Anti-Iran Sanctions Punish Civilians, Are an Act of War

Ron Paul
Campaign For Liberty
Thursday, Dec 17th, 2009

Statement of Congressman Ron Paul
United States House of Representatives
Statement Opposing the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act
December 15, 2009

I rise in strongest opposition to this new round of sanctions on Iran, which is another significant step toward a US war on that country. I find it shocking that legislation this serious and consequential is brought up in such a cavalier manner. Suspending the normal rules of the House to pass legislation is a process generally reserved for “non-controversial” business such as the naming of post offices. Are we to believe that this House takes matters of war and peace as lightly as naming post offices?

This legislation seeks to bar from doing business in the United States any foreign entity that sells refined petroleum to Iran or otherwise enhances Iran’s ability to import refined petroleum such as financing, brokering, underwriting, or providing ships for such. Such sanctions also apply to any entity that provides goods or services that enhance Iran’s ability to maintain or expand its domestic production of refined petroleum. This casts the sanctions net worldwide, with enormous international economic implications.

Recently, the Financial Times reported that, “[i]n recent months, Chinese companies have greatly expanded their presence in Iran’s oil sector. In the coming months, Sinopec, the state-owned Chinese oil company, is scheduled to complete the expansion of the Tabriz and Shazand refineries — adding 3.3 million gallons of gasoline per day.”

Are we to conclude, with this in mind, that China or its major state-owned corporations will be forbidden by this legislation from doing business with the United States? What of our other trading partners who currently do business in Iran’s petroleum sector or insure those who do so? Has anyone seen an estimate of how this sanctions act will affect the US economy if it is actually enforced?

As we have learned with US sanctions on Iraq, and indeed with US sanctions on Cuba and elsewhere, it is citizens rather than governments who suffer most. The purpose of these sanctions is to change the regime in Iran, but past practice has demonstrated time and again that sanctions only strengthen regimes they target and marginalize any opposition. As would be the case were we in the US targeted for regime change by a foreign government, people in Iran will tend to put aside political and other differences to oppose that threatening external force. Thus this legislation will likely serve to strengthen the popularity of the current Iranian government. Any opposition continuing to function in Iran would be seen as operating in concert with the foreign entity seeking to overthrow the regime.

This legislation seeks to bring Iran in line with international demands regarding its nuclear materials enrichment programs, but what is ironic is that Section 2 of HR 2194 itself violates the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to which both the United States and Iran are signatories. This section states that “[i]t shall be the policy of the United States… to prevent Iran from achieving the capability to make nuclear weapons, including by supporting international diplomatic efforts to halt Iran’s uranium enrichment program.” Article V of the NPT states clearly that, “[n]othing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with articles I and II of this Treaty.” As Iran has never been found in violation of the NPT — has never been found to have diverted nuclear materials for non-peaceful purposes — this legislation seeking to deny Iran the right to enrichment even for peaceful purposes itself violates the NPT.

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that many of my colleagues opposing war on Iran will vote in favor of this legislation, seeing it as a step short of war to bring Iran into line with US demands. I would remind them that sanctions and the blockades that are required to enforce them are themselves acts of war according to international law. I urge my colleagues to reject this saber-rattling but ultimately counterproductive legislation.

“When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.”

Increase Your Carbon Footprint

Excerpts from Butler Shaffer -

Our two-year old granddaughter was at our house recently. She was joyously stomping her feet, in rhythm to some piece that had been performed in her music class. The delight with which she carried out her highly-energized dance reflected a spirit that is particularly evident among small children, an approach that the adults in their lives are often quick to squelch. Our birth certificate announces to the institutional order the arrival of another conscript to be molded into servo-mechanisms programmed to serve “obligations” that are neither of our origins or to our benefit: dancing and other joyous expressions that serve no institutional ends are to be discouraged.

...I am reminded of the many misanthropic humanoids who will beset them with demands to restrain their sense of well-being and to temper their happiness. Unable to find meaning within themselves, such pathetic beings endeavor to compensate for this shortcoming by seeking power over others. They do so by identifying with and becoming agents of institutions, those well-organized entities that are destructive of both individual lives and civilizations. It is on behalf of the interests of such instrumentalities that most of our social pathologies get played out.This campaign to draw children into the vortex of personal and societal destructiveness will initially be undertaken by parents whose best-of-intentions are matched by their own lifelong conditioning in the cult of duty. Soon thereafter, the child will be brought into schools and churches for further inculcation, while the media and, ultimately, the state await with their more persistent and forceful reinforcement.

If there was but one message I would hope readers would draw from my writings it would be an awareness of how we condition our minds to make our lives subservient to institutional interests. With the emergence of the current forces of perpetual war, ubiquitous policing, and state-managed economic dislocation that are combining to bring about the collapse of American civilization, there is no more opportune time in which to examine the mess we have made of ourselves.

