States Going Belly Up Part 3

Los Angeles, CA -

AFTER a week of fruitless debate, the Los Angeles City Council takes up the budget debate again today. And if past discussions are any indication, very little will be decided by a council too afraid to make the hard - and politically unpopular - decisions. Instead the city will slip one step closer to insolvency. The city of Los Angeles is in immediate financial danger with a $212 million shortfall just for the last few months of this current fiscal year. Next fiscal year, which begins in July, the city is anticipating $400 million less in revenue than expenses.

Vallejo, CA -

Public officials shouldn’t think about filing for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy to solve mounting labor costs and pension liabilities. Even talking about this action will invite an inquiry from Fitch Ratings, the company said in a report published Jan. 27. “The more bankruptcy is publicly discussed as an option for financial relief, the more its tarnish wears off, increasing the likelihood of its actual use,” Fitch said. The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression is squeezing municipalities across the country. Since Vallejo, California, successfully petitioned for bankruptcy protection in May 2008, California’s towns, Detroit’s schools and Pennsylvania’s capital city of Harrisburg have all talked about Chapter 9.

Harrisburg, PA -

Pennsylvania’s capital of Harrisburg was downgraded to five levels below investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service, as the city considers bankruptcy in the face of $68 million in debt payments this year.
Harrisburg’s city council and controller, Dan Miller, have said Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection is one option under consideration as the city contends with debt payments this year that exceed the size of its general fund budget for services such as police and parks.

N.J. -

Calling New Jersey on "the edge of bankruptcy," Gov. Chris Christie today declared a fiscal emergency, seizing broad powers to freeze aid to more than 500 school districts and cut from higher education, hospitals and the Public Advocate.
Along with eliminating programs "that sounded good in theory but failed in practice" across state departments, Christie is cutting $475 million in aid to school districts, $62 million in aid to colleges and $12 million to hospital charity care.

Nationwide Zillow says it about to get much worse -

December brought signs that the fledgling recovery of home values in many markets is slowing again. U.S. home values got a bit lower again in December relative to November levels and the rate of decline got just a little bit higher as well.
More significantly, a number of large markets saw an end to their streak of consecutive monthly gains, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and Portland, Ore. In total, one in five (29) of the 143 markets tracked by Zillow saw monthly depreciation or flattening of home values in December after having experienced at least five consecutive month-over-month increases in home values during 2009. If these declines are sustained, as we expect to happen in many markets, the result will be a “double dip ” in home values, defined as two periods of sustained declines in home values separated by a brief period of stabilization or recovery.

And how does the establishment "deal" with the issues?

Three state Senate committees are set to consider legislation that would raise Hawaii's general excise tax and use special state funds to eliminate teacher furlough days later this year.

What a joke.

7 WTC Shortly Before Collapsing

Palin's Tea Party Takeover Will Facilitate Obama Reelection

So long and short is - the Ron Paul/Campaign for Liberty started the "tea party", the RNC kidnaps the "tea party" and when Republicans blow the election in 2012 they WILL blame the original Tea Party and proclaim liberty dead and attempt to return to the "big tent" mentality. They will effectively split the vote and confuse the issues.

"Wait is Palin pro war? Or anti-war? But I thought the Tea Party was anti-war? Oh, I'm confused, I'll vote for Palin because she "tough"."

States Going Belly Up Part 2

More info on the dire straits that this country is finding itself in.

Nevada -

Nevada officials on Tuesday outlined drastic cuts to the state's Medicaid program that include plans to ration adult diapers, eliminate denture and hearing-aid programs, and force personal care assistants to buy their own disposable gloves.
To close Nevada's $881 million budget deficit, Gibbons has proposed eliminating public school mandates for class size and full-day kindergarten, and suspending collective bargaining for teachers. Public schools would lose $166 million, and administrators say hundreds if not thousands of teachers could lose their jobs.

Hawaii's tax refunds may get delayed and more -

The state Department of Human Services has warned health insurance companies that the state may not make payments for Quest — the state's health plan for low-income families — for the last quarter of the fiscal year, leaving insurers to absorb about $300 million in medical expenses until at least July.

Not only do they steal your money, they won't let you have the money back that they owe you under their rules! It doesn't take long to figure out that the solution is simply to change the rules so they don't have to give it back.

To those who are retiring: You thought that you could have mandated wages and prices, planes, trains and sick days all guaranteed by your friends at the U.S.A. But the laws of supply and demand yield to no one and now you have to pay the piper.

In short, you took a ride with the dragon and you lost. And now you look in the mirror and realize that you've been used, albeit willingly, like a $2 dollar whore. Your safety is not paramount to these scoundrels, they don't care anymore because they got what they want.

Face it, you've been caught. Your "revolution" dating back 50 plus years failed and now not only is payment being extracted from you, but your offspring as well. The real question is the following: Will you come clean, deal with your losses and try like your forefathers to leave your children in a better state or will you capitulate and attempt to get Congress to re-inflate the bubble and in the process damn your children to a life of poverty so you can have your cozy little retirement?

The choice is yours.

Michael Savage - Sarah Palin Is Not Electable

Gerald Celente on Wall Street

Swine Flu Wave 3 Started?

