But fear not, here's the bullish spin... sorry, there is no way to spin this.

And while there is no positive spin, here is the negative: the average monthly benefit on a per person and per household basis, has been declining for two years straight and is now at the lowest it has been since April 2009.

In summary: more Americans than ever are living on government subsistence, but at least the amount these people are receiving is the lowest since 2009, or $132.81 per month. Unfortunately, America's attempt to recreate communism may not be working out all that well.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/americ ... tamp-usage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....14.31% of Americans rely on the government (literally) for their daily bread. Of course its actually much much higher if you factor in everything.....but just for sheer food - 14.31% and climbing!

District of Criminals is highest per capita with 21.95% of the population reliant on the program. Mississippi and Tennessee follow with 20.74% and 20.05% respectively. Another 20 states have more than 15% of their respective populations subsisting on food stamps.

Meanwhile...
If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government.

It gets worse. More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?

Every state in America today except for two—Indiana and Wisconsin—has more government workers on the payroll than people manufacturing industrial goods. Consider California, which has the highest budget deficit in the history of the states. The not-so Golden State now has an incredible 2.4 million government employees—twice as many as people at work in manufacturing. New Jersey has just under two-and-a-half as many government employees as manufacturers. Florida's ratio is more than 3 to 1. So is New York's.

Even Michigan, at one time the auto capital of the world, and Pennsylvania, once the steel capital, have more government bureaucrats than people making things. The leaders in government hiring are Wyoming and New Mexico, which have hired more than six government workers for every manufacturing worker.

Now it is certainly true that many states have not typically been home to traditional manufacturing operations. Iowa and Nebraska are farm states, for example. But in those states, there are at least five times more government workers than farmers. West Virginia is the mining capital of the world, yet it has at least three times more government workers than miners. New York is the financial capital of the world—at least for now. That sector employs roughly 670,000 New Yorkers. That's less than half of the state's 1.48 million government employees.

Where are the productivity gains in government? Consider a core function of state and local governments: schools. Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 82108.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Unemployment debt to the states ended the month at $47.2 billion....$47.6+ billion if you add in the interest (another billion in another 8 days) -
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/repo ... ssched.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....and consequently -
Reservations for a doomsday bunker in the U.S. have rocketed since Japan's catastrophic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.

The 137,000sq ft bunker - designed to house 950 people for a year and withstand a 50 megaton blast - is currently being built under the grasslands of Nebraska.

Vivos, the California-based company behind it, is taking $5,000 (£3,100) deposits, which will have to be topped up to $25,000 (£15,600) to secure a place.

It says applications have soared 1000 per cent in the wake of the disasters in Japan.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1IIbiqTjY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....even have built in prison for residents that misbehave. Be interesting to know who the cop will be (works for the corporation)??? Can't believe people are actually stupid enough to pay for this....

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Jason
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Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Jason »

Attempt To Pour Concrete On Fukushima Pit Crack Generating 1 Sievert/Hour Fails; New Unmanned Drone Photos Of Reactors
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/attemp ... ned-drone-" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Radioactive Water From Japan's Fukushima Plant Is Leaking Into Sea
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/02-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Japan nuclear struggle focuses on cracked reactor pit
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews ... 02?sp=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Update on Japan's Nuclear Crisis
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/update ... ear-crisis" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gigantic concrete pumps will be airlifted from US to Japan to help respond to nuclear crisis
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Assessing The Fukushima Radiation Danger "Near And Far"
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/assess ... ar-and-far" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fukushima Xe-133 Radiation Forecast (Apr. 2-6): Northwest of US Under Threat
http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2011/04/ ... Unknown%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Radiation from Japan rained on Berkeley during recent storms at levels that exceeded drinking water standards by 181 times and has been detected in multiple milk samples, but the U.S. government has still not published any official data on nuclear fallout here from the Fukushima disaster.
http://www.baycitizen.org/japan-disaste ... on-milk/1/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GREENPEACE Measures EXTREME RADIATION 35KM From Fukushima: Maximum Annual Dose In Just 4 Days!
http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2011/04/ ... Unknown%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Crackdown in Bahrain enflames Iraq's Shiites
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... 8f05c59a7f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Half China's dairies shut in safety audit: govt
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNe ... 71493.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Daylong protest at Texas Capitol targets budget
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7502423.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Topeka — With only Republican support, the Kansas House on Thursday approved a budget that would roll back base state aid to schools to pre-2000 levels.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/mar/3 ... ted-house/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CONCORD — Thousands descended on the Statehouse Thursday, March 31, including Seacoast union members picketing to retain benefits and bargaining rights, and advocates for the disabled fighting proposed state budget cuts.
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs ... -1/NEWSMAP" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MONTGOMERY, AL (WBRC) - -Governor Robert Bentley signed a declaration of a 15 percent proration of Alabama's general fund budget Thursday, March 31. The proration declaration will be in effect for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year, which ends September 30. The measure was deemed necessary due to the $100 million shortfall in the general fund's budget.
http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=14360959" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hawaii budget troubles worsen following tsunami
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financia ... 9HTI80.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Minn. Senate OKs cutting 15 percent of state workforce
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/displa ... tion-bill/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

