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It would be very nice if it finally happens. Guess that we'll just have to wait and see.
Hunting banned in parts of Austria after hailstones kill 90pc of wild game
Hunting has been banned in parts of Austria after freak storms with tennis ball-sized hailstones killed up to 90 per cent of the wild game population.
Published: 10:36PM BST 19 Oct 2009
Hundreds of deer were discovered either dead or so badly injured they had to be put down by wildlife experts.
In the country's rural Salzburg province, 90 per cent of pheasants and 80 per cent of hares were killed in the hail storms.
Sepp Eder, the hunting chief, said : "Animals sought shelter in farms, in fields of grain but the hail was so heavy it smashed right into them. It may take five years for animal numbers to recover, if they ever do so."
Farmers are believed to have suffered more than £60 million in damages to crops and buildings.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/6377192/Hunting-banned-in-parts-of-Austria-after-hailstones-kill-90pc-of-wild-game.html
Official disclosure of extraterrestrial life is imminent
October 21, 12:27 AM
Honolulu Exopolitics Examiner Michael Salla, Ph.D.
President Obama chairs UN Security Council. Seated next to UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon
APAn official announcement by the Obama administration disclosing the reality of extraterrestrial life is imminent. For several months, senior administration officials have been quietly deliberating behind closed doors how much to disclose to the world about extraterrestrial life. Dissatisfaction among powerful institutions such as the U.S. Navy over the decades-long secrecy policy has given a boost to efforts to disclose the reality of extraterrestrial life and technology.
The impending disclosure announcement follows upon the secret implementation of a year long openness policy on UFOs and extraterrestrial life. Over the period February 12-14, 2008, the United Nations held closed doors discussions where approximately 30 nations secretly agreed on a new openness policy on UFOs and extraterrestrial life in 2009. The openness policy was implemented but never publicly announced due to threats against UN diplomats not to disclose details of the secret agreement. h The secret UN agreement was based on two conditions. First, UFOs would continue to appear around the world; and second, the openness policy would not lead to social unrest in liberal democracies. Both conditions have been satisfied making it possible for the next stage to begin – official disclosure of extraterrestrial life.
Obama’s September 24, 2009 chairing of the UN Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, signaled his emerging leadership role in tackling major global issues such as nuclear weapons. The Nobel Peace Prize was an important step in giving global legitimacy to President Obama in making an extraterrestrial disclosure announcement. Obama is therefore poised to play a prominent role in the increased global governance that will be necessary after an extraterrestrial disclosure announcement. The timing would most likely coincide sometime soon after his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on December 10, 2009 in Oslo, Norway.
There have been various sources that have revealed deliberations are underway to make an announcement concerning the existence of extraterrestrial life by the end of 2009. These include, Dr Pete Peterson, a whistleblower who has recently emerged revealing high level discussions have taken place concerning announcing the existence of extraterrestrial life. In a Project Camelot interview, Dr Peterson revealed that “Obama is planning to disclose the reality of ET contact by the end of the year; and that most, but not all, of the ET visitors are friendly.”
Another source is David Wilcock, a prominent researcher of emerging scientific paradigms. Wilcock has been told by additional independent sources that extraterrestrial disclosure will take place by the end of 2009. He furthermore claimed in a Coast to Coast AM radio interview that “a 2-hour international TV special has already been booked that will introduce an alien species, similar to humans, to the world.”
In addition, popular NASA and space researcher, Richard Hoagland, has publicly come forward to reveal that the October 9, LCROSS ‘bombing’ mission of the moon, discovered an ancient base at the moon’s South Pole. Reviewing the scientific data achieved by NASA’s LCROSS mission, Hoagland concluded, also on the popular late night Coast to Coast AM radio show, that “LCROSS is part of a carefully constructed campaign to prepare the populace for imminent disclosure. The President of the United States will soon announce that scientists have discovered ruins on the moon, he added. Nobody saw the LCROSS debris plume because the probes struck a building which swallowed the effects of the explosion.”
Finally, two independent and confidential sources have revealed to me that face to face meetings have recently occurred between U.S. military officials with one or more groups of extraterrestrial visitors. This has allegedly led to confidence being built for future cooperation with the extraterrestrials that will be formally announced to the world public either at the end of 2009, or early 2010.
