Can Bank of America foreclose on a homeowner without showing any evidence that their client actually owns the promissory note?
Can a Mortgage-Backed Security sue for damages after they have already been made whole through credit default swaps and a negotiated settlement with the originator of the security?
One Georgia couple is about to find out. They've filed a civil action against Bank of America claiming they were "induced" to default on their loan in order to qualify for a mortgage modification program, and that the bank is attempting to foreclose on them without showing that their client has any right to the debt owed on their home.
Like so many others in their situation, they followed instructions to the letter only to have Bank of America renege and commence foreclosure proceedings.
In early 2008, Jay and Beverly Fenello contacted Bank of America, the loan servicer at the time, informing them that they were experiencing financial distress, and inquired about options available to them including a mortgage modification, a short sale, and a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
Bank of America responded that no options or relief would be available until they missed at least two monthly payments. According to the complaint, Bank of America suggested that the Fenello's skip the next two payments, then contact them again to apply for relief under the new Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
As instructed, they skipped the next two monthly payments and immediately contacted the bank. Instead of getting a prompt decision, as Bank of America asserted, and despite calling the bank multiple times per month, no decision was forthcoming.
After more than 15 months of attempting to work with Bank of America, after skipping contractual obligations on the advice of the bank, after submitting no less than 4 complete applications, after submitting many more supplementary documents, after calling the bank weekly/monthly, after being subjected to misinformation, harassment, and other forms of abuse, after coming within 24 hours of foreclosure, after asking for options including deed in lieu of foreclosure, a short sale, or a modification, they finally received a modification offer that would have more than doubled their original monthly payment.
The Fenellos turned down the bank’s “Special Forbearance Agreement,” indicating they would re-apply in 30 days. After a few more attempts to negotiate an agreement, Bank of America set a foreclosure sale date which spurred this legal action.
"We were so upset at this point, that we decided to file this lawsuit pro se (without an attorney)" said Jay Fenello. "We also decided to go public with our efforts, and in the activist tradition, set up the OccupyTheCourts.org and ProSeAction.org websites."
By setting a foreclosure date while the debt was in dispute, BoA blatantly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, § 809 (b) which states "If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period … that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed …, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt."
During this entire process the Fenellos discovered that bank of America knowingly and consistently misrepresented facts with the intent to defraud them. They learned that BoA was not the note holder, but was said to be still acting on behalf of the so-called note holder. And, perhaps most important, they realized that the bank cannot prove damages worthy of foreclosure.
The story of encouraging struggling homeowners to purposefully default with no genuine attempt to offer a work-out plan has become common in America's real estate crisis, and indicates clear fraud to ruin people's credit and obtain the physical asset of the home.
When Bank of America and the other defendants representing Wall Street banks attempted to produce the note, they showed the note created by the original local mortgage company who is not a defendant in the case. When that was disputed, the defendants provided a MERS-signed assignment of the security deed which had what appeared to be another fraudulent notary, a la robo-signature.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Billions Wasted Fighter Jets Can Land On Carriers?
'A Pentagon Concurrency Quick Look Review (QLR) of November 2011 says that all eight run-in/rolling tests undertaken at NAS Lakehurst in August 2011 to see if the F-35C could catch a wire with the tail hook have failed. The tail hook is meant to catch one of several wires stretched across the deck, after which a special arresting engine kicks in to quickly slow the aircraft down.
In the case of the F-35C, the decades-old trick doesn’t work. The tail hook is located too close to the main landing gear, so the springs supporting the arresting cable don’t have enough time to raise it after the wheels run over it for the hook to engage.'
In the case of the F-35C, the decades-old trick doesn’t work. The tail hook is located too close to the main landing gear, so the springs supporting the arresting cable don’t have enough time to raise it after the wheels run over it for the hook to engage.'
Solar Energy Scandal
'The Department of Energy bragged about giving a $1.2 billion loan guarantee to SunPower, a politically connected solar energy company, to create “10-15 permanent jobs,” raising critical questions as to if California SunPower is the next Solyndra in the ongoing Crony-Gate scandal.
Unlike Solyndra, which went bankrupt after receiving the loan from the government leaving taxpayer on the hook, SunPower’s deal is more complicated. Many questions are being raised about how the company was able to obtain the loan and what they did after they got the money.'
NOTE: We've lived off grid since 1999 and would never again tie into the grid. However, small, individual systems are efficient, effective and offer freedom. These scams steal from all of us and are not clean, not green and not cheap.
Unlike Solyndra, which went bankrupt after receiving the loan from the government leaving taxpayer on the hook, SunPower’s deal is more complicated. Many questions are being raised about how the company was able to obtain the loan and what they did after they got the money.'
NOTE: We've lived off grid since 1999 and would never again tie into the grid. However, small, individual systems are efficient, effective and offer freedom. These scams steal from all of us and are not clean, not green and not cheap.
Protect Your Property Line
The protection of all resources depend on protecting rural property rights.
WITHOUT PROPERTY RIGHTS,
NO OTHER RIGHTS ARE POSSIBLE!
Urban and rural landowners are being asked to bear almost the entire burden of environmental protection, while their city cousins get off virtually scot-free. City folk keep referring to private rural lands as “their” lands, aided and abetted by government, environmental groups, academia and the all-complicit news media. Rural landowners are essentially un-represented in the political process and are thus disenfranchised by the majority of the population that live in big cities. They have no voice. Our goal is to give them that voice.
HELP US preserve property rights
HELP US protect and defend the rural lifestyle, which produces our paper, our lumber, mineral resources, gas and oil and the food we eat. These proud folks provide the sustenance for most Americans and a good portion of the world. Without them we would starve, live in sod huts and walk or ride on horses or buggies.
HELP US maintain freedom and liberty for the last remaining bastion of independence and self reliance in America, the farmer, rancher and urban and rural landowner.
WITHOUT PROPERTY RIGHTS,
NO OTHER RIGHTS ARE POSSIBLE!
Urban and rural landowners are being asked to bear almost the entire burden of environmental protection, while their city cousins get off virtually scot-free. City folk keep referring to private rural lands as “their” lands, aided and abetted by government, environmental groups, academia and the all-complicit news media. Rural landowners are essentially un-represented in the political process and are thus disenfranchised by the majority of the population that live in big cities. They have no voice. Our goal is to give them that voice.
HELP US preserve property rights
HELP US protect and defend the rural lifestyle, which produces our paper, our lumber, mineral resources, gas and oil and the food we eat. These proud folks provide the sustenance for most Americans and a good portion of the world. Without them we would starve, live in sod huts and walk or ride on horses or buggies.
HELP US maintain freedom and liberty for the last remaining bastion of independence and self reliance in America, the farmer, rancher and urban and rural landowner.
Vicious Danger To Rural Resources Which Benefit ALL Americans
'That’s right, environmentalists and even those that live in urban areas, have been so brainwashed by the government through education and outright propaganda, that they actually believe that it is OK for government to regulate rural lands with draconian environmental protection ordinances, without regard to the fact that those rural lands are owned by real people and are supposed to be protected by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution that states in part:
“….. nor shall any person ….. be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Any protection provided to rural landowners from the U. S. Constitution has been so watered down and perverted by U. S. Supreme Court and lower court decisions, as to render the 5th Amendment virtually null and void. International and national environmentalism trumps the Constitution inAmerica, by tens of thousands of local, state and federal laws.'
NOTE: If Rural American lands aren't protected, city people will not have any choice of what they eat and will lack the ability to produce their own. Read about the Ukrainian Holocaust for a recent history reminder.
Food As A Political Weapon
The Ukraine Farmine, of 1932-1933, was not due to natural disasters, droughts, floods or climate changes. It was simple, peacetime genocide. Desgined, directed and planned by Joseph Stalin as a means to subjugate the Ukrainians to Moscow's will.
Starvation was the, "absolutely necessary" tool toward that end, and which claimed the lives of 7,000,000 Ukrainian farmers.
"This was the first instance of a peacetime genocide in history. It took the extraordinary form of an artificial famine deliberately created by the ruling powers.
The savage combination of words for the designation of a crime - an artificial deliberately planned famine - is still incredible to many people throughout the world, but indicates the uniqueness of the tragedy of 1933, which is unparalleled, for a time of peace, in the number of victims it claimed." Wasyl Hryshko - Survivor The Ukrainian Holocaust, 1933
"As many as 7 million Ukrainians were starved in Soviet Socialist dictator Joseph Stalin's artificial, forced famine in Ukraine in 1932 and 1933. This is approximately the total population of Manitoba, Newfoundland, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island." Inky Mark, M. P. Dauphin - Swan River House of Commons 2 June 1998
Stalin lamented: "Oh, no, the Collective Farm policy was a terrible struggle... Ten million [he said, holding up his hands]. It was fearful. Four years it lasted. It was absolutely necessary..." Learn more about FOOD WARS
“….. nor shall any person ….. be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Any protection provided to rural landowners from the U. S. Constitution has been so watered down and perverted by U. S. Supreme Court and lower court decisions, as to render the 5th Amendment virtually null and void. International and national environmentalism trumps the Constitution inAmerica, by tens of thousands of local, state and federal laws.'