From Recombinomics -

The latest CDC report shows an overall rise (from 8.9% to 13%) in samples positive for H1N1 in Region 4 in the week 4 report, providing additional evidence for the start of wave 3 in the United States. Earlier media reports had described increases in various states in region 4. Le Boehner children’s hospital in Memphis had seen an increase in hospitalized patients and a high frequency were being admitted to the ICU, where at least 2 of the 7 died. One was from MS while then other was from TN. University of North Carolina hospital also reported an increase in confirmed H1N1 in college students, and the North Carolina website showed an increase in samples testing positive for H1N1 to 25%, the highest level since mid-November when wave 2 was declining.

These sharp increases in region 4 raise concerns that these cases will spread. Region 4 led the nation at the beginning of the fall wave, which largely followed school openings. Many of the schools in region 4 opened in August. The rise in positive patients in region 4 raises concerns that wave 3 will be more severe, with an associated increase in deaths.

From California -

The above pediatric deaths for week 4 are in Friday’s MMWR and will be in the CDC week 4 report. The six deaths in California are striking and once again signal a high level of fatalities when there is no seasonal influenza A and reported pandemic H1N1 levels are low. In addition, the Pneumonia and Influenza deaths for week 4 will be 8.1%, virtually unchanged from the spike reported in week 3, which increased the rate to 8.2%

When we saw the news on Thursday that the pandemic is over and yet the CDC is encouraging children to get a second H1N1 shot, that's a signal that it's not over yet. A lot of sick people in the last week. We'll have to watch a little longer to see if it's the real thing this time.

Egyptian sources: Israel prepares to strike Iran from Gulf and N. Iraq

The following disturbing news comes from DEBKA -

Egyptian military sources have put out information purporting to outline Israel's preparations to strike Iran.
They report that the Israeli Navy together with the US Fifth Fleet have for some weeks been charting Persian Gulf waters and Iranian shorelines in preparation for attacks by Israeli naval and special operations forces.
IDF intelligence and special forces officers, they also say, have been marking out routes for their air and ground forces to drive into Iran and hit its nuclear installations.
According to these Egyptian sources, Saudi Arabia has demanded clarifications from Washington about reported US-assisted Israeli preparations to strike Iran and asks why they were not brought to the notice of Riyadh and the Gulf Arab governments.
The Saudis added that several Gulf intelligence and naval units had tracked Israeli movements and gathered documentary evidence.
Some of this information was leaked in Cairo Wednesday night to Shorouk, a publication which Egyptian intelligence often uses as an outlet for information held to be credible.
Shorouk was first out with the story of the Israeli Air Force attack on Iranian arms convoys in Sudan in January 2009.

And from PressTV -

As Israel keeps threatening the regional countries with war, Egyptian maritime sources say the Israeli navy has deployed two missile ships to the Persian Gulf.

Citing the sources, Yediot Ahronot reported Saturday that two Israeli missile ships passed through the Suez Canal en route to the Red Sea on Thursday morning.

We're definitely not moving away from war.

States Going Belly Up

New York -

The first three quarters of 2009 were the worst on record for states in terms of the decline in overall state tax collections, as well as the change in personal income and sales tax collections. The Great Recession hit virtually every single source of tax revenue and pushed a number of states to revise revenue forecasts numerous times throughout fiscal 2009 and 2010, with significant impacts on services.

Illinois -

While it appears unlikely or even impossible for a state to hide out from creditors in Bankruptcy Court, Illinois appears to meet classic definitions of insolvency: Its liabilities far exceed its assets, and it's not generating enough cash to pay its bills. ... "I would describe bankruptcy as the inability to pay one's bills," says Jim Nowlan, senior fellow at the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs. "We're close to de facto bankruptcy, if not de jure bankruptcy."

New York again -

New York's governor unveiled a painful budget plan Tuesday that slashes services, raises fees and implements some creative actions to close a yawning $7.4 billion fiscal gap.
...
"There are no more easy answers. We cannot keep spending money that we do not have," Paterson said in a written statement.
...
The state's woes are a bellwether of what others around the nation are facing. New York's fiscal year starts in April, the earliest of any state.

Ohio -

Ohio's tax coffers are nearly $100 million lighter than officials had expected by this point in the fiscal year, largely due to a January income tax shortfall.
Officials say total tax receipts for the seven months ending in January fell short of projections by 1.1 percent, or $99.6 million. According to preliminary numbers, last month's income tax collections missed the mark by 15.6 percent.

Do I even need to bring up Detroit?

Here's a good example from Pewaukee what to do -

The city voted in November to close the police department and then contract with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. Officials claim it will save the city around $1 million. 26 officers lost their jobs with Waukesha County hiring 16 of them.

Ahhhhh, non duplication of services and reduced cost. Good to see that my county is going about it the right way.

US-China faceoff over Taiwan arms deal

Why You've Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920

Exclusive - Obama Nominates Governors to Head Each of 10 FEMA Regions

In what could be construed as a precursor to martial law, on January 11th, Obama announced the creation of the Council of Governors via Executive Order. Initially, the consuming thought was the fact that Obama would use an Executive Order to accomplish such a thing, however, after a few minutes of thinking, it dawned on me that Obama could use these 10 positions to fulfill a "Governor" headship for each of the previously created 10 FEMA regions to govern during a period of martial law.