State Insecurity - Faced with alarming budget shortfalls, states are pursuing corporate tax dollars in new and aggressive ways
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/14564971/c_14565154" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Inside Job - entire movie
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/watch- ... vie-free-0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ivory Coast: aid workers find 1,000 bodies in Duekoue
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... ekoue.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Afghan Youth Write Letter: “Please Stop Killing Us”
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/04/02 ... illing-us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eight ways Monsanto is destroying our health
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/04/02 ... ur-health/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Southwest Grounds About 80 Planes After Mid-Air Emergency
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42390578" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Southwest Flight 812: I prefer my plane without a sunroof, thanks
http://thebluestmuse.blogspot.com/2011/ ... plane.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Jason
Master of Puppets
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Re: The 'oh, crap' news for today...

Post by Jason »

Budget Impasse May Sink Troops’ Paychecks

WASHINGTON -- U.S. military troops at war in Iraq and Afghanistan would receive one-week's pay instead of two in their next paycheck if the government shuts down this weekend due to the federal budget impasse, according to a senior defense official.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues, said the military can't be paid during a funding lapse until a new appropriations bill or continuing resolution is passed by Congress.

If the funding bill expires on April 8, it will be in the middle of the military's two-week pay period, so Pentagon would send out paychecks for just the first week of the pay period, said the official.
http://www.military.com/news/article/bu ... hecks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Intelligence and the Decline of U.S. Manufacturing

The U.S. intelligence community will prepare a National Intelligence Estimate on the implications of the continuing decline in U.S. manufacturing capacity, said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) citing recent news reports.

“Last month Forbes reported that the continued erosion of the U.S. manufacturing base has gotten so serious that the Director of National Intelligence has begun preparation of a National Intelligence Estimate… to assess the security implications of the decline of American manufacturing,” said Rep. Schakowsky, a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

“Our growing reliance on imports and lack of industrial infrastructure has become a national security concern,” said Rep. Schakowsky. She spoke at a March 16 news conference (at 28:10) in opposition to the pending U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

The Forbes report referenced by Rep. Schakowsky was “Intelligence Community Fears U.S. Manufacturing Decline,” by Loren Thompson, February 14. The decision to prepare an intelligence estimate was first reported by Richard McCormack in “Intelligence Director Will Look at National Security Implications of U.S. Manufacturing Decline,” Manufacturing & Technology News, February 3.

Rep. Schakowsky told the newsletter Inside U.S. Trade (March 25) that she hopes a “declassified portion” of the NIE will be publicly released.

But according to the Congressional Research Service, that may be unlikely. “There seems to be an emerging consensus that publicly releasing NIEs, or even unclassified summaries, has limitations. Some of the nuances of classified intelligence judgments are lost and there are concerns that public release of an unclassified summary of a complicated situation does not effectively serve the legislative process.” See “Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?” (pdf), January 6, 2011.

“With 14 million Americans out of a job we should not be considering a trade deal that will ship additional jobs overseas,” said Rep. Schakowsky, referring to the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2011/03 ... uring.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
There's no business like war business

Lies, hypocrisy and hidden agendas. This is what United States President Barack Obama did not dwell on when explaining his Libya doctrine to America and the world. The mind boggles with so many black holes engulfing this splendid little war that is not a war (a "time-limited, scope-limited military action", as per the White House) - compounded with the inability of progressive thinking to condemn, at the same time, the ruthlessness of the Muammar Gaddafi regime and the Anglo-French-American "humanitarian" bombing.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1973 has worked like a Trojan horse, allowing the Anglo-French-American consortium - and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - to become the UN's air force in its support of an armed uprising. Apart from having nothing to do with protecting civilians, this arrangement is absolutely illegal in terms of international law. The inbuilt endgame, as even malnourished African kids know by now, but has never been acknowledged, is regime change.

