Warning of Famine in West Africa

See Also: (PressTV) – UN warns of humanitarian crisis in DRC – Read More Here

Also: (MSNBC) – Nigeria lead poisoning crisis ‘unprecedented’ – Read More Here

(WSWS) – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that 10 million people across the Sahel region of West Africa could face famine over the next few months. According to the charity Oxfam, eight million in Niger could be affected and two million in Chad. Some 80 percent of Chad’s population depends on subsistence agriculture.

The threat of famine is growing across the region. Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and even Northern Nigeria are already experiencing food shortages. The strategic grain reserve in Nigeria is 65,000 tonnes short. There are reports of people crossing the Niger border into Nigeria in search of food. This is an area that has experienced communal clashes over resources.

“The Sahel is one of the most destitute regions in the world, and the spectre of hunger is pushing increasing numbers of people from the countryside into the cities, where they are searching for food to feed their families”, said Thomas Yanga of the WFP.

Mass Country Wide Closing and Layoffs

Here are closing stores, restaurants, layoffs etc just in the last few days! I’m sure the readers here are familiar with some of these businesses. Click on the links. Comments on “Green Shoots”?

Johnnie Walker’s Men Store in Milwaukee Wisconsin
Pipkin Cameras and Imaging Store in Oklahoma City
Allain Gallery in Richmond Virginia
Stone’s Throw Golf Course in Newton Ill
Glacier Ice Arena in Grand Junction Colo.
Maumee 18 Theater in Maumee Ohio

Eccentrix in Joplin MO
The White Pine Copper Refinery
3M to Close Ardmore Plant – 125 Jobs Lost
Provincetown High School in Mass.
B&G Golf in Brookfield
Update: Taylor Sawmill in Enfield ill
Pages New and Rare Bookstore Arizona
Select Medical Corp Manchester MO Facility – 66 layoffs
Caye Upholstery, Closing 2 NC Facilities – 160 Jobs Lost
Ripley County Fair NY
Blockbuster in Oak Ridge Tenn.
The Hubbard BMV in Ohio
The Golden Corral Buffet & Grill restaurant on Seminole Trail VA?
Update: Ken Lee’s Gallery 11 in Steamboat Springs

Hillsborough County FL – 200
Brown University Bookstore RI – 8
Lucas County Sheriff’s Office OH – 16
La. Department of Education – 31
Exempla Healthcare – 100 Position from Hospitals in Denver
Boeing – Lost of Constellation Funding Could = 180 Layoffs
City of Romulus – 32 Layoff Notices
Burke County Public Schools NC –  70
Middleboro School District – 30
Marian Community Hospital – 26
Cinram – 482
The Siena Hotel Spa Casino in Reno – Eliminating Table Games = 35 Layoffs

Video: BP Beach Boss Says He Has Authority to Keep Media Off Public Land

See Also: (AlBlog) – Oil slaps Alabama coast; boat traffic shut down – Read More Here

Also: (WSFA) – Alabama National Guard helping oil spill claims filers – Read More Here

Is it possible British Petroleum is the law in Louisiana? Check out the man in the video below who insists he has the right to prevent the media from interviewing workers hired by BP to clean up its mess on the beach. BP says workers have permission to talk with the media, but it would seem after watching the video they are under instructions not to talk to the media if they want to keep their jobs in this jobless economy.

Video: Just Say No to GMO!

BP Official Admits to Damage BENEATH THE SEA FLOOR

(WashingtonsBlog) – As I noted Tuesday, there is growing evidence that BP’s oil well – technically called the “well casing” or “well bore” – has suffered damage beneath the level of the sea floor.

The evidence is growing stronger and stronger that there is substantial damage beneath the sea floor. Indeed, it appears that BP officials themselves have admitted to such damage. This has enormous impacts on both the amount of oil leaking into the Gulf, and the prospects for quickly stopping the leak this summer.

