Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
[This list of names is getting long and is almost a pattern on the map...granny]
http://www.sacbee.com/1098/story/1743774.html#map
Interactive map: Eateries using recalled spices
Multiple local restaurants used items containing products that may have been contaminated with salmonella, according to the state Department of Public Health. Use this database to see where they are.
Read More
Other Breaking News stories at sacbee.com
* Gottschalks corporate employees begin packing
* Tehama County man faces charges of transporting minors across state lines
* Victim loses car, phone, money to carjacker
* Cops: 4 days in the woods enough for parolee
* Naked man shot with pepper ball, arrested at school
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/31/cities-states-plan-strange-new-taxes-pretty/
Cities and States Plan Strange New Taxes on Pretty Much Everything
The government is having a hard time making do with the meager trillions
you’re throwing their way, so they’re pressing some controversial new
customs to buy their way out. Here’s a look at some of the more
egregious new taxes you’re sure to be seeing soon.
By Joseph Abrams
FOXNews.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Behold, America: the taxman cometh.
Even as taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet in a crumbling,
tumbling economy, your friendly neighborhood (and state and federal)
government is having a hard time making do with the meager trillions
you’re throwing its way, so it’s relying on an old maxim:
If it exists, it can be taxed.
continues.
Thoughtful opposition as to avoid empowering some tyrant. I read somewhere that if its gets real bad some are supporting an interim military gov.
I really love the sound of birds also. It seems that now every morning they are singing from sunrise to sunset here. There are certainly God’s gift to us.
I’m sorry you lost your special Australian parakeet. Wild things seem to always want to be free, and don’t consider if they can even survive out there! Even my very domestic Persians would love for chance to escape out the door. They do get to go outside on supervised visitation days, and even my more adventurous one figured out how to wiggle herself under the gate to escape!
Maeco Foods Recalls Peanut Meal Because of Possible Health Risk (March 31)
Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:50:00 -0500
Maeco Foods of College Point, New York is recalling its 8 oz. packages of PEANUT MEAL, because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. This action is a result of the PCA expanded recall of January 28, 2009 for all peanut products manufactured in their Blakely, Georgia facility since January 1, 2007. Maeco Foods received the peanut meal from PCA.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/maeco03_09.html
I read somewhere that if its gets real bad some are supporting an interim military gov.<<<
Nothing will surprise me and it may well take the Military to bring back our country.
This mess is beyond anything that I expected to see in this lifetime.
Wild things seem to always want to be free, and don’t consider if they can even survive out there! Even my very domestic Persians would love for chance to escape out the door.<<<
It is that age old urge in all of us, to escape and to see new things.
Have you ever watched a cow, in a pasture? She may have hundreds of acres, all growing the same food and she will put out great effort, to reach the grass on the other side of the fence.
When Birds escape a cage or aviary, as a rule, they fly straight up, until the lungs explode.
The song of the birds, to me is truly one of God’s gifts.
As if I am not riled up enough already! These idiot politicians can’t understand the very simple concept that their overspending is what got us in this mess in the first place.<<<
Is someone slipping the elected fools insanity pills?
I stay amazed at the decisions they think are good today.
It is as if all common sense went out the door and they are all so brainwashed, that all they can do is say “Yes, Master”, for they show no signs of thinking for themselves...........in my opinion.
Found this in my mailbox, there is no url with it, and it came from the Yahoo group ATC....granny]
“Right” and “Left”
(From a January 19, 2009 article)
Prof . Paul Eidelberg
There is no “Right,” there is no “Left . ” There is good, there is bad, but no “Right” and no “Left . ”
We live in a democratic era in which the terms “Right” and “Left” replaced the traditional distinction between good and bad . This is why so many people in the democratic world live in a state of moral confusion .
