world healthy

WHO and EU concerns bacteria E. Coli

2011-06-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

WHO and EU concerns bacteria E. Coli
31-5 days, experts on food safety by the World Health Organization (WHO), Hilde Kruse identified bacterial infection outbreaks E. Coli EHEC groups in Europe are very large scale, very serious.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said that Europe is one of the diseases on a global scale and is the first major epidemic in Germany today.

On the same day in Germany, the number of deaths has risen to 15 people with 1150 cases, including 373 cases of the syndrome and increased blood urea canopy. Most in the city of Hamburg with 448 cases. Sweden is the first death on 31-5. The same day, Spain and Norway are the first cases. The songs are all from Germany.

European Union (EU) are investigating Germany recommended that the cucumber can be infected from Spain, Holland or Denmark. However, again Environment Minister Rosa Aguilar of Spain confirmed the Spanish cucumber uninfected. She suggested the EU and Germany provided the survey results, and requires only criticized German and Spanish.

Meanwhile, on 31-5, the French Ministry of Health has asked Spain to Germany and transparent information about the bacterium E. Coli EHEC group. Up to now there are still many unknown issues such as sources of bacterial contamination of vegetables in the manufacture, transport or during infection in Germany.

Bulgaria and Belgium have banned cucumber Spain. Russia banned the import vegetables from Spain and Germany, also said it may extend the ban throughout the EU. Vegetables imported from these countries on Russia banned the sale.

Hoan Bridge Times (China) 31-5 on news announced by the European Radio City, Zhejiang Province (China), in the rectification of environmental pollution in Taiwan Asia from 1-4 to 25-5 148 cases have been dealt with pollution, and 74 administrative detainees, sanctioning more than 8.2 million yuan (nearly 26 billion VND), 652 private companies violating power cut and water outages . Four companies lead battery production licenses canceled or suspended production. Electroplating companies in 10 four companies have moved production sites, both companies were suspended and four companies be required to correct sanitation. In mid-March, 172 people in Shanghai Rural Education have blood lead levels exceeding standards. Of these 53 children.

FOR SCIENCE - TNL - Hong Hanh (The AFP, WSJ, THX, Financial Times)

BREAKING NEWS: "Waves of explosions" reported across Tripoli by Sky News Correspondent in Libya

2011-06-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

DETAILS FORTHCOMING.

Republicans Vote Against Raising Debt Ceiling: Is a crisis in the works for America?

2011-06-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

House Republicans dealt defeat to their own proposal for a $2.4 trillion increase in the nation's debt limit Tuesday, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any increase in government borrowing.

The vote was lopsided, with just 97 in favor of the measure and 318 against.

House Democrats accused the GOP of political demagoguery, while the Obama administration maneuvered to avoid taking sides – or giving offense to majority Republicans.

The debate was brief, occasionally impassioned and set a standard of sorts for public theater, particularly at a time when private negotiations continue among the administration and key lawmakers on the deficit cuts Republicans have demanded.

The bill "will and must fail," said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the House Ways and Means Committee chairman who noted he had helped write the very measure he was criticizing.

"I consider defeating an unconditional increase to be a success, because it sends a clear and critical message that the Congress has finally recognized we must immediately begin to rein in America's affection for deficit spending," he said. (read more)

Congress Mulls Cuts to Food Stamps Program Amid Record Number of Recipients

2011-06-01T15:00:00.007-07:00

ABC News' Huma Khan reports: Congress is under pressure to cut the rapidly rising costs of the federal government’s food stamps program at a time when a record number of Americans are relying on it.

The House Appropriations Committee today will review the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture that includes $71 billion for the agency’s “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” That’s $2 billion less than what President Obama requested but a 9 percent increase from 2011, which, critics say, is too large given the sizeable budget deficit.

A record number of Americans -- about 14 percent -- now rely on the federal government’s food stamps program and its rapid expansion in recent years has become a politically explosive topic.

More than 44.5 million Americans received SNAP benefits in March, an 11 percent increase from one year ago and nearly 61 percent higher than the same time four years ago.

Nearly 21 million households are reliant on food stamps. (read more)

Chinese, Mexican defense ministers hold talks on military cooperation

2011-06-01T15:00:00.006-07:00

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie met his Mexican counterpart Guillermo Galvan Galvan here Wednesday to promote bilateral military cooperation.

Liang, also China's state councilor, said that Mexico is China's good friend and partner in the Latin American region, adding China attaches great importance to developing ties with Mexico.

China is willing to boost its military ties with Mexico and deepen bilateral military exchanges and cooperation in various fields, he said.

Liang thanked the Mexican government for its support to China on the issues of Taiwan and Tibet.