Even as the virus of institutionalism continues to spread its deadly influences — dangers to life that far exceed the hyped threats of “swine flu” — a sense of desperation emanates from within the establishment. Even more regulations, more surveillance, more weapons of torture and suppression, and more laws to be enforced by more police, more prisons, and longer sentences are demanded by those who rule from the heights of a failed system. Even with a polychromatic display of “terror alerts,” the specter of bogeyman “terrorists” no longer entertains most Americans. In a nation saturated with fear-objects used for political control, threats of a more far-reaching nature than child abductors, street-gangs, or drug-dealers must be dredged up.

I suspect that Johann Gutenberg’s invention of movable type made possible the second stage of the information revolution that quickly spread its liberating influences to the rest of humanity. The Renaissance, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, all contributed to that most humanizing period in human history: the Industrial Revolution. Mankind quickly discovered that its well-being was not to be found in obedience to earthly powers commanding them through structured political forms, but in the release of their own creative energies. Industrialism helped us learn how to produce and exchange the economic values that sustain life; we learned how to maximize human well-being; how to produce the surpluses that provided the earliest evidence of this most prolific system: an increasing population.

Such productiveness did not occur without costs. Through this system, we expanded our capacities for converting natural resources into material goods, a process occasioned only by mankind “increasing its carbon footprint” in the world. It is a biological fact that life itself — at least on this planet — is based upon carbon,and its interchange among living beings. Plants produce oxygen that is breathed in by animals, and expelled as carbon dioxide which, in turn, is taken in by plants. Whatever the source of the energy that fuels human action — be it carbon, sunlight, wind, or some untapped element — a consequence will necessarily be that humans will be expelling carbon dioxide.

Unless, of course, Homo Boobus can become convinced that the expenditure of energy — whether in play or the production of goods and services — is somehow a threat to the human species. What better way for those who want nothing more — or less — than a universal control over their fellow beings than to convince them that the essence of life itself (i.e., the vigorous and lively interaction of an organism with its environment) is anti-life. They will be reminded of the basic tenet of their conditioning: that only by submitting oneself to the authority of rulers — who will never moderate their energies on behalf of schemes to extend their power over others — can they enhance their lives by renouncing its very nature. The pursuit of individual preferences for living will come to be regarded as a secular form of original sin, to be dealt with most severely. Even school children will learn that as harmless an activity as running on the playground is to be prohibited, lest the energies that inhere in childhood be allowed to carry over into the stultifying atmosphere of the classroom. Free-spirited dancing will quickly evolve into well-ordered and supervised marching.

Be aware, my grandchildren, you may find yourselves beset by people-pushing gangs of sociopaths who have ambitions over the very ownership of your lives. They will likely cajole and coerce you into minimizing your “carbon footprint” on this planet. But to give in to their importunities is to abandon the creative and joyous nature of life itself. Continue to direct your energies over what is yours to own, and make your footprints as grand and glorious as your imaginations are capable of generating. If I am still fortunate enough to be around in your young adulthood, I may help you to discover the most polite but insistent words with which to tell such misanthropic humanoids to “go to the devil; I have more dancing to do!”

WHO Admits Mutated Swine Flu Cases Increase

From the World Health Organization -

WHO-swine-flu-update-Tamiflu resistant-H275Y-cases-of-H1N1-flu-have-nearly-doubled-in-two-weeks
The World Health Organization (WHO) provided an important swine flu update on the second of December. According to the WHO, the number of Tamiflu-resistant cases of H1N1 (swine flu) that have been identified have nearly doubled in the previous two week period.

Clusters of this H1N1 mutation, H275Y, have been found in North Carolina and Maryland, in the U.S., and Wales, in the United Kingdom.

According to the latest report from the WHO, the number of reported cases of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu have increased from 57 to 96 in just two weeks.

The Real Effect
Doubled (almost) in two weeks, now where does that sound familiar?

As I said on November 25 -
Look for increasing cases going into the weekend in the Midwest especially as this appears to be ground zero. I believe that it will continue to increase the infection rate until roughly Christmas when it will slow down.

I have some statistical information on the spread of this disease, but I don't want to go predicting anything until we see if it's actually going to become the same type of epidemic that the Ukraine is dealing with. But following that lead, here's a real rough ballpark on what the United States is looking at: 10,869,165 Infected; 653,384 Hospitalized and 2,544 dead.
As you can see, lots of bark and not a lot of bite.

D225G Mutation Spreads

As I predicted, the mutation is spreading both here and abroad -

Maryland reports 2 cases -

Maryland health officials are reporting the state's first two known cases of swine flu resistant to Tamiflu. Johns Hopkins Hospital announced Wednesday that the two patients were treated there and have been discharged.