Surely, I thought, this is far to easy and readily identified as there's no way Obama would be THAT obvious. So I created a list to test my theory. I started by picking all the governors who governed a state which hosted the FEMA headquarters in their state. At that point I had 6 dems and 4 repubs, but alas I never finished the list. Here is the list:

FEMA I	MA	Patrick, Deval		D
FEMA II	NY	Paterson, David		D
FEMA III	PA	Rendell, Edward G.		D
FEMA IV	GA	Perdue, Sonny		R
FEMA V	IL	Daniels, Mitch		R
FEMA VI	TX	Perry, Rick		R
FEMA VII	MO	Nixon, Jay		D
FEMA VIII	CO	Ritter, Bill		D
FEMA IX	CA	Schwarzenegger, Arnold		R
FEMA X	WA	Gregoire, Christine		D

Just a little while ago, I caught wind of the fact that Obama had actually named the 10 Governors. So I matched up my list against the White house list. Lo and behold simply picking those items netted me 3/10 right. Here is the list by Region:

FEMA I	VT	Governor James H. Douglas, Co-Chair, Council of Governors
FEMA II	PR	Governor Luis G. Fortuño, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA III	MD	Governor Martin O’Malley, Member, Council of Governors
	VA	Governor Robert F. McDonnell, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA IV	GA	Governor Beverly Eaves Perdue, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA V		(Vacant)
FEMA VI	OK	Governor Brad Henry, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA VII	MO	Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA VIII	SD	Governor M. Michael Rounds, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA IX	AZ	Governor Janice K. Brewer, Member, Council of Governors
FEMA X	WA	Governor Chris Gregoire, Co-Chair, Council of Governors

Now a few things jumped out at me right away:

• Illinois' Region (V) is vacant.

This could suggest a few things. Perhaps it purposefully being left empty so that in the event of a terrorist attack it would be "headless" and fall apart. (Katrina-esque FEMA response not withstanding) Or perhaps Obama wishes to head this region himself to demonstrate his leadership abilities. Either way, it's difficult to say.

• Region II's leader is the Governor of Puerto Rico

Seems a little unorthodox. Eh perhaps Puerto Rico will be the only area left in Region II.

• Region III has two leaders.
  

This area includes Washington D.C. so perhaps Obama wishes to micro-manage the area or one leader will be removed from the picture somehow. It's also possible that this was done to deflect criticism of FEMA Governors.

• Region IV is the Regional headquarters and in the Center for Disease Control's home city.
  

This could mean something more significant regarding a false-flag bio attack.

• Region VI is not in Texas.

Originally I had picked Oklahoma due to the contested nature of the governorship but I digressed thinking that there is no way that Texas would go along for the ride if they weren't in charge.

• Regions I and X share the chair.

Perhaps a bit of an allusion to "Alpha and Omega"?

Any way you look at this, this development doesn't signal a decrease in hostilities towards the citizens of this country and specifically the Patriot movement as this piece in Infowars notes. Look for continued hostilities towards all those who would dare oppose imposition of a perpetual fiefdom by this fascist administration.

Toyotathon of Death

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Toyotathon of Death
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Rand Paul On Cavuto - Government Doesn't Create Jobs People Do

BLS Lies and the American Depression

From Reuters -

The Labor Department said the economy shed 20,000 jobs after losing 150,000 jobs in December. November was revised to a gain of 64,000, up from 4,000. Annual benchmark revisions to payrolls data showed the economy has purged 8.4 million jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007.

8.4 million jobs lost in 2 years sounds like a depression to me! So unemployment is getting worse right?

Jobless rate falls to 9.7 percent

Of course, because that makes perfect sense. Generally when I cut jobs my unemployment rate goes down. So things are getting better?

More Chicago-area homeowners defaulted on their mortgages during the final three months of 2009 than in any other quarter since the housing crisis began in 2006.
What the data doesn't show, but what is widely predicted, is that there will be no slowdown in foreclosures this year. Despite almost yearlong efforts to stem the tide of foreclosures, high unemployment rates are causing more homeowners to miss mortgage payments.

Well, what does the Dow Jones have to say about this!? Oh yeah, riiiiight...

That would mean the government is lying, they don't lie, right? So where is the truth? From TrimTabs -

TrimTabs employment analysis, which uses real-time daily income tax deposits from all U.S. taxpayers to compute employment growth, estimated that the U.S. economy shed 255,000 jobs in November. This past month’s results were an improvement of only 10.2% from the 284,000 jobs lost in October.
We believe the BLS is grossly underestimating current job losses due to their flawed survey methodology. Those flaws include rigid seasonal adjustments, a mysterious birth/death adjustment, and the fact that only 40% to 60% of the BLS survey is complete by the time of the first release and subject to revision.