For the moment at least, it's quite easy to identify the profiteers.

The Pentagon
Pentagon supremo Robert Gates said this weekend, with a straight face, there are only three repressive regimes in the whole Middle East: Iran, Syria and Libya. The Pentagon is taking out the weak link - Libya. The others were always key features of the neo-conservative take-out/evil list. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, etc are model democracies.

As for this "now you see it, now you don't" war, the Pentagon is managing to fight it not once, but twice. It started with Africom - established under the George W Bush administration, beefed up under Obama, and rejected by scores of African governments, scholars and human rights organizations. Now the war is transitioning to NATO, which is essentially Pentagon rule over its European minions.

This is Africom's first African war, conducted up to now by General Carter Ham out of his headquarters in un-African Stuttgart. Africom, as Horace Campbell, professor of African American studies and political science at Syracuse University puts it, is a scam; "fundamentally a front for US military contractors like Dyncorp, MPRI and KBR operating in Africa. US military planners who benefit from the revolving door of privatization of warfare are delighted by the opportunity to give Africom credibility under the facade of the Libyan intervention."

Africom's Tomahawks also hit - metaphorically - the African Union (AU), which, unlike the Arab League, cannot be easily bought by the West. The Arab Gulf petro-monarchies all cheered the bombing - but not Egypt and Tunisia. Only five African countries are not subordinated to Africom; Libya is one of them, along with Sudan, Ivory Coast, Eritrea and Zimbabwe.

NATO
NATO's master plan is to rule the Mediterranean as a NATO lake. Under these "optics" (Pentagon speak) the Mediterranean is infinitely more important nowadays as a theater of war than AfPak.

There are only three out of 20 nations on or in the Mediterranean that are not full members of NATO or allied with its "partnership" programs: Libya, Lebanon and Syria. Make no mistake; Syria is next. Lebanon is already under a NATO blockade since 2006. Now a blockade also applies to Libya. The US - via NATO - is just about to square the circle.

Saudi Arabia
What a deal. King Abdullah gets rid of his eternal foe Gaddafi. The House of Saud - in trademark abject fashion - bends over backwards for the West's benefit. The attention of world public opinion is diverted from the Saudis invading Bahrain to smash a legitimate, peaceful, pro-democracy protest movement.

The House of Saud sold the fiction that "the Arab League" as a whole voted for a no-fly zone. That is a lie; out of 22 members, only 11 were present at the vote; six are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which Saudi Arabia is the top dog. The House of Saud just needed to twist the arms of three more. Syria and Algeria were against it. Translation; only nine out of 22 Arab countries voted for the no-fly zone.

Now Saudi Arabia can even order GCC head Abdulrahman al-Attiyah to say, with a straight face, "the Libyan system has lost its legitimacy." As for the "legitimate" House of Saud and the al-Khalifas in Bahrain, someone should induct them into the Humanitarian Hall of Fame.

Qatar
The hosts of the 2022 soccer World Cup sure know how to clinch a deal. Their Mirages are helping to bomb Libya while Doha gets ready to market eastern Libya oil. Qatar promptly became the first Arab nation to recognize the Libyan "rebels" as the only legitimate government of the country only one day after securing the oil marketing deal.

The 'rebels'
All the worthy democratic aspirations of the Libyan youth movement notwithstanding, the most organized opposition group happens to be the National Front for the Salvation of Libya - financed for years by the House of Saud, the CIA and French intelligence. The rebel "Interim Transitional National Council" is little else than the good ol' National Front, plus a few military defectors. This is the elite of the "innocent civilians" the "coalition" is "protecting".

Right on cue, the "Interim Transitional National Council" has got a new finance minister, US-educated economist Ali Tarhouni. He disclosed that a bunch of Western countries gave them credit backed by Libya's sovereign fund, and the British allowed them to access $1.1 billion of Gaddafi's funds. This means the Anglo-French-American consortium - and now NATO - will only pay for the bombs. As war scams go this one is priceless; the West uses Libya's own cash to finance a bunch of opportunists Libyan rebels to fight the Libyan government. And on top of it the Americans, the Brits and the French feel the love for all that bombing. Neo-cons must be kicking themselves; why couldn't former US deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz come up with something like this for Iraq 2003?