North Carolina has three deaths -

Three of the four patients infected with the mutated virus at Duke University Medical Center died Friday.
All four of the patients suffered from multiple ailments, which weakened the patients’ immune systems and their abilities to fight the virus. But it is still unclear what part the drug-resistant flu played in the deaths of three of the patients.

Denver -

The clearest sign of the marked rise is coming from the Denver area, which usually records about 20 cases of "invasive pneumococcal disease" each October. This year, it has had 58...
Most invasive pneumococcal infections normally occur in the elderly, but in the Denver cases 62 percent were in people age 20 to 59

It has also been spotted in several other countries - South Korea, U.K., Italy, France, Vancouver, Winnipeg

The Real Effect
This raises an intriguing question about how one goes about determining . Do the doctors actually test the patient for the bug, or if the Tamiflu doesn't "work", that's grounds for determining that the virus has "mutated".
If the latter is true, is this just a race to be the next novel sufferers to secure government funding and prestige?

Dubai and AIG - A Neutron Bomb Goes Off

A report on A.I.G. from the N.Y. Times -

An independent analysis of whether the insurance industry has been setting aside enough money to pay its claims estimates that the American International Group has a shortfall of $11.9 billion in its property and casualty business.

...researchers have raised doubts about A.I.G.’s total worth since it was bailed out last year, and even the federal government has acknowledged that the company might have difficulty repaying all the money it owed taxpayers, currently about $120 billion.

In a report distributed to clients on Monday, the investment research firm Sanford C. Bernstein pointed to a big shortfall in A.I.G.’s property and casualty insurance business — which has been renamed Chartis and is intended to be the future core of the company’s operations.

The stock fell by almost 15 percent, to $28.40 from $33.30, in trading on Monday. Bernstein cut A.I.G.’s price target by 40 percent, to $12 from $20. The report’s author, Todd R. Bault, called the results “a big surprise.”

When his first rough cut of the data “made no sense,” he wrote, he looked more closely at A.I.G.’s history of setting aside reserves over the last 10 years.
That’s when he identified a shortfall so large it was distorting the industry as a whole. He ran three separate tests, all described in the report, to make sure he was correct.

The Real Effect
The Dow's up 150 points. Double down! Double down!!!

V Flu Vaccine Plot

The Second Wave

In what is sure to be a critical breaking story over the next 48-72 hours, the Ukrainian plague has spread massively throughout the world over the last month. Countries infected include the Ukraine, Norway, Poland, Belarus, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova, Hungary, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, India, Hong Kong, China, Brazil, Russia, Israel, the U.K., Canada and it seems to have made it’s way to the United States. With cases in North Carolina, Nebraska, and most importantly Iowa, this is a powder keg waiting to blow.

As if on cue this report from the CDC comes out –

Federal officials said today they have noticed "a worrisome spike in serious pneumococcal disease" linked to infections with pandemic H1N1 influenza. Health authorities normally see an increase in such infections associated with seasonal flu, but this year the rate is substantially higher than normal and the disease is striking younger people than normal, according to Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Why would they say this now?

Most of the pneumococcal infections can be prevented with a vaccine called Pneumovax that is recommended for people with medical conditions that leave them at high risk, but only about a quarter of people at risk have received an immunization.

Oh, another vaccine! Splendid!

Pneumovax is manufactured by Merck the company embroiled in scandal because it chose not to share that it’s drug, Vioxx, was killing people.

So what does this new flu look like?

In Dobrush all started with two patients in early November. Temperature may rise to all different ways - to 37, 38, 39 degrees. Shortness of breath increases, there is a cough, pain between the shoulder blades, arthralgia, diarrhea may be a violation of the digestive system. People tend to, when you begin to torment the shortness of breath, cough appeared. The worst thing, when they came already with sputum containing blood - this is aggravating factor, suggests that lung tissue was destroyed.

The Real Effect
I have been following the Ukrainian mutation since the day it was reported. Since that date, I have posted 11 articles detailing the spread in Eastern Europe which are available in the archives. From October 30th –

Could this be the dreaded mutation that would be the real pandemic? Only time will tell.

And on the 2nd of November -

My take at this point is this – I believe that there is a new ‘strain’ of the flu circulating in the Ukraine that seems very similar to the hemoraghic pneumonia that was reported being reported by Steve Quayle a few months ago and later sighted. It is very possible that this is being spread via vaccination and I doubt that the reported chemtrailing is helping. If anything it’s probably spreading the symptoms which will increase the panic and increase the vaccination rate.