The Real Effect
If only someone had seen this coming -

I believe that we will see the economy start to stutter like a dying giant, staggering into a recession, if not a depression. - September 22, 2005

And

Notice how on the above picture that the bottom of the "Great Depression" didn't come until much later than the intial plunge? The market is reacting like an addict, convulsing with desire for more goods (I.E. - Fiat debt-based liquidity). This will only make the fall that much harder. -
September 19, 2008

And

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. - June 15, 2009

And

This is higher than the unemployment during the Great Depression. In 1931, the official unemployment rate was 24.9%. It took a world war to bring it down to 4.7%. Will it take another war to bring the unemployment rate down again? - December 18, 2009

That last point is important. Did I recently see a story about a build-up in the Persian Gulf?

Gerald Celente on Coast to Coast AM "The Crash of 2010 is Coming"

Greece Spiraling the Drain

The economic situation in Greece explodes -

Greek tax collectors and customs officers walked off the job on Thursday, kicking off a spate of strikes against government austerity cuts designed to halt a financial crisis caused by massive debt. Both groups embarked on a two-day walkout ahead of industrial action called by civil servants, doctors and Communist-backed workers on February 10 and a general strike called by Greece's main umbrella union on February 24.

Greece's largest union with around 600,000 members, GSEE is expected to approve Panagopoulos' call for a February 24 general strike later Thursday.

GSEE has also walked out of the official debate on how to reform the country's cash-strapped pensions system that is a key part of the government's economy rescue agenda.


Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday ordered a public salary freeze, a higher retirement age and a hike in petrol prices, supplementing a crisis plan unveiled last month to reassure the international financial community.

And in Europe -

European and UK stock markets fell more than 2 per cent, with Portuguese and Spanish stock markets leading the declines with falls of 5 per cent or more. Investors also sold sovereign debt in these periphery eurozone countries and sought the safety of the dollar and US Treasuries.

“The latest catalyst was [Wednesday’s] bond auction in Portugal, which was scaled back and which has reignited fears that the likes of Portugal and Greece will not be able to fund their deficits without a bail-out,” said Gavan Nolan, credit analyst at Markit.

Posted on January 5,and most recently on January 30th I said the following -

The situation in Greece is FAR WORSE than the positive news warrants.

Either way, it doesn't bode well for the global consumer. Look for default to begin causing defaults across the globe as this crescendos into a global sell off.

Oh! And who can forget Vincente Fox's little escapade regarding a North American currency? (In October of 2007, right before the begining of the Greatest Depression)

When asked if he supported globalization through NAFTA, Fox responded: "Yes, absolutely, NAFTA has been good, as a matter of fact we should have a new vision, go further, integrating and working together to build a better future for both. "That happened with Spain and with the European Union with them joining the union and having access to those huge cohesive bonds, they were able to overcome poverty and today Spain, or Ireland or Greece or Portugal are all very successful nations, what you need is a little bit of solidarity."

The Real Effect
I do know that Greece's woes are going to blow out into the eurozone specifically Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland as they are all big holders of Greek bonds. This in turn will cause their economies to suffer as the fallout becomes contagious. Yet America plugs along, content to repeat these mistakes as we "integrate" and "harmonize" our way into oblivion.
What will be of some interest is whether or not the EU attempts to isolate Greece somehow in a fashion similar to the economic collapse of last year in the United States. I don't know how they would do it, but it would make for a very revealing study of what could come to the US shortly.

The next six months should be very interesting.

Congressional Hearing Reveals US Intelligence Agencies Shielded Flight 253 Bomber

More on the Underwear Bomber -

A January 27 hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security established that US intelligence agencies stopped the State Department from revoking the US visa of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

NO WAY! You mean the State Department actually let the "terrorist" in? Whoa! You mean it's a false flag? NO WAY! Who would have seen that coming?

The Nigerian student, whom US officials suspected of being affiliated with the Yemeni terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, attempted to set off a bomb on Northwest Flight 253 into Detroit on Christmas Day. Revocation of Abdulmutallab’s visa would have prevented him from boarding the airplane.

Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't even like shooting fish in a barrel, it's more akin to strapping C4 to the back of a fish in the barrel and then tying it down. No contest.

More On Flight 253

Perhaps this will shed some light as to why I started in on the Underwear Bomber yesterday.

$5 Billion Dollar IMF Swing Behind Attack on Flight 253?
Bruce Sargent
February 3, 2010

Was a $5 billion dollar swing for the IMF facilitated by the attack on Flight 253? Yes.

Flash Back to Early Last December: A $5 billion dollar IMF investment is threaten by revolution in Yemen. Umaru Mutallab, who heads the Jaiz Bank, with links to the Islamic Development Bank, banks that are also heavily invested in Yemen, faces major losses along with the IMF. Revolution and the loss of billions is imminent. Umaru son, the Detroit Bomber, sparks a fire on Flight 253. This sparks a US intervention. Investments of Umaru and of the IMF are saved.

The following from American Everyman:

“Now, here is what we have learned;

• Yemen increased its national debt to the tune of 5 billion dollars from July to September of this year. The IMF, World Bank, and Paris Club members are on the hook [for the loss] for that money if the revolution in Yemen is successful.

• A World Bank and IMF indebted super wealthy “free-market” reformer in Nigeria [Abdulmuttab's Father] goes to the State Department and then to the CIA in Nigeria to talk about his son.

• That same son, for reasons unknown decides “out of the blue” to sit on a small amount of explosives in a plane in Detroit. The CIA somehow misses the warning signs.

