Monday, 18 January 2010

11 signs from just this past month that show that the U.S. economy is headed into toilet and will not be recovering -

Reading - 11 signs from just this past month that show that the U.S. economy is headed into toilet and will not be recovering -

The vast majority of the talking heads on television are still speaking of the current economic collapse as if it is a temporary “recession” that will soon be over. So far, the vast majority of the American people seem to believe this as well, although for many Americans there is a very deep gnawing in the pit of their stomachs that is telling them that there is something very, very wrong this time around. The truth is that the foundations of the U.S. economy have been destroyed by an orgy of government, corporate and individual debt that has gone on for decades. It was the greatest party in the history of the world, but now the party is over.

The following are 11 signs from just this past month that show that the U.S. economy is headed into the toilet and will not be recovering….

#1) When even Wal-Mart is closing stores you know things are bad. Wal-Mart announced on Monday that it will close 10 money-losing Sam’s Club stores and will cut 1,500 jobs in order to reduce costs. So if even Wal-Mart has to shut down stores, what chance do other retailers have?

#2) Americans are going broke at a staggering pace. 1.41 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009 – a 32 percent increase over 2008.

#3) American workers are working harder than ever and yet making less. After adjusting for inflation, pay for production and non-supervisory workers (80 percent of the private workforce) is 9% lower than it was in 1973. But those Americans who do still have jobs are the fortunate ones.

#4) Unemployment is absolutely exploding all over the United States. Minority groups have been hit particularly hard. For example, unemployment on many U.S. Indian reservations is over 80 percent.

#5) Unfortunately the employment situation is showing no signs of turning around. December was actually the worst month for U.S. unemploymentsince the so-called ”Great Recession” began.

#6) So just how bad are things when compared to past recessions? During the 2001 recession, the U.S. economy lost 2% of its jobs and it took four years to get them back. This time the U.S. economy has lost more than 5% of its jobs and there is no sign that the bleeding of jobs will stop any time soon.

#7) Can you imagine trying to get your first job in this economic climate? Our young men and women either can’t get work or have given up on work altogether. The percentage of Americans 16 to 24 who have jobs is 13 percent lower than ten years ago.

#8) So where did all the jobs go? Over the past few decades we have allowed the corporate giants to ship mountains of American jobs overseas, and there are signs that this trend is only going to get worse. In fact, Princeton University economist Alan S. Blinder estimates that 22% to 29% of all current U.S. jobs will be offshorable within two decades. So get ready for even more of our jobs to be shipped off to Mexico, China and India.

#9) All of these job losses are leading to defaults on mortgages. Over the past couple of years we have seen the American Dream in reverse. According to a report that was just released, delinquent home loans at government-controlled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged 20 percent from July through September.

#10) But that is nothing compared to what is coming. A massive “second wave” of mortgage defaults is getting ready to hit the U.S. economy starting in 2010. In fact, this “second wave” is so frightening that even 60 Minutes is reporting on it.

#11) Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has announced that it made a record profit of $46.1 billion in 2009. Apparently during this economic crisis it is a very good time to be a bankster.

Chicago Man Apparently Mauled to Death by Daughter's Pit Bulls -

Reading - Chicago Man Apparently Mauled to Death by Daughter's Pit Bulls -

A man was dead on the scene Sunday night after suffering multiple bites to his head and arms from six pit bulls in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the South Side.

Police began an investigation into the death of a man in the 10200 block of South Aberdeen Street after receiving a call at 10:20 p.m., Officer Ronald Gaines of Chicago Police News Affairs said.

Johnny Wilson, 56, of the 10000 block of S. Aberdeen St., was dead on the scene, according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office who said Wilson was bitten by dogs at his home.

Wilson, who suffered severe head trauma, including having both his ears bitten off and at least one of his eyes mauled, also suffered injuries to both arms.

A source indicated Wilson’s daughter was the owner of the pit bulls and also possibly bred them. The dogs may have been scared by the low pitch of Wilson’s voice or in some other way, according to the source.

Chicago Fire Department crews responded about 11 p.m. but did not transport anyone to a hospital.

“We did respond but it was made a crime scene right away and we left,’’ according to Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva, who said the exact address of the incident was 10206 S. Aberdeen.