In conclusion, a diverse number of sources and events point to some form of extraterrestrial disclosure being made by the end of 2009, or early 2010. Official disclosure will most likely emerge in either of two scenarios. One is that President Obama will announce the existence of extraterrestrial visitors, and describe one or more of these to the world. This scenario is supported by Peterson, Wilcock, and my own confidential sources. The second scenario is that an announcement will be made concerning the discovery of artificial structures at the moon’s South Pole, as revealed by the LCROSS mission. This scenario is supported by Hoagland.
Which ever of the above scenarios is used for announcing the existence of extraterrestrial life or technology, President Obama will figure prominently. Behind the scenes, powerful institutions are ensuring that nothing derails the planned disclosure announcement. The disclosure will follow upon a year of greater government openness on UFOs in accord with a policy secretly developed at the United Nations. If extraterrestrial disclosure does occur at the end of 2009 or early 2010, President Obama will lead an unprecedented effort to promote global governance through the United Nations. The Obama administration and its supporters are poised to take a bold step forward in helping our planet become an interplanetary culture that openly deals with the challenges posed by extraterrestrial life.
***
Further Reading: Is Obama Nobel Peace Prize prelude to extraterrestrial disclosure?
[Event Notice: Dr Michael Salla will speak about extraterrestrial life, the consequences of their technologies & disclosure at the upcoming Earth Transformation Conference on the Big Island of Hawaii (January 7-12, 2010).]
[Copyright Notice: This article is copyright © and should not be added in its entirity on other websites or email lists without author's permission. Author email is: drsalla@exopolitics.org.]
http://www.examiner.com/x-2383-Honolulu-Exopolitics-Examiner~y2009m10d21-Official-disclosure-of-extraterrestrial-life-is-imminent
I'm thrilled that your surgery turned out so well! And that you're feeling better.
I'm putting in my garlic next week after I return from KY. I'll be down there till Tuesday. Installing heat and gutters. Hoping to do some deer hunting while we're there and maybe we'll get lucky and get some turkey too.
Again, I'm sooo glad that your operation was a success!
Action Alert: FCC to Vote on Net Neutrality Thursday
http://www.bytestyle.tv/content/action-alert-fcc-vote-net-neutrality-thursday
Please post around the more popular boards here...
Essentially the same thing then, except the drivers and USB are free with the BB phone. Verizon is just holding hostage the final information to allow it to happen.
Gotcha!
I was able to finally get the correct steps for this procedure from the Blackberry website.
But, when I called Verizon to ask for the APN number to complete this, I was told they don't have an APN number (balony).
After some discussion with the person on the phone, they told me that if I pay them another $15 per month, I can use the Blackberry as a modem. So in other words, they want to sell me the APN number for $15 a month. Craziness.
I'm still looking for the correct APN number online. I've found 2 so far and the one I tried last night wasn't working. I'll try the other one today and if it works, I'll post the info in case anyone else ever needs it.
I do already have the data plan for the phone. After trying to get the APN number for Verizon, the lady is telling me that I need another plan for $15 a month to allow me to use the Blackberry as a modem. That is total BS.
I found the link itself at BB. I must be tired or didn't do it correctly as it's not working. I'll try again tomorrow.
Verizon is stinky about the APN information, trying to get the right numbers from the web.
Found this, I must have missed this before. See how it goes.
http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB05196&sliceId=SAL_Public&dialogID=1114305&stateId=1 0 1132277
OK, tried setting that up several times, and I'm not able to get a connection. Sigh.
I know there has to be a way...
I do have voice and data connections for the Blackberry. Simply connecting it via USB to the laptop doesn't offer a connection. That's where the question ensues, how do I get a connection to the laptop from the phone.
Since the screen on the BB is obviously small, I'd rather use the laptop if possible.
Ah, let me clarify. I want to be able to connect to the internet when I am out on the farm. Since I do not have anything there to connect the laptop to, I was hoping to use the phone as a modem connection.
It is too far away from anyone's wireless connection to use theirs. So...
Ahh, how did I miss that? Reading it now and will try it in a minute. I'll let you know if it works. Fingers crossed.
Thanks, the wireless cards will have to be my next step if I'm unable to use the blackberry as the internet connection.