Galvan said China is a great country, and Mexico has high expectations for boosting its military ties with China. The two sides can strengthen exchanges to expand military cooperation, the minister added. (read more)

Goldman Sachs Reportedly Offered Qaddafi Big Chunk of Company After Investment Losses

2011-06-01T15:00:00.005-07:00

Libya thought it was placing a sure bet when it gave $1.3 billion to Goldman Sachs to invest in currencies and other trades, according to The Wall Street Journal.

What it got: a 98 percent loss, followed by an offer of a huge chunk of Goldman shares.

The newspaper reports that Goldman offered Libyan officials several options for earning back the country's money -- including taking a piece of the global financial firm -- after Goldman lost its investments in bank trades and currency baskets.

The talks eventually amounted to naught, the newspaper reports, and nothing was done about the massive losses in 2008, right as the global economy took a fierce slide. (read more)

Analysis: Could a cyber war turn into a real one for the U.S.?

2011-06-01T15:00:00.004-07:00

The United States is warning that a cyber attack -- presumably if it is devastating enough -- could result in real-world military retaliation.

Easier said than done.

In the wake of a significant new hacking attempt against Lockheed Martin Corp, experts say it could be extremely difficult to know fast enough with any certainty where an attack came from. Sophisticated hackers can mask their tracks and make it look like a cyber strike came from somewhere else.

There are also hard questions about the legality of such reprisals and the fact that other responses, like financial sanctions or cyber countermeasures, may be more appropriate than military action, analysts say.

"There are a lot of challenges to retaliating to a cyber attack," said Kristin Lord, author of a new report on U.S. cyber strategy at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank.

"It is extremely difficult to establish attribution, to link a specific attack to a specific actor, like a foreign government."

The White House stated plainly in a report last month that Washington would respond to hostile acts in cyberspace "as we would to any other threat to our country" -- a position articulated in the past by U.S. officials. (read more)

"The Stage Is Set For a Nuclear False Flag": Fact or fiction?

2011-06-01T15:00:00.003-07:00

The stage has been set for a nuclear false flag in America.

Many in the alternative media have wondered if a false flag nuke attack within America is a real possibility. Would they do it? Who would it be? What cities would be targeted?

Recently, The New York Times reported that the United States is running out of a rare gas that is used to detect smuggled nuclear materials.

The reason given is that one arm of the Energy Department is selling the gas much quicker than the other is able to accumulate it.

While this could possibly be a legitimate reason, it seems highly suspicious that a government that is installing a police state nationwide to supposedly save us from terrorists would be unable to obtain the gas needed to detect smuggled nuclear weapons.

Wouldn’t a nuclear attack on America be the MOST important threat to combat?

Unfortunately there is a long history of suspicious nuclear activity in the United States, with cover story after cover story being spread throughout the corporate controlled media.

At this junction in history it seems prudent to lay out some of the more ludicrous stories that have been planted into the minds of the American people. (read more)

ACLU wants porn to be allowed for South Carolina inmates

2011-06-01T15:00:00.002-07:00

The American Civil Liberties Union is pushing for porn at a detention center in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

The move came after reports surfaced that the facility only allowed inmates to read the Bible. But prison officials said that isn't true and inmates have a wide variety of reading material at their disposal.

The ACLU said it wants prisoners to be able to read and view pornography. Lawyers for the jail said that just won't happen.

"If they don't like the wording in some of our policies, we'll be happy to try and create better wording for them. But, there are certain issues that we're just not going to be able to bend on," said Sandra J. Senn, an attorney for the Hill-Finklea Detention Center in Berkeley County. (read more)

Mystery Virus in South Korea Claims Second Victim

2011-06-01T15:00:00.001-07:00

The second victim of a mystery virus that has infected eight patients from different parts of the country died yesterday.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus, dubbed “acute interstitial pneumonia” by health authorities, killed the first pregnant woman on May 10. The second pregnant woman died at 4 a.m. yesterday.

Seven of the eight patients are females who are pregnant or had recently given birth. One is an adult male in his 40s.

Similar to the first victim - a 36-year-old pregnant woman - the 32-year-old pregnant woman, identified as “A” was hospitalized on April 21 complaining of a severe cough and difficulty breathing and was placed in intensive care after developing pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lungs. The doctors were able to save the baby by inducing labor, just like the first victim, according to the KCDC.

The KCDC said all eight patients were hospitalized to receive treatment for various conditions suspected to be caused by the same unidentified virus. All of them initially received treatment at different clinics, but were later transferred to Asan Medical Center in Seoul. Four patients remain hospitalized. Two were released after receiving lung transplants, the KCDC said. The KCDC said it has been checking 43 university hospitals throughout the country to see if other patients are suffering from similar symptoms. The KCDC is waiting for DNA results of the virus. (Source)

China's "land of fish and rice" parched by drought

2011-06-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

The drought gripping stretches of central and eastern China has dried Lake Honghu into an expanse of exposed mud, stranded boats and dying fish farms, threatening the livelihoods of residents in Hubei Province who call this their "land of fish and rice."