NOTE: If Rural American lands aren't protected, city people will not have any choice of what they eat and will lack the ability to produce their own. Read about the Ukrainian Holocaust for a recent history reminder.
Food As A Political Weapon
The Ukraine Farmine, of 1932-1933, was not due to natural disasters, droughts, floods or climate changes. It was simple, peacetime genocide. Desgined, directed and planned by Joseph Stalin as a means to subjugate the Ukrainians to Moscow's will.
Starvation was the, "absolutely necessary" tool toward that end, and which claimed the lives of 7,000,000 Ukrainian farmers.
"This was the first instance of a peacetime genocide in history. It took the extraordinary form of an artificial famine deliberately created by the ruling powers.
The savage combination of words for the designation of a crime - an artificial deliberately planned famine - is still incredible to many people throughout the world, but indicates the uniqueness of the tragedy of 1933, which is unparalleled, for a time of peace, in the number of victims it claimed." Wasyl Hryshko - Survivor The Ukrainian Holocaust, 1933
"As many as 7 million Ukrainians were starved in Soviet Socialist dictator Joseph Stalin's artificial, forced famine in Ukraine in 1932 and 1933. This is approximately the total population of Manitoba, Newfoundland, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island." Inky Mark, M. P. Dauphin - Swan River House of Commons 2 June 1998
Stalin lamented: "Oh, no, the Collective Farm policy was a terrible struggle... Ten million [he said, holding up his hands]. It was fearful. Four years it lasted. It was absolutely necessary..." Learn more about FOOD WARS
CDC Increases Parental Pressure To Vaccinate Kids With Toxins
'Recently, the CDC, in coordination with HHS and state health departments, has been increasing the pressure on parents to vaccinate their children. In many cases, pressure has been brought on families with phone calls, school notes sent home and now it seems, knocking on your doors. In this video, Natomas,
California school officials and a school nurse are seen going door to door trying to vaccinate school children that have not had one of the many DTaP vaccines recommended by the CDC schedule.
While these school officials are more than likely, concerned about federal dollars that they will be refused for each child that is not fully vaccinated there is little doubt that there is a far more nefarious agenda at hand.'
California school officials and a school nurse are seen going door to door trying to vaccinate school children that have not had one of the many DTaP vaccines recommended by the CDC schedule.
While these school officials are more than likely, concerned about federal dollars that they will be refused for each child that is not fully vaccinated there is little doubt that there is a far more nefarious agenda at hand.'
UK Discovering Smart Meters Aren't
'Putting ‘smart’ gas and electricity meters in every home – at a total cost of £11.7billion – may bring little benefit to customers, MPs will warn today.
Families will have to pay higher bills to fund the Government-backed scheme to have the digital equipment installed by 2019.
And there is no evidence the energy giants will pass on to customers any of the millions of pounds they will save with the introduction of the new technology, MPs say.'
Families will have to pay higher bills to fund the Government-backed scheme to have the digital equipment installed by 2019.
And there is no evidence the energy giants will pass on to customers any of the millions of pounds they will save with the introduction of the new technology, MPs say.'
Smart Pill
'The tiny edible microchip records precise details of medication programmes through a monitoring “receiver” patch attached to patients’ shoulder or arm.
Costing about £50 a month, medical experts said the new “intelligent medicines” could revolutionise the way patients take drugs, which will allow them to better follow doctors’ orders. Figures from the World Health Organisation suggest that up to half of patients do not take their medications properly, potentially placing their health at risk. The annual cost to the NHS of unused medication is estimated to be up £400 million.
According to the pill’s manufacturer, the “sensor” can monitor when drugs are taken, how much dosage should be administered while at the same time monitoring a patient’s heart rate and body temperature.'
Costing about £50 a month, medical experts said the new “intelligent medicines” could revolutionise the way patients take drugs, which will allow them to better follow doctors’ orders. Figures from the World Health Organisation suggest that up to half of patients do not take their medications properly, potentially placing their health at risk. The annual cost to the NHS of unused medication is estimated to be up £400 million.
According to the pill’s manufacturer, the “sensor” can monitor when drugs are taken, how much dosage should be administered while at the same time monitoring a patient’s heart rate and body temperature.'
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
TSA Caught Stealing $40k Get Little Time Behind Bars
'Any normal person found guilty of stealing $40,000 from, say, a bank or an employer, would likely be sentenced to at least five years of prison. But when you work for the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), you can expect to be given special legal treatment and sent on your way.
The Associated Press reports that two former TSA screeners, 44-year-old Coumar Persad and 31-year-old Davon Webb, both of which worked at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, have pleaded guilty to grand larceny, obstructing governmental administration, and official misconduct, for stealing nearly $40,000 from an airport traveler's luggage. But rather than receive a normal prison sentence for such crimes, the two were sentenced to just six months in prison with five years of probation.'
The Associated Press reports that two former TSA screeners, 44-year-old Coumar Persad and 31-year-old Davon Webb, both of which worked at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, have pleaded guilty to grand larceny, obstructing governmental administration, and official misconduct, for stealing nearly $40,000 from an airport traveler's luggage. But rather than receive a normal prison sentence for such crimes, the two were sentenced to just six months in prison with five years of probation.'
Monsanto Faces BioPiracy Charges In India
According to an article published this month in the journal Nature Biotechnology, Monsanto is facing biopiracy charges in India.
In an unprecedented decision, India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government agency, declared legal action against Monsanto (and their collaborators) for accessing and using local eggplant varieties (known as brinjal) to develop their Bt genetically engineered version1 without prior approval of the competent authorities, which is considered an act of "biopiracy."2
The journal of Nature Biotechnology reported:
"An Indian government agency has agreed to sue the developers of genetically modified (GM) eggplant for violating India's Biological Diversity Act of 2002. India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is alleging that the developers of India's first GM food crop—Jalna-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) partnered with St. Louis–based seed giant Monsanto and several local universities—used local varieties to develop the transgenic crop, but failed to gain the appropriate licenses for field trials. At the same time, activists in Europe are claiming that patents on conventionally bred plants, including a melon found in India, filed by biotech companies violate farmers' rights to use naturally occurring breeds. Both these pending legal cases could set important precedents for biopiracy in India and Europe."
An excerpt from the NBA's official resolution giving effect to the decision, and released on August 11 2011, follows below:
"“A background note besides legal opinion on Bt brinjal [GM egplant] on the alleged violation by the M/s. Mahyco/M/s Monsanto, and their collaborators for accessing and using the local brinjal varieties for development of Bt brinjal with out prior approval of the competent authorities was discussed and it was decided that the NBA may proceed legally against M/s. Mahyco/ M/s Monsanto, and all others concerned to take the issue to its logical conclusion.” [Official copy of these minutes may be accessed here.]
As reported by the Environment Support Group (ESG), the "alleged violation" referred to by the NBA was the ESG's complaint:
"...specifically charging these agencies for criminally accessing at least 10 varieties of brinjal in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu without in any manner seeking prior and informed consent from the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and applicable Local Biodiversity Management Committees as required. Such a rigorous process of appraisal is mandatory to protect loss of biodiversity due to misuse or overuse, theft of biodiversity and to secure biodiversity from contamination when transgencis are involved. In addition, the law mandates that when biodiversity is to be accessed in any manner for commercial, research and other uses, local communities who have protected local varieties and cultivars for generations must be consulted and if they consent benefits must accrue to them per the internationally applicable Access and Benefit Sharing Protocol."
Ultimately the initiation of criminal action against Monsanto/Mahyco and their collaborators may result in an immediate suspension of all applications by any of the agencies involved in biopiracy seeking access to any biological resource of India. According to ESG "this would imply that NBA must stop processing Monsanto's application for accessing two varieties of Indian onions."
India has a strong tradition of thwarting the commercialization of indigenous knowledge associated with bio-prospecting, which includes biopiracy and the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine, with the aim of obtaining lead and/or novel compounds for pharmaceutical patents.
For instance, in 1995, two expatriate Indians at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre were granted a US patent (no.5, 401,504) on use of turmeric in wound healing. After the Indian Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) filed a re-examination case with the US Patent & Trading Office challenging the patent on the grounds of its existing prior use in traditional Ayurvedic medicial practice, the patent was canceled.