I'm kind of hoping someone out there has tried it before with success and will share the knowledge.
'Lunatic' Single-Handedly Takes on the US Ag System
A diehard activist for some, a pioneer for others, Joel Salatin is fighting against America's genetically-modified foods and for local subsistence farming.
October 18, 2009
By Virginie Montet and Caroline Groussain
UK Telegraph
Leading his crusade from the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, this anti-globalization messenger who dubs himself a "Christian Libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer" has become the face of healthy eating and agriculture.
Photo: Joel Salatin at his farm in Swoope, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley. (AFP)
"The desire from consumers to eat this kind of food is exploding," Salatin said at his 500-acre (200-hectare) farm in Swoope, Virginia.
Small farmers' markets -- still scarce just a few years ago -- are now in full swing in the United States.
The online Farmers' Market Directory lists 5,274 markets across the country, a 13 percent rise from 4,685 a year ago. The number has grown by nearly 4,000 nationwide since 1994.
"Nobody trusts the industrial food system to give them good food," said Salatin, surrounded by the many cows, pigs, turkeys, rabbits and chickens he raises in methods that remain unconventional in the highly-industrialized US agricultural sector.
"The distrust is very real."
An iconoclast who has authored several books with titles like "Everything I Want to Do is Illegal," Salatin makes regular media appearances and now spends a third of his time at conferences.
But farming is still a family affair built over three generations on the rocky terrain of his "Polyface Farm".
Chickens and turkeys run free here, transported in a chicken coop built on wheels to a different pasture every three days.
The 1,000 cows and 700 pigs raised for meat each year change pastures every week.
Salatin, 53, hails his "healing farming" method, where each animal plays an environmental role.
"The cows shorten the grass and the chicken eat the fly larvae and sanitize the pastures. This is a symbiotic relation," he explained.
This natural approach to farming is just as profitable as industrial farming, Salatin insists, because he saves where big chicken and beef producers are forced to invest in structures, drugs and labor.
His customers are 400 families, about 50 restaurants and a dozen shops in the area. He also charges 800 dollars for a two-hour tour of his farm.
"Yes, the prices are higher, but it's because all of the costs are in the price of this chicken and you are paying it here at the cash register, not paying it in sickness and disease and pollution and stink," he explained.
But his unorthodox methods leave some thinking Salatin is a "terrorist", he claimed, "because the new word is science-based agriculture and this is not science-based."
Salatin's products are not certified as organic -- a booming food sector in the United States, now accounting for 3.5 percent of all food sales -- because he refuses to do the necessary inspections and paperwork.
"We are beyond organic," exclaimed Salatin, observing that government-certified organic meat products do not necessarily come from chicken and cows on pasture.
"Organic doesn't mean what people think it means."
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/joel-salatin-americas-farming-heavyweight-1805086.html
Um, you forget to tell us the name of it....
I was wondering if this is possible; to use my blackberry, linked to my laptop via usb cable, as a sort of modem to access the internet in places where there is no wireless or wired connection? Anyone?
You would think so.
I know, it's such a shame really. We could live in a utopia, but for the greed and megalomania of some.
What I always think about is what kind of incredible innovations have been discovered, but kept from the public knowledge on purpose?
Wait, thanks to public schools, knowledge is becoming an oxymoron. Another shame.
Just thinking about what's become of this country saddens me deeply.
RFID 'Powder' - World's Smallest RFID Tag
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=939
The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags were introduced yesterday by Hitachi. Tiny miracles of miniaturization, these RFID chips (Radio Frequency IDentification chips) measure just 0.05 x 0.05 millimeters.
The previous record-holder, the Hitachi mu-chip, is just 0.4 x 0.4 millimeters. Take a look at the size of the mu-chip RFID tag on a human fingertip.
(Hitachi mu-chip tiny RFID tag)
Now, compare that with the new RFID tags. The "powder type" tags are some sixty times smaller.
(Powder RFID chips next to a human hair)
The new RFID chips have a 128-bit ROM for storing a unique 38 digit number, like their predecessor. Hitachi used semiconductor miniaturization technology and electron beams to write data on the chip substrates to achieve the new, smaller size.