• The FBI announces immediately that the son “confessed’ that it was all Yemen’s fault.

• After the attack, all the banking controlled congressmen and the Obama administration announce we will attack “the terrorists” in Yemen and thus help “stabilize” the current corrupt government of that nation.”

Maybe with a plea bargain, short sentence, good behavior and cooperation, Adbdulmutallab will return to Nigeria and assist his family fortunes more directly.

Judge Andrew Napolitano - False Flag Event To Save Obama's Presidency

Hype Buildup - False Flag Leapfrog Into Iran?

As I stated last week -

There's are a lot of hand waving going on out there -
The banksters need to cover their tracks, they need a distraction. I wouldn't be surprised to see a building with all sorts of documentation get targeted.

We now get the following -

“According to the nation’s intelligence chiefs, a terror attack in the United States will likely be launched within the next six months, reports WLS.

“ABC News has learned some of the intelligence has come from the accused Christmas Day bomber,” states the report.

Oh, you mean this underwear bomber?

Authorities last week quietly reversed the official story behind the Christmas Day underwear bomber attack and acknowledged that an accomplice was involved, despite weeks of denial and derision of eyewitness Kurt Haskell’s description of a sharp-dressed man who helped Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab board Flight 253 in Amsterdam.

The Real Effect
This is a situation that we should keep a close eye on.

Jim Cramer says on TV that the Bavarian Illuminati are not all bad

Colorado Springs Cuts Into Services

A taste of things to come -

This tax-averse city is about to learn what it looks and feels like when budget cuts slash services most Americans consider part of the urban fabric.

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won't pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.

"We're the second-largest city, and growing, in Colorado. We're in trouble. We're in big trouble."

The deep recession bit into Colorado Springs sales-tax collections, while pension and health care costs for city employees continued to soar. Sales-tax updates have become a regular exercise in flinching for Mayor Lionel Rivera.

Note that last bit, government costs are soaring but the people that have to pay the bills are offered no such protection?
But why would such a thing happen? Well it appears the locals grew a pair and told the government to buzz off -

Voters in November said an emphatic no to a tripling of property tax that would have restored $27.6 million to the city's $212 million general fund budget. Fowler and many other residents say voters don't trust city government to wisely spend a general tax increase and don't believe the current cuts are the only way to balance a budget.

Oh the humanity! What, the government can't hire 20% more workers at 30% more pay? What are we to do!?! Here's a great line -

"If a playground burns down, I can't replace it," Schroeder said.

Now how many playgrounds have ever burned to the ground in the city? I'm willing to bet zero.

The Real Effect
This is exactly why socialism/communism failed repeatedly throughout the 20th century and will fail again in the United States. When you remove property rights and institute a collective form of ownership, human nature dictates that almost all people will gravitate towards less and less productivity. We have not had real property rights in this country for decades, if not a century.

Severe H1N1 Cases in North Carolina Raise Concerns

From North Carolina -

During the first 3 weeks of January 17-18 patients were admitted to the Le Bonheur Children’s hospital and at least seven required intensive care and at least two died. Concerns were expressed by physicians at the hospital, which has also happened in North Carolina. Moreover, Friday's week 3 influenza report had a sharp spike in pneumonia and influenza deaths, and the cause remains a mystery.

North Carolina is of particular concern because of an outbreak at Duke Medical Center in the adjacent Raleigh / Durham region. Last October at least four patients had H1N1 with H274Y. Recently released sequences at GISAID included five sequences from North Carolina with H274Y and the rare HA marker Y233H. Moreover, 3 of the HA sequences had D225G or D225N, suggesting they came from the three fatal cases. Moreover, an additional North Carolina was just released and it also had D225G and was also collected in October. However, this isolate did not have H274Y or the rare HA marker, but did have an HA marker which matched the sub-clade seen in Ukraine. Thus, the presence of D225G/N in multiple cases and sub-clades raises concerns that a new wave in North Carolina would have more severe or fatal cases.

So Maybe You Can't Keep Your Current Coverage...

Debra Medina - Get rid of Property Taxes and Reducing Eminent Domain

Iran Being Positioned Again

The translators seem to be struggling still -

'Iran will deliver telling blow to global powers on Feb. 11'

In what would appear to be a threat to western interests, this eye-popping headline is self-reinforcing for an Iranian threat to world powers. Perhaps we should read what was said -

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the "global arrogance" on this year's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
"The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism," Ahmadinejad said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles," he added.

The Real Effect
Readers are no stranger to the fact that I believe that certain interests definitely want was with Iran and will stop at nothing, including fabrication if not outright lying to achieve that end. The Patriot missile deployments and these documents seem to be similar to troops amassing on the Afghani border on Sept. 10, 2001.

UPDATE: You might want to rethink your position Obama -

A maiden U.S. attempt to shoot down a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran failed after a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co, the Defense Department said.