Dry spells and floods blight various parts of China nearly every year, and officials are prone to call each the worst in 50 years or longer.

But many residents around the lake said that was a fitting label for the months-long drought that has drastically shrunk the lake, the adjacent Yangtze River, and many other lakes and tributaries along the mighty river's course through farming and industrial heartlands.

"I've never, ever seen it this bad. Look at the rice. It's all going yellow and the stalks will die unless we get some rain soon," said Ouyang Jinghuang, a pepper-haired 66-year-old farmer tending rice paddies near Lake Honghu.

"We're all digging wells and buying our drinking water. Usually, we have so much water here that we worry about floods, not droughts."

The dry spell is a jarring reminder of how China, the world's second-biggest economy, relies on increasingly strained water resources to feed its people and power rapidly increasing numbers of hydro stations. (read more)

Car Bomb Explodes Near Libya Hotel - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

A car bomb has exploded near a hotel used by foreign diplomats in Libya's rebel-held city of Benghazi.

The explosion happened in the car park of the Tibesty hotel, which is used as a base by foreign officials visiting the provisional rebel government, known as the National Transitional Council.

Some western journalists also use the hotel.

However, rebel spokesman Jalal al Gallal confirmed that nobody was killed or injured in the car bomb.

"It's a cowardly act," he said, adding that rebels assume elements of Colonel Gaddafi's regime planted the device.

Rebel forces closed off the area in Benghazi as firefighters put out the fire which had spread to three other cars.

A crowd gathered at the scene, shouting "Libya is free".

The blast comes as a United Nations panel accused Libyan government forces of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.

A report by three UN-appointed experts, who spoke to people on both sides of the uprising, also said opposition forces had committed "some acts which could constitute war crimes".

The study is part of a UN drive to conduct transparent and exhaustive investigations and bring those responsible for abuses to justice. Source

Killer cuteness: The slow and painful death of the real-life Furbies that have become a YouTube sensation - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Graphic image below

Their cuteness has made them an internet sensation. But ther popularity is now threatening their very survival.

Thanks to millions of hits on YouTube slow lorises have become a must-have pet - and are being plucked from their natural habitat in the rainforests of south-east Asia and traded for up to £3,500.

But what happens to them before they are 'customer ready' makes their plight even more distressing.

They have to have their teeth ripped out with nail clippers so that they don't cause an injury to their new owners.

There is a global high protection order under endangered species conventions meaning they can't be transported to the UK but the black market is rife and it is feared that many are smuggled in.

The population of slow lorises has declined to the point that there are now fears over their survival and they could soon become extinct.

Two of the endangered primates were smuggled aboard a Brisbane-bound flight from Singapore but had to be put down by quarantine officers.

The crew on the Emirates flight found them in the cabin during the filght and when the plane landed in Australia customs officials took the animals.

A spokesman said: 'Slow lorises can carry several diseases... including rabies and they also have a bite that is toxic.' Read More

Tragic Winston White, Three, Dies after he's locked in a boiling car for EIGHT HOURS by his godmother - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

A three-year-old boy died after being locked in a car for at least eight hours by his babysitter.

Tragic Winston White was found dead inside the vehicle after temperatures inside the car were reported to have reached an astonishing 150 degrees.

Police said no windows were left open in the vehicle as it sat outside a home in blazing sunshine.

Genee Brumfield, the boy's godmother,has been charged with negligent homicide following the incident in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Brumfield had been babysitting the boy when she stopped to visit her mother, according to police.

She was supposed to drop the toddler off at his regular day care but instead made an unscheduled stop at her mothers.

The boy was left inside the vehicle with all the windows closed and doors locked.

'For some unknown reason, Brumfield decided to stop by her mother's home, leaving the 3-year-old inside the car with the windows up and the doors locked,' said police spokesman Marlon Defillo.

Defillo said it was eight hours before somebody realised what had happened.

Police said Brumfield's sister came out and discovered the boy.

He was unresponsive, and despite the efforts of paramedics could not be revived. Read More

Zhang Gang threatened to impale his tiny daughter with a Samurai sword - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

This was the dramatic moment when a crazed motorist staged a tense stand off with cops - by threatening his own daughter with a razor sharp samurai sword.

The horrific scene was captured after Zhang Gang, 34, caused an accident with another car and instead of stopping to exchange details tried to speed off.

But police who were in the area chased the hit and run motorist - finally stopping him 15 minutes later just outside a farmer's market at Yongren country, in Yunan province.

Zhang, who was with his wife Lu and daughter May in the car, refused to surrender and demanded police get out of the way.

Local farmer Lu Yin said: 'I heard the car coming at speed and then slam on the brakes when two police cars blocked the road.

'Then this man leapt out carrying a huge sword and waving what I thought was a doll.

'But then I realised it was a little child. She seemed shocked but then she started crying when she heard her daddy shouting.