Hitachi's mu-chips are already in production; they were used to prevent ticket forgery at last year's Aichi international technology exposition. RFID 'powder,' on the other hand, is so much smaller that it can easily be incorporated into thin paper, like that used in paper currency and gift certificates.
Science fiction fans will have a field day with this new technology. In his 1998 novel Distraction, Bruce Sterling referred to bugged money:
They always played poker with European cash. There was American cash around, flimsy plastic stuff, but most people wouldn't take American cash anymore. It was hard to take American cash seriously when it was no longer convertible outside U.S. borders. Besides, all the bigger bills were bugged. (Read more about bugged money)
These tiny RFID tags could be worked into any product; combined with RFID readers built into doorways, theft of consumer goods would be practically impossible. It's not clear from the references provided, but even if this chip needs an external antenna, the attached antenna would be a tiny ribbon of wire more narrow than a human hair and only a fraction of an inch long.
How far away could you be, and still read the information from this "powder RFID?" The source article is very thin; however, the mu-chip mentioned earlier is readable from a distance of 25 centimeters (about ten inches) with an external antenna like the one mentioned in the preceding paragraph. This doesn't sound like much, but it's certainly enough to read people going through doorways, for example.
These devices could also be used to identify and track people. For example, suppose you participated in some sort of protest or other organized activity. If police agencies sprinkled these tags around, every individual could be tracked and later identified at leisure, with powerful enough tag scanners.
To put it in the context of popular culture, see the picture below, which was taken from the 1996 movie Mission Impossible. One of the IMF operatives places a tracking tag on the shoulder of a computer programmer. Pretty clunky-looking tag...
(Tracking and ID tag from Mission Impossible movie)
Take a look at these earlier stories related to RFID, and consider how much easier it will be with tinier chips: RFID Sensor Tag Shower For Disasters (gentle rain of RFID), RFID-Maki: Easy Payment Sushi (just tag the sushi directly, then scan customer's stomach [no joke, see digestible tags]) and VeriChip Chairman Proposes RFID Chips For Immigrants (just dust the border).
Via Pink Tentacle. Also, read more about the mu-chip.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/14/2007)
RFID 'Powder' - World's Smallest RFID Tag
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=939
The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags were introduced yesterday by Hitachi. Tiny miracles of miniaturization, these RFID chips (Radio Frequency IDentification chips) measure just 0.05 x 0.05 millimeters.
The previous record-holder, the Hitachi mu-chip, is just 0.4 x 0.4 millimeters. Take a look at the size of the mu-chip RFID tag on a human fingertip.
(Hitachi mu-chip tiny RFID tag)
Now, compare that with the new RFID tags. The "powder type" tags are some sixty times smaller.
(Powder RFID chips next to a human hair)
The new RFID chips have a 128-bit ROM for storing a unique 38 digit number, like their predecessor. Hitachi used semiconductor miniaturization technology and electron beams to write data on the chip substrates to achieve the new, smaller size.
Hitachi's mu-chips are already in production; they were used to prevent ticket forgery at last year's Aichi international technology exposition. RFID 'powder,' on the other hand, is so much smaller that it can easily be incorporated into thin paper, like that used in paper currency and gift certificates.
Science fiction fans will have a field day with this new technology. In his 1998 novel Distraction, Bruce Sterling referred to bugged money:
They always played poker with European cash. There was American cash around, flimsy plastic stuff, but most people wouldn't take American cash anymore. It was hard to take American cash seriously when it was no longer convertible outside U.S. borders. Besides, all the bigger bills were bugged. (Read more about bugged money)
These tiny RFID tags could be worked into any product; combined with RFID readers built into doorways, theft of consumer goods would be practically impossible. It's not clear from the references provided, but even if this chip needs an external antenna, the attached antenna would be a tiny ribbon of wire more narrow than a human hair and only a fraction of an inch long.
How far away could you be, and still read the information from this "powder RFID?" The source article is very thin; however, the mu-chip mentioned earlier is readable from a distance of 25 centimeters (about ten inches) with an external antenna like the one mentioned in the preceding paragraph. This doesn't sound like much, but it's certainly enough to read people going through doorways, for example.
These devices could also be used to identify and track people. For example, suppose you participated in some sort of protest or other organized activity. If police agencies sprinkled these tags around, every individual could be tracked and later identified at leisure, with powerful enough tag scanners.