Another example occurred when the Indian government took legal action against a pharmaceutical firm who received a patent for a technique to extract an anti-fungal agent from the neem tree, with the patent eventually being overturned in 2005
In an unprecedented decision, India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a government agency, declared legal action against Monsanto (and their collaborators) for accessing and using local eggplant varieties (known as brinjal) to develop their Bt genetically engineered version1 without prior approval of the competent authorities, which is considered an act of "biopiracy."2
The journal of Nature Biotechnology reported:
"An Indian government agency has agreed to sue the developers of genetically modified (GM) eggplant for violating India's Biological Diversity Act of 2002. India's National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is alleging that the developers of India's first GM food crop—Jalna-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) partnered with St. Louis–based seed giant Monsanto and several local universities—used local varieties to develop the transgenic crop, but failed to gain the appropriate licenses for field trials. At the same time, activists in Europe are claiming that patents on conventionally bred plants, including a melon found in India, filed by biotech companies violate farmers' rights to use naturally occurring breeds. Both these pending legal cases could set important precedents for biopiracy in India and Europe."
An excerpt from the NBA's official resolution giving effect to the decision, and released on August 11 2011, follows below:
"“A background note besides legal opinion on Bt brinjal [GM egplant] on the alleged violation by the M/s. Mahyco/M/s Monsanto, and their collaborators for accessing and using the local brinjal varieties for development of Bt brinjal with out prior approval of the competent authorities was discussed and it was decided that the NBA may proceed legally against M/s. Mahyco/ M/s Monsanto, and all others concerned to take the issue to its logical conclusion.” [Official copy of these minutes may be accessed here.]
As reported by the Environment Support Group (ESG), the "alleged violation" referred to by the NBA was the ESG's complaint:
"...specifically charging these agencies for criminally accessing at least 10 varieties of brinjal in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu without in any manner seeking prior and informed consent from the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and applicable Local Biodiversity Management Committees as required. Such a rigorous process of appraisal is mandatory to protect loss of biodiversity due to misuse or overuse, theft of biodiversity and to secure biodiversity from contamination when transgencis are involved. In addition, the law mandates that when biodiversity is to be accessed in any manner for commercial, research and other uses, local communities who have protected local varieties and cultivars for generations must be consulted and if they consent benefits must accrue to them per the internationally applicable Access and Benefit Sharing Protocol."
Ultimately the initiation of criminal action against Monsanto/Mahyco and their collaborators may result in an immediate suspension of all applications by any of the agencies involved in biopiracy seeking access to any biological resource of India. According to ESG "this would imply that NBA must stop processing Monsanto's application for accessing two varieties of Indian onions."
India has a strong tradition of thwarting the commercialization of indigenous knowledge associated with bio-prospecting, which includes biopiracy and the search for previously unknown compounds in organisms that have never been used in traditional medicine, with the aim of obtaining lead and/or novel compounds for pharmaceutical patents.
For instance, in 1995, two expatriate Indians at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre were granted a US patent (no.5, 401,504) on use of turmeric in wound healing. After the Indian Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) filed a re-examination case with the US Patent & Trading Office challenging the patent on the grounds of its existing prior use in traditional Ayurvedic medicial practice, the patent was canceled.
Another example occurred when the Indian government took legal action against a pharmaceutical firm who received a patent for a technique to extract an anti-fungal agent from the neem tree, with the patent eventually being overturned in 2005
Dead Whale In Tokyo Bay
As for the dead blue whale in Tokyo Bay (see below), it probably was while still healthy...feeding somewhere between the Bering Strait and the Sea of Okhotsk, unknowingly ingesting radioactive and chemically-contaminated krill at depths of 100 meters or more. These krill are spawned over the Japan Trench were the warm Kuroshio meets the cold Liman currents.
Upon feeling strange symptoms in its gut and having difficulty in holding in air, the huge cetacean rose to the surface for easier breathing and slowly swam southward in the Liman/Oyashio Current in search of warmer waters. Once past Choshi Point, it headed toward the brackish water flowing out of Tokyo Bay in hopes of reaching the estuary of the Edo River, where it could rest in the shallow bed of running fresh water. It senses filth in the water, however, and decides to push further south in search of a cleaner river.
Whales are not ignorant creatures, that is why they sometimes "beach" themselves in search of estuaries and lagoons. Unfortunately, tragically, these pods are blocked the former mouths of estuaries where idiotic humans have lined the shore with rocks and sand. Fresh water still seeps through the sand, but the whales have no chance of getting across to the lagoons, most of which have by now been filled or are polluted with chemicals and human and pig excrement (not a noticeable difference between those too species except that pigs are not dumb enough to pay for fast food). Repeat: human are total arrogant idiots compared with intelligent species like whales.
Now, this big blue boy or girl is disturbed by the seismic action out of the Izu Islands southeast of Tokyo on January 1, and so it flees directly into Tokyo Bay, where the high radioactivity from the incinerator ash dumped in the bay water poisons its respiratory system...and it dies.
Thank you, TEPCO - now we can't even eat whale! (not that their meat tastes any good.) Next challenge: incinerate the whale or tow it back out to sea, where, within a year, the carcass will wash ashore in North America because the sharks won't touch it.
THE BLUE WHALE IS THE SPIRIT OF THE PACIFIC.
RETRIBUTION IS UPON US HUMANS NOW AND, UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS WELL DESERVED.
Upon feeling strange symptoms in its gut and having difficulty in holding in air, the huge cetacean rose to the surface for easier breathing and slowly swam southward in the Liman/Oyashio Current in search of warmer waters. Once past Choshi Point, it headed toward the brackish water flowing out of Tokyo Bay in hopes of reaching the estuary of the Edo River, where it could rest in the shallow bed of running fresh water. It senses filth in the water, however, and decides to push further south in search of a cleaner river.
Whales are not ignorant creatures, that is why they sometimes "beach" themselves in search of estuaries and lagoons. Unfortunately, tragically, these pods are blocked the former mouths of estuaries where idiotic humans have lined the shore with rocks and sand. Fresh water still seeps through the sand, but the whales have no chance of getting across to the lagoons, most of which have by now been filled or are polluted with chemicals and human and pig excrement (not a noticeable difference between those too species except that pigs are not dumb enough to pay for fast food). Repeat: human are total arrogant idiots compared with intelligent species like whales.
Now, this big blue boy or girl is disturbed by the seismic action out of the Izu Islands southeast of Tokyo on January 1, and so it flees directly into Tokyo Bay, where the high radioactivity from the incinerator ash dumped in the bay water poisons its respiratory system...and it dies.
Thank you, TEPCO - now we can't even eat whale! (not that their meat tastes any good.) Next challenge: incinerate the whale or tow it back out to sea, where, within a year, the carcass will wash ashore in North America because the sharks won't touch it.
THE BLUE WHALE IS THE SPIRIT OF THE PACIFIC.
RETRIBUTION IS UPON US HUMANS NOW AND, UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS WELL DESERVED.
Small Japan Being Built In India
Japan's Government-Industrial Complex to Create Small "Japan" in Southern India
The news was there on Yomiuri Shinbun on January 5, 2012, but little noticed until someone picked it up and spread on Twitter overnight.
The Japanese government in close collaboration with the big businesses in Japan is to build a city in southern India that will house 50,000 people, with "Japanese-quality" infrastructure including seaside resort, industrial park, hospital, shopping mall, and golf course (of course).
Many on Twitter are speculating that this is part of the plan by the Japan's political and business elites to abandon ship (Japan), and part of the reason for the Noda administration's insistence on the tax hike despite the incipient recession.
While there is a great need for money within Japan to actually rebuild tsunami-devastated areas (not the bogus "decon" projects), the Noda administration has been busy distributing money in Asia. The Bank of Japan has opened multi-billion dollar currency swap lines with India ($15 billion) and South Korea ($70 billion).
From Yomiuri Shinbun (1/5/2012):
日本政府は、官民一体のインフラ（社会基盤）輸出として、インド南部のチェンナイ近郊で、大規模な都市開発を行う方針だ。
The Japanese government, as part of the "infrastructure" export in close cooperation with the private industry, will develop a large-scale township in the suburb of Chennai in southern India.
中小企業向けの工業団地と、日本人好みのショッピングセンターや病院なども併設した５万人が生活できる街をまるごと「輸出」する。
The plan is to "export" the entire town with an industrial park for mid/small size businesses, shopping centers that are tailored to Japanese taste and hospitals. The town is to accommodate 50,000 people.
政府の新成長戦略に基づくインフラ輸出で、都市開発事業が具体化するのは初めて。
This will be first case of urban development as part of the infrastructure export, which is the new growth strategy of the Japanese government.
枝野経済産業相が１０日、チェンナイを訪問し、州政府に支援要請する。
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Edano will visit Chennai on January 10, and ask for the support from the Chennai government.
