Help
Sign In
peace
April 2009 
This might not make you my friend...but I'll still love you.
Posted on Oct 1st, 2008
by 
akai
akai
The (Potential of) the United States Becoming a 3rd World Country
& China The New World Leader (by aki)
Former President George Bush was elected for 2 straight terms. Many will argue that the election was fixed, unjust, rigged, but none of those things matter, because they allowed for him to be president anyway.
Before him was President Clinton who although was in the media for many personal and sensational things, manage to get the US debt to $0. There was an increase in jobs and morale was high. Since so many were doing well financially, an unprecedented amount of homes began to be purchased and the rates dropped making them even more affordable. I myself remember working for so many companies that I often forgot to cash checks. It wasn't bliss, but the country wasn't broke or dying/killing by the thousands in war.
Now for those who believe in signs, good-luck, bad luck any sign - the first really bad sign of things to come after Bush's election was 9/11. The tragedy of 9/11 took place shortly after Bush took office. It was an event we shall never forget. Being on a consulting assignment only 4-5 blocks away from the Towers, I was expected to be in the area that day and would have been, but the evening before I had an incredible urge to leave NYC and return to Virginia. Trying to ignore the feeling I changed clothes and went to sleep. At 12 midnight I awoke in a cold sweat with a stomachache. I got dressed and was on the last train out of Mount Vernon NY heading to Manhattan. By 3AM on 9/11 I was on the last Amtrak train leaving NYC going to Virginia.
Although that sign made sense to me hours later when friends called me in a panic thinking I was downtown, I didn't realize just how bad things would become for the US. Within a short amount of time, prejudice against Muslims and those from the Middle East was seemingly acceptable. People began to live in fear; everyday we were given the level of threat to our country. You could not fly on a one-way ticket without being searched (believe me, I flew over 100 times that year, I know!). It was the beginning of something not more, but less.
War was next. Somehow our search for the man who had done this to our beloved country and all of the innocent people - Osama Bin Laden (of Afghanistan) - turned into an excuse to go after Saddam Hussein (leading to his death) and engaging in a war with Afghanistan - oops, no I mean Iraq. Osama Bin Laden and his country seemed to have been forgotten by the US president and instead this became an opportunity to go after what appeared to be his father's enemies. Seeing how the entire country and the world is designed for the few instead of the masses, this appeared to be fine with the US citizens and I watched the Dixie Chicks be ridiculed and insulted because they openly disagreed with the President and the war. I openly disagreed also, but was not popular enough for it to matter, nor wealthy enough, nor the right complexion - hey, its true.
So, we slowly but surely began to see many other natural and man-made devastation. For those dealing with signs, they still weren't good. Katrina showed up and so did a few other major storms, but in the midst of war, natural disaster, and mourning, something else was happening. Bush had long since given tax and other incentives to corporations if they gave jobs to people offshore, which became the term for non-American. This was somewhat ironic seeing how he too was American and happened to be the President of the United States. Yet, many don't understand that the term President is used to be over a company. Bush ran the US as if he were over the corporation and that corporation was limited to those in office, his family (since his father's enemies were taken care of and the Bushes' made a ton of money during the oil crisis) - like a corporation as in the top Execs see all the money while the lower departments see their jobs go off-shore.
So he did things that would bring in revenue, but not nearly as much as it would take away revenue from the people. He also went after his father's enemies instead of the country's - oh, already mentioned that. In doing this, many factories closed in the US and the products the country use to produce were now being made in China. While most of its technical/computer & customer service was being handled in India. A company called Wal-Mart had lost its leader - the legendary Sam Walton. A man who knew the importance of not taking over, but joining in and the new leader seemed to want to "take over the world." Some stores became as big as a football fields and sold everything from apples to guns, from detergent to zippers - you name it. When they moved in the smaller businesses that sold these items were forced to shut down. Although they advertised about how much money they saved Americans and how many jobs they bought into the area, all of their items or at least over 90% were made in China. So, the few jobs they gave to in-store employees and the corporate office(s) didn't compare to all of the companies that use to make these items in the US or to those who use to employ people and not make them work just under the amount of hours for benefits - hmm.
Although Wal-Mart had developed a bad reputation in regard to how it treated its staff and didn't contribute to any production in the us, but did - as most us companies - contribute to the bad working conditions in China, Americans continued to shop there. While the oil became a crisis within itself, people began to pay less and less attention to how many jobs were being lost daily. This is not a book, so I will only show examples of a few companies: Delta closing its on-campus call center Weber State University - 162 students loose their jobs. Delta closed a 500-employee call center in Miramar, Fla., and a 150-worker center in Montgomery, Ala. –- moves company officials said would save up to $2.7 million a year. Some work from those call centers will shift to other Delta facilities in the United States, but a Delta memo indicates some positions could be moved offshore -- possibly to India, Lithuania and Jamaica - take my word for it, they have moved to India and Jamaica, I've called several times and only got one or the other (especially after 5 and on weekends). Delta also closed its reservation call center in Huntsville in May (2008), leaving the 170 employees with the option of transferring or accepting a severance package. Delta closed its call center on Northern Kentucky University's campus effective immediately, leaving its 127 part-time employees out of work. The 127 former employees of the NKU campus call center will get two weeks' severance pay, Kurczewski said. The cuts are not part of the 13,000 system wide job cuts that Delta announced previously, she said. The cuts also do not impact the airline's major call center downtown, which employs more than 900 people. Delta Air Lines plans to close its Boston reservations call center, a move that will eliminate about 353 positions.