'He had the razor sharp sword at her chest the whole time and was shouting 'Let me go or I'll kill her I swear it - I will show no mercy.'

'Then he climbed back in the car with the kid and still with the sword at her chest demanded he be allowed to drive off.'

But a trained police negotiator was soon on the scene and started speaking to the road rage dad and several of his relatives were also sent over - allowing specially trained officers to get into position and storm the vehicle - freeing the little girl unharmed.

Witness Lu Yin said: 'They were talking to him for an hour to calm him down - but the operation to free the girl was over in seconds.' Read More

Hangman wanted: Indian state searches for executioner to carry out first death sentence in twenty years - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

The search is on in India to find the country an executioner to fulfil a death sentenced handed down to a convicted murderer.

Mahendra Nath Das was convicted of a gruesome killing in the state of Assam and the only one thing keeping him from the gallows is the lack of a hangman.

The death sentence is rare in India with only two hangings over the past 15 years and it has been more than two decades since any convict was executed in Assam.

Officials in the north-eastern state are scouring the rest of the country for a possible candidate.

Das was convicted for publicly decapitating a victim with a machete.

Brojen Das, the jailer of the prison at Jorhat, 190 miles east of Gauhati, said 'We have started the process of putting up the gallows.'

Prison authorities have written to their counterparts in the states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal searching for a hangman, but have so far gotten no response, said S Thakuria, Assam's top prison official.

Qualified executioners, who know how to prepare the rope and tie the knot so as to cause a swift death, are scarce in India.

The last hanging took place in 2004, when a security guard was hanged in a Kolkata jail for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.

Nata Mullick, India's most famous hangman, came out of retirement at age 84 to carry out that execution, earning $435 and a job for his grandson as a maintenance worker at the jail.

A third generation hangman, Mr Mullick executed 25 of the 55 people who died on the gallows since India gained independence in 1947.

He would run repeated dry runs, using sandbags the same weight as the condemned prisoner.

He waxed the rope with soap and ripe bananas and tied it with five knots, hoping his preparations would keep the pain to a minimum and ensure the prisoner's head was not severed during the drop from the gallows.

In 2007, Mr Mullick described the job as 'an art' saying that 'skills need to be honed.'

Mr Mullick died in 2009.

Local media said there might be one or two hangmen still around nationally, including Mr Mullick's son, Mahadeb. Read More

Liam Shackleton, Six, plunges to death from eighth floor of tower block as four arrested for child neglect - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Police have arrested four people on suspicion of child neglect after a six-year-old boy was killed when he fell from a block of flats.

Liam Shackleton's identity was officially revealed by police this afternoon.

The youngster is thought to have plunged from a window on the eighth floor of the tower block in Lindsey Mount in Leeds at about 5.15pm on Tuesday.

He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary but died a short time later.

Shocked neighbours today spoke of their horror about the child's death as mourners lay tributes of flowers and teddy bears at the scene.

Maria Jordan, 50, who lives nearby on the large Lincoln Estate, said it was a heart-breaking tragedy.

Mrs Jordan, who has two grandchildren aged four and seven, wept as she said: 'My neighbour knocked on my door and told me a little boy had fallen to the ground.

'I don't know the family but it breaks my heart thinking about that poor kiddie.

'If I lived that far up I wouldn't let my grandchildren anywhere near the windows.'

Father-of-three Mohammad Kulan, 42, a security guard, saw the aftermath of the tragedy from his house opposite Lindsey Mount.

He said: 'I looked out of the window when I heard the police sirens and there was a lot of people gathered in the gardens.

'Paramedics were tending to the boy but I don't think there was much they could do.

'It's very sad, everybody I've seen today has said what a terrible thing it was.' Read More

'Man-made' earthquake strikes Blackpool... and consequences could be severe for UK's gas drilling industry - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

The people of Blackpool may have barely felt a shudder, but the repercussions could be wide-reaching.

Measuring just 1.5 on the Richter scale, the seaside town escaped a recent earthquake totally unscathed.

But it was the latest in a series of 'natural' disasters, that are not considered natural at all - they are man-made.

Now the UK’s only ‘shale’ gas drilling project has been suspended after it emerged that the controversial technique may have caused the tremors..

Shale gas drilling – known as 'fracking' – is the process of fracturing rock deep underground using high-pressure water to extract gas.

The company behind the scheme, Cuadrilla, confirmed that it had been doing this just 1.2 miles from the epicentre of the tremor and has downed tools to investigate.

Experts believe the process could be behind the earthquake, which could have severe repercussions for drilling in the UK.

It follows a 2.3 magnitude earthquake at the beginning of last month, which also occurred near to the site at Preese Hall, near Blackpool.

Today, the British Geological Survey's head of seismology, Brian Baptie, said the survey recorded the magnitude 1.5 earthquake shortly after midnight on Friday.