みずほコーポレート銀行とプラント大手の日揮が現地開発会社に計４０億円を出資する計画だ。工業団地は２・３平方キロ・メートルで今夏から販売を始め、２０１３年に進出工場の稼働を予定している。
Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation will invest 4 billion yen [US$52 million] in the development corporation in Chennai. The industrial park will be 2.3 square kilometer, and the sale will start this summer. The plants that will be housed in the park will start operation in 2013.
併設される居住地区は２平方キロ・メートルで、インド洋を望む高級マンション群が中心の「リゾート都市」を１３年以降、順次開発する。日系のショッピングセンターやゴルフ場、日本人医師が常駐する病院なども整備する計画だ。日本人駐在員が家族で暮らせる高品質な街づくりを目指す。
The accompanying residential area will be 2 square kilometers. The "resort city" with the expensive condominiums facing the Indian Ocean will be developed starting 2013. Japanese shopping center, golf course, and hospitals with permanently-stationed Japanese doctors will also be built. The plan is to create a high-quality city where Japanese expatriates can live with their families.
The Yomiuri Shinbun makes it sound like it is yet to start. But the talk has been ongoing at least since last summer. Here's the announcement on August 6, 2011 of an Indian tour for people interested in building a community in India where Japanese people live and work in certain large enough numbers.
But the description of this "Japan town" in India - industrial park, resort city with pricey condominiums by the sea, golf course - sounds very familiar to me. Hmmm this is like Singapore.
Well, it turns out that the developer for the whole project is a Singaporean real estate developer Ascendas with large portfolios in China, India, Malaysia, Vietman, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. The countries that this company have businesses with happen to coincide with the countries that the Japanese ministers have frequented since last year.
The Times of India reports on January 11, 2012 the Tamil Nadu government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese investor group and Ascendas to build a "Japan Town" in Chennai, India:
1,500-acre Japanese township to come up soon on OMR
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese consortium and real estate developer Ascendas to build a 1,500-acre integrated township with residential and industrial facilities for Japanese investors. It will come up 50km south of Chennai along Old Mahabalipuram Road.
Chief minister J Jayalalithaa signed the MoU on Tuesday with the Ascendas Development Trust ( AIDT), which has built an IT park in Taramani, and a consortium comprising corporate finance provider Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation, a programme management contractor and investment partner.
Ascendas Group president Chong Siak Ching said, "We are happy to have the support of the government of Tamil Nadu and to work with Japan's leading companies Mizuho and JGC." The government has promised collaboration with local government agencies for the project's implementation. The township is expected to have lifestyle amenities for up to 40,000 people," Ascendas officials said. "The infrastructure will be eco-friendly."
I don't know what "eco-friendly" means but I assume it is about low carbon emission. After all, having spewed radioactive materials all over the northern hemisphere the Japanese government and many Japanese are worried about CO2 and anthropogenic "global warming".
I'm not sure how Indians would feel about 50,000 Japanese living in a totally separate community with high-rise condos and golf course, speaking only Japanese.
As to engaging a Singaporean real estate developer, there is a persistent rumor that ex-Chief Cabinet Minister and current Minister of Economy Yukio Edano evacuated his family to Singapore soon after the accident.
Dr. Haruki Madarame of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission really spoke the truth when he said "It's all about money". It is all about money, whether "it" is a nuclear power plant, a nuclear waste facility, or a Japanese-only city in southern India.
NOTE: There Are already several Small China's being built all over the US
The news was there on Yomiuri Shinbun on January 5, 2012, but little noticed until someone picked it up and spread on Twitter overnight.
The Japanese government in close collaboration with the big businesses in Japan is to build a city in southern India that will house 50,000 people, with "Japanese-quality" infrastructure including seaside resort, industrial park, hospital, shopping mall, and golf course (of course).
Many on Twitter are speculating that this is part of the plan by the Japan's political and business elites to abandon ship (Japan), and part of the reason for the Noda administration's insistence on the tax hike despite the incipient recession.
While there is a great need for money within Japan to actually rebuild tsunami-devastated areas (not the bogus "decon" projects), the Noda administration has been busy distributing money in Asia. The Bank of Japan has opened multi-billion dollar currency swap lines with India ($15 billion) and South Korea ($70 billion).
From Yomiuri Shinbun (1/5/2012):
日本政府は、官民一体のインフラ（社会基盤）輸出として、インド南部のチェンナイ近郊で、大規模な都市開発を行う方針だ。
The Japanese government, as part of the "infrastructure" export in close cooperation with the private industry, will develop a large-scale township in the suburb of Chennai in southern India.
中小企業向けの工業団地と、日本人好みのショッピングセンターや病院なども併設した５万人が生活できる街をまるごと「輸出」する。
The plan is to "export" the entire town with an industrial park for mid/small size businesses, shopping centers that are tailored to Japanese taste and hospitals. The town is to accommodate 50,000 people.
政府の新成長戦略に基づくインフラ輸出で、都市開発事業が具体化するのは初めて。
This will be first case of urban development as part of the infrastructure export, which is the new growth strategy of the Japanese government.
枝野経済産業相が１０日、チェンナイを訪問し、州政府に支援要請する。
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Edano will visit Chennai on January 10, and ask for the support from the Chennai government.
みずほコーポレート銀行とプラント大手の日揮が現地開発会社に計４０億円を出資する計画だ。工業団地は２・３平方キロ・メートルで今夏から販売を始め、２０１３年に進出工場の稼働を予定している。
Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation will invest 4 billion yen [US$52 million] in the development corporation in Chennai. The industrial park will be 2.3 square kilometer, and the sale will start this summer. The plants that will be housed in the park will start operation in 2013.
併設される居住地区は２平方キロ・メートルで、インド洋を望む高級マンション群が中心の「リゾート都市」を１３年以降、順次開発する。日系のショッピングセンターやゴルフ場、日本人医師が常駐する病院なども整備する計画だ。日本人駐在員が家族で暮らせる高品質な街づくりを目指す。
The accompanying residential area will be 2 square kilometers. The "resort city" with the expensive condominiums facing the Indian Ocean will be developed starting 2013. Japanese shopping center, golf course, and hospitals with permanently-stationed Japanese doctors will also be built. The plan is to create a high-quality city where Japanese expatriates can live with their families.
The Yomiuri Shinbun makes it sound like it is yet to start. But the talk has been ongoing at least since last summer. Here's the announcement on August 6, 2011 of an Indian tour for people interested in building a community in India where Japanese people live and work in certain large enough numbers.
But the description of this "Japan town" in India - industrial park, resort city with pricey condominiums by the sea, golf course - sounds very familiar to me. Hmmm this is like Singapore.
Well, it turns out that the developer for the whole project is a Singaporean real estate developer Ascendas with large portfolios in China, India, Malaysia, Vietman, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. The countries that this company have businesses with happen to coincide with the countries that the Japanese ministers have frequented since last year.
The Times of India reports on January 11, 2012 the Tamil Nadu government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese investor group and Ascendas to build a "Japan Town" in Chennai, India:
1,500-acre Japanese township to come up soon on OMR
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese consortium and real estate developer Ascendas to build a 1,500-acre integrated township with residential and industrial facilities for Japanese investors. It will come up 50km south of Chennai along Old Mahabalipuram Road.
Chief minister J Jayalalithaa signed the MoU on Tuesday with the Ascendas Development Trust ( AIDT), which has built an IT park in Taramani, and a consortium comprising corporate finance provider Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation, a programme management contractor and investment partner.
Ascendas Group president Chong Siak Ching said, "We are happy to have the support of the government of Tamil Nadu and to work with Japan's leading companies Mizuho and JGC." The government has promised collaboration with local government agencies for the project's implementation. The township is expected to have lifestyle amenities for up to 40,000 people," Ascendas officials said. "The infrastructure will be eco-friendly."
I don't know what "eco-friendly" means but I assume it is about low carbon emission. After all, having spewed radioactive materials all over the northern hemisphere the Japanese government and many Japanese are worried about CO2 and anthropogenic "global warming".
I'm not sure how Indians would feel about 50,000 Japanese living in a totally separate community with high-rise condos and golf course, speaking only Japanese.
As to engaging a Singaporean real estate developer, there is a persistent rumor that ex-Chief Cabinet Minister and current Minister of Economy Yukio Edano evacuated his family to Singapore soon after the accident.
Dr. Haruki Madarame of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission really spoke the truth when he said "It's all about money". It is all about money, whether "it" is a nuclear power plant, a nuclear waste facility, or a Japanese-only city in southern India.
NOTE: There Are already several Small China's being built all over the US
Yes, Pacific Fish Are Radioactive
But there is a good chance Canadians have already eaten some of the types of fish most likely to be contaminated with cesium, based on the Japanese fisheries data.
Japan exported $76 million of food products to Canada in 2010, including $13 million of fish and crustaceans. No figures were available for 2011.