About 50 jobs returned for the travel season? OK - its just too much even for one company, you can actually research this yourself. So ultimately...162+500+150+170+127+353++++ =? A lot of people who probably won't be able to pay those mortgages they got when Clinton was in office? All along while Americans are being let go because as the president put it - they are giving jobs to other countries that Americans don't want to do - I actually saw him say that, I watched that speech - everything is also still being made in...China. Not only everything in America, but in many other countries too. But this is good because China is known for their high standards and working conditions?...right?
Toys "R" Us Recalls Elite Operations Toys Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
May 2007
Name of Product: Elite Operations Toys
Units: About 16,000
Importer/Retailer: Toys “R” Us Inc., of Wayne, N.J.
Manufacturer: Toy World Group Ltd/Chun Tat Toys Factory Ltd, of Guangdong, China
Hazard: Surface coatings on the toys contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard
August 2007
Toys "R" Us has recalled 27,000 crayon and paint sets made in China because the packaging of the wooden box contains lead, as does some of the watercolor paint within, company and government officials said Thursday.
August 2007
Fisher-Price Recalls Licensed Character Toys Due To Lead Poisoning Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and other children's toys
Units: About 967,000
Importer: Fisher-Price Inc., of East Aurora, N.Y.
Hazard: Surface paints on the toys could contain excessive levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: The recalled involves various figures and toys that were manufactured between April 19, 2007 and July 6, 2007 and were sold alone or as part of sets. The model names and product numbers for the recalled toys, which are all marked with "Fisher-Price," are listed below. The toys may have a date code between 109-7LF and 187-7LF marked on the product or packaging.
Sold at: Retail stores nationwide from May 2007 through August 2007 for between $5 and $40.
Manufactured in: China
October 2007
Toys R Us recalled about 16,000 Chinese-made Elite Operations toys because of lead contamination, the Consumer Product Safety Commission
This is the second recall of lead-tainted children's products for Toys R Us this month. On Oct. 4, the company recalled about 15,000 Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Sets because surface paints on the back of the decorating kits' mirrors contained high levels of lead.
The commission also announced recalls of 380,000 Galaxy Warriors figurines and 1,500 Simply Fun Ribbit board games, both for lead-contaminated surface paints.
The figurines were manufactured in China and distributed by Henry Gordy International. The board games were manufactured in China and imported and distributed by SimplyFun.
June 25, 2008
Major Crib Recall: 320-Thousand Jardine Cribs Sold at Babies R Us Recalled for Entrapment & Strangulation
Jardine Enterprises has worked with the CPSC to recall 320,000 cribs sold at various stores.
The wooden slats in the cribs can break. This creates a gap that causes a serious strangulation and entrapment hazard for infants. So far there have been at least 42 reported occurrences of the slats and spindles breaking in these recalled cribs. Several children have already been trapped in the space created by the broken piece of wood, although - thankfully - none suffered from serious injuries other than bruises and abrasions.
These cribs were made in China and Vietnam and sold at various retail locations throughout the United States and other countries. If you have any of the cribs listed below, stop using them immediately and contact Jardine’s hotline to receive full credit toward the purchase of a new crib: 1-800-646-4106.
September 17, 2008
CPSC also reiterates bassinet recall
-- Kids Today, 9/17/2008 12:03:00 PM
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled about 600,000 Simplicity drop-side cribs.
This comes on the heels of a recall of about 900,000 Simplicity co-sleeper bassinets in late August, after a second infant was strangled to death in the bars. The CPSC last week announced that the bassinet recall does include the Graco logo and “Winnie the Pooh” motif licensed by Disney Consumer Products.
The Simplicity drop-side crib’s hardware is sized incorrectly, enabling the drop side to come off the tracks, creating a gap, which can lead to infant entrapment and suffocation. While nine incidents have been reported, there have been no injuries.
The cribs, manufactured in China, were sold in the following stores nationwide from January 2005 through August 2008 for $150-300: Babies “R” Us, Target, Wal-Mart, Burlington Coat Factory/Baby Depot, Nebraska Furniture Mart, AAFES, ShopKo, Meijer Distribution, and K’s Merchandise, which is now out of business.
-------------OK ------------
Get the point yet? This could go on and on and on - but I can't so, let's make the point, any country that is more concerned with its money than it's children...hmm. I bet you're wondering what you may have in your home or on your body right now, made in china...is it lead proof?