Gaines said four adult pit bulls and two pit bull puppies have been taken over by the city's department of Animal Care & Control, 2741 S. Western Ave.

The source said there was no history of mistreatment of the dogs.

An autopsy scheduled for later Monday will determine the cause and manner of Wilson's death.

Gaines said no one was in custody at 2 a.m.

U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes - Supplier Says It Has 'Always' Added References -

Reading - U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes - Supplier Says It Has 'Always' Added References -

At the end of the serial number on Trijicon's ACOG gun sight, you can read "JN8:12", a reference to...

(ABC News)

Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found.

The sights are used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers. The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $660 million multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the U.S. Army.

U.S. military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the U.S. was embarked on a religious "Crusade" in its war against al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents.

One of the citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament, which reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Other references include citations from the books of Revelation, Matthew and John dealing with Jesus as "the light of the world." John 8:12, referred to on the gun sights as JN8:12, reads, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Trijicon confirmed to ABCNews.com that it adds the biblical codes to the sights sold to the U.S. military. Tom Munson, director of sales and marketing for Trijicon, which is based in Wixom, Michigan, said the inscriptions "have always been there" and said there was nothing wrong or illegal with adding them. Munson said the issue was being raised by a group that is "not Christian." The company has said the practice began under its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian from South Africa who was killed in a 2003 plane crash.

'It violates the Constitution'

The company's vision is described on its Web site: "Guided by our values, we endeavor to have our products used wherever precision aiming solutions are required to protect individual freedom."

"We believe that America is great when its people are good," says the Web site. "This goodness has been based on Biblical standards throughout our history, and we will strive to follow those morals."

Spokespeople for the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps both said their services were unaware of the biblical markings. They said officials were discussing what steps, if any, to take in the wake of the ABCNews.com report. It is not known how many Trijicon sights are currently in use by the U.S. military.

The biblical references appear in the same type font and size as the model numbers on the company's Advanced Combat Optical Guides, called the ACOG.

A photo on a Department of Defense Web site shows Iraqi soldiers being trained by U.S. troops with a rifle equipped with the bible-coded sights.

"It's wrong, it violates the Constitution, it violates a number of federal laws," said Michael "Mikey" Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group that seeks to preserve the separation of church and state in the military.

'Firearms of Jesus Christ'

"It allows the Mujahedeen, the Taliban, al Qaeda and the insurrectionists and jihadists to claim they're being shot by Jesus rifles," he said.

Weinstein, an attorney and former Air Force officer, said many members of his group who currently serve in the military have complained about the markings on the sights. He also claims they've told him that commanders have referred to weapons with the sights as "spiritually transformed firearm[s] of Jesus Christ."

He said coded biblical inscriptions play into the hands of "those who are calling this a Crusade."

According to a government contracting watchdog group, fedspending.org, Trijicon had more than $100 million in government contracts in fiscal year 2008. The Michigan company won a $33 million Pentagon contract in July, 2009 for a new machine gun optic, according to Defense Industry Daily. The company's earnings from the U.S. military jumped significantly after 2005, when it won a $660 million long-term contract to supply the Marine Corps with sights.

"This is probably the best example of violation of the separation of church and state in this country," said Weinstein. "It's literally pushing fundamentalist Christianity at the point of a gun against the people that we're fighting. We're emboldening an enemy."

A life-sized man and teddy bear perched atop a billboard on Interstate 95 are prompting alarmed drivers to dial 911 -

Reading - A life-sized man and teddy bear perched atop a billboard on Interstate 95 are prompting alarmed drivers to dial 911 -

A life-sized man and teddy bear perched atop a billboard on Interstate 95 are prompting alarmed drivers to dial 911.

Concerned motorists who spotted the pajama-clad male mannequin and the teddy bear on top of a Connecticut billboard worried that the odd pair was real and was in danger of toppling over.

The billboard is an ad for overnight test drive being hawked by BMW of Bridgeport, Conn. The figures were lifted to the top of the billboard about two months ago, the Associated Press reported.

"For whatever reason, it's working because people are looking at it," the dealership's general sales manager, Tim Coughlin, told The Connecticut Post.