This version seems primed to hit the Midwest hard. I believe this version is going to be strike the middle class the worst as several trends are appearing:

1. Spraying first – An area that was reported as sprayed seems to get sick within 48 hours. This has been reported in Iowa and Western Wisconsin.
2. Fast spread – The virus seems to make a lot of people sick, very quickly and be psychologically traumatizing. (Lightning fast onset and graphic deaths)
   
3. Reportedly low mortality rate – While the deaths are scary, the reported death count is low. So it appears to be more of a psychologically tuned illness. Whereas swine flu panicked, Ukrainian plague will terrorize.
   

Look for increasing cases going into the weekend in the Midwest especially as this appears to be ground zero. I believe that it will continue to increase the infection rate until roughly Christmas when it will slow down.

FDIC Is Bust

Running in the red -

Unfortunately, a dire prediction made by government officials in early 2009 has come true: the FDIC's deposit insurance fund is now broke, according to published reports.

I love how no specific individuals are named.

"The deposit insurance fund dropped by $18.6 billion during the third quarter of 2009 to negative $8.2 billion, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. set aside $21.7 billion in provisions for additional bank failures,"

Back in September of last year I posted the following:

Oh and the FDIC is running out of money to "protect" you. Guess you'll be paying yourself to get your money back.

And the following -

The long and short is they are bleeding the real assets out of the United States and passing them into foreign control. Make no mistake, they will bleed this country dry. Savings, checking, 401K, gold, assets, they want it all and will not stop until they get it. The only companies that survive will be those that primarily serve the industrial military complex. Overnight this country will be transformed into the new prison state for the Global Order. Get food, get water, get a gun and get ready to defend yourself.

I might remind the reader that this was posted two weeks before the market collapse of October 2008.

In March the FDIC took steps to stave off the possibility that its insurance fund would run dry, instituting new fees on banks, forcing them to pay to protect consumers.

But, it's ok, they can borrow -

"The FDIC has not yet accessed a temporary $500 billion fund of capital it has available to it from Treasury for the insurance fund," Marketwatch notd. "The FDIC estimates that bank failures will cost the agency as much as $100 billion over the next five years, with the majority of the losses taking place in 2009 and 2010.

The Real Effect

Just so everyone is clear, let's summarize: The banks speculate wildly by leveraging(usury) loans on fraudulent assets certified safe by bogus ratings and make a financial killing doing it. Then, when the inherent position comes back to haunt them, they cry foul and the taxpayers are forced to bail them out with their current assets. They then use this money not to 'fix' the bad loans, but merely shift them to dead carcass corporations that they purchase and then drop the institutions like a bad habit. On top of this they give themselves record bonuses for a job well done.
Just for clarification, robbing a bank/people this way is legal, but if you go in and grab it out of drawer, you'll rightly be put in jail.

These government programs are black holes because they were designed that way. They are a "legal" way of committing the otherwise illegal.

Anyone else notice how gold has gone up like 30%? Seem odd to you? That's because it's not, the dollar is going down. Look for the tidal wave to continue, taking the dollar with it.

Sure are a lot of zombies out there...

Reality Creeps In

The public is starting to take notice of the enormous white elephant that has taken up residence in the middle of the economic living room:

Employment

“Job seekers now, outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking..."

50% of US children, one out of every two children, will need to use food stamps to eat. That is starvation for half of America’s children.

Capitol Wealth

"Workers between the age of 55 - 60, who have worked for 20 - 29 years, have lost an average of 25 percent off their 401k."

Housing

"They were the worst three months of all time," said Rick Sharga, spokesman for RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed homes. During that time, 937,840 homes received a foreclosure letter -- whether a default notice, auction notice or bank repossession, the RealtyTrac report said. That means one in every 136 U.S. homes were in foreclosure, which is a 5% increase from the second quarter and a 23% jump over the third quarter of 2008.

"3.4 million homes are expected to enter foreclosure by year’s end, with some experts estimating that next year will be even worse."

State Bankruptcies
Been there, done that.

Federal Government

Neck deep in debt. And what happens if we cannot raise the debt ceiling? It won’t be able to send out Social Security checks or make payments for Medicaid and unemployment insurance to state governments. And, it will not be able to make interest payments on government bonds, effectively defaulting on the national debt."

The Real Effect
Of course the Feds will raise the debt ceiling, they're not that dumb. However state and local governments don't have the benefit of an unlimited checkbook. Basic boil down - the consumers are broke, this is breaking the states and the Fed will back some amount of state debt. This is and will lead to a Federal debt bubble. This is the last line of defense and when this bubble breaks, all hell will break loose. The question I have is, who's head will be in the noose?
But at least the government is spending! That will save us, right? Right?!? Hello?

China Cold Open

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WHO Releases Test Results

The WHO is hiding something -

Release:

17 November 2009 -- Preliminary tests reveal no significant changes in the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus based on investigations of samples taken from patients in Ukraine. Analyses are being performed by two WHO influenza collaborating centres as part of the global influenza surveillance network.