Ron Paul on Obama seeking to assassinate "US citizens" he labels terrorists

Gerald Celente - Deliberate Collapse - 2010

Economic Storm This Way Cometh

There is some wicked economic mojo going on out there -

The yield on 10-year Greek bonds blasted upwards by over 40 basis points to 7.15pc in a day of wild trading. Spreads over German Bunds reached almost four percentage points, by far the highest since Greece joined the euro, and close to levels that risk a self-feeding spiral. Contagion hit Portuguese, Spanish, Irish, and Italian bonds.

Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas, said Greece will face "great trouble" if it has to pay 7pc rates for long. Athens must raise €53bn this year, mostly in the first half. It has a been relying on cheap short-term debt to fund the budget deficit of 13pc of GDP, but this raises "roll-over risk".

And in the U.K. -

The collapse in the value of the pound has left a £1.3billion black hole in Britain’s defence budget, MPs have been warned.

In California -

State Controller John Chiang issued a stern warning Friday about California's cash reserves, telling legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger they must act on nearly $9 billion in budget cuts the governor is seeking by March — or the state will run out of cash to pay its bills.


...Chiang is calling for an additional $2 billion in cash-flow "solutions." Looking at previous cash crunches, that could mean some payments, like income tax refunds, would be delayed for a few weeks to keep the cushion intact.

Darn those financial dudes, always wrecking a gubanahs good time! On a tangential note, Schwarzanegger has decreed - If we spend lots of mon-ey in kaleehfornyah we will have more, so I have ordered a million pizzas for everyone to stimulate kaleehfornyah.

The Real Effect
Considering the market is totally ignoring the 5.7% GDP growth increase, I think they are looking at two possibilities -

1. The GDP numbers are transient and partially bogus for recovery concerns.
2. The situation in Greece is FAR WORSE than the positive news warrants.

Either way, it doesn't bode well for the global consumer. Look for default to begin causing defaults across the globe as this crescendos into a global sell off.

Americans sign petition to repeal the First Amendment

Third H1N1 Wave Starting?

From Memphis -

The hospital had announced a spike in severe cases. 17 patients had been admitted this month, and 7 went to the ICU. Two of those patients have died. The ratio of hospitalized to ICU to deaths is markedly different this month than last fall, when thousands of children were seen and about 340 were admitted. 30-40 went to the ICU and 3 died. Thus, the death of 2 of the 17 admitted or of the 7 in the ICU is at a much higher rate and raises concerns that the H1N1 circulating this year will be more virulent due to increases in D225G/N, which is being reported in multiple locations worldwide, including a Tamiflu resistant fatal cluster at Duke Medical Center.

The Real Effect
I was among one of the first to report on the D225G/N mutation back on Dec 2 and the second European wave that has hit the Ukraine particularly hard. While the second wave never materialized in the United States, with the bath that the vaccine manufacturers are taking on the excess H1N1 vaccine and the WHO debacle, look for the envelope to be pushed on this mutation if they can get it. The next few weeks will determine if WHO wants to redeem themselves and cover their rears by staging a third wave flu false flag.

Deliberate Dumbing Down of the World

Obama Takes On Bankers

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Pork Gone Wild - Senate Votes to Raise Debt Ceiling

From the AP -

The Democratic-controlled Senate has muscled through a plan to allow the government to go a whopping $1.9 trillion deeper in debt.
The party-line 60-40 vote was successful only because Republican Sen.-elect Scott Brown has yet to be seated. Sixty votes were required to approve the increase. The measure would lift the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion. That's about $45,000 for every American.
Democrats and Republicans alike share responsibility for running up the debt, but it falls upon Democrats to pass the measure since they control the government. It makes no difference that Republicans routinely backed increases in the debt when former President George W. Bush was in office.

Does anyone think that any of these politicians are even remotely serious about reigning in spending, even the new messiah Scott Brown? Most importantly, are you going to see a $45,000 increase in your standard of living? No? Didn't think so...

On a related note, here's a nice little State unemployment chart that demonstrates just how desperate the State's situation is.

UPDATE: Like I said, nothing is going to change. - Senate Reappoints Bernanke

"Fear the Boom and Bust" a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem

Are We In a Depression? Points..

Some interesting points to consider from Bob Chapman -

The Fed has purchased 80% of Treasury debt yoy, increasing the monetary base from $850 billion to $2 trillion, which includes Agencies and MBS. Seeking cover on their announcement, they said on Christmas they would supply unlimited funds for three years to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Government liabilities made in behalf of the American taxpayer since the third quarter of 2007 have jumped 61% to $3.62 trillion. It is our opinion that the inflation caused by funding and monetization over the next decade will be very disruptive and expensive to US dollar users as purchasing power falls. That translates into an additional loss in buying power of some 50%. (Emphasis mine)

Democrats have completely lost their moorings. They want to allow government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to put the national debt at $14.3 trillion. It would need 60 votes to pass.

Food prices are roaring upward again as the PPI rose 0.2%. That is a 4.4% gain month-on-month.

Housing starts were 575,000 and building permits rose 653,000. Starts fell 4%. How can any sane builder be building when official and bank hidden inventories are well over a year. Groundbreaking fell a record 38.8% to an all-time low of 553,000 units. Single-family starts fell 6.9% in January. New building permits rose 10.9% for all of 2009 permits fell 36.9%. A Florida builder who was going to build 5,000 units declared bankruptcy yesterday. (There is going to be a further decline in housing prices.)