[snipped]
[end]
Of course, sophisticated people will regard this sort of language as simplistic . They will insist on preserving the distinction between “Right” and “Left . ” By so doing they avoid moral responsibility . The avoidance of moral responsibility is the core failing of this post-modern era . This avoidance, which underlies the benighted language of “Right” and “Left,” is why the architects of Oslo and their collaborators remain in office, untroubled by fear of retribution .
he is an interesting writer, makes me think of Ann Coulter:
Frito-Lay Issues Nationwide Voluntary Recall of In-Shell Pistachio Nuts Due to Possible Health Risk
Contact:
Aurora Gonzalez
Frito-Lay North America
917-873-7069
972-334-3821
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — PLANO, TX (March 31, 2009) – Frito-Lay announced the voluntary recall of Frito-Lay branded in-shell salted pistachios due to potential contamination with salmonella. Frito-Lay has received no reports of illness related to this product; the company is issuing this recall as a precaution.
The affected product is 1.75 oz. packages of Frito-Lay branded Salted Pistachios (in shell) with sell-by dates between 14-Jul-09 through 29-Dec-09 and the UPC code: 0 28400 03888 1. The date is located on the front of each package.
No other code date, package size or flavor is impacted. This is the only Frito-Lay product impacted by this recall. This voluntary recall is not related to the recent peanut/ peanut butter recalls.
This product has been distributed to retail stores in the United States and Canada. The pistachios used in this product were supplied by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc., which yesterday announced a recall of selected lots of pistachios. Setton Pistachio is recalling pistachios from the 2008 crop year.
Salmonellacan cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
Consumers with any product of the date and package size noted above can contact Frito-Lay Consumer Affairs at 1-800-352-4477.
#
Photos: Product Labels
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/fritolay03_09.html
Kraft Foods Conducts Nationwide Recall of Planters and Back to Nature Products Containing Pistachio Nuts Because of Possible Health Risk (March 31)
Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:04:00 -0500
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/kraft03_09.html
DIMETHYL FUMARATE TOXICITY, FURNITURE - UK ex CHINA
***************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: 27 Mar 2009
Source: BBC News [edited]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7961969.stm
A judge is expected to order several retailers to pay millions of
pounds to people who suffered burns and rashes from faulty leather
sofas.
The BBC now has evidence that Argos, Walmsleys and Land of Leather
accept liability, subject to it being proved that injuries were
caused by the sofas.
More than 1600 people claim to have been affected by the problem. Tens
of thousands more people could have burns not yet traced to sofas.
The High Street stores, along with 11 others, may have to pay more
than 10 million pounds [USD 14.3 million] in compensation and legal
costs, the shoppers’ lawyers say. They claim that makes it “the
largest group compensation claim ever seen in British Courts.”
The sofas, which were manufactured in China, were packed with sachets
of an anti-mould chemical called dimethyl fumarate to stop them from
going moldy during storage in humid conditions.
Commonly known as DMF, the toxic, fine white powder has been used by
some manufacturers to protect leather goods like furniture and shoes
from mold. Even very small amounts can be harmful.
One sofa customer, who is well aware of the health problems caused by
her purchase, is a customer who bought a leather sofa suite from
Argos in April 2007. Almost a year later, she started to notice a
rash developing on her arms and legs. After a few weeks, her skin
started flaking off. She says the irritation was so bad, she was off
work for 2 months. This customer was seen by more than a dozen
doctors, who couldn’t work out what was causing the rash.
She said: “It was very, very painful; I couldn’t sleep at night; I
couldn’t walk about; I couldn’t drive; every time I did walk about,
the skin would fall off, and I would leave a trail of it, therefore,
I couldn’t go to work.”
This customer was one of thousands of people who had bought a leather
sofa from Argos, Land of Leather, or Walmsleys and then suffered a
severe reaction.
For a long time, none of those suffering knew it was their sofa
causing the problem, so they simply kept sitting on the defective
furniture and worsening their condition.
A dermatologist in Liverpool solved the mystery. After hearing of an
increasing number of patients presenting with similar symptoms, the
scientist discovered they had all recently bought new leather
furniture, which had been packed with chemical sachets in China.
The scientist tested the contents of one of the sachets on his skin,
and it quickly reacted. Further testing revealed that the sachets
contained a chemical called dimethyl fumarate, or DMF, placed inside
the sofas to stop them from going moldy during storage in humid
warehouses in Asia.
When the sachets get hot, the chemical evaporates into the air,
penetrating through the leather and victims’ clothing and onto their
skin, causing painful blisters and sores.