Some Dental Work May Contain Lead, Tests Show If you're getting dental implant work done, you may want to ask if they outsource to other countries. A KPHO investigation bought 13 crowns from labs in China, Thailand and the US. Ten of them came back positive for lead, with levels from 110 parts per million to 240 parts per million.
PEOPLE IF YOU DON'T STAND FOR SOMETHING YOU'LL FALL FOR ANYTHING! So, now that jobs were being outsourced there's more revenue right? Hmm that would be impossible - only companies could see more revenue but someone must have forgotten - People without incomes cannot travel on planes. They cannot buy your merchandise, and they surely cannot pay their mortgages. But, at least the US now had excellent customer service and quality merchandise being made for them...
So while Americans were faced with gas prices so high, many with jobs could barely afford to go to them. They continued to increase the wealth of China and many other countries while decreasing their own factories, call centers, computer centers, etc., etc. It had finally reached a point where even their medical records were outsourced. Although they'd supposedly created "homeland security" in reality several countries were the keepers of their full names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, medical records - everything. It wouldn't be far fetched for another community to be able to come over and completely replace one in the US - however, this was not logical since all of the US jobs seemed to be offshore - not in Hawaii - why would they bother to come to the US?
There were many other things transpiring that would affect their economy, but since they were a nation that believed they would hear about it on the news if it were true or important, they didn't research things for themselves. Another random thing this writer noticed was someplace as simple as Hawaii. Honolulu, the high priced city to live in - yet, paying its employees barely enough to live on? When a city has a high cost of living, they tend to also have high salaries, but while rentals are similar to NYC & LA $900+ for a studio, over $1,000 for a one bedroom. A legal secretary in NYC or LA can see salaries from $55k-$75k while one in Honolulu is lucky if she sees $30k-40k.
No one wonders why Paradise is filled with homeless people and the natives are poor? Well, how do you do, guess that makes this writer someone. I began to investigate this phenomenon and learned that most of Hawaii is owned by Japan - oops, I mean the Japanese. But since they tend to do their banking with Japan, I guess the money goes there instead of contributing to American's bottom-line. Instead of going back into the Island(s) and its people, it's probably ...Yen?
So with even just these few items, war, outsourcing, non-existent manufacturing (no export), and amazing amounts of the US being owned by foreign countries...
March 18, 1988
...So far, the brokers say, Mr. Kawamoto has bought 113 single-family houses...
No one knows the full extent of the Japanese purchases, but a local real-estate research company estimates that last year Japanese nationals bought at least 27 percent of the houses sold in the Kahala area and 40 percent of the condominium apartments sold in the Waikiki Beach area.
The buying spree has created a new class of homeless people, the ''Kahala refugees.'' They are displaced families who, after accepting cash offers for their houses that they considered too good to refuse, have had scurry to find new dwellings.
Japanese companies began to invest heavily in Hawaiian real estate during the late 1970's, when they bought several major resort hotels along Waikiki Beach.
What had been an investment trickle became a torrent in 1986 after the United States and several major trading partners had agreed to allow the dollar to decline relative to other currencies, including the yen.
Initially, real estate specialists say, Japanese investors concentrated on buying the more prestigious hotels and resorts in the islands. Now, with a handful of exceptions, they own virtually all the major Waikiki Beach-front hotels as well as most major resorts on other islands in the state.
Last month, for a reported $315 million, Japan's Seibu Railway bought the 310-room Westin Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the island of Hawaii, a resort built in 1965 by Laurence S. Rockefeller and subsequently owned by United Airlines that has long been considered by many the most prestigious hotel facility in the state.
... In an interview, Gov. John Waihee said that for the most part, he thought that huge Japanese investment had been good for Hawaii because it brought in capital. However, he said, there was growing concern over speculation because it threatened to price more Hawaiians out of the housing market.
Already, Mr. Waihee said, a shortage of affordable housing was one of the state's most difficult problems...
June 10, 2008
Spurred by the weak dollar and the strong euro, European travelers to the U.S. have been lapping up everything from Gap boxers to iPhones to luxury condos in Palm Beach, Fla. Now a top Italian real estate investor has nabbed one of the crowns of New York City property, a sale that echoes the Japanese purchase of Rockefeller Center in 1989. Valter Mainetti has confirmed to TIME that his company, the Sorgente Group, has acquired a majority share in Manhattan's historic Flatiron Building.
July 9, 2008
The government of Abu Dhabi bought a 90 percent stake in the Chrysler Building on Tuesday for $800 million from German real estate investors and Tishman Speyer.
But while it might seem that the buyer, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, got a controlling interest in the Art Deco tower, a landmark, for that kind of money that was not the case.
Despite having only a 10 percent holding, Tishman Speyer Properties will continue to control the property and manage it, much as it has since 1997, because it controls the land beneath the 77-story tower, with its trademark stainless steel crown, gargoyles and elevator cabs that evoke the chrome-laden autos of the 1930s.
------OK------
So while American's watched reality TV shows, pay close attention to which star has an eating disorder, what celebs are wearing on the red carpet and of course some serious tuff too - the rest of the world's currency was increasing in value while theirs decreased.