Preliminary genetic sequencing shows that the virus is similar to the virus used for production of the pandemic influenza vaccine, reconfirming the vaccine's efficacy at this time.

And

The World Health Organization says tests on swine flu samples from Ukraine show no significant mutation of the virus. The global body said Tuesday that preliminary genetic sequencing at laboratories in Britain and the United States showed that the virus in Ukraine was similar to that used for production of the pandemic flu vaccine. The Ukrainian Health Ministry has registered some 1.4 million cases of flu and respiratory illness since the start of the swine flu outbreak. WHO says most cases are likely swine flu and the infection rate is in line with neighbouring countries such as Russia and Poland.

The Real Effect

Why the 13 day delay in the release of the sample results? Did they take samples from individuals that weren’t exhibiting pneumonic plague symptoms?

Their bottom line – Nothing to see here, just take the vaccine.

I suppose getting 1.4 million cases in two weeks is normal? Correct me if I am wrong, but obliteration of one’s lungs wasn’t a symptom of the swine flu? Right? Reports of planes spraying the region right before the outbreak, all of that is just happenstance.

So far a little over 3% of the country is officially infected and the mortality rate is reportedly low. As of 11/15. it appeared that the infection rate is slowing down a bit, however today the numbers are showing another uptick in infection and hospitalization. “and the infection rate is in line with neighbouring countries such as Russia and Poland.” That’s because it’s spreading to those countries. Nice cover.

Is WHO just a hopelessly corrupt and useless organization?
No doubt.

States Going Bankrupt

WND reports that the State’s situation deepens -

The National Governor's Association has reported state revenues across the nation were down 11.7 and 16.6 percent in the first two quarters of 2009, respectively.

The study further observed that state revenues will not return to 2008 levels in real dollar terms until fiscal year 2014, under the most favorable assumptions that the economy has already begun a slow and largely jobless recovery.

Red Alert reports that among the most severe problems facing the states is the outstanding liability of about $2.73 trillion in employee retirement, health and other benefits coming due over the next several decades, of which more than $271 billion is unfunded.

The National Governor's Association presented the reality that "it will take states nearly a decade to fully emerge from the current recession."

Just last week, Red Alert reported that the real unemployment number, including those who have dropped out of the labor force because they have become discouraged after looking for a job for a year or longer, was 22.1 percent for October 2009, not the 10.2 percent reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Red Alert continues to predict that as the state budget crisis deepens, the Obama administration will propose federal guarantees on state loans, even though the move would add trillions to the contingent liabilities of the United States.

The Real Effect

As I posted back on June 15 -

States will declare bankruptcy, Republicans will point at Democrats and Democrats will blame Republicans.

While it hasn't happened yet, we are at most a one to two years away from this realization. Now the Feds may come in and guarantee that debt and we might see some bookkeeping shenanigans, but the states will be bankrupt none-the-less.

Edited for appearance and labels on 5/4/2010.

900,000 Norwegians Infected

From Norway -

Less than 17 percent of Norway's population is now infected with the swine flu. The estimates of Public Health (FHI) for the latest updated situation report that was published late Wednesday night.

Both the incidence of influenza-like illness and the number of confirmed flu cases has increased sharply throughout the country in recent weeks. Men i forrige uke gikk kurven bratt oppover. But last week was a steep upward curve.

We estimate that just under 900,000 Norwegians are now infected and that nearly half a million were infected just last week. There are a large number and it tells us that we are in the middle of a new and powerful wave of infection which is significantly stronger than the one we had this summer, "said Hans Blystad, superintendent at the NIPH.

WHO Silent on Ukraine Flu Sequences

From Recombinomics -

It has now been more than a week since samples from Ukraine were sent to the WHO regional lab, Mill Hill in London. Although comments have been made that at least 15 samples were H1N1 confirmed, and the sequences showed no large changes or resistance to oseltamivir, there have been no updates. The absence of additional information or release of sequences, increases concerns that small changes undergoing further analysis are causing delays.
In the days post shipment, cases in Ukraine have quadrupled to over 1 million and the reported fatalities have grown from 30 to 174. The clinical presentation of 90 of the fatalities was classical H1N1 linked hemorrhagic pneumonia, which led to the "total destruction" of both lungs. These fatal cases were hospitalized 3-7 days after disease onset, highlighting the rapid progression of the infection in a large number of patients, suggesting genetic changes in the H1N1 virus.
Although politicians and media reports continue to downplay the significance by citing a small number of lab confirmed cases or more traditional pneumonia deaths, the number of fatal hemorrhagic cases was unusually large. These deaths involve hemorrhagic pneumonia in previously health young adults. Most deaths were 19-40 years of age. The age group with the second highest totals was 41-55. Thus, the age profile of these cases parallels those seen in other countries in H1N1 infected patients.