Many people discovered they might have been affected when they saw an
investigation on the BBC’s consumer affairs programme Watchdog.
Meanwhile, several law firms realized there could have been thousands
suffering without knowing the cause of their injuries. They put
advertisements in national newspapers, warning people they may have
been affected.
“We advertised in 8 national newspapers last October [2008], and
purely from those, we got another 3500 people coming forward,” said
Richard Langton of Russell, Jones and Walker solicitors.
“I think, potentially, there are tens of thousands more people out
there who might be affected; potentially, people are still suffering
and don’t know what the problem is.”
Argos, Land of Leather, Walmsleys and 11 other very small shops had
sold the sofas. After being warned of the problems, they offered
exchanges or refunds to people who complained.
After seeing the effects of the chemical, the European Union is now
taking action. It considers DMF to be so harmful to consumers that it
is bringing in a new directive in May 2009 requiring all retailers to
recall from sale any goods which contain the chemical and to stop any
more hitting the shops. It also appears to require retailers to
remove any goods which contain DMF from people’s homes.
EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: “We are
absolutely certain that the minor quantities of this product DMF in
leather sofas or shoes could cause a terrible allergy and even death.
It is very, very, serious; we will not compromise on safety.”
The toxic sofa symptoms are blisters, sores, rashes, and eye irritation.
Until the directive is introduced and tested, it is difficult to
determine how it will affect retailers. Lawyers hope it will compel
Argos and Walmsleys to remove any faulty sofas still in customers’
homes. But Land of Leather is in administration [bankruptcy court], so
its customers are unlikely to receive any exchange or refund.
Anyone with any concerns about a sofa they have bought can check
whether it is affected by looking on the Russell, Jones and Walker
website. They could then contact their retailer, or in the case of
Land of Leather, the administrators in charge.
Walmsleys said it would not comment about the case while it was ongoing.
Argos said: “Over the last 18 months, there have been issues
regarding certain sofas manufactured by a company based in China
which were supplied to Argos and a number of other retailers. This
issue is currently the subject of a group litigation order, so we are
unable to comment on any individual cases. Argos no longer sells the
products.”
[Byline: Nicola Pearson]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for dimethyl fumarate states
that it can cause severe skin irritation and severe eye irritation.
Dimethyl fumarate is an ester and an alpha-beta-unsaturated
electrophilic compound, undergoing reactions typical to them. While
there are some medical uses when taken internally, and while other
uses are being examined, it has many problems also associated with it.
Dimethyl fumarate has been found to be an allergic sensitizer at very
low concentrations, producing extensive, pronounced eczema that is
difficult to treat. Concentrations as low as 1 ppm may produce
allergic reactions [5]. There are only a handful of equally potent
sensitizers [6].
The extreme sensitizing risk was brought to public attention by the
“poison chair” incident, where Chinese manufacturer Linkwise produced
2-seater sofas with dimethyl fumarate sachets inside to inhibit mold
while they were in storage or transport [7], [8]. In Finland, where
the chairs were sold from 2006-2007, 60 users were given serious
rashes [6]. The cause was identified as dimethyl fumarate-induced
allergic reaction by Tapio Rantanen, M.D. from Finland, and his
original article became the cover story in the July issue of British
Journal of Dermatology [5].
Given the fact that this allergen has already been documented as
causing problems and those being documented and published, one
wonders why this company wanted to try it.
Realizing that it took a period of time for the discovery of the
malady to be diagnosed, it is possible that this is a far-reaching
situation. However, once known, it seems that a recall may have been
an excellent move: Get the furniture back under their control. Of
course, that may or may not have lessened the liability the company
faces.
References:
5 Rantanen, Tapio. “The cause of the Chinese sofa/chair dermatitis
epidemic is likely to be contact allergy to dimethylfumarate, a novel
potent contact sensitizer.” British Journal of Dermatology 159 (1):
218-221. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08622.x.
6 “Myrkkytuoli-ihottumien syy selvisi” (in Finnish). YLE Uutiset
(YLE). 2008-04-24.