The president's solution was to print up $700 Billion to give to companies to "save" the markets? Which makes you wonder - wasn't their money like monopoly money by then?
July 12, 2008
...Fannie and Freddie aren’t just “too-big-to-fail” US financial institutions. Not anymore. They are now global financial institutions. They have been central to the process that has turned US mortgages into securities held by the world’s central banks. Official — meaning central bank — holdings of Agencies have soared over the past two years. The US “TIC” and survey data suggests that central banks now have at least $925 billion in “Agency debt.” That is almost certainly an understatement: the monthly TIC data tends to understate official purchases, leading to large revisions when the more accurate survey data is released in June. Total official holdings are likely above a trillion — or about 20% of the $5 trillion or so in Agency debt outstanding.
....Consider the following:
China, according to the US data, has $422 billion of long-term Agency bonds. That is roughly 10% of China’s GDP. It is also almost certainly understates China’s holdings. Based on the pattern of revisions in past surveys and the scale of China’s foreign asset growth, I would guess that China now holds between $500 and $600b of Agencies — or about 10% of the outstanding stock.
Russia, according to the US data, holds $90 billion of long-term Agencies. Russia also has a large portfolio of short-term Agency bonds (with a maturity of less than a year). Based on past survey data, I would guess that almost all of Russia’s holdings of “other short-term negotiable securities, negotiable CDs and other custodial securities” are short-term Agencies. That brings Russia’s total holdings of Agencies up to $156 billion — or roughly 10% of Russia’s GDP (a bit more actually).
Japan, according to the US data holds $251 billion of Agencies — but not all of these are held by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. Japan started shifting from Treasuries to Agencies in late 2005 or early 2006 (see the technical notes below, and note that official holdings start to grow faster than the sum of Chinese, Russian and Asian NIC holdings around this time). Japan still has far more (relative) exposure to the Treasury market than the Agency market. But Japan’s government also likely has around $150 billion of Agencies, a sum equal to about 3% of Japan’s GDP.
China’s exposure to Blackstone (bought for $3 billion, now worth less) and Morgan Stanley (bought at $5 billion, now worth less) pales relative to its exposure to the Agency market. China undoubtedly would view Roubini’s plan to force holders of Agency bonds to accept a haircut in return for a government guarantee as a policy directed at China. Sure, China would get a mark-to-market windfall if its Agencies became Treasuries (i.e. backed by the full faith and credit of the United States), but SAFE would argue that it plans to hold its Agencies to maturity in any case, so it won’t get more than the bond’s face value. I would certainly expect that Vice Premier Wang is on the phone to Paulson this weekend, politely asking how exactly the US plans to backstop the Agencies.
-----OK-----
It was only a matter of time before America became a 3rd world country and in doing so, - no longer being able to afford gas, no longer producing anything, just no longer #1. And at the same time, insured that China would become the new world leader.
---China is expected to reverse the findings of lead paint, after all, its cheaper - who really cares about those Americans and their children - heck they don't. They don't care about the Chinese workers who are slaving away in poor conditions making barely anything. They pay $150 for sneakers that cost $5 to make. They don’t' even realize the price only goes up because their country taxes them - import taxes still don't make them $100. And they don't even fight to make these things in their country?
The US, according to Bush's plan, had the ability to come up with $700 billion dollars for it's financial instuitions, there are less than 700 billion people in the world - does that mean they could have ended worldwide poverty? Read this piece, all of our countries have always had enough money to end poverty - we just haven't made them.
If only the US president had the foresight to make all of the US citizens millionaires, thereby immediately earning interest on the deposits of their checks. Earning years of interest off of the children's checks (not able to cash until age 21). Allowing them to pay off debts, mortgages, car notes, student loans, credit cards, etc..Enabling them to travel and save the airline industries. Entrepreneurs could afford to hire employees, build new industry and maybe actually manufacture something. Crime would most likely decrease to an almost stop. The generations of Americans that would have continued to be wealthy after this one would have secured their country for many years to come. Even if some blew all of their money, it would still be someplace in their economy. Maybe, just maybe if their government were actually by the people and for the people, they would do that which was best for all people.
But this was a country that said it was democratic while all along putting presidents in office who didn't when the popular vote - meaning he wasn't the person all of the American's voted for - but since he won enough "electoral votes" he was put in office. They tried to force upon other countries a democracy that isn't even real.
All paths lead someplace, are we heading down a path that we want to see through to the end?
The title of this piece is meant to make you realize what could be...if we don't change. Wow, I didn't even mention the damage we're doing to the environment! ...most people won't read all of this - because it will be too long - I wonder when it will be too late - which one of us do you think the government would prefer? Stand for something...or look around on the ground to see what you've fallen into.
we are one
aki
aki (c)2008 rich by choice productions/jaki rich.
Please click on blue text (especially dates) for actual online reference/url. Credit for specific information is given to sites linked to. - oops the links didn't stay! OK, copy and paste and google... ETC., ETC., - Let's save the world already.