Ukraine Official Numbers - One in 45 sick

Here are some statistics on the deepening situation in the Ukraine -

1,031,597 SICK (1 in 45 or 2.24% of the population)

52,742 IN HOSPITALS ( 1 in 872 or 0.11%)

174 DEAD (1 in 264,335)


All of this after only about two weeks. Following the same percentages, if just half of the Ukraine gets sick it will result in 1,175,765 Ukrainians hospitalized and 75,869 dead. Sobering statistics.

205,000 sick in Ukraine Swine Flu Pneumonic Plague

India Infected as Well?

India has the plague as well?

Thirty-five patients with swine flu-like symptoms died in the last 45 days at the hospital, and not one of them tested positive for swine flu. The doctors still don’t know what caused the death of these patients.

It took 45 days to realize that we don't know why these patients were dying? Let me guess this is the new H1N3?

Belarus Now Reporting Pneumonic Flu

Belarus is reporting 10 pneumonic flu deaths and has now closed their schools:

In recent weeks, the Belarusian capital Minsk has seen an estimated 10 deaths of persons suffering from pneumonia preceded by flu-like symptoms. Public health workers were working to identify the virus causing the illnesses.

Pneumonic Plague Drill In U.S.

From the state of Illinois:

Citizens infected with a fictitious pneumonic plague will line up outside Lincoln Prairie Elementary School on Saturday to help test the site as a medication dispensary in case of an emergency.

The Lake in the Hills Police Department is carrying out the test as part of a grant from the McHenry County Department of Health for its emergency health plan. In case of a biological terrorist attack or widespread disease outbreak, the site would be able get medicine to the community, Lake in the Hills Chief of Patrol Services David Brey said.

The event will use volunteers pretending to have been stricken by the plague to help test the flow of the site, from initial triage through receiving proof of being medicated.

Very interesting coincidence. The pneumonic plague is in the Ukraine and China and we're practicing to get it here.

Martial Law in the Ukraine?

Here are a couple of key points from a Ukrainian Presidential address -

The conclusions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, my numerous consultations with national and international experts show that.

First. Unlike similar epidemics in other countries, three pathogens of viral infections came to Ukraine at the same time: two of them are seasonal flu and the third is the A/H1N1.

According to virologists, such a combination of infections due to mutation may produce a new, even more aggressive virus. Second. The A/H1N1 virus is easily mutating. It has travelled across half of the globe before coming to Ukraine.

This means that the virus has become particularly pathogenic.

This means that medical aid must be urgently reinforced by emergency, critical care treatment.

The third risk factor. It is generally known that the only way to prevent any infection is vaccination. At the same time I instruct the Government and the Ministry of Health to immediately start preventive and promotional work in areas where there is no epidemic, targeting primarily the special risk groups.

I demand the Government to immediately cancel the existing order of registration of medical supplies, including vaccines. We must change the system. We must change the entire system of government in Ukraine.

But now, in this moment there is no time for waiting or remonstrance. National Security and Defense Council should become the center of decision-making.

Failure to comply with its orders will immediately result in application to the law enforcement authorities. With my decree I put Minister of Health and Chief Sanitary Inspector of Ukraine into the Council for National Security and Defense.

On a related note, it seems to be the pneumonic plague,

Ukrainian News Agency "Fraza" reported that, according to informed sources, "it has been confirmed 100 % Pneumonic Plague in Ukraine".
The Agency asserts that "the head physician of the medical institutions has sent out an informal disposal - not to sow panic, to refute the information about the plague, and to speak only of swine influenza".
According to the "Fraza" agency, "today in Ukraine pneumonic plague is going in parallel with swine flu. The plague has killed over 60 people, and about 14 from the flu.
Meanwhile, the press service of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine reported that there is only one death from "California" virus A/N1N1 in Ukraine.

Ukraine Situation Escalates

This situation becomes more disconcerting in the Ukraine.

It was reported that light aircraft were seen over the Forest market area of the city (close to the Forest metro station) and they were spraying an aerosol substance intended to “counter swine flu”, this of course would constitute forced medication of the population.

The editors of local newspapers in Kiev received dozens of phone calls from concerned residents and shop owners in the Forest market area of the city reporting they had observed several light airplanes circling in the sky during the day spraying an unidentified aerosol into the atmosphere.

Reports of helicopters and light airplanes spraying aerosols over Kiev, Lviv, Ternopil, and other cities throughout Ukraine are tonight flooding online forums and websites, hundreds of people have verified the reports with their own eye-witness accounts.

An order from President Yushchenko is expected soon that will effectively place Ukraine under “martial law”.