The Gazette analyzed the Japanese fisheries data for 22 seafood species that Japan has exported to Canada in recent years.
Some cesium was found in 16 of these 22 species in November, the last full month for which data was available.
Cesium was especially prevalent in certain of the species:
73 per cent of mackerel tested
91 per cent of the halibut
92 per cent of the sardines
93 per cent of the tuna and eel
94 per cent of the cod and anchovies
100 per cent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish
Some of the fish were caught in Japanese coastal waters. Other catches were made hundreds of kilometres away in the open ocean.
There, the fish can also be caught by fishers from dozens of other nations that ply the waters of the Pacific.
Yet, Japan is the only country that appears to be systematically testing fish for radiation and publicly reporting the results.
CFIA is no longer doing any testing of its own. It did some radiation tests on food imports from areas of Japan around the stricken nuclear plant in the weeks after the Fukushima accident.
Only one of the 169 tested products showed any radiation. CFIA stopped doing the tests last June, saying they weren’t needed.
“The quantities of radioactive material reaching Canada are very small and within normal ranges,” CFIA spokesperson Lisa Gauthier said in an emailed statement.
“They do not pose any health risk to Canadians, the food we eat or the plants and animals in Canada.”
NOTE: This is but a tiny excerpt from the lengthy article, well worth reading entire article
Japan exported $76 million of food products to Canada in 2010, including $13 million of fish and crustaceans. No figures were available for 2011.
The Gazette analyzed the Japanese fisheries data for 22 seafood species that Japan has exported to Canada in recent years.
Some cesium was found in 16 of these 22 species in November, the last full month for which data was available.
Cesium was especially prevalent in certain of the species:
73 per cent of mackerel tested
91 per cent of the halibut
92 per cent of the sardines
93 per cent of the tuna and eel
94 per cent of the cod and anchovies
100 per cent of the carp, seaweed, shark and monkfish
Some of the fish were caught in Japanese coastal waters. Other catches were made hundreds of kilometres away in the open ocean.
There, the fish can also be caught by fishers from dozens of other nations that ply the waters of the Pacific.
Yet, Japan is the only country that appears to be systematically testing fish for radiation and publicly reporting the results.
CFIA is no longer doing any testing of its own. It did some radiation tests on food imports from areas of Japan around the stricken nuclear plant in the weeks after the Fukushima accident.
Only one of the 169 tested products showed any radiation. CFIA stopped doing the tests last June, saying they weren’t needed.
“The quantities of radioactive material reaching Canada are very small and within normal ranges,” CFIA spokesperson Lisa Gauthier said in an emailed statement.
“They do not pose any health risk to Canadians, the food we eat or the plants and animals in Canada.”
NOTE: This is but a tiny excerpt from the lengthy article, well worth reading entire article
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Human Zoos?
A video that was recently released has raised issues from around the world as it shows an indigenous woman from India’s Andaman Islands dancing for tourists in exchange for food.
Human zoos as they are known have been around since the late 1800s where a group of indigenous Aymara Bolivian men were put on display at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair Columbian Exposition.
In August of last year Survival International released information about the Jarawa, an indigenous community living on the islands that have been exploited by tourists awestruck by the thought of seeing indigenous people. As Indian Country Today Media Network reported in August, the Indian government has banned tours to observe the Jarawa, but a road through their land is still used by tour operators.
Now with the release of this video, politicians and human rights campaigners have been enraged at the scene.
India’s Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo promised to take action over the incident terming it “disgusting” on Wednesday, according to an article at yahoo news. Video can be seen here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jan/07/andaman-islanders-human-safari-video
Human zoos as they are known have been around since the late 1800s where a group of indigenous Aymara Bolivian men were put on display at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair Columbian Exposition.
In August of last year Survival International released information about the Jarawa, an indigenous community living on the islands that have been exploited by tourists awestruck by the thought of seeing indigenous people. As Indian Country Today Media Network reported in August, the Indian government has banned tours to observe the Jarawa, but a road through their land is still used by tour operators.
Now with the release of this video, politicians and human rights campaigners have been enraged at the scene.
India’s Tribal Affairs Minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo promised to take action over the incident terming it “disgusting” on Wednesday, according to an article at yahoo news. Video can be seen here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jan/07/andaman-islanders-human-safari-video
Navajo Runners In Olympics?
Olympic Trials Course 615x373 Watch Navajo Runners Alvina Begay and Craig Curley Compete for Spots on Olympic Team
In order to qualify for the Olympic trials, the men were required to run a 2:19:00 or faster in the full marathon and under a 1:05 in the half marathon (there is also a 10,000K race today, in which qualifiers needed to run a sub 28:30). The women’s qualifying runs had to be 2:46 or faster for the marathon, under 1:15 for the half marathon, and under 33:00 in the 10,000k. Imagine running a mile in a little over eight minutes. Now imagine doing that 26 times in a row. The endurance required for this sport is beyond mere strength and conditioning, it is mental, it is about pushing yourself to go harder when you think your body has nothing left.
How stiff is the competition? Consider that the top qualifier in the men’s half marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein, ran the 13.1 miles in exactly one hour (that’s a 4-and-a-half minute per mile pace!) Curley, who qualified in the middle of the 161-man pack, finished his qualifying run in 1:04:14. The last two qualifiers, Joseph Chirlee and Tommy Neal, finished at 1:05:00. For every minute of difference, dozens and dozens of runners are separated from the top three positions.
For the women, the separation between runners is much greater. Desiree Davila, the top qualifier, hit her mark for the Olympic trials at the Boston Marathon last April, running it in 2:22:38. Begay, who is in the top half of the pack, qualified with a time of 2:37:14 at the Phoenix marathon in January of 2010. It will take a huge push for her to make up the difference and finish in the top three today, but if anyone can do it, it’s Begay.
Qualifying for the Olympic trials is an achievement worthy of praise and recognition itself. Each runner is in peak physical condition, their bodies, minds and spirits perfected over years of training, for many a lifetime of training. So today is not just about the race itself, but about everything each one of these runners did to get here. All those hours of training, all those early mornings when the rest of us were sleeping and they were out on the road, all those healthy choices in terms of diet (hey, almost everybody would eat pizza all the time if they could), all those times their bodies felt as if they were going to shut down but they willed themselves to continue—today’s race is a testament to their strength, physical, mental and spiritual.
Both Navajo runners will take the starting mark with a long history of excellence (and an even longer history of hard work) and strong support from the American Indian community. Begay is a Nike N7 ambassador with a running pedigree that goes back to her upbringing on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, Arizona.
As her N7 profile states, Begay grew up running at an elevation of 6,000+ feet, on “endless, dusty dirt roads and trails of her hometown.” Running was in Begay’s blood—her father was a long distance runner, and with his and her mother’s support, she turned her Northeastern Arizona upbringing on those 11-million acres of Navajo land into the perfect incubator for success not just running, but also in school. She was an Academic and Athletic All-American, studying at Adams State College and then Arizona State, inspiring countless people in Indian Country, as well as the people she met along the way who got to experience her passion first hand.
Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/14/watch-navajo-runners-alvina-begay-and-craig-curley-compete-for-spots-on-olympic-team-71554 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/14/watch-navajo-runners-alvina-begay-and-craig-curley-compete-for-spots-on-olympic-team-71554#ixzz1jTNetCWG
In order to qualify for the Olympic trials, the men were required to run a 2:19:00 or faster in the full marathon and under a 1:05 in the half marathon (there is also a 10,000K race today, in which qualifiers needed to run a sub 28:30). The women’s qualifying runs had to be 2:46 or faster for the marathon, under 1:15 for the half marathon, and under 33:00 in the 10,000k. Imagine running a mile in a little over eight minutes. Now imagine doing that 26 times in a row. The endurance required for this sport is beyond mere strength and conditioning, it is mental, it is about pushing yourself to go harder when you think your body has nothing left.
How stiff is the competition? Consider that the top qualifier in the men’s half marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein, ran the 13.1 miles in exactly one hour (that’s a 4-and-a-half minute per mile pace!) Curley, who qualified in the middle of the 161-man pack, finished his qualifying run in 1:04:14. The last two qualifiers, Joseph Chirlee and Tommy Neal, finished at 1:05:00. For every minute of difference, dozens and dozens of runners are separated from the top three positions.
For the women, the separation between runners is much greater. Desiree Davila, the top qualifier, hit her mark for the Olympic trials at the Boston Marathon last April, running it in 2:22:38. Begay, who is in the top half of the pack, qualified with a time of 2:37:14 at the Phoenix marathon in January of 2010. It will take a huge push for her to make up the difference and finish in the top three today, but if anyone can do it, it’s Begay.