To put it in the context of popular culture, see the picture below, which was taken from the 1996 movie Mission Impossible. One of the IMF operatives places a tracking tag on the shoulder of a computer programmer. Pretty clunky-looking tag...
(Tracking and ID tag from Mission Impossible movie)
Take a look at these earlier stories related to RFID, and consider how much easier it will be with tinier chips: RFID Sensor Tag Shower For Disasters (gentle rain of RFID), RFID-Maki: Easy Payment Sushi (just tag the sushi directly, then scan customer's stomach [no joke, see digestible tags]) and VeriChip Chairman Proposes RFID Chips For Immigrants (just dust the border).
Via Pink Tentacle. Also, read more about the mu-chip.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/14/2007)
Glad to hear they are feeling better, it does take a while though.
Good luck with your surgery. Hope all goes well for you.
How true is that? If you can think outside of the box a little and take advantage of what you have, you can help yourself in so many ways.
Maybe you won't get rich that way, but you'll survive and most likely live a better life.
Try this link if you need to research or order. I've found them to be a good resource.
http://www.herbalextractsplus.com/index.cfm
Pelosi, Reed, Hillary, Biden, and Obama were in a boat, going down the river. The river rapids were extremely rough. The boat capsized. Who was saved?
AMERICA
I'll check out the book, looks interesting from the title. Thanks.
My son is graduated now and looking for an answer to the age old dilemma of what to do for the rest of his life.
I'm not pushing college, but the option is there if he chooses it. I think he'd make a better small businessman. He's an excellent mechanic and likes that, so....
We'll see. He's only 18 so he's got time.
Exactly! I had to read it twice because I couldn't believe what I was reading the first time.
This part I found especially insulting;
Students there participate in behavior modification programs and receive counseling.
It sounds to me like the idiots that actually initiated these complaints against a 6 year old need this program more than the poor kid does.
And people wondered why I homeschooled my son...
Along with all the other vitamins I take (about 17 a day), about a month ago I added an extra 1000iu of Vitamin D3 to these.
Waaay too many germs and nasties out there not to take care of yourself as best you can.
Also I found that alternate hourly dosing of Oil of Oregano and Colloidal Silver pretty much kills off in a day any bugs that might get picked up. Good Beta Glucan is also an essential, especially now with the 'flu' going around.
Del. 1st grader faces reform school for camp tool
{This is obviously a world gone mad, completely devoid of common sense.}
NEWARK, Del. — A Delaware first-grader who wanted to eat lunch at school with his favorite camping utensil, a combination of folding fork, knife and spoon, now faces 45 days in the district's alternative school for troublemakers.
Hundreds of people were expected to attend a school board meeting Tuesday evening to object to the suspension of 6-year-old Zachary Christie from Downes Elementary School for bringing the camping utensil from home.
The folding knife is banned as a dangerous instrument under the Christina School District's zero-tolerance policy in the student code of conduct, and officials said they have to act regardless of his age or what he planned to do with the instrument.
Zachary's mother, Debbie Christie, is appealing her son's suspension and said she'd prefer that the district's policy take into consideration a child's age and intent.
"I understand why they have it, but I don't agree with the implementation of it," she told NBC's "Today" on Tuesday.
In an interview on CBS' "Early Show," Zachary said weapons don't belong in school.
"I agree that they shouldn't bring dangerous weapons to school but I don't think the punishment should be this bad," Zachary said. "It's not fair."
Zachary is being homeschooled for now.
"I do sometimes miss my friends and want to go back," Zachary said.
State Democratic Rep. Terry Schooley, who sponsored a bill to give districts more flexibility on punishments, expects a crowd at Tuesday's school board meeting.
"This has gotten really crazy. It's ridiculous," Schooley said. "There are going to be hundreds of people at the school board meeting. It's going to be a circus."
Zachary was ordered to spend 45 days at the Douglass School, an alternative school for children who violate the district's code of conduct. Students there participate in behavior modification programs and receive counseling.
"They've tried in the district to make it meet the needs of the child, but I don't believe it's really geared for a 6-year-old," said Schooley, a former Christina school board member. "If it were my child, I would do everything not to send my child there."