& China The New World Leader (by aki)
Former President George Bush was elected for 2 straight terms. Many will argue that the election was fixed, unjust, rigged, but none of those things matter, because they allowed for him to be president anyway.
Before him was President Clinton who although was in the media for many personal and sensational things, manage to get the US debt to $0. There was an increase in jobs and morale was high. Since so many were doing well financially, an unprecedented amount of homes began to be purchased and the rates dropped making them even more affordable. I myself remember working for so many companies that I often forgot to cash checks. It wasn't bliss, but the country wasn't broke or dying/killing by the thousands in war.
Now for those who believe in signs, good-luck, bad luck any sign - the first really bad sign of things to come after Bush's election was 9/11. The tragedy of 9/11 took place shortly after Bush took office. It was an event we shall never forget. Being on a consulting assignment only 4-5 blocks away from the Towers, I was expected to be in the area that day and would have been, but the evening before I had an incredible urge to leave NYC and return to Virginia. Trying to ignore the feeling I changed clothes and went to sleep. At 12 midnight I awoke in a cold sweat with a stomachache. I got dressed and was on the last train out of Mount Vernon NY heading to Manhattan. By 3AM on 9/11 I was on the last Amtrak train leaving NYC going to Virginia.
Although that sign made sense to me hours later when friends called me in a panic thinking I was downtown, I didn't realize just how bad things would become for the US. Within a short amount of time, prejudice against Muslims and those from the Middle East was seemingly acceptable. People began to live in fear; everyday we were given the level of threat to our country. You could not fly on a one-way ticket without being searched (believe me, I flew over 100 times that year, I know!). It was the beginning of something not more, but less.
War was next. Somehow our search for the man who had done this to our beloved country and all of the innocent people - Osama Bin Laden (of Afghanistan) - turned into an excuse to go after Saddam Hussein (leading to his death) and engaging in a war with Afghanistan - oops, no I mean Iraq. Osama Bin Laden and his country seemed to have been forgotten by the US president and instead this became an opportunity to go after what appeared to be his father's enemies. Seeing how the entire country and the world is designed for the few instead of the masses, this appeared to be fine with the US citizens and I watched the Dixie Chicks be ridiculed and insulted because they openly disagreed with the President and the war. I openly disagreed also, but was not popular enough for it to matter, nor wealthy enough, nor the right complexion - hey, its true.
So, we slowly but surely began to see many other natural and man-made devastation. For those dealing with signs, they still weren't good. Katrina showed up and so did a few other major storms, but in the midst of war, natural disaster, and mourning, something else was happening. Bush had long since given tax and other incentives to corporations if they gave jobs to people offshore, which became the term for non-American. This was somewhat ironic seeing how he too was American and happened to be the President of the United States. Yet, many don't understand that the term President is used to be over a company. Bush ran the US as if he were over the corporation and that corporation was limited to those in office, his family (since his father's enemies were taken care of and the Bushes' made a ton of money during the oil crisis) - like a corporation as in the top Execs see all the money while the lower departments see their jobs go off-shore.
So he did things that would bring in revenue, but not nearly as much as it would take away revenue from the people. He also went after his father's enemies instead of the country's - oh, already mentioned that. In doing this, many factories closed in the US and the products the country use to produce were now being made in China. While most of its technical/computer & customer service was being handled in India. A company called Wal-Mart had lost its leader - the legendary Sam Walton. A man who knew the importance of not taking over, but joining in and the new leader seemed to want to "take over the world." Some stores became as big as a football fields and sold everything from apples to guns, from detergent to zippers - you name it. When they moved in the smaller businesses that sold these items were forced to shut down. Although they advertised about how much money they saved Americans and how many jobs they bought into the area, all of their items or at least over 90% were made in China. So, the few jobs they gave to in-store employees and the corporate office(s) didn't compare to all of the companies that use to make these items in the US or to those who use to employ people and not make them work just under the amount of hours for benefits - hmm.
Although Wal-Mart had developed a bad reputation in regard to how it treated its staff and didn't contribute to any production in the us, but did - as most us companies - contribute to the bad working conditions in China, Americans continued to shop there. While the oil became a crisis within itself, people began to pay less and less attention to how many jobs were being lost daily. This is not a book, so I will only show examples of a few companies: Delta closing its on-campus call center Weber State University - 162 students loose their jobs. Delta closed a 500-employee call center in Miramar, Fla., and a 150-worker center in Montgomery, Ala. –- moves company officials said would save up to $2.7 million a year. Some work from those call centers will shift to other Delta facilities in the United States, but a Delta memo indicates some positions could be moved offshore -- possibly to India, Lithuania and Jamaica - take my word for it, they have moved to India and Jamaica, I've called several times and only got one or the other (especially after 5 and on weekends). Delta also closed its reservation call center in Huntsville in May (2008), leaving the 170 employees with the option of transferring or accepting a severance package. Delta closed its call center on Northern Kentucky University's campus effective immediately, leaving its 127 part-time employees out of work. The 127 former employees of the NKU campus call center will get two weeks' severance pay, Kurczewski said. The cuts are not part of the 13,000 system wide job cuts that Delta announced previously, she said. The cuts also do not impact the airline's major call center downtown, which employs more than 900 people. Delta Air Lines plans to close its Boston reservations call center, a move that will eliminate about 353 positions.