Qualifying for the Olympic trials is an achievement worthy of praise and recognition itself. Each runner is in peak physical condition, their bodies, minds and spirits perfected over years of training, for many a lifetime of training. So today is not just about the race itself, but about everything each one of these runners did to get here. All those hours of training, all those early mornings when the rest of us were sleeping and they were out on the road, all those healthy choices in terms of diet (hey, almost everybody would eat pizza all the time if they could), all those times their bodies felt as if they were going to shut down but they willed themselves to continue—today’s race is a testament to their strength, physical, mental and spiritual.
Both Navajo runners will take the starting mark with a long history of excellence (and an even longer history of hard work) and strong support from the American Indian community. Begay is a Nike N7 ambassador with a running pedigree that goes back to her upbringing on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, Arizona.
As her N7 profile states, Begay grew up running at an elevation of 6,000+ feet, on “endless, dusty dirt roads and trails of her hometown.” Running was in Begay’s blood—her father was a long distance runner, and with his and her mother’s support, she turned her Northeastern Arizona upbringing on those 11-million acres of Navajo land into the perfect incubator for success not just running, but also in school. She was an Academic and Athletic All-American, studying at Adams State College and then Arizona State, inspiring countless people in Indian Country, as well as the people she met along the way who got to experience her passion first hand.
Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/14/watch-navajo-runners-alvina-begay-and-craig-curley-compete-for-spots-on-olympic-team-71554 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/14/watch-navajo-runners-alvina-begay-and-craig-curley-compete-for-spots-on-olympic-team-71554#ixzz1jTNetCWG
Chile Invokes Chilling Anti Terrorist Law
A Mapuche chief’s home has been destroyed in a suspicious blaze days after the president of Chile invoked a controversial anti-terrorist law in accusing Mapuche people of setting a number of wildfires that killed seven firefighters.
The blaze that destroyed Mapuche Chief Jose Santos Millao’s home on January 8 occurred while he was attending a funeral for the firefighters, Global Post reported. Millao is a historical Mapuche leader and currently director of the National Indigenous Development Corporation, CONADI. Millao’s home was in Araucania, a region rife with conflicts over indigenous land rights as Mapuche Indians there struggle to reclaim their ancient lands that have been taken over by forestry companies. Hours after Millao’s home was destroyed, hooded men also burned the home of a retired military officer and shot at police officers, the BBC reported.
The seven firefighters died in the wildfires that started on December 27. Extremely dry conditions and high winds fanned the flames of more than 50 wildfires that burned dozens of homes and destroyed around 123,000 acres of woodland and brush, according to the AFP. Fires erupted almost simultaneously in the forest areas of Biobio, Maule and Araucania around 310 to 435 miles south of the capital Santiago. Chile’s Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter suggested that the wildfires may have been set by the Arauco-Malleco Coordination Group (CAM), a group of Mapuche activists that had claimed arson attacks which destroyed a firefighting helicopter and other forestry vehicles on December 30. “The CAM claims the attack against a forestry helicopter, and soon there are more fires,” Hinzpeter said.
Chile’s billionaire president Sebastián Piñera invoked the country’s anti-terrorism laws to punish the alleged arsonists even before an official cause of fire had been determined, Forbes Online said. “Clearly, the intentional and criminal character of provoking simultaneous and deliberate fires makes this conduct of a terrorist nature,” Piñera said.
Millao told Chilean radio that invoking the terror law before the cause of the fires was established amounted to a “declaration of war” against the Mapuche, the BBC reported. Mapuche activists told the BBC that the government is trying to criminalize their movement.
Chile’s controversial anti-terror law dates back to the 1973-1990 reign of dictator Augusto Pinochet. The draconian anti-terror law allows for suspects to be detained for indefinite periods of time without charge and allows the use of testimony from anonymous witnesses in trials, Forbes Online said. Some aspects of the Pinochet-era legislation parallel the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was signed into law by President Obama on New Year’s Eve. The NDAA allows for the indefinite detention without charge or trial of people suspected of terrorism, including U.S. citizens detained on U.S. soil.
Chile’s anti-terrorism law was invoked last year against four Mapuche men—activists involved in the struggle for their land rights who were sentenced to 20 and 25 years in prison in what appeared to be trumped up charges under the anti-terrorism legislation. “What is happening in Chile isn’t justice; it’s a pantomime, because under the anti-terrorism law, there is absolutely no way justice can be done,” said José Venturelli, spokesman for the European Secretariat of the Ethics Commission against Torture. The Mapuche (which means “people of the land” in their language, Mapuzungun) are Chile’s largest indigenous group, numbering nearly one million among Chile’s population of more than 16 million. Their struggle for their land rights has frequently pitted them against not only forestry companies but also large landholders and other private interests.
Under Chile’s anti-terrorist law, prosecutors may keep their evidence secret, anonymous witnesses can testify for the prosecution, prosecutors may apply for powers to tap telephones and intercept correspondence, e-mails and other communications, suspects can be held for up to 10 days before formal charges are brought, and detainees often face long periods of pretrial detention and disproportionately long sentences.
On January 9, Piñera reiterated his support for the Pinochet regime’s law and defended its implantation in the case of the alleged arson attacks throughout the country. “The law will continue to be applied whenever necessary to fight this small group of people who, without respect for life or property, seek to impose their views through terror,” Piñera said.
The blaze that destroyed Mapuche Chief Jose Santos Millao’s home on January 8 occurred while he was attending a funeral for the firefighters, Global Post reported. Millao is a historical Mapuche leader and currently director of the National Indigenous Development Corporation, CONADI. Millao’s home was in Araucania, a region rife with conflicts over indigenous land rights as Mapuche Indians there struggle to reclaim their ancient lands that have been taken over by forestry companies. Hours after Millao’s home was destroyed, hooded men also burned the home of a retired military officer and shot at police officers, the BBC reported.
The seven firefighters died in the wildfires that started on December 27. Extremely dry conditions and high winds fanned the flames of more than 50 wildfires that burned dozens of homes and destroyed around 123,000 acres of woodland and brush, according to the AFP. Fires erupted almost simultaneously in the forest areas of Biobio, Maule and Araucania around 310 to 435 miles south of the capital Santiago. Chile’s Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter suggested that the wildfires may have been set by the Arauco-Malleco Coordination Group (CAM), a group of Mapuche activists that had claimed arson attacks which destroyed a firefighting helicopter and other forestry vehicles on December 30. “The CAM claims the attack against a forestry helicopter, and soon there are more fires,” Hinzpeter said.
Chile’s billionaire president Sebastián Piñera invoked the country’s anti-terrorism laws to punish the alleged arsonists even before an official cause of fire had been determined, Forbes Online said. “Clearly, the intentional and criminal character of provoking simultaneous and deliberate fires makes this conduct of a terrorist nature,” Piñera said.
Millao told Chilean radio that invoking the terror law before the cause of the fires was established amounted to a “declaration of war” against the Mapuche, the BBC reported. Mapuche activists told the BBC that the government is trying to criminalize their movement.
Chile’s controversial anti-terror law dates back to the 1973-1990 reign of dictator Augusto Pinochet. The draconian anti-terror law allows for suspects to be detained for indefinite periods of time without charge and allows the use of testimony from anonymous witnesses in trials, Forbes Online said. Some aspects of the Pinochet-era legislation parallel the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was signed into law by President Obama on New Year’s Eve. The NDAA allows for the indefinite detention without charge or trial of people suspected of terrorism, including U.S. citizens detained on U.S. soil.
Chile’s anti-terrorism law was invoked last year against four Mapuche men—activists involved in the struggle for their land rights who were sentenced to 20 and 25 years in prison in what appeared to be trumped up charges under the anti-terrorism legislation. “What is happening in Chile isn’t justice; it’s a pantomime, because under the anti-terrorism law, there is absolutely no way justice can be done,” said José Venturelli, spokesman for the European Secretariat of the Ethics Commission against Torture. The Mapuche (which means “people of the land” in their language, Mapuzungun) are Chile’s largest indigenous group, numbering nearly one million among Chile’s population of more than 16 million. Their struggle for their land rights has frequently pitted them against not only forestry companies but also large landholders and other private interests.
Under Chile’s anti-terrorist law, prosecutors may keep their evidence secret, anonymous witnesses can testify for the prosecution, prosecutors may apply for powers to tap telephones and intercept correspondence, e-mails and other communications, suspects can be held for up to 10 days before formal charges are brought, and detainees often face long periods of pretrial detention and disproportionately long sentences.
On January 9, Piñera reiterated his support for the Pinochet regime’s law and defended its implantation in the case of the alleged arson attacks throughout the country. “The law will continue to be applied whenever necessary to fight this small group of people who, without respect for life or property, seek to impose their views through terror,” Piñera said.
Prison Industry Staffed Call Centers
When you call a company or government agency for help, there's a good chance the person on the other end of the line is a prison inmate.