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/24h/id88989.html
Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
8 “This baby was burned red raw by a sofa giving off toxic fumes. As
our investigation reveals, there are hundreds of other victims.” Mail
Online.
Portions of this comment were extracted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_fumarate
- Mod.TG
Photo of an implicated leather sofa with details:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1247410.ece
Image of the toxic rash:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/06/20/article-1028097-019823DE00000578-84_468x286.jpg
- Mod.JW]
.................................................tg/msp/jw
>>>The House Financial Services Committee, under the direction of Democratic Chairman Barney Frank, isn’t content with the White House’s proposal to cap the pay of executives beyond those whose companies took bailout cash. It wants to control the pay of every employee of any financial institution that has “received or receives a capital investment” from the federal government under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, last year’s $700 billion bailout.<<<
Geeesh, this sounds like the reverse of what Castro did when he took over Cuba. There he mandated that all foreign owned companies would have to double the workers pay.
Sears, having a large Profit Sharing pool of investments which they kept local and were prohibited from taking out of the country, upon hearing rumor of what Castro was going to do, tripled all their employees pay. Then when Castro doubled it, they were making 6X their previous pay.
Maybe we will see banks triple employees pay so that when Barney Frank gets legislation to cut them in half, they will actually get a 50% increase... LOL The games these people play...
Report: Chinese Develop Special “Kill Weapon” to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers
Advanced missile poses substantial new threat for U.S. Navy
U. S. Naval Institute
March 31, 2009
With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned.
After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a “kill weapon” developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.
First posted on a Chinese blog viewed as credible by military analysts and then translated by the naval affairs blog Information Dissemination, a recent report provides a description of an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) that can strike carriers and other U.S. vessels at a range of 2000km.
The range of the modified Dong Feng 21 missile is significant in that it covers the areas that are likely hot zones for future confrontations between U.S. and Chinese surface forces.
The size of the missile enables it to carry a warhead big enough to inflict significant damage on a large vessel, providing the Chinese the capability of destroying a U.S. supercarrier in one strike.
Because the missile employs a complex guidance system, low radar signature and a maneuverability that makes its flight path unpredictable, the odds that it can evade tracking systems to reach its target are increased. It is estimated that the missile can travel at mach 10 and reach its maximum range of 2000km in less than 12 minutes.
Supporting the missile is a network of satellites, radar and unmanned aerial vehicles that can locate U.S. ships and then guide the weapon, enabling it to hit moving targets.
ASBM is said to be a modified DF-21
The ASBM is said to be a modified DF-21
While the ASBM has been a topic of discussion within national defense circles for quite some time, the fact that information is now coming from Chinese sources indicates that the weapon system is operational. The Chinese rarely mention weapons projects unless they are well beyond the test stages.
If operational as is believed, the system marks the first time a ballistic missile has been successfully developed to attack vessels at sea. Ships currently have no defense against a ballistic missile attack.
Along with the Chinese naval build-up, U.S. Navy officials appear to view the development of the anti-ship ballistic missile as a tangible threat.
After spending the last decade placing an emphasis on building a fleet that could operate in shallow waters near coastlines, the U.S. Navy seems to have quickly changed its strategy over the past several months to focus on improving the capabilities of its deep sea fleet and developing anti-ballistic defenses.
As analyst Raymond Pritchett notes in a post on the U.S. Naval Institute blog:
“The Navy’s reaction is telling, because it essentially equals a radical change in direction based on information that has created a panic inside the bubble. For a major military service to panic due to a new weapon system, clearly a mission kill weapon system, either suggests the threat is legitimate or the leadership of the Navy is legitimately unqualified. There really aren’t many gray spaces in evaluating the reaction by the Navy…the data tends to support the legitimacy of the threat.”
In recent years, China has been expanding its navy to presumably better exert itself in disputed maritime regions. A recent show of strength in early March led to a confrontation with an unarmed U.S. ship in international waters.
https://www.usni.org/forthemedia/ChineseKillWeapon.asp
Maybe we will see banks triple employees pay so that when Barney Frank gets legislation to cut them in half, they will actually get a 50% increase... LOL The games these people play...<<<
LOL, now I understand the math a politician uses.
It is as clear as mud.
Good Morning.
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