He said: 'Data from two temporary instruments close to the drill site, installed after the magnitude 2.3 earthquake on April 1, indicate that the event occurred at a depth of approximately 2km or 1.2 miles.

'The recorded waveforms are very similar to those from the magnitude 2.3 event last month, which suggests that the two events share a similar location and mechanism.' Read More

WHAT IS 'FRACKING'?

It is a mining technique commonly used to get gas or oil from under land rather than under the sea.
To get the gas out, companies drill down into shale and form a well. They then inject wells with water, small amounts of chemicals and sand to create tiny cracks in the rock, allowing natural gas and sometimes oil to flow upwards into the well.
The technique could add about 40 per cent to previous estimates of global recoverable gas resources, with the largest known reserves are in China, the United States, Argentina and Mexico.
However, It is now feared the process could be the cause of small earthquakes.
Critics such as the Green party say that it is environmentally unsafe because the chemicals could contaminate soil and get into drinking water.

America's $32 Trillion Proposition: Taming the $14 Trillion U.S. National Debt! Guest article by Sioan Bethel

2011-06-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Prologue

America's various Debt and Deficit Commissions, 2012 Executive and Congressional Budget Proposals all sustain a $24 Trillion U.S. National Debt in the year 2021, despite proposed austerity measures.Carrying a 4% interest rate, this principal would require a $960 billion debt interest payment. This is the brain trust resolution, consensus, after the expenditure of trillions of taxpayer dollars for bailouts, stimulus packages, warehousing of toxic assets --- derivatives, credit default swaps, bad mortgages, quantitative easing 1 & 2 --- and annual Federal government operating deficits in excess of $1 trillion. Meanwhile, the budget is to be balanced on the backs of America's middle and working classes, elderly, children, and the poor. Obviously, the country is mired in low expectations, instead of launching a complete breakout from the encirclement of past, present, and future liabilities.

Obama Memo#8 presents not just a $32 Trillion breakout but a complete reversal of the nation's fortune. It is on the overlooked real asset side of America's balance sheet that the mastery of our affairs lies. Specifically, the monetization or securitization of 8,133 tons of U.S. gold, without a gold standard, and of 700 million acres of public land with mineral estate.

Obama Memo#8

May 2, 2011

To: President Barack Obama
From: Sioan Stephen Bethel
Subject: A $32 Trillion Proposition

America’s real assets, 8133 ton gold reserve and 700 million acres of public land [with mineral estate], have largely been ignored in addressing the nation’s financial and economic problem. The monetization or securitization of gold, without a gold standard, and of public land, affords 32 trillion inconvertible gold and public land notes, kept separate and apart from Federal Reserve Notes in general circulation. Though these notes are irredeemable, for gold or public land, they are convertible, debt free, and at a premium, to Federal Reserve notes. This money, in turn, would be utilized to amortize or repurchase any portion of the U.S. National Debt. In the case of repurchase, debt interest payments become disposable income, abetting tax reduction and any other fiscal policies. The introduction of $32 trillion, today, positively alters the vector of inter-generational economics, particularly offsetting or preempting the growth of unfunded liabilities. Note, this asset-based intervention requires no borrowing or additional taxation; therefore perfectly suited to the temperament of the American body politic.

History

Gold

There are plenty of arguments against the re-instatement of an American gold standard. Some are proffered by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Bernard Bernanke.

"It did deliver price stability over long periods of time, but over shorter periods of time it caused wide swings in prices related to changes in demand or supply of gold," he told the Senate Banking Committee. "So I don't think it's a panacea." Bernanke also said that gold couldn't return as the world standard because there's not enough gold in the world to effectively support the U.S. money supply.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke dismissing the notion of the gold standard returning to the U.S. before a U.S. Senate Banking Panel, March 1, 2011.

Mr. Bernanke may be right concerning the inadvisability of a return to a gold standard; with the caveat that gold has appreciated 700% over the past dozen years. But what is the value of the U.S. gold reserve as a stand-alone asset, un-tethered to a standard? From 1933-71, all Federal Reserve notes in general circulation, were supported by the U.S. gold reserve, with a 25% cover ratio. In the present fiat money era, the cover ratio for gold can be a nominal 10%, particularly in the absence of a gold standard.

Contra-lateral proof of concept is provided by the Gold Banks, such as J.P. Morgan, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, which presently lease a portion of U.S. gold reserves at 1%, then securitize the gold on a cover ratio basis; creating a multi-trillion, annual gold note market. The premise and practice is sound for the American public to follow suit. Additionally, since the gold remains in U.S. vaults, there would appear to be no insurmountable problem or contradiction for the owner of record, the public, to continue leasing gold for trading.