The federal government calls it "the best-kept secret in outsourcing" — providing inmates to staff call centers and other services in both the private and public sectors.
The U.S. government, through a 75-year-old program called Federal Prison Industries, makes about $750 million a year providing prison labor, federal records show. The great majority of those contracts are with other federal agencies for services as diverse as laundry, construction, data conversion and manufacture of emergency equipment.
But the program also markets itself to businesses under a different name, Unicor, providing commercial market and product-related services. Unicor made about $10 million from "other agencies and customers" in the first six months of fiscal year 2011 (the most recent period for which official figures are available), according to an msnbc.com analysis of its sales records.
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The Justice Department and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons don't break down which companies they do business with. But Unicor said inmates provide private call center service, including data review and sales lead generation, for "some of the top companies in America" under a federal mandate to help companies repatriate jobs they have outsourced overseas.
In a fact sheet, Unicor asserts that prisoners in the program are less likely to re-offend and are better trained for full-time work upon release. All revenue goes back into the program, which "operates at no cost to the taxpayer," it says.
The idea has filtered down to some of the states, among them Georgia, Arizona and New York.
When New York residents call the Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, they might get an inmate at Greene Correctional Institution in Coxsackie, near Albany, or at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women near White Plains, on the border with Connecticut.
"Obviously, it saves taxpayer dollars," Brian Fischer, commissioner of the state Corrections and Community Supervision Department, told NBC station WNYT of Albany. "Number two, it provides what we call a transferable skill."
Besides saving the state money, said Elizabeth Glazer, the state's deputy secretary for public safety, the program is "an investment in our state's overall safety."
"When we help offenders build the workforce skills necessary to find viable employment after incarceration, we lessen the chances they will reoffend and end up back in the state's prison system," she said.
The corrections department acknowledged that callers aren't told they're talking to a state prisoner. But they stressed that callers are protected — no personal information is displayed to the prisoners, who don't have access to computers, officials said.
In the private sector, states usually partner with business-to-business firms to run the services — the companies provide the equipment and facilities, and the state provides the labor. One such firm is Televerde, a Phoenix company that partners with the Arizona prison system to provide marketing services for major companies that have included Hitachi and Microsoft.
In a marketing paper, Microsoft says companies like Televerde "can reduce the burden on corporate marketing and local marketing teams can have more meaningful interactions with their customers." (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC News.)
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For inmates, the appeal isn't the pay, which can be as low as 50 cents an hour. It's the training and the opportunity: "A lot of times, we need to feel like we are appreciated, and it builds self-esteem," John Howard of Brooklyn, N.Y., an inmate at Greene, told WNYT.
"It allows me the opportunity to speak to different people of different nationalities, regardless of what ethnicity, and it makes me feel like 'Wow, I can do better,'" he said.
Read the original story at WNYT.com
But Danny Donohue president of the New York Civil Service Employees Association, criticized the program for prioritizing marketable skills for prisoners over providing jobs to "law-abiding citizens."
It's "a bad idea generally and even worse considering the current economy," Donohue said.
NOTE: Major companies, including airlines, hotel and car reservations have used prison labor for decades. Do you feel comfortable giving your credit card information and potential travel details to these centers?
The Prison Industry is bigger than you think, do some research. It is the largest growing industry in the US, some states are required to buy goods from prison industry at greater prices if item is available. Do you see a potential problem with a financial incentive to have prison labor? What does that do do the private labor sector? Most prisons have websites that offer their goods produced, so you can shop online! How long before they offer labor services? They already do. Check it out.
The federal government calls it "the best-kept secret in outsourcing" — providing inmates to staff call centers and other services in both the private and public sectors.
The U.S. government, through a 75-year-old program called Federal Prison Industries, makes about $750 million a year providing prison labor, federal records show. The great majority of those contracts are with other federal agencies for services as diverse as laundry, construction, data conversion and manufacture of emergency equipment.
But the program also markets itself to businesses under a different name, Unicor, providing commercial market and product-related services. Unicor made about $10 million from "other agencies and customers" in the first six months of fiscal year 2011 (the most recent period for which official figures are available), according to an msnbc.com analysis of its sales records.
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The Justice Department and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons don't break down which companies they do business with. But Unicor said inmates provide private call center service, including data review and sales lead generation, for "some of the top companies in America" under a federal mandate to help companies repatriate jobs they have outsourced overseas.
In a fact sheet, Unicor asserts that prisoners in the program are less likely to re-offend and are better trained for full-time work upon release. All revenue goes back into the program, which "operates at no cost to the taxpayer," it says.
The idea has filtered down to some of the states, among them Georgia, Arizona and New York.
When New York residents call the Department of Motor Vehicles, for example, they might get an inmate at Greene Correctional Institution in Coxsackie, near Albany, or at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women near White Plains, on the border with Connecticut.
"Obviously, it saves taxpayer dollars," Brian Fischer, commissioner of the state Corrections and Community Supervision Department, told NBC station WNYT of Albany. "Number two, it provides what we call a transferable skill."
Besides saving the state money, said Elizabeth Glazer, the state's deputy secretary for public safety, the program is "an investment in our state's overall safety."
"When we help offenders build the workforce skills necessary to find viable employment after incarceration, we lessen the chances they will reoffend and end up back in the state's prison system," she said.
The corrections department acknowledged that callers aren't told they're talking to a state prisoner. But they stressed that callers are protected — no personal information is displayed to the prisoners, who don't have access to computers, officials said.
In the private sector, states usually partner with business-to-business firms to run the services — the companies provide the equipment and facilities, and the state provides the labor. One such firm is Televerde, a Phoenix company that partners with the Arizona prison system to provide marketing services for major companies that have included Hitachi and Microsoft.
In a marketing paper, Microsoft says companies like Televerde "can reduce the burden on corporate marketing and local marketing teams can have more meaningful interactions with their customers." (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC News.)
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For inmates, the appeal isn't the pay, which can be as low as 50 cents an hour. It's the training and the opportunity: "A lot of times, we need to feel like we are appreciated, and it builds self-esteem," John Howard of Brooklyn, N.Y., an inmate at Greene, told WNYT.
"It allows me the opportunity to speak to different people of different nationalities, regardless of what ethnicity, and it makes me feel like 'Wow, I can do better,'" he said.
Read the original story at WNYT.com
But Danny Donohue president of the New York Civil Service Employees Association, criticized the program for prioritizing marketable skills for prisoners over providing jobs to "law-abiding citizens."
It's "a bad idea generally and even worse considering the current economy," Donohue said.
NOTE: Major companies, including airlines, hotel and car reservations have used prison labor for decades. Do you feel comfortable giving your credit card information and potential travel details to these centers?
The Prison Industry is bigger than you think, do some research. It is the largest growing industry in the US, some states are required to buy goods from prison industry at greater prices if item is available. Do you see a potential problem with a financial incentive to have prison labor? What does that do do the private labor sector? Most prisons have websites that offer their goods produced, so you can shop online! How long before they offer labor services? They already do. Check it out.
Confiscated Bush Meat Poses Health Threat In US
Scientists have documented potentially dangerous viruses entering the US through illegally imported wildlife products.
Testing of meats confiscated at American airports has revealed the presence of several pathogens that could pose a risk to human health.
Retroviruses and herpesviruses were identified, some of them isolated from remains of endangered monkey species.
The research study is reported in the journal PLoS One.
Its authors say better surveillance measures are needed to ensure this trade does not result in the emergence of new disease outbreaks in humans.
"Although the findings to date are from a small pilot study, they remind us of the potential public health risk posed by illegal importation of wildlife products - a risk we hope to better characterize through expanded surveillance at ports of entry around the country," said Dr Kristine Smith, from EcoHealth Alliance, who led the investigation team.
Scientists estimate that some 75% of emerging infectious diseases affecting people have come from contact with wildlife.
Some of this is the result of animals biting humans, but the handling and consumption of infected meats is also considered a significant route of transmission.
Classic examples of infections that have jumped across the species include HIV/Aids, which is thought to have originated in primates, and Sars, an infection that caused global concern in 2003.
Follow-up work traced its beginnings to Chinese restaurant workers butchering the cat-like Asian palm civet.
The PLoS One study is a first attempt to screen for potentially hazardous pathogens in confiscated meat products entering the US.
The scientists examined animal remains passing through five international airports, including John F Kennedy in New York - one of the busiest hubs in the world.
The smuggled meats - some found in postal packages, some discovered inside suitcases - were tested first to make a species identification.
This showed up several non-human primates, included baboon and chimpanzee, but also rodents.
The raw, smoked and dried meats were then tested for a number of viruses known to be capable of infecting humans.
Among the pathogens identified were a zoonotic retrovirus, simian foamy viruses, and several nonhuman primate herpesviruses.