About 50 jobs returned for the travel season? OK - its just too much even for one company, you can actually research this yourself. So ultimately...162+500+150+170+127+353++++ =? A lot of people who probably won't be able to pay those mortgages they got when Clinton was in office? All along while Americans are being let go because as the president put it - they are giving jobs to other countries that Americans don't want to do - I actually saw him say that, I watched that speech - everything is also still being made in...China. Not only everything in America, but in many other countries too. But this is good because China is known for their high standards and working conditions?...right?
Toys "R" Us Recalls Elite Operations Toys Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
May 2007
Name of Product: Elite Operations Toys
Units: About 16,000
Importer/Retailer: Toys “R” Us Inc., of Wayne, N.J.
Manufacturer: Toy World Group Ltd/Chun Tat Toys Factory Ltd, of Guangdong, China
Hazard: Surface coatings on the toys contain excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard
August 2007
Toys "R" Us has recalled 27,000 crayon and paint sets made in China because the packaging of the wooden box contains lead, as does some of the watercolor paint within, company and government officials said Thursday.
August 2007
Fisher-Price Recalls Licensed Character Toys Due To Lead Poisoning Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and other children's toys
Units: About 967,000
Importer: Fisher-Price Inc., of East Aurora, N.Y.
Hazard: Surface paints on the toys could contain excessive levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: The recalled involves various figures and toys that were manufactured between April 19, 2007 and July 6, 2007 and were sold alone or as part of sets. The model names and product numbers for the recalled toys, which are all marked with "Fisher-Price," are listed below. The toys may have a date code between 109-7LF and 187-7LF marked on the product or packaging.
Sold at: Retail stores nationwide from May 2007 through August 2007 for between $5 and $40.
Manufactured in: China
October 2007
Toys R Us recalled about 16,000 Chinese-made Elite Operations toys because of lead contamination, the Consumer Product Safety Commission
This is the second recall of lead-tainted children's products for Toys R Us this month. On Oct. 4, the company recalled about 15,000 Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Sets because surface paints on the back of the decorating kits' mirrors contained high levels of lead.
The commission also announced recalls of 380,000 Galaxy Warriors figurines and 1,500 Simply Fun Ribbit board games, both for lead-contaminated surface paints.
The figurines were manufactured in China and distributed by Henry Gordy International. The board games were manufactured in China and imported and distributed by SimplyFun.
June 25, 2008
Major Crib Recall: 320-Thousand Jardine Cribs Sold at Babies R Us Recalled for Entrapment & Strangulation
Jardine Enterprises has worked with the CPSC to recall 320,000 cribs sold at various stores.
The wooden slats in the cribs can break. This creates a gap that causes a serious strangulation and entrapment hazard for infants. So far there have been at least 42 reported occurrences of the slats and spindles breaking in these recalled cribs. Several children have already been trapped in the space created by the broken piece of wood, although - thankfully - none suffered from serious injuries other than bruises and abrasions.
These cribs were made in China and Vietnam and sold at various retail locations throughout the United States and other countries. If you have any of the cribs listed below, stop using them immediately and contact Jardine’s hotline to receive full credit toward the purchase of a new crib: 1-800-646-4106.
September 17, 2008
CPSC also reiterates bassinet recall
-- Kids Today, 9/17/2008 12:03:00 PM
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled about 600,000 Simplicity drop-side cribs.
This comes on the heels of a recall of about 900,000 Simplicity co-sleeper bassinets in late August, after a second infant was strangled to death in the bars. The CPSC last week announced that the bassinet recall does include the Graco logo and “Winnie the Pooh” motif licensed by Disney Consumer Products.
The Simplicity drop-side crib’s hardware is sized incorrectly, enabling the drop side to come off the tracks, creating a gap, which can lead to infant entrapment and suffocation. While nine incidents have been reported, there have been no injuries.
The cribs, manufactured in China, were sold in the following stores nationwide from January 2005 through August 2008 for $150-300: Babies “R” Us, Target, Wal-Mart, Burlington Coat Factory/Baby Depot, Nebraska Furniture Mart, AAFES, ShopKo, Meijer Distribution, and K’s Merchandise, which is now out of business.
-------------OK ------------
Get the point yet? This could go on and on and on - but I can't so, let's make the point, any country that is more concerned with its money than it's children...hmm. I bet you're wondering what you may have in your home or on your body right now, made in china...is it lead proof?
Some Dental Work May Contain Lead, Tests Show If you're getting dental implant work done, you may want to ask if they outsource to other countries. A KPHO investigation bought 13 crowns from labs in China, Thailand and the US. Ten of them came back positive for lead, with levels from 110 parts per million to 240 parts per million.