"It has become distinctive and sort of like a signature."

Dispatchers at State Police Troop G barracks have been telling callers that the man isn't real and the figures have been up there a while, the AP reported.

Coughlin said he's received a lot of interest in overnight test drives because of the ad.

Chinese government will offer greater cash rewards to people reporting online smut - Wanna make - 224,000 yuan ($32,810)? -

Reading - Chinese government will offer greater cash rewards to people reporting online smut - Wanna make - 224,000 yuan ($32,810)? -

The Chinese government will offer greater cash rewards to people reporting online smut after handing out 224,000 yuan ($32,810) as of late last week, state media said on Monday.

China has run a highly publicised campaign against what officials said were banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the country's Internet and threatening the emotional health of children.

In the period from Dec. 4 to Jan. 15, the National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office, along with the publishing watchdog, received more than 90,000 reports about base or lewd websites, Xinhua news agency said.

A total of 215 people had been given a total of 224,000 yuan in reward money for reporting the sites, with rewards ranging from 1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan, Xinhua added.

Sites shut down included "Lilac adult community", "Free strongly-emotional films" and "Naked chat bar", it said.

Authorities will now "offer even more money to those who report, to encourage people to proactively participate", Xinhua said.

In 2009, authorities closed or blocked more than 15,000 pornographic websites, including over 11,000 mobile WAP sites, the report added.

With an estimated 384 million Internet users, China has a bigger online population than any other country. But the ruling Communist Party worries the Internet could become a dangerous conduit for threatening images and ideas.

The anti-pornography drive has also netted many sites with politically sensitive or even simply user-generated content, in what some see as an effort by the government to reassert control over new media.

China has banned a number of popular websites and Internet services, including Google's Youtube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, as well as Chinese content sharing sites.

Google Inc announced last week it was no longer willing to continue censoring Internet search results in China and that it may shut down the google.cn website and close its offices in the country, triggering a diplomatic storm.

Turkey is barring access to 3,700 Internet sites, including YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages -

Reading - Turkey is barring access to 3,700 Internet sites, including YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages -

Milos Haraszti, media freedom monitor for the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Turkey's Internet law was failing to preserve free expression in the country and should be changed or abolished.

"In its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens' right to access information," Haraszti said in a statement.

He said Turkey, a European Union candidate, was barring access to 3,700 Internet sites, including YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages, because Ankara's Internet law was too broad and subject to political interests.

"Even as some of the content that is deemed 'bad', such as child pornography, must be sanctioned, the law is unfit to achieve this. Instead, by blocking access to entire websites from Turkey, it paralyzes access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks," Haraszti said.

"Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and political, and therefore incompatible with OSCE's freedom of expression commitments," he said. Asked about the OSCE remarks, a Turkish transport and communications ministry official who asked not to be named told Reuters: "Turkey provides unlimited and equal access for all parts of society. It is above the EU average on this issue.

"The regulations over Internet have a dynamic structure and necessary legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation," the official added.

Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing to safeguard freedom of expression, and numerous criminal code clauses were being used against journalists, who risked being sent to jail as a result.

Fears for press freedom in Turkey have risen following state attempts to collect a $3.3 billion fine from major media group Dogan in a tax row, part of pressure on Dogan to obey a law limiting foreign ownership of Turkish firms.

In October, the European Commission's annual report on Turkey's progress toward EU membership urged Turkey to treat Dogan fairly and said Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

Scientists have used a computer-controlled hologram and theoretical physics to turn a light beam into pretzel-like shapes

Reading - Scientists have used a computer-controlled hologram and theoretical physics to turn a light beam into pretzel-like shapes

The colored circle in these images represents the hologram, out of which the knotted optical vortex emerges.

Like your shoelaces or electrical cords, light can get twisted into knots. Now, scientists have used a computer-controlled hologram and theoretical physics to turn a light beam into pretzel-like shapes.

The twisted feat not only led to some pretty cool images, but the results have implications for future laser devices, the researchers say.

"In a light beam, the flow of light through space is similar to water flowing in a river," said lead researcher Mark Dennis of the University of Bristol in England. Even though the light from something like a laser pointer travels in a straight line, it can also flow in whirls and eddies, Dennis explained.