No-one really knows the scale of the illegal trade in wildlife meat, or bushmeat as it is often called, but a 2010 study estimated that five tonnes of the material per week was being smuggled in personal baggage through Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France.
And in addition to the meat products, there is a big trade in live wild animals. Much of this is perfectly legal and supplies the pet industry. Nonetheless, these animals also require improved pathogen surveillance, say the researchers.
"Exotic wildlife pets and bushmeat are Trojan horses that threaten humankind at sites where they are collected in the developing world as well as the US. Our study underscores the importance of surveillance at ports, but we must also encourage efforts to reduce demand for products that drive the wildlife trade," said Ian Lipkin of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
One key aspect of concern highlighted by the team was the identification in the samples of some endangered species, including the Guinea baboon and the sooty mangabey, an Old World monkey.
Marcus Rowcliffe, from the Institute of Zoology in London, UK, and who was not connected with the research, commented: "The extent to which an intercontinental luxury meat market may be developing is of major concern, because if that is happening it could have very worrying impacts on wild populations.
Testing of meats confiscated at American airports has revealed the presence of several pathogens that could pose a risk to human health.
Retroviruses and herpesviruses were identified, some of them isolated from remains of endangered monkey species.
The research study is reported in the journal PLoS One.
Its authors say better surveillance measures are needed to ensure this trade does not result in the emergence of new disease outbreaks in humans.
"Although the findings to date are from a small pilot study, they remind us of the potential public health risk posed by illegal importation of wildlife products - a risk we hope to better characterize through expanded surveillance at ports of entry around the country," said Dr Kristine Smith, from EcoHealth Alliance, who led the investigation team.
Scientists estimate that some 75% of emerging infectious diseases affecting people have come from contact with wildlife.
Some of this is the result of animals biting humans, but the handling and consumption of infected meats is also considered a significant route of transmission.
Classic examples of infections that have jumped across the species include HIV/Aids, which is thought to have originated in primates, and Sars, an infection that caused global concern in 2003.
Follow-up work traced its beginnings to Chinese restaurant workers butchering the cat-like Asian palm civet.
The PLoS One study is a first attempt to screen for potentially hazardous pathogens in confiscated meat products entering the US.
The scientists examined animal remains passing through five international airports, including John F Kennedy in New York - one of the busiest hubs in the world.
The smuggled meats - some found in postal packages, some discovered inside suitcases - were tested first to make a species identification.
This showed up several non-human primates, included baboon and chimpanzee, but also rodents.
The raw, smoked and dried meats were then tested for a number of viruses known to be capable of infecting humans.
Among the pathogens identified were a zoonotic retrovirus, simian foamy viruses, and several nonhuman primate herpesviruses.
No-one really knows the scale of the illegal trade in wildlife meat, or bushmeat as it is often called, but a 2010 study estimated that five tonnes of the material per week was being smuggled in personal baggage through Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, France.
And in addition to the meat products, there is a big trade in live wild animals. Much of this is perfectly legal and supplies the pet industry. Nonetheless, these animals also require improved pathogen surveillance, say the researchers.
"Exotic wildlife pets and bushmeat are Trojan horses that threaten humankind at sites where they are collected in the developing world as well as the US. Our study underscores the importance of surveillance at ports, but we must also encourage efforts to reduce demand for products that drive the wildlife trade," said Ian Lipkin of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
One key aspect of concern highlighted by the team was the identification in the samples of some endangered species, including the Guinea baboon and the sooty mangabey, an Old World monkey.
Marcus Rowcliffe, from the Institute of Zoology in London, UK, and who was not connected with the research, commented: "The extent to which an intercontinental luxury meat market may be developing is of major concern, because if that is happening it could have very worrying impacts on wild populations.
Near Riot At California Delphia Meeting~ Coming To Your Neighborhood
ast night about 50 citizen activists turned a ONE BAY AREA public Delphi meeting inSanta Rosa,CA upside down.
WE REFUSED TO BE GOOD GERMANS!
What happened? We spoke out:
video’d,
entered the meeting without signing in,
refused to be railroaded,
continually corrected the government/consultant lies and called them out,
did not participate in the phony ‘voting’,
did not give our names to the establishment press,
brought in cameras and signs,
flyered warning the organizers not to violate the open meeting laws,
and did not get arrested although police were called
We exercised our rights as Americans!
Who are we?
A coalition of independent citizens from all over the SF Bay Area, Democrats, Property Rights Advocates, Tea Party members, Republicans, Libertarians, non-affiliated Independents—brave Americans standing together to resist tyranny.
What is ONE BAY AREA?
A regional plan to direct federal and state transportation dollars over the next 25 years to specific cities that have agreed to ONLY approve smart growth and ONLY approve it in limited pre-designated areas of just a few towns in the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Using ridiculously inflated population projections, ONE BAY AREA states that future housing must designed in one of their ‘approved’ smart growth models and developed in a Priority Development Area.
What is that?
A Priority Development Area (PDA) is a so-called transportation corridor—usually a busy street with a bus line or near a proposed train station. This PDA can be as small as a half-block or as large as a square mile. All of the projected new population for the next 25 years will be accommodated by housing within this designated area.
No other housing developments will be approved for the next 25 years—or the city will not get their piece of the transportation funding.
We’re talking about 200 Billion dollars of federal and state transportation dollars for the SF Bay Area over the 25 year term.
Do you see what this will do to property values outside of the specific PDA’s? It will destroy them. Do you see what this does to individual cities? It destroys their sovereignty.
ONE BAY AREA is a regional plan that breaks down boundaries and pushes UN Agenda 21.
Northern California is one of 11 Mega Regions in the US.
It includes 31 counties,
48,000 square miles,
15 million people, and
part of TWO STATES–California and NEVADA.
Do you see how this happens?
We thought we had 50 states, but now we have ELEVEN MEGA REGIONS. Using transportation dollars, grants, legislation (SB 375 & AB 32 in California), and pressure, your government is destroying your ability to be self-determining.
www.DemocratsAgainstUNAgenda21.com will have the video on this site
and YouTube later today or tomorrow. Watch it and USE IT. We
guarantee you that you’ll have a chance real soon.
Rosa Koire, ASA
Executive Director
Post Sustainability Institute
www.PostSustainabilityInstitute.org
www.DemocratsAgainstUNAgenda21.com
www.SantaRosaNeighborhoodCoalition.com
WE REFUSED TO BE GOOD GERMANS!
What happened? We spoke out:
video’d,
entered the meeting without signing in,
refused to be railroaded,
continually corrected the government/consultant lies and called them out,
did not participate in the phony ‘voting’,
did not give our names to the establishment press,
brought in cameras and signs,
flyered warning the organizers not to violate the open meeting laws,
and did not get arrested although police were called
We exercised our rights as Americans!
Who are we?
A coalition of independent citizens from all over the SF Bay Area, Democrats, Property Rights Advocates, Tea Party members, Republicans, Libertarians, non-affiliated Independents—brave Americans standing together to resist tyranny.
What is ONE BAY AREA?
A regional plan to direct federal and state transportation dollars over the next 25 years to specific cities that have agreed to ONLY approve smart growth and ONLY approve it in limited pre-designated areas of just a few towns in the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Using ridiculously inflated population projections, ONE BAY AREA states that future housing must designed in one of their ‘approved’ smart growth models and developed in a Priority Development Area.
What is that?
A Priority Development Area (PDA) is a so-called transportation corridor—usually a busy street with a bus line or near a proposed train station. This PDA can be as small as a half-block or as large as a square mile. All of the projected new population for the next 25 years will be accommodated by housing within this designated area.
No other housing developments will be approved for the next 25 years—or the city will not get their piece of the transportation funding.
We’re talking about 200 Billion dollars of federal and state transportation dollars for the SF Bay Area over the 25 year term.
Do you see what this will do to property values outside of the specific PDA’s? It will destroy them. Do you see what this does to individual cities? It destroys their sovereignty.
ONE BAY AREA is a regional plan that breaks down boundaries and pushes UN Agenda 21.
Northern California is one of 11 Mega Regions in the US.
It includes 31 counties,
48,000 square miles,
15 million people, and
part of TWO STATES–California and NEVADA.
Do you see how this happens?
We thought we had 50 states, but now we have ELEVEN MEGA REGIONS. Using transportation dollars, grants, legislation (SB 375 & AB 32 in California), and pressure, your government is destroying your ability to be self-determining.
www.DemocratsAgainstUNAgenda21.com will have the video on this site
and YouTube later today or tomorrow. Watch it and USE IT. We
guarantee you that you’ll have a chance real soon.
Rosa Koire, ASA
Executive Director
Post Sustainability Institute
www.PostSustainabilityInstitute.org
www.DemocratsAgainstUNAgenda21.com
www.SantaRosaNeighborhoodCoalition.com
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