Nine regions of Ukraine have declared a quarantine around the country and public events have been banned (including the elections).The Clergy have been ordered not to hold any Church or religious services on Sundays or to gather a congregation for any reason whatsoever. Police are also enforcing the compulsory wearing of protective face masks, any driver caught not wearing a mask faces harsh legal penalties.

Another report states:

The Health Ministry says 53 people have died over the last week from flu and other respiratory diseases. Almost 185,000 people are suffering, and more than 7,000 have been transferred to hospitals. Of those, 123 are in critical condition.

Ukrainian government has made an emergency purchase of Tamiflu medicine from Switzerland. A shipment of 300 million doses, worth $2.5 million, was airlifted on Sunday night.

And they’re treating it with Tamiflu. Useless.

What doesn’t help matters is this report that -

The Huffington Post reported on a a man named Joseph Moshe who was arrested after a hours long standoff with the police because he had supposedly made threats against the White House. The man was able to withstand multiple rounds of tear gas.

However, the internet community was very skeptical of the true reasons behidn this man’s arrest. Comments on the Huffington Post website immediately began pouring in about an unreported side to this story, namely that Joseph Moshe was a Mossad Agent specialized in biological warfare who called into a radio show to warn people about a biological weapn that was being made by Baxter international that would be spread through vaccine and would cause a plague upon it’s release.

The Real Effect
My take at this point is this – I believe that there is a new ‘strain’ of the flu circulating in the Ukraine that seems very similar to the hemoraghic pneumonia that was reported being reported by Steve Quayle a few months ago and later sighted. It is very possible that this is being spread via vaccination and I doubt that the reported chemtrailing is helping. If anything it’s probably spreading the symptoms which will increase the panic and increase the vaccination rate. A win-win for the pharmaceutical companies. And to make maters even more interesting, China has some cases too.

At a bare minimum, facts and logic will not rule and fear will drive the response. How far will this go? I can't really say now.


Edited 8/2/2010 for appearance.

New Version of Flu in the Ukraine?

Disturbing news out of the Ukraine of a new viral pneumonia -

As the number of sick persons increases, the authorities describe the situation as rather serious, says Ternopil oblast chief medical officer Bohdan Onyskiv.

“In all, 262 patients are treated in hospitals, of these 16 in serious condition. !* children have died in rural areas and 70 in Ternopil,” he says.

Onyskiv confirmed that they died from viral pneumonia.

Another city:

“We have sent the analyses to Kyiv. We don’t believe it’s the swine flue. Neither do we know what kind of pneumonia it is,
Borysevych stressed. Viral tests can last from one to two weeks. They are complicated and not done in Lviv. The course of the disease was very quick. The symptoms included very high temperature and short-wind cough.

The disease started as an ordinary chill with headache and temperature. The symptoms lasted for a week before patient condition began to aggravate.

And in another city:

All the six dead young people had symptoms of severe hemmorhagic pneumonia. The disease starts slowly, with temperature rising to 37.2 – 37.3 degrees, slight cough and pain in joints. Nasal catarrh developed at the end of the second or third day. Autopsy revealed that the lungs were soaked with blood, the oblast chief specialist said.

Could this be the dreaded mutation that would be the real pandemic? Only time will tell.

Operation Red Dragon Part 2

Operation Red Dragon - Part 1

Pictures from "Operation Red Dragon". We had fun taking them, so enjoy. I'll put more up later.

The March to 6,000 - The economic house of cards begins to tumble…

Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism.– Karl Marx, Das Kapital, 1867

I heard a report on the radio recently that stated ‘90% of economists believe we are recovering economically’ and ‘we have hit bottom and we will see slight growth in the Q3 and moderate growth in Q4.’ Not to mention all of the "green shoots" analogies that are flying around. One is left in the position of thinking that the worst is over because the experts have spoken loudly that 'We, the great country are free from this dastardly downturn that plagued us.'

Responding to that, I will say the following: They are wrong! Absolutely in no uncertain terms dead wrong. They did not predict the crisis (I did) and they are not to be trusted specifically because they have not merited your trust. Kenyesian thinking is at best foolish and more realistically, massively destructive to our society as a whole.

All over the nation they are convincing scores of individuals to ‘take what they have, plow it into the market and ride it up!’ Why would you trust them? They are the Judas goats leading the flock to the slaughterhouse. And guess who’s the sheep?

This is not a recession, it is a depression. And a massive one at that. We are not at the bottom, we are on gaining momentum for the next plunge down. If you thought the last drop was bad, this one is going to strike fear into the hearts of men everywhere. The Dow will push through the last market low of 7,392.27, then 6000 and after that 3000. As capitol assets are ravished, what you will be seeing is the consumption of the golden goose in a proverbial feasting on the rotting carcass of the American consumer. If you disagree, ask yourself the following, what is holding US up?