These swirls of light are called optical vortices. Along the vortices the intensity of light reaches zero, or no light.

"The light all around us is filled with these dark lines, even though we can't see them," Dennis said. "Our work actually twists dark filaments within the light beam into knots."

The researchers knew these optical vortices could be created with holograms, which direct the flow of light. By using so-called fibered knot theory, a branch of abstract mathematics inspired by everyday knots, Dennis and his colleagues created customized holograms and reflected a regular laser beam from them.

"The hologram acts like a filter for incoming light, similar to the stained glass window in a church," Dennis told LiveScience. "After going through a stained glass window, the light has taken on the pattern of colors of the window." But there's a difference: "Whilst the stained glass window manipulates color, the hologram manipulates the phase of the light wave."

So each point on the hologram, like a small pane of window glass, changes the point of the wave's cycle in that part of the light beam. They created a hologram that would change the phase of light so that it flowed around a dark knot.

Then, the team scanned a camera through the laser field to get images of the knots. (A computer program applied before the team had created the hologram essentially made the field around the dark knot appear bright.)

Their results, detailed online Jan. 17 in the journal Nature Physics, are "firsts" for a couple of reasons. While so-called knot theorists have studied mathematical equations similar to dark knots, the new research created these knots with math functions that followed rules of propagating light. In addition, unlike other dark knots created that have been tangled up with other knots, Dennis and his colleagues produced isolated dark knots within the light beam, he said.

"For me, it shows how physicists can adapt existing pure mathematics, such as knot theory, and find it manifest in physical phenomena," Dennis said. "It also shows how finely we can control the flow and propagation of laser light using holograms. This degree of control is likely to find applications in future laser devices."

For those wanting to make their own knots, Dennis said all you would need is their hologram and a laser beam.

Putin says Chlorine in U.S. Chickens Unsafe - Russians banned chickens in poultry processing Jan. 1 2010 -

Reading - Putin says Chlorine in U.S. Chickens Unsafe - Russians banned chickens in poultry processing Jan. 1 2010 -

Getting another American chicken into Russia just got harder.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin weighted into the Russian ban on U.S. chicken imports.

"We haven't seen any readiness to meet Russian standards on the part of some of our partners, mainly the companies from the United States," Putin said. "If our foreign suppliers are unable or reluctant to meet our security requirements, we will use other sources."

The Russians banned chickens from countries using chlorine in poultry processing beginning Jan. 1 2010. Putin made the Americans the odd man out saying that Russia was merely joining the European Union in banning, for food safety reasons, chickens from chlorine-using counties.

"One shouldn't look for political background in this case, God forbid," said Russia's former President and one-time KGB agent. "No political background here!"

Putin attended a meeting on Russian poultry production where it was announced that the country would import a total of 780,000 metric tons of poultry in 2010, and then continue to reduce imports in the years ahead.

The American quota would be 600,000 metric tons for 2010, down 20 percent from 2009. Since the ban, however, prices for American poultry in Russia are up about 20 percent.

Putin wants Russia to be poultry self-sufficient by 2015.

Since Russia raised the possibility of banning U.S. chickens for chlorine use in mid 2008, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council has tried to persuade officials in Moscow by sharing scientific studies. The poultry export market to Russia was valued at $825 million in 2008.

"The U.S. industry is committed to providing safe and healthful products to consumers in the United States as well as those in over 130 countries around the world, including Russia," the USA Poultry and Egg Council said in a letter to Russian officials in late 2009,

The letter said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recommends the "use of hypochlorus (i.e. active chlorine) solutions as an effective antimicrobial.

"Based on a substantial body of scientific studies, FSIS' best practices recommendations is to use 20-50 ppm of free available chlorine in immersion chilling systems."

Before the prime minister got involved in the issue, many on the American side were optimistic about getting American chickens back into Russia. Now, however, Putin's response to American arguments about the safety and science behind chlorine can pretty much be summer up in one word: "Nyet."

XIAM007

Monday, 18 January 2010

Reading - U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes - Supplier Says It Has 'Always' Added References -

'It violates the Constitution'

'Firearms of Jesus Christ'