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20091013/US.Zero.Tolerance.Boy/
Yikes! Frost! A little early for that, but it looks to be shaping up for that kind of winter. Well, here's hoping that the snowman building will be good this year at least!
We didn't have frost, but our heat also came on with the thermostat set below 58.
Ahh, those Kentucky Wonders are terrific producers to have, aren't they? I love those and the Purple Dove beans also. I'm still picking beans here, but who knows for how much longer... I still have lots and lots of peppers on the plants ripening too. The collards and beets are loving this cool weather also.
The second planting of potatos are doing great. I covered them, for the second time now, and hopefully will get a good crop.
My brussel sprouts are forming little 'brussels' (lol) that are getting bigger by the day. Can't wait to have them for Thanksgiving with garlic and walnuts.
Hey, how are your ribs feeling? Better I hope.
Dutch DSB Bank Nationalized After Bank Run By Clients
Courtesy of Tyler Durden
http://www.philstockworld.com/2009/10/12/dutch-dsb-bank-nationalized-after-bank-run-by-clients/
And you thought the FDIC had its hand full in the US (even though the ominous “lack” of failures this past Friday prompted many to ask whether or not the FDIC has any funds left to even take over the hundreds of upcoming bank failures). As of this morning, well-known Dutch bank DSB Bank, which gives loan to lower-income people, has been put into “curatorship” (another words for taken over by its respective central bank), after its clients staged a full-blown bank run. This is probably not good news for the former secretary of finance Gerrit Zalm, who was previously CFO of DSB and is currently CEO of ABN/AMRO.
BusinessWeek reports:
The Netherlands’ central bank said Monday it has taken control of DSB Bank NV after clients began a run amid fears the regional lender might collapse.
Doubts about the health of DSB, a small but well-known bank based in the north of the country, grew since the start of October as media reports questioned its solvency and clients began having problems withdrawing money from their Internet accounts.
De Nederlandsche Bank said in a statement Monday it had asked the Amsterdam District Court to put DSB under its curatorship “because of a large outflow of liquidity that brought the existence of DSB in danger in the short term.”
Not too unexpectedly were the bank’s soothing words as recently as a week ago that it had enough capital to withstand a full blown run. Turns out it, like many of its counterparts across the Atlantic, has been lying:
DSB told critics at the start of October it had euro1.5 billion in cash — enough of a buffer to withstand a run on its euro4.3 billion ($6.6 billion) in deposits.
Bank accounts in the Netherlands are insured by the government for the first euro100,000, and the central bank said customers would be able to pull money from their accounts using bank passes until midnight Wednesday.
Hilariousy, the Dutch Central Bank revised its optimistic statement from two weeks ago as well:
The central bank today said the solvency of closely held DSB Bank is under “great pressure,” revising an Oct. 1 statement that the lender met requirements for solvency and liquidity.
Keep in mind the Netherlands has been far off the radar screen for any major financial problem hotspots, especially with recent action directed more to the east, where everyone’s attention has been focused on Latvia and how it’s recent bond failure and currency devaluation will impact other Scandinavian countries, most prominently Sweden. Could this be the beginning of the FDIC’s troubles spilling over to Europe?
Dutch DSB Bank Nationalized After Bank Run By Clients
Courtesy of Tyler Durden
http://www.philstockworld.com/2009/10/12/dutch-dsb-bank-nationalized-after-bank-run-by-clients/
And you thought the FDIC had its hand full in the US (even though the ominous “lack” of failures this past Friday prompted many to ask whether or not the FDIC has any funds left to even take over the hundreds of upcoming bank failures). As of this morning, well-known Dutch bank DSB Bank, which gives loan to lower-income people, has been put into “curatorship” (another words for taken over by its respective central bank), after its clients staged a full-blown bank run. This is probably not good news for the former secretary of finance Gerrit Zalm, who was previously CFO of DSB and is currently CEO of ABN/AMRO.
BusinessWeek reports:
The Netherlands’ central bank said Monday it has taken control of DSB Bank NV after clients began a run amid fears the regional lender might collapse.
Doubts about the health of DSB, a small but well-known bank based in the north of the country, grew since the start of October as media reports questioned its solvency and clients began having problems withdrawing money from their Internet accounts.