By 2008, suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country.

In the depths of the crisis, the Fed shipped more than $500 billion overseas through arrangements with other central banks, in exchange for their currencies. Such lending is down sharply and officials expect to end the program according to plan on Feb. 1. As of January 13, the Fed held $5.9 billion in dollar "swap" agreements with foreign central banks, down from $63 billion in early September and $583 billion in late December 2008 as the financial crisis was worsening. [This is very important. Without the swaps supporting the dollar in the Forex and buying Treasuries by foreign central banks will recede. The dollar will fall and there will be more monetization.]

Atom Feed

Per user request, here is the Atom feed for The Real Effect -
http://realeffect.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Great Recession Continues

Haiti's Avoidable Death Toll

A MINORITY VIEW

BY WALTER WILLIAMS

RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010

Some expect Haiti's 7.0 earthquake death toll to reach over 200,000 lives. Why the high death toll? Northern California's 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was more violent, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, resulting in 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, about eight times more violent than Haiti's, and cost 3,000 lives.

As tragic as the Haitian calamity is, it is merely symptomatic of a far deeper tragedy that's completely ignored, namely self-inflicted poverty. The reason why natural disasters take fewer lives in our country is because we have greater wealth. It's our wealth that permits us to build stronger homes and office buildings. When a natural disaster hits us, our wealth provides the emergency personnel, heavy machinery and medical services to reduce the death toll and suffering. Haitians cannot afford the life-saving tools that we Americans take for granted. President Barack Obama called the quake "especially cruel and incomprehensible." He would be closer to the truth if he had said that the Haitian political and economic climate that make Haitians helpless in the face of natural disasters are "especially cruel and incomprehensible."

The biggest reason for Haiti being one of the world's poorest countries is its restrictions on economic liberty. Let's look at some of it. According to the 2009 Index of Economic Freedom, authorization is required for some foreign investments, such as in electricity, water, public health and telecommunications. Authorization requires bribing public officials and, as a result, Haiti's monopolistic telephone services can at best be labeled primitive. That might explain the difficulty Haitian-Americans have in finding out about their loved ones.

Corruption is rampant. Haiti ranks 177th out of 179 countries in the 2007 Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Its reputation as one of the world's most corrupt countries is a major impediment to doing business. Customs officers often demand bribes to clear shipments. The Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom says that because of burdensome regulations and bribery, starting a business in Haiti takes an average of 195 days, compared with the world average of 38 days. Getting a business license takes about five times longer than the world average of 234 days -- that's over three years.

Crime and lawlessness are rampant in Haiti. The U.S. Department of State website (travel.state.gov), long before the earthquake, warned, "There are no "safe" areas in Haiti. ... Kidnapping, death threats, murders, drug-related shootouts, armed robberies, home break-ins and car-jacking are common in Haiti." The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warns its citizens that, "The level of crime in Haiti is very high and the police have little ability to enforce laws. Local authorities often have limited or no capacity to provide assistance, even if you are a victim of a serious crime." Crime anywhere is a prohibitive tax on economic development and the poorest people are its primary victims.

Private property rights are vital to economic growth. The Index of Economic Freedom reports that "Haitian protection of investors and property is severely compromised by weak enforcement, a paucity of updated laws to handle modern commercial practices, and a dysfunctional and resource-poor legal system." That means commercial disputes are settled out of court often through the bribery of public officials; settlements are purchased.

The way out of Haiti's grinding poverty is not rocket science. Ranking countries according to: (1) whether they are more or less free market, (2) per capita income, and (3) ranking in International Amnesty's human rights protection index, we would find that those nations with a larger free market sector tend also to be those with the higher income and greater human rights protections. Haitian President Rene Preval is not enthusiastic about free markets; his heroes are none other than the hemisphere's two brutal communist tyrants: Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro.

Haiti's disaster demands immediate Western assistance but it's only the Haitian people who can relieve themselves of the deeper tragedy of self-inflicted poverty.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM

Beware the Flase Flag

There's are a lot of hand waving going on out there -

From the Mirror -

Two men were stopped boarding US-bound planes at Heathrow days before Britain's terror threat was raised to "severe".
News of the incidents came hours after Home Secretary Alan Johnson lifted the threat level amid fears that al-Qaeda is planning an attack
Anti-terror officials said the past week had seen an "unusually high" number of people on their no-fly list trying to board US-bound planes.

Oh the humanity, we had two individuals on the ever pervasive "no-fly list" try to get on a plane. We're so fortunate that we have these vigilant individuals stopping all the grandmothers terrorists from getting on these planes and ramming them into skyscrapers.

And Obama Osama's got to get in on the act too -

Osama bin Laden's word choice in the latest audio message attributed to him is seen as a "possible indicator" of an upcoming attack by his Al-Qaeda network, a US monitoring group warned Sunday.

IntelCenter, a US group that monitors Islamist websites, also said that manner of the release and the content of the message showed it was "credible" that it was a new release from the Saudi extremist.

Never you mind the fact that the White House can't vouch for the tape's authenticity.

It's nice to know that if someone so much as breaks wind in an airplane, we'll have the ability to stop them before anything happens. Or do we really do that anymore?