The idea for this post had been pushing around in my head for quite some time, but here we stand at the precipice and back on September 19, I posted the following:

Oh, only a 48-55% increase in government debt, well at least we're not crazy like Japan. At least we're not selling our children into slavery with interest payments via the IRS.
Let's get a few things straight here:

• "They" are not "us". If the banks fail, then let them fail! It is the consequence of their consummate greed in over-leveraging these loans. This money used for the bailout is coming out of your pocketbook and going into theirs. When was the last time a bank or corporation was this nice and allowed you to set your debt aside at their expense?

• "You" will be left holding the bill. Your children and grandchildren will be held responsible for paying off this debt when it comes due.

• This will not fix the real problem. Do you really think giving someone a free ride when they are being greedy is going to change the behavior? There is no negative incentive for them not to participate in the behavior.

• The downside to this is way above one trillion - This figure is optimistic. If things get ugly, the taxpayers are holding tens, if not hundreds, of trillions of dollars in these "toxic" loans.

Oops... The Real Effect, dead on! Note the following – You are being charged for this bailout via direct taxation through the IRS and the confiscation of your money in Kansas and California. This information was posted in September before the bailout package passed and it did nothing to fix the problem.

Citigroup and Bank of America are still going broke. We’ve had massive layoffs… The new numbers for the bailout has been costed at over 14 trillion dollars. This does NOT include the trillion dollar ‘stimulus’ package. Let’s state this again: the banks are engaged in a heist. Robbery.

Let us consider the following Rampant Devastation: GM, Chrysler, Ford, General Growth, Citiroup, Circuit City, Anne Taylor, Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Eddie Bauer, Catherine’s, Talbots, Gap, Footlocker, Wickes, Zale’s, Bombay, Whitehall, Disney, Piercing Pogada, Linen and things, Pep Boys, JC Penny’s, Wilson Leather, Sharper Image, KB Toys, Lowes, Dalrds

The Real Effect
So what happens next?

• The US dollar is going to tank (think Iceland)

It has to. There is massive unemployment already and while the rate is slowing slightly that is hardly comforting. The U.S. bond market is going to implode resulting in the US’s first defaults.

• Banks claim ownership of 401ks and the government moves to “protect” them by seizing them.

I would assume they would be placed in a new 'secure conservatorship’.

• Obama loosens the unemployment restrictions so more can draw from the government and then moves the unemployed to the government ranks. At the same time, States cut off the most poor creating a "humanitarian crisis". (Think California)

• Commercial Market collapse continues

• The second wave of the housing market collapse hits (The less risky loans start to default)

SFGate states -

“On the supply side, an assortment of factors seems poised to trigger new waves of foreclosures that will continue to bloat inventory. They include the expiration of foreclosure moratoriums, more underwater "walk-away" homeowners, pending recasts of option ARM loans, rising delinquencies in prime and Alt-A loans, and soft sales of high-end homes.”

• Commodities surge (Massive inflation)

Gold, silver, food are surging – big banks, investment houses are purchasing now. We are now in the Inflation/Deflation death spiral. New

• Unemployment highs

After the next 'wave' hits, employers will cut even deeper in an attempt to staunch the flow of red ink that will inundate most companies.
Consider the following evidence:

Unlucky 13 In April 2009, 13 U.S. cities had unemployment rates above 15%.

1. El Centro, Calif. 26.9%
2. Yuma, Ariz. 20.3%
3. Merced, Calif. 18.3%
4. Yuba City, Calif. 18.2%
5. Elkhart, Ind. 17.8%
6. Modesto, Calif. 16.8%
7. Stockton, Calif. 15.6%
8. Bend, Ore. 15.6%
9. Fresno, Calif. 15.5%
10. Visalia, Calif. 15.4%
11. Redding, Calif. 15.4%
12. Hanford, Calif. 15.3%
13. Longview, Wash. 15.2%

The U6 Data, a more realistic unemployment figure has unemployment pegged at 16.4% using the Birth/Death ratio (A guess to how many jobs were created) A formula from the 1980's, not using that ratio results in a staggering 20.2%! (10.9 million people are unemployed since Jan 1, 2009)

• Taxes and fees are going to continue going up.

States will declare bankruptcy, Republicans will point at Democrats and Democrats will blame Republicans. Look for the I94 corridor project currently under construction is SE Wisconsin to stall out and seek out 'alternate sources' of funding as we sell our roads to private companies (probably foreign) that will buy them cheap and then gouge the motorists.

• Water is going to become the next oil.

Things are NOT going to get better, they are going to get significantly worse overall. It may be true that we might see some small respites here and there as investors hope for a resurgence in the market but overall we are in for one serious ride.

Edited for appearance on 7/1/2010