De Nederlandsche Bank said in a statement Monday it had asked the Amsterdam District Court to put DSB under its curatorship “because of a large outflow of liquidity that brought the existence of DSB in danger in the short term.”
Not too unexpectedly were the bank’s soothing words as recently as a week ago that it had enough capital to withstand a full blown run. Turns out it, like many of its counterparts across the Atlantic, has been lying:
DSB told critics at the start of October it had euro1.5 billion in cash — enough of a buffer to withstand a run on its euro4.3 billion ($6.6 billion) in deposits.
Bank accounts in the Netherlands are insured by the government for the first euro100,000, and the central bank said customers would be able to pull money from their accounts using bank passes until midnight Wednesday.
Hilariousy, the Dutch Central Bank revised its optimistic statement from two weeks ago as well:
The central bank today said the solvency of closely held DSB Bank is under “great pressure,” revising an Oct. 1 statement that the lender met requirements for solvency and liquidity.
Keep in mind the Netherlands has been far off the radar screen for any major financial problem hotspots, especially with recent action directed more to the east, where everyone’s attention has been focused on Latvia and how it’s recent bond failure and currency devaluation will impact other Scandinavian countries, most prominently Sweden. Could this be the beginning of the FDIC’s troubles spilling over to Europe?
Health care, the way it's supposed to be...
Video Essay: Treating the Uninsured With Dignity
http://www.miamiherald.com/508/index.html?media_id=6667574&genre_id=4218#
Health care, the way it's supposed to be...
Video Essay: Treating the Uninsured With Dignity
http://www.miamiherald.com/508/index.html?media_id=6667574&genre_id=4218#
House Approves Hate-Crimes Measure as Part of Defense Funding
By Ben Pershing
Legislation to punish hate crimes became a flashpoint on Capitol Hill on Thursday, as a measure expanding the definition of such crimes was attached to the bill outlining the Defense Department budget and approved by the House over the strong objections of Republicans.
House and Senate negotiators agreed earlier this week to attach the hate-crimes provision to the conference report for the $680 billion Defense Department authorization bill. The combined bill passed the House on Thursday, 281 to 146, with 131 Republicans and 15 Democrats in opposition. The measure must pass the Senate, in a vote that could come as early as next week, before it can head to President Obama's desk for his signature.
Congressional Republicans complained that appending the hate crimes provision to a bill laying out the Pentagon's budget for the coming year was an abuse of the legislative process and made U.S. troops "political pawns" in an unrelated social debate.
The provision would broaden the current definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It would also create a new federal crime to cover attacks against U.S. military personnel because of their service.
"This is radical social policy that ... is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can't pass it on its own," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
The House passed the hate-crimes measure as a stand-alone bill in April, with 18 Republicans joining 231 Democrats in support. But it stalled in the Senate. At the strong urging of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and fellow supporters from the House, the measure was attached to the Defense legislation -- considered a must-pass bill.
Pelosi said Thursday that this week's timing of the hate-crimes vote was appropriate.
"Monday is the 11th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard, and we want in the same week of that tragic event to call the public's attention once again to people acting upon their hatred in a violent way," Pelosi said, referring to the infamous 1998 murder of a gay University of Wyoming student.
Civil-rights groups welcomed Thursday's House action.
"We're very pleased by this and look forward to it landing on the president's desk," said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/10/house_approves_hate_crimes_mea.html
Cold temperatures threaten seed potato crop
By the Associated Press | Posted: Monday, October 12, 2009 5:45 am | 1 Comment
Font Size: Default font size Larger font size BOZEMAN - Record-low temperatures in southwestern Idaho are threatening to destroy at least a portion of this season's crop of seed potatoes.
Spuds still in the ground could be saved by a layer of snow; a dusting had fallen on Bozeman and the surrounding region by Sunday.
Nina Zydak, director of the Montana State University Potato Lab, said most area farmers have already started digging.
But many farmers expect to lose some of their potatoes.
"It's over," Larry Van Dyke, who owns Van Dyke Farms in Townsend, told the Bozeman Chronicle.
He says when it's this cold for too long, the frost penetrates and the taters are toast.
The main goal now is to make sure the spoiled potatoes don't make it into his cellar.