The banksters need to cover their tracks, they need a distraction. I wouldn't be surprised to see a building with all sorts of documentation get targeted.

Update: 1:00 PM - Even more saber rattling going on:

Report says Al-Qaeda still aims to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S.

New Bin Laden Image Taken From Spanish Lawmaker

John Stewart on Scott Brown

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A Perspective...

Critical - Ron Paul's State of the Republic Address

+

Bears Return!

The bears are back in session as the Dow hemorrhages massively. Let's recap - S&P down Dow down 2.1 % for the day and a massive 5.6% from it's high this week.

Last June I posted the following -

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.

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.

The next level of support is in the 10,000 - 10,100 range which should offer a brief rally for psychological reasons. But there are no hard numbers to justify this level of the Dow. Expect to see more resistance around 9,800, 9,500 and 9,100 as it gives up these ill gotten gains.
The market is broke, everyone is just now realizing this. Got gold?

Scott Brown Wins a Senate Seat, Another Big Government Face

According to On the Issues:
Positives include -

• No new regulation of the financial markets. (Jan 2010)
• 15 percent across the board tax cut. (Jan 2010)
• Permanently eliminate the estate tax. (Jan 2010)
• Voted NO on municipal meals tax, in addition to state tax. (Jun 2003)
• Voted NO on raising income tax to 5.95% to offset deficit. (Apr 2003)
• Supported $200K reduction to blind job program. (Jul 2003)
• Opposed $900K for disability & mentoring aid. (Jul 2003)
• Voted NO on earmark for women's substance abuse program. (Feb 2004)
• Opposed federal school breakfast supplement. (Jul 2003)
• Voted NO on 3-year moratorium on charter schools. (May 2003)
• Vouchers for public, private, or religious schools. (Nov 2002) - As long as the Feds stay out.
• Opposes cap-and-trade system, but renewables OK. (Jan 2010)
• Campaign disclosure but no donation limits. (Nov 2002)
• Voted NO on Constitutional call for universal health care. (Jul 2004)

Here are some issues I view a problematic

• MA already has health bill; don't impose new federal bill. (Nov 2009)
• Ensure access to basic health care, including state funding. (Nov 2002)
• Supports enhanced interrogation techniques. (Jan 2010)
• No constitutional rights for enemy combatants. (Jan 2010)
• Culture of patriotism; vigorous homeland defense. (Sep 2009)
• Supports 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan. (Jan 2010)
• Terrorists are not gone from Afghanistan. (Jan 2010)
• Finish the job in Afghanistan: keep Taliban and al-Qaeda out. (Nov 2009
• Concealed carry ok; but licenses & background checks ok too. (Nov 2002)
• Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. (Nov 2002)
• Voted YES on defining marriage as one man and one woman. (Feb 2004) - This is not a Federal issue.
• No cap on bankers' salaries. (Sep 2009) (For those who take at others expense, you have to pay the piper)
• Abortions should always be legally available. (Nov 2002)
• Support legalized abortion, but not partial-birth abortion. (Jan 2010)

In a victory speech, Brown said the seat belongs to no one but the state's voters.

"This is the people's seat," Brown said to a cheering crowd.

Yes, yes it is Mr. Brown. And you would do well to remember that fact in the future.

The Real Effect

Fool me once, shame on you.

In 1994, Republicans surged into power with the Contract With America amid promises of shrinking the size of government, promoting lower taxes, greater entrepreneurial activity, tort reform and welfare reform. While one can quibble that this was achieved to a degree, the overall net effect during this time was the exact opposite. Government largess grew exponentially, myriads of wars were started, Federal departments were created and liberty was slashed to a nub. Towards the end of 2008, all that remained were entitled carcasses of what was in effect "dead" politicians.

Just like the ring of power, Republicans seized the power and then the power seized them. This is why we the Democrats were able to route the Republicans in 2008 amid "Hope and Change".

Now in 2010 we have individuals that are at best, moderates, clothing themselves in liberty dress in an attempt to garner votes. And we think this is going to change anything? Hardly.
The new Tea Party, 9/12, Turner, Hannity, Limbaugh, Petraeus, Palin, Beck, O'Reilly and Brown; these individuals are all Benedict Arnolds to the cause of liberty and will sell you down the river if the right situation arises.

Webster Griffin Tarpley opines -

...Massachusetts voters settled for second best in the form of cultural populism as represented by the Republican Scott Brown, whose main claim to fame was that he drove a truck with 200,000 miles on it. That is the demagogic essence of cultural populism, the only kind of populism of which Republicans and reactionaries in general are capable.
The boiling rage of the American electorate is directed against the two-party consensus which has made possible the transfer of between $25 and $30 trillion of US government money — Treasury, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, etc. — in the form of the TARP or bailout, while the official rate of unemployment and underemployment approaches 18%.

Brown is a show pony and more precisely he's what the people think they want, not what they need. The Republicans will not relinquish the ring of power, they will embrace it and lose their integrity in the process.

Fool me twice, shame on me.


UPDATE - Well, that didn't take long.

Ron Paul "WE NEED TO TAKE OUT THE CIA"

Ron Paul: Use Geithner to Impeach Obama