The Weimar Republic of Germany provides an additional setting and precedent for new, restricted U.S. Gold Notes , the 1922-1923 “stable valued” currencies, price indexed to gold or silver, by the German issuing bodies: Rheinland-Main-Donau, Neckar, Suddeustche Festvertband Stuttgart, Schleswig-Holsteinische Elektrizit, Baver Grosskraftwerk, State of Hamburg (Silver) and the City of Lubek (Swedish Crown) [Attachment]. Chapter 10: The rentenmark miracle and German stabilization. (Internet)

Public Land

The monetization or securitization of public land enjoys three, rich historical precedents; Colonial Pennsylvania currency (1729); the French Assignat (1793) and the German Rentenmark (1924). Benjamin Franklin championed land backed money, finding it preferable to precious metal based currency.

“Second, Franklin notes that land is a more certain and steady asset with which to back paper money. For a given Colony, its supply will not fluctuate with trade as much as gold and silver do, nor will its supply be subject to long-run expansion as New World gold and silver had been. Finally, and most important, land cannot be exported from the province as gold and silver can. He then points out that Pennsylvania’s paper money will be backed by land; that is, it will be issued by the legislature through a loan office, and subjects will pledge their lands as collateral for loans of paper money.” Benjamin Franklin and the Birth of a Paper Money Economy, Farley Grubb, Professor of Economics, University of Delaware and National Bureau of Economic Research.

France

In 1790, the nascent French regime inherited a public debt dilemma similar to America’s today. France’s public debt totaled 2.4 billion French pounds. In response, Church lands were expropriated throughout France (1/3 of all land) and paper currency (assignats), not based on gold or silver, but on the security of Church land, was issued. Domestic and international creditors accepted the new currency as legitimate payment. The new currency was initially used to successfully retire a significant portion of the public debt. Afterwards, the country succumbed to moral hazard. For, though Church lands in France were appraised at 1 billion livres, the government serially issued assignats, 10 billion French livres, leading to hyperinflation and depreciation.

In his famous essay “Fiat Money Inflation in France” (1913), Andrew Dickson White, economist, diplomat, and founder of Cornell University, commented on the French assignat experiment.

“The first result of this issue was apparently all that the most sanguine could desire: the treasury was at once greatly relieved; a portion of the public debt was paid; creditors were encouraged; credit revived; ordinary expenses were met, and, a considerable part of this paper money having thus been passed from the government into the hands of the people, trade increased and all difficulties seemed to vanish. The anxieties of Necker, the prophecies of Maury and Cazalès seemed proven utterly futile. And, indeed, it is quite possible that, if the national authorities had stopped with this issue, few of the financial evils which afterwards arose would have been severely felt; the four hundred millions of paper money then issued would have simply discharged the function of a similar amount of specie. But soon there came another result: times grew less easy; by the end of September, within five months after the issue of the four hundred millions in assignats, the government had spent them and was again in distress.”

Germany

In 1924, several representatives of Germany’s major agriculture, commercial and industrial interests became subscribers to a new bank of issue, the Rentenbank. The subscription was made in paper marks (papiermarks). The participation of each group of subscribers in the new bank was proportional to their respective wealth or property and a mortgage on this wealth served as a guaranty against the failure of the new institution. The Rentenmark was originally to be indexed to the commodity of rye like several previous types of private and semi-official, commodity backed currencies utilized successfully during the period of hyperinflation [Attachment]. After a Cabinet change, however, the Rentenmark was indexed to gold, which was adjudged to be a superior price index. The Rentenmark also had a fixed parity with the dollar. The advance of dollarization was significant because it meant that the fix of the exchange rate ceased hyperinflation instantaneously.

In the words of one critical observer, the German forensic economist, Robert Rene Kuczynski, “the most important and the most characteristic element to German stabilization was the Rentenmark miracle, a monetary innovation without parallel in monetary history.”

Course of Action

Gold

It is advisable to study the intended and unintended consequences of monetizing or securitizing the 8,133 ton U.S. gold reserve. Pro/con teams of forensic economists and monetarists should be employed for this undertaking, as well as the relevant stochastic models.

The action itself can be launched by executive order. To wit, the U.S. possesses an 8,133 ton gold reserve with a commodity value of $400 billion at $1,500 per ounce. If monetized, with a 10% cover ratio, the gold reserve is convertible to 4 trillion inconvertible gold notes, kept separate and apart from Federal Reserve Notes in general circulation. At $2,000 per ounce the gold stock yields 5.2 trillion notes. Though these notes are irredeemable, for gold or public land, they are convertible, debt free, and at a premium, to Federal Reserve notes. These gold notes, un-tethered to a standard, though framed with a standard metric (cover ratio), constitute an overlooked liquid asset with which to amortize or repurchase the bulk of foreign creditor U.S. debt holdings ($4 trillion). In the case of re-purchase of foreign creditor debt, debt interest payments become disposable income; perhaps $2 trillion per decade with a rise in interest rates. This reparative action reflexively increases the store of value and unit of account function of Federal Reserve notes; making good on a promise to pay debt, with payment. This action requires no borrowing or additional taxation, and thus is perfectly suited to the temperament of the American body politic. Thus, the minimum cost-benefit ratio is $0:4 trillion gold notes.