The French
Oh la la, this could be material for a Proustian novel. The top spring collection in Paris catwalks is the President Nicolas Sarkozy fashion show - a no-fly zone model with Mirage/Rafale air strike accessories. This fashion show was masterminded by Nouri Mesmari, Gaddafi's chief of protocol, who defected to France in October 2010. The Italian secret service leaked to selected media outlets how he did it. The role of the DGSE, the French secret service, has been more or less explained on paid website Maghreb Confidential.

Essentially, the Benghazi revolt coq au vin had been simmering since November 2010. The cooks were Mesmari, air force colonel Abdullah Gehani, and the French secret service. Mesmari was called "Libyan WikiLeak", because he spilled over virtually every one of Gaddafi's military secrets. Sarkozy loved it - furious because Gaddafi had cancelled juicy contracts to buy Rafales (to replace his Mirages now being bombed) and French-built nuclear power plants.

That explains why Sarkozy has been so gung ho into posing as the new Arab liberator, was the first leader of a European power to recognize the "rebels" (to the disgust of many at the European Union), and was the first to bomb Gaddafi's forces.

This busts open the role of shameless self-promoting philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy, who's now frantically milking in the world's media that he phoned Sarkozy from Benghazi and awakened his humanitarian streak. Either Levy is a patsy, or a convenient "intellectual" cherry added to the already-prepared bombing cake.

Terminator Sarkozy is unstoppable. He has just warned every single Arab ruler that they face Libya-style bombing if they crack down on protesters. He even said that the Ivory Coast was "next". Bahrain and Yemen, of course, are exempt. As for the US, it is once again supporting a military coup (it didn't work with Omar "Sheikh al-Torture" Suleiman in Egypt; maybe it will work in Libya).

Al-Qaeda
The oh so convenient bogeyman resurfaces. The Anglo-French-American consortium - and now NATO - are (again) fighting alongside al-Qaeda, represented by al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQM).

Libyan rebel leader Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi - who has fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan - extensively confirmed to Italian media that he had personally recruited "around 25" jihadis from the Derna area in eastern Libya to fight against the US in Iraq; now "they are on the front lines in Adjabiya".

This after Chad's president Idriss Deby stressed that AQM had raided military arsenals in Cyrenaica and may be now holding quite a few surface-to-air missiles. In early March, AQM publicly supported the "rebels". The ghost of Osama bin Laden must be pulling a Cheshire cat; once again he gets the Pentagon to work for him.

The water privatizers
Few in the West may know that Libya - along with Egypt - sits over the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer; that is, an ocean of extremely valuable fresh water. So yes, this "now you see it, now you don't" war is a crucial water war. Control of the aquifer is priceless - as in "rescuing" valuable natural resources from the "savages".

This Water Pipelineistan - buried underground deep in the desert along 4,000 km - is the Great Man-Made River Project (GMMRP), which Gaddafi built for $25 billion without borrowing a single cent from the IMF or the World Bank (what a bad example for the developing world). The GMMRP supplies Tripoli, Benghazi and the whole Libyan coastline. The amount of water is estimated by scientists to be the equivalent to 200 years of water flowing down the Nile.

Compare this to the so-called three sisters - Veolia (formerly Vivendi), Suez Ondeo (formerly Generale des Eaux) and Saur - the French companies that control over 40% of the global water market. All eyes must imperatively focus on whether these pipelines are bombed. An extremely possible scenario is that if they are, juicy "reconstruction" contracts will benefit France. That will be the final step to privatize all this - for the moment free - water. From shock doctrine to water doctrine.