Temperatures on Saturday evening dipped to 17 degrees; the last time it was this cold, this early, in southwestern Idaho was more than two decades ago, in 1985.
http://www.missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_c1c13d5e-b6a4-11de-a09c-001cc4c002e0.html
It's truly sad that so much of the farming that does take place in this country is only a small portion of what it once was.
If we really concentrated on our own country first, there would be huge abundance. Many days it feels like DC is trying to push this country into the gutter and it's people into slavery.
We do need more farms. Real farms, not the factory farms that have sprung up in the last 30 or so years. Completely not sustainable or healthy.
Dairy farming has to be one of the most labor intensive and difficult kinds of farming. They are not paid well, have waaay too many regulations and subsidies that really don't do what they should. I, for one, don't think I could be a dairy farmer, the work load is very heavy and the downside is huge.
Because of these and other reasons, it would be very difficult to dairy and also farm in other grains or animals. Even when a dairy farm is self sufficient, as this one was, it's hard to make a living. And again, the work load from the dairy cows makes it almost impossible to diversify. They do grow their own grains for feed and hay for their cows, otherwise you couldn't survive as a dairy. To purchase instead of grow your own feed would be prohibitive in costs.
Most people have no idea what it takes to get that gallon of milk for their table.
My sister-in-law and her family quit the dairy business 2 years ago, after dairying for the last 40 years. She hated to do it, but the economics of the business forced them to. Now they only keep a couple of cows for themselves and have turned the fields over for haying to sell. There have been about half a dozen friends or family that have quit dairying in the last few years. They all loved what they did, but could no longer support themselves from it. Very sad.
Recipients Of The Swine Flu Vaccine Are Being Given CDC “Vaccination Record” Tracking Cards
Swine flu vaccinations began Monday in Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee, and recipients of the H1N1 vaccination are being given CDC "vaccination record" tracking cards to help keep a record of who has received the swine flu vaccine. This news is causing concern among privacy advocates who are worried that the U.S. government could use these CDC swine flu vaccination cards to track down those who have not had the vaccine if the government decides to make the swine flu vaccine mandatory.
News about these swine flu vaccination cards was dropped in the middle of an AP story about the beginning of swine flu vaccinations in the United States. When this was discovered, many concerned citizens started asking questions about these swine flu vaccination cards.
Fortunately there is a little bit more information out there about them. The following is from the CDC's official website:
Recipients of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine will be provided with a hand-held card to serve as a record of vaccination and a source of information should a report to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) be needed. Vaccine recipients will be encouraged to bring the hand-held card at their next visit to their primary care provider so that vaccination information can be transcribed into the patient’s permanent medical record.
So there it is.
Health authorities are going to have a record of exactly who has received the swine flu vaccine.
But another disturbing aspect of the paragraph above is that it sounds like they are expecting adverse side effects
Why would that be?
Well, as we have documented in other articles there are a lot of reasons, but one certainly is that all of the early batches of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine are all of the nasal spray variety that contain live swine flu.
In case you missed that, we are going to say that last part again.
All of the early batches of the swine flu vaccine contain live swine flu.
The product is called FluMist, and you have probably already seen video on the news of it being injected into the nasal passages of people getting the swine flu vaccine.
According to Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, somewhere between 10 million and 100 million swine flu viral particles are forcefully injected into the nostrils when FluMist is administered to a patient.
Are you ready to have millions upon millions of swine flu virus particles injected into your nasal passages?
Don't you think that injecting live swine flu into the nasal passages of millions of Americans might just be a little dangerous?
Meanwhile, ABC's Dr. Oz has been out rabidly promoting the swine flu vaccine all over national television, but now he has revealed that he is NOT going to give it to his own kids.
It is this kind of blatant hypocrisy that is making people turn off the mainstream news. How can he recommend it to other people's kids and not inject his own kids with it?
As they say, actions speak louder than words.
Don't just make a blind decision about these vaccines. Do your own research on these vaccines and make the decision that is right for you and your family. These mainstream media idiots certainly are not going to shed a tear if something bad happens to you or your family.
http://thebirdflupandemic.com/archives/recipients-of-the-swine-flu-vaccine-are-being-given-cdc-vaccination-record-tracking-cards