Public Land

Appraise the value of American public land, approximately 700 million acres (1/8 continental United States) with attendant mineral and other natural resources i.e. oil, natural gas, coal etc. U.S. natural gas fields alone warrant a multi-trillion dollar valuation, with the 54,000 square-mile Marcellus Shale heading the list at a $1 trillion value. An appraisal of $10,000 per acre yields $7 trillion at a 100% cover ratio; $14 trillion with a 50% cover ratio; and $28 trillion with a 25% cover ratio. These monies would be kept separate and apart from Federal Reserve notes in general circulation, avoiding contamination of the one with the other.

Assessment

It is common knowledge that the Federal Government’s balance sheet is in the red and projected to be so for the next 10 years. The various debt and deficit commissions, congressional and executive branch budget proposals proposed thus far, anticipate a $23 trillion national debt by 2021.* No projections have been made concerning interest rates for that year, but debt interest payments on the principal will be considerable; a 4% interest rate, assuming a $23 trillion debt, requires an annual $920 billion debt interest payment. The introduction of 32 trillion gold and public land notes, effectively $32 trillion, and subsequent amortization or repurchase of the U.S. National Debt, certainly countermands this gloomy fiscal predicament.

The current practice of leasing, for a paltry 1%, portions of America’s gold reserves to the bullion banks that in turn securitize the gold, to support a multi-trillion dollar annual market, represents a strategic under-utilization of resources. The gold bank practice, however, provides a contra-lateral proof of means and method for the peoples’ representative, the federal government, to create 4 trillion inconvertible gold notes. Like gold, the leasing of public land by the private sector for a pittance is insupportable in the absence of monetizing the land and mineral estate to the sum of $28 trillion. It is important to note that leasing gold and public land to the private sector is not at odds with the monetization or securitization of said assets by the owner of record, the public. An accommodation is plausible in this regard to enable both practices.

Suggestions have been made recently by Niall Ferguson, author of “The Ascent of Money” and Edward Truman, former assistant secretary U.S. Treasury, to sell U.S. public land and gold reserves. This would be a grave error, netting pennies. The notion does underscore, however, that these assets are saleable, are currently leasable, and therefore suitable for monetization or securitization.

In the final analysis, the $32 trillion proposition compels, at the very least, serious study. This is a lot of money to leave unrealized, given the unsteady state of the Union.

*U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Epilogue

Obama Memo#8 is a condensation and illumination of Obama Memos 1-3, published by "The Daily Reckoning," December, 2009. The objective, of course is to get a formal hearing and study,particularly from their namesake, to which they were addressed. To date, to my knowledge, this has not occurred; hope springs eternal.The memos did evoke exchanges with the U.S. Debt and Deficit Commission, chaired by Erskine Bowles and Senator Alan Simpson, obviously in light of their recommendations, to no avail.

Two articles did appear, roughly a year after Obama Memos 1-3 advocating the sale of the U.S. gold reserve and U.S. public land in order to pay down the National Debt. Former assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Edward M. Truman wrote in the Financial Times, October, 2010,, that the sale of U.S. Gold was a plausible and advisable way to amortize U.S. debt. Niall Ferguson, author of the bestselling "Ascent of Money, and Professor of History at Harvard University, wrote in Newsweek, January 2011, that U.S. public land should be sold to pare down U.S. debt..

As we have seen, the fire sale or nominal sale of America's real assets yields a negligible amount in comparison to their monetization or securitiization to the tune of $32 trillion. Besides, this latter approach keeps the assets all in the Family.

Meanwhile in the words of Edward M. Truman, "But after the recent economic and financial crisis and with the prospect of misery for several more years, how much more rain must pour before the US acts?"

Obama Memos 1-3 Links

12/21/09 DR Exclusive: The Obama Memos (3 of 3)

12/21/09 DR Exclusive: The Obama Memos (2 of 3)

12/21/09 DR Exclusive: The Obama Memos (1 of 3)

Read more: Sioan Bethel | Daily Reckoning http://dailyreckoning.com/author/sioanbethel/#ixzz1Nxg06MJD

Sick Sadistic vandals behead 18 birds, and slaughter frogs and fish in 'shocking' attack at park wildlife attraction - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Vandals beheaded 18 birds, stamped a frog to death and poisoned hundreds of fish by pouring fertiliser into a pond after breaking into a family wildlife attraction.

Police said the level of cruelty was 'shocking and distressing'.

The yobs also caused more than £10,000 worth of damage at the Horticultural Centre in Wythenshawe Park in Manchester, as they chopped down trees and smashed 130 windows.