Well, that's only a short list of profiteers - no one knows who'll get the oil - and the natural gas - in the end. Meanwhile, the (bombing) show must go on. There's no business like war business.

http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/A ... gic.com%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

West Coast Fishing Industry Could Be Finished
http://thecomingdepression.blogspot.com ... ld-be.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

How much cash does your city have? Many dangerously low
http://www.freep.com/article/20110406/N ... y=nav|head" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
US had technology in the 1990s to run cars, dune buggies and even an army tank using water

US inventor Stanley Meyer developed an electric cell which split ordinary tap water into hydrogen and oxygen with far less energy than that required by a normal electrolytic cell. Meyer retrofitted a dune buggy with the device and fueled the dune buggy with water instead of gasoline. Meyer demonstrated his water for fuel invention to Professor Michael Laughton, Dean of Engineering at Mary College, London, Admiral Sir Anthony Griffin, a former controller of the British Navy, and Dr Keith Hindley, a UK research chemist. Meyer’s cell, developed at the inventor’s home in Grove City, Ohio, produced far more hydrogen/oxygen mixture than could have been expected by simple electrolysis.

According to the witnesses, the most startling aspect of the Meyer cell was that it remained cold, even after hours of gas production.

Meyer’s water fuel cells have earned him a series of US patents granted under Section 101. The granting of a patent under this section is dependent on a successful demonstration of the invention to a Patent Review Board.

Meyer’s cell have many of the attributes of an electrolytic cell except that it functions at high voltage, low current rather than the other way around. Construction is unremarkable. The electrodes — referred to as “excitors” by Meyer — are made from parallel plates of stainless steel formed in either flat or concentric topography. Gas production varied as the inverse of the distance between them; the patents states that a spacing of 1.5 mm produces satisfactory results.

Meyer used an external inductance which resonated with the capacitance of the cell — pure water apparently possesses a dielectric constant of about 5 — to produce a parallel resonant circuit. This is excited by a high power pulse generator which, together with the cell capacitance and a rectifier diode, forms a charge pump circuit. High frequency pulses build a rising staircase DC potential across the electrodes of the cell until a point is reached where the water breaks down and a momentary high current flows. A current measuring circuit in the supply detects this breakdown and removes the pulse drive for a few cycles allowing the water to “recover”.

Research chemist Keith Hindley offers this description of a Meyer cell demonstration: “After a day of presentations, the Griffin committee witnessed a number of important demonstration of the WFC” (water fuel cell as named by the inventor).

A team of independent UK scientifc observers testified that US inventor Stanley Meyer successfully decomposed ordinary tap water into constituent elements through a combination of high, pulsed voltage using an average current measured only in milliamps. Reported gas evolution was enough to sustain a hydrogen /oxygen flame which instantly melted steel.

“After hours of discussion between ourselves, we concluded that Stan Meyer did appear to have discovered an entirely new method for splitting water which showed few of the characteristics of classical electrolysis. Confirmation that his devices actually do work come from his collection of granted US patents on various parts of the WFC system. Since they were granted under Section 101 by the US Patent Office, the hardware involved in the patents has been examined experimentally by US Patent Office experts and their seconded experts and all the claims have been established.”

“The basic WFC was subjected to three years of testing. This raises the granted patents to the level of independent, critical, scientific and engineering confirmation that the devices actually perform as claimed.”

To introduce this new invention to the public a TV crew from the Ohio TV station WSYX, channel 6, filmed the dune buggy that Meyers drove using nothing but water. No gasoline was used. Meyer drove the water powered dune buggy across states. The dune buggy got 100 miles per gallon of water. Stanley Meyer died suddenly on March 21, 1998 after dining at a restaurant.
http://presscore.ca/2011/?p=2149" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....article leaves out a good amount of information like for example that Stan stated in the restaurant that he had been poisoned....then he ran out into the parking lot and collapsed and died. Just prior to that he had received $20 million to start manufacturing facility to put out water powered cars. Here's a bit more -
http://waterpoweredcar.com/stanmeyer.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...he used a circuit to ratchet up to 5000 volts to magnetically separate water into its components hydrogen and oxygen versus separating them via current. 33 patents on his process.

Here's a fairly recent company with same concept but lying low -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF__Qlhtnws" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.hytechapps.com/products.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....but they've gone from working on replacement to supplemental (adding to current fuel for marginal improvement). More from my favorite secret squirrel website -
http://www.rexresearch.com/klein/klein1.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

State unemployment debt over $48 billion (including interest) and growing rapidly -
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/repo ... ssched.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
WASHINGTON, April 6, 2011 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will award grants to improve access to and increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The grants are for state and local governments and private non-profit organizations to develop projects that simplify SNAP application and eligibility systems and find efficiencies in the administration of the program with the goal of providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need.