PEOPLE IF YOU DON'T STAND FOR SOMETHING YOU'LL FALL FOR ANYTHING! So, now that jobs were being outsourced there's more revenue right? Hmm that would be impossible - only companies could see more revenue but someone must have forgotten - People without incomes cannot travel on planes. They cannot buy your merchandise, and they surely cannot pay their mortgages. But, at least the US now had excellent customer service and quality merchandise being made for them...
So while Americans were faced with gas prices so high, many with jobs could barely afford to go to them. They continued to increase the wealth of China and many other countries while decreasing their own factories, call centers, computer centers, etc., etc. It had finally reached a point where even their medical records were outsourced. Although they'd supposedly created "homeland security" in reality several countries were the keepers of their full names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, medical records - everything. It wouldn't be far fetched for another community to be able to come over and completely replace one in the US - however, this was not logical since all of the US jobs seemed to be offshore - not in Hawaii - why would they bother to come to the US?
There were many other things transpiring that would affect their economy, but since they were a nation that believed they would hear about it on the news if it were true or important, they didn't research things for themselves. Another random thing this writer noticed was someplace as simple as Hawaii. Honolulu, the high priced city to live in - yet, paying its employees barely enough to live on? When a city has a high cost of living, they tend to also have high salaries, but while rentals are similar to NYC & LA $900+ for a studio, over $1,000 for a one bedroom. A legal secretary in NYC or LA can see salaries from $55k-$75k while one in Honolulu is lucky if she sees $30k-40k.
No one wonders why Paradise is filled with homeless people and the natives are poor? Well, how do you do, guess that makes this writer someone. I began to investigate this phenomenon and learned that most of Hawaii is owned by Japan - oops, I mean the Japanese. But since they tend to do their banking with Japan, I guess the money goes there instead of contributing to American's bottom-line. Instead of going back into the Island(s) and its people, it's probably ...Yen?
So with even just these few items, war, outsourcing, non-existent manufacturing (no export), and amazing amounts of the US being owned by foreign countries...
March 18, 1988
...So far, the brokers say, Mr. Kawamoto has bought 113 single-family houses...
No one knows the full extent of the Japanese purchases, but a local real-estate research company estimates that last year Japanese nationals bought at least 27 percent of the houses sold in the Kahala area and 40 percent of the condominium apartments sold in the Waikiki Beach area.
The buying spree has created a new class of homeless people, the ''Kahala refugees.'' They are displaced families who, after accepting cash offers for their houses that they considered too good to refuse, have had scurry to find new dwellings.
Japanese companies began to invest heavily in Hawaiian real estate during the late 1970's, when they bought several major resort hotels along Waikiki Beach.
What had been an investment trickle became a torrent in 1986 after the United States and several major trading partners had agreed to allow the dollar to decline relative to other currencies, including the yen.
Initially, real estate specialists say, Japanese investors concentrated on buying the more prestigious hotels and resorts in the islands. Now, with a handful of exceptions, they own virtually all the major Waikiki Beach-front hotels as well as most major resorts on other islands in the state.
Last month, for a reported $315 million, Japan's Seibu Railway bought the 310-room Westin Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the island of Hawaii, a resort built in 1965 by Laurence S. Rockefeller and subsequently owned by United Airlines that has long been considered by many the most prestigious hotel facility in the state.
... In an interview, Gov. John Waihee said that for the most part, he thought that huge Japanese investment had been good for Hawaii because it brought in capital. However, he said, there was growing concern over speculation because it threatened to price more Hawaiians out of the housing market.
Already, Mr. Waihee said, a shortage of affordable housing was one of the state's most difficult problems...
June 10, 2008
Spurred by the weak dollar and the strong euro, European travelers to the U.S. have been lapping up everything from Gap boxers to iPhones to luxury condos in Palm Beach, Fla. Now a top Italian real estate investor has nabbed one of the crowns of New York City property, a sale that echoes the Japanese purchase of Rockefeller Center in 1989. Valter Mainetti has confirmed to TIME that his company, the Sorgente Group, has acquired a majority share in Manhattan's historic Flatiron Building.
July 9, 2008
The government of Abu Dhabi bought a 90 percent stake in the Chrysler Building on Tuesday for $800 million from German real estate investors and Tishman Speyer.
But while it might seem that the buyer, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, got a controlling interest in the Art Deco tower, a landmark, for that kind of money that was not the case.
Despite having only a 10 percent holding, Tishman Speyer Properties will continue to control the property and manage it, much as it has since 1997, because it controls the land beneath the 77-story tower, with its trademark stainless steel crown, gargoyles and elevator cabs that evoke the chrome-laden autos of the 1930s.
------OK------
So while American's watched reality TV shows, pay close attention to which star has an eating disorder, what celebs are wearing on the red carpet and of course some serious tuff too - the rest of the world's currency was increasing in value while theirs decreased.