They broke into the park some time between 4.30pm on Sunday and 10am the next day.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure, said: 'This is a sickening act of cruelty and vandalism, causing significant damage to a centre which has been enjoyed by generations of people.

'I know that everything possible is being done to catch those responsible for this appalling crime and bring them to justice.'

Pc Terina Wild, of the Northenden Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: 'The level of vandalism and cruelty shown by the offenders is shocking and distressing.

'This is an extremely serious offence and I would ask the community to help me identify the culprits.

'Did someone you know come home with filthy clothing or were they acting strangely?

'If you know who is responsible, but didn't get involved at the time, please come forward.

'This is an appalling crime which has affected a community facility and the offenders need to be brought to justice.

'Someone will know who is responsible and it is important you get in touch.' Source

UN panel finds BOTH Libya forces and Opposition Forces committed war crimes "will this give them the excuse for full invasion of libya?" - 1st June

2011-06-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

GENEVA (AP) — A United Nations panel says Libyan government forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The U.N. investigators says opposition forces also committed "some acts which would constitute war crimes."

The report by three U.N.-appointed experts published Wednesday called on both sides to conduct transparent and exhaustive investigations and bring those responsible for abuses to justice.

The experts based their finds on interviews with 350 people in government and rebel-held parts of Libya, and neighboring countries. Source

E COLI UPDATE: 'Killer Cucumber' Outbreak: 365 New Cases of which 100 serious - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

German health officials have reported 365 new cases - 100 of which are serious - of the E.coli outbreak as it continues to spread across Europe.

The deadly bacteria - linked to contaminated vegetables - has killed 16 people and made more than 1,500 ill in Germany, Sweden and other countries since it surfaced in mid-May.

And health experts say more people are expected to inundate hospitals with the bug in the coming days.

The rise in the number of infections comes as Spain threatens to sue Hamburg for damages after the German city blamed Spanish cucumbers as the source of the bacteria.

Spanish farmers, who have been forced to throw away their produce, say they are losing around £175 million (200 million euros) per week in sales.

Spain Agriculture minister Rosa Aguilar, who on Monday ate Spanish-grown cucumbers to prove they were safe, said Madrid would be asking "for extraordinary measures to compensate for the huge losses imposed on the Spanish sector."

The exact source of the virulent strain of E.coli is still not known.

Dr Robert Tauxe, a foodbourne disease expert at the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said the outbreak was like nothing he had seen before.

"There has not been such an outbreak before that we know of in the history of public health," he said.

"It's extraordinary to see so many cases of the kidney complication from a foodbourne illness." Read More

100-150 evacuated in Rogersville after possible chlorine gas leak at local sewer plant, Tennessee

2011-06-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Between 100 and 150 people have been evacuated in Rogersville after a possible chlorine gas leak at the local sewer treatment plant.

Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency Director Gary Murrell told WJHL-TV an employee at the plant discovered a possible leak in a 1,400 pound chlorine canister and called for help around 7:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Neighbors living on nearby streets were evacuated to the Hawkins County Rescue Squad Building.

No injuries had been reported by midmorning.

Numerous emergency agencies including the Kingsport Fire Department's Regional Haz-Mat Team were responding. Source

France on drought alert after hottest spring since 1900 - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

France is now on heatwave alert after the hottest spring since 1900 has left water tables down and farmers struggling to feed their livestock.

The Health Ministry has put into effect level one of an anti-drought plan that was drawn up after 15,000 people died in the long-hot summer of 2003.

Summer 2011 could be drier than summer 1973, when drought cost the economy an estimated 15 billion euros and a “drought tax” was introduced to raise 900 million euros to make up farmers’ losses, according to weather forecasters.

Spring this year has been the hottest since at last 1900 and the driest for 50 years. Temperatures have been 2.6°C higher than the average between 1971 and 2000.

Over half of the country’s départements are already limiting the use of water and farmers have already been promised millions of euros of aid.

The price of straw has been fixed at no higher than25 euros a tonne, Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire announced Tuesday.

The water shortage is likely to push already-rising food prices even higher but could mean a boost to tourism as holiday-makers head for Mediterrenean beaches.

Level one of the government’s heatwave plan puts weather-watchers and health authorities on alert. An emergency phone line has been set up with the number 0800066666.

The highest level of alert allows the government to bring in the army and order news media to broadcast government announcements on how to react to the crisis. Source

Breaking News: 6.2 Magnitude Earthquake Chile - 1st June 2011

2011-06-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck offshore Bio-Bio, Chile at a depth of 15.1 km (9.4 miles), the quake hit at 12:55:21 UTC Wednesday 1st June 2011.
The epicenter was 7 km (4 miles) North of Lebu, Bio-Bio, Chile
No tsunami watch, warning or advisory is in effect. No reports of Damage as yet.

The Earthquake registered initialy at a 6.4 Magnitude and was later down graded to a 6.2