This year, USDA is looking to invest up to $5 million in process improvement efforts that examine local office processes and identify and implement efficiencies. The Department is also interested in funding projects that use technology to achieve procedural changes, such as document imaging, telephone interviews or web-based access to case status information. The deadline to submit grant proposal applications is 5 p.m. EDT on June 6, 2011.

SNAP puts healthy food on the table for over 44 million people each month, half of whom are children. Access to healthy food and nutrition education is key to reducing long term health care costs from obesity-related problems such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. Formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, SNAP is largest of the domestic food and nutrition assistance programs administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. Serving about 1 in 7 Americans over the course of a year, SNAP is the cornerstone of America's safety-net against hunger.

SNAP benefits, which are provided to recipients electronically, also provide an economic stimulus that strengthens communities. Research shows that every $5 in new SNAP benefits generates as much as $9.00 in economic activity. SNAP benefits move quickly into local economies, with 97 percent of SNAP benefits redeemed within a month. It is estimated that at least 8,900 full-time equivalent jobs are created from $1 billion of SNAP benefits.

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/!ut ... 2F0154.xml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...the last paragraph is a complete crock of crap. How does $5 turn into $9? How does a hand out create jobs?
The following are 27 depressing statistics about the U.S. economy that are almost too crazy to believe....

#1 The Obama administration projects that the federal budget deficit will be approximately $1,600,000,000,000 this year. Right now the Republicans and the Democrats are fighting tooth and nail over budget cuts. The Republicans are proposing to cut the budget deficit by 3.8%. The Democrats only want to cut it by 2.1%.

#2 The U.S. economy actually grew more between 1930 and 1940 than it did during the decade that recently ended.

#3 Over the last decade, the number of Americans without health insurance has risen from about 38 million to about 52 million.

#4 Agricultural commodities are absolutely soaring. The price of corn has more than doubled over the last 12 months. Considering the fact that corn is in literally thousands of our food products, that is a very frightening statistic.

#5 Between 1999 and 2009, real median household income in the United States declined by 5.0%.

#6 It is being estimated that total U.S. government debt will grow by 42 percent by the year 2015.

#7 According to the Pentagon, the cost of the first week of attacks on Libya was 600 million dollars.

#8 The average American now spends approximately 23 percent of his or her income on food and gas.

#9 According to the U.S. Energy Department, the average U.S. household will spend approximately $700 more on gasoline in 2011 than it did during 2010.

#10 It is being projected that for the first time ever, the OPEC nations are going to bring in over a trillion dollars from exporting oil this year. Their biggest customer is the United States.

#11 According to the Economic Policy Institute, almost 25 percent of U.S. households now have zero net worth or negative net worth. Back in 2007, that number was just 18.6 percent.

#12 China produced 19.8 percent of all the goods consumed in the world last year. The United States only produced 19.4 percent.

#13 The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

#14 The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2010 was 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.

#15 U.S. home values have fallen an astounding 6.3 trillion dollars since the peak of the real estate market in 2005.

#16 According to RealtyTrac, one out of every 45 U.S. households was hit with a foreclosure filing in 2010.

#17 The number of homes that were actually repossessed reached the 1 million mark for the first time ever during 2010.

#18 New home sales in the United States set a brand new all-time record low in the month of February.

#19 Now home sales in the United States are now down 80% from the peak in July 2005.

#20 The financial condition of American families continues to deteriorate rapidly. In 2010, one out of every eight American families had at least one family member that was unemployed. That number was the highest it has been since the U.S. Labor Department began keeping track of that statistic back in 1994.

#21 There are now more than 6 million Americans that the government says have given up looking for work completely.

#22 According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average length of unemployment in the U.S. is now an all-time record 39 weeks.

#23 Americans now owe more than $900 billion on student loans, which is also an all-time record high.

#24 Average household debt in the United States has now reached a level of 136% of average household income.

#25 According to the Federal Reserve, between 2007 and 2009 median household net worth in the United States fell by 23 percent.

#26 The Federal Reserve also says that median household debt in the United States has risen to $75,600.

#27 According to a recent article posted on the website of the American Institute of Economic Research, the purchasing power of a U.S. dollar declined from $1.00 in 1913 to 4.6 cents in 2009. Sadly, the Federal Reserve is working very hard to get rid of the little bit of purchasing power that the U.S. dollar has left.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/arch ... even-worse" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Palmoni Scrolls -
http://scripturalsecrets.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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