The president's solution was to print up $700 Billion to give to companies to "save" the markets? Which makes you wonder - wasn't their money like monopoly money by then?
July 12, 2008
...Fannie and Freddie aren’t just “too-big-to-fail” US financial institutions. Not anymore. They are now global financial institutions. They have been central to the process that has turned US mortgages into securities held by the world’s central banks. Official — meaning central bank — holdings of Agencies have soared over the past two years. The US “TIC” and survey data suggests that central banks now have at least $925 billion in “Agency debt.” That is almost certainly an understatement: the monthly TIC data tends to understate official purchases, leading to large revisions when the more accurate survey data is released in June. Total official holdings are likely above a trillion — or about 20% of the $5 trillion or so in Agency debt outstanding.
....Consider the following:
China, according to the US data, has $422 billion of long-term Agency bonds. That is roughly 10% of China’s GDP. It is also almost certainly understates China’s holdings. Based on the pattern of revisions in past surveys and the scale of China’s foreign asset growth, I would guess that China now holds between $500 and $600b of Agencies — or about 10% of the outstanding stock.
Russia, according to the US data, holds $90 billion of long-term Agencies. Russia also has a large portfolio of short-term Agency bonds (with a maturity of less than a year). Based on past survey data, I would guess that almost all of Russia’s holdings of “other short-term negotiable securities, negotiable CDs and other custodial securities” are short-term Agencies. That brings Russia’s total holdings of Agencies up to $156 billion — or roughly 10% of Russia’s GDP (a bit more actually).
Japan, according to the US data holds $251 billion of Agencies — but not all of these are held by the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan. Japan started shifting from Treasuries to Agencies in late 2005 or early 2006 (see the technical notes below, and note that official holdings start to grow faster than the sum of Chinese, Russian and Asian NIC holdings around this time). Japan still has far more (relative) exposure to the Treasury market than the Agency market. But Japan’s government also likely has around $150 billion of Agencies, a sum equal to about 3% of Japan’s GDP.
China’s exposure to Blackstone (bought for $3 billion, now worth less) and Morgan Stanley (bought at $5 billion, now worth less) pales relative to its exposure to the Agency market. China undoubtedly would view Roubini’s plan to force holders of Agency bonds to accept a haircut in return for a government guarantee as a policy directed at China. Sure, China would get a mark-to-market windfall if its Agencies became Treasuries (i.e. backed by the full faith and credit of the United States), but SAFE would argue that it plans to hold its Agencies to maturity in any case, so it won’t get more than the bond’s face value. I would certainly expect that Vice Premier Wang is on the phone to Paulson this weekend, politely asking how exactly the US plans to backstop the Agencies.
-----OK-----
It was only a matter of time before America became a 3rd world country and in doing so, - no longer being able to afford gas, no longer producing anything, just no longer #1. And at the same time, insured that China would become the new world leader.
---China is expected to reverse the findings of lead paint, after all, its cheaper - who really cares about those Americans and their children - heck they don't. They don't care about the Chinese workers who are slaving away in poor conditions making barely anything. They pay $150 for sneakers that cost $5 to make. They don’t' even realize the price only goes up because their country taxes them - import taxes still don't make them $100. And they don't even fight to make these things in their country?
The US, according to Bush's plan, had the ability to come up with $700 billion dollars for it's financial instuitions, there are less than 700 billion people in the world - does that mean they could have ended worldwide poverty? Read this piece, all of our countries have always had enough money to end poverty - we just haven't made them.
If only the US president had the foresight to make all of the US citizens millionaires, thereby immediately earning interest on the deposits of their checks. Earning years of interest off of the children's checks (not able to cash until age 21). Allowing them to pay off debts, mortgages, car notes, student loans, credit cards, etc..Enabling them to travel and save the airline industries. Entrepreneurs could afford to hire employees, build new industry and maybe actually manufacture something. Crime would most likely decrease to an almost stop. The generations of Americans that would have continued to be wealthy after this one would have secured their country for many years to come. Even if some blew all of their money, it would still be someplace in their economy. Maybe, just maybe if their government were actually by the people and for the people, they would do that which was best for all people.
But this was a country that said it was democratic while all along putting presidents in office who didn't when the popular vote - meaning he wasn't the person all of the American's voted for - but since he won enough "electoral votes" he was put in office. They tried to force upon other countries a democracy that isn't even real.
All paths lead someplace, are we heading down a path that we want to see through to the end?
The title of this piece is meant to make you realize what could be...if we don't change. Wow, I didn't even mention the damage we're doing to the environment! ...most people won't read all of this - because it will be too long - I wonder when it will be too late - which one of us do you think the government would prefer? Stand for something...or look around on the ground to see what you've fallen into.
we are one
aki
aki (c)2008 rich by choice productions/jaki rich.
Please click on blue text (especially dates) for actual online reference/url. Credit for specific information is given to sites linked to. - oops the links didn't stay! OK, copy and paste and google... ETC., ETC., - Let's save the world already.
Access: PublicTagged with: wake up america, save the world