On May 31st, the Washington Post noted: – Read More Here

MSM: Antidepressant use rises as recession feeds wave of worry

(Guardian) – The number of antidepressants prescribed by the NHS has almost doubled in the last decade, and rose sharply last year as the recession bit, figures reveal.

The health service issued 39.1m prescriptions for drugs to tackle depression in England in 2009, compared with 20.1m in 1999 – a 95% jump. Doctors handed out 3.18m more prescriptions last year than in 2008, almost twice the annual rise seen in preceding years, according to previously unpublished statistics released by the NHS’s Business Services Authority.

The increase is thought to be due in part to improved diagnosis, reduced stigma around mental ill-health and rising worries about jobs and finances triggered by the economic downturn. Read More Here

Economy

(CNNMoney) – Hello Chinese exports, good-bye U.S. jobs – Read More Here

(BusinessWeek) – Banks With State Debt Ignore Not-If-But-When Default (Update1)

European banking shares indicate a Greek debt default may be just a matter of time. Read More Here

(AP) – Japan PM warns of Greece-like debt crisis

Japan could face a financial mess like the one that has crippled Greece if it does not deal urgently with its swelling national debt, the new prime minister warned Friday. Read More Here

(SeekingAlpha) – Soros: Financial Crisis, ‘Act II’

Love or hate his politics, there is no doubt George Soros is one of the brightest investment minds of the past few generations.

Hence, when you have Soros on one side saying we have only begun the second stage of the financial crisis, and on the other hand you have “Unicorns and Butterflies” Bernanke telling us all is well (kumbaya!) [coming off one of the worst economic forecasting records the past half decade], you can guess which side one might be better off listening to.

“The collapse of the financial system as we know it is real, and the crisis is far from over,” Mr. Soros said at a conference in Vienna. “Indeed, we have just entered Act II of the drama.” Read More Here

(BullionMark) – Weimar Gold & Silver Prices 1919-1923

Weimar Germany hyperinflation prices of gold and silver in Marks from 1919 – 1923 by month. Charts are also presented to visually depict the speed and magnitude of the change. Remember these are months not years. Consider the human story behind the numbers. How did people survive? Read More Here

(MarketOracle) – PONZI Finance Recipe for Economic Catastrophe, Gold Not a Bubble

The “When hope turns to Fear” moment (See 2010 Outlook “When hope turns to Fear” in Tedbits archives) is unfolding as we speak, as the tides of insolvency sweep over the social welfare states and financial systems of the developed world. It is the next leg down in the global financial crisis and what will come to be known as the greatest depression ever is commencing — we are fascinated and astonished at what the main stream media is reporting and failing to report. Read More Here

(NakedCapitalism) – PR Push Against Strategic Defaulters Underway (Is There a Debtors Prison in Your Future?) Read More Here

(DailyMail) – Child benefit to be cut off at 13 as Government’s ‘poverty tsar’ plans to wean parents off handouts

Families could see their child benefit taxed or cut off once a youngster hits 13 under radical plans proposed by Frank Field, the government appointed ‘poverty tsar’. Read More Here

(KurtNimmo) – Wither Government. Chaos! Anarchy! Lost Revenue!

New York Gov. David Paterson is warning that if he is forced to shut down government next week chaos and anarchy will rule in the state.

“No one knows the full ramifications of a government shutdown,” said Paterson. “It would create unimaginable chaos around the state and the greater metropolitan areas,” reports WCBS TV.

The legislature in the Empire State has failed to pass a budget and this will result in doomsday, according to Paterson.

Video: Sinister Sites – Astana, Khazakhstan

(VigilantCitizen) – Astana is the first capital being built in the 21st century and it perfectly represents  where the world is headed. It is truly one man’s vision: Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan (yes Borat’s country, I know). Backed by billions of petrodollars, the city is being built from scratch in a remote and deserted area of  the Asian steppes. The result is astonishing: a futuristic occult capital, embracing the New World Order while celebrating the most ancient religion known to man: Sun Worship. The city is still a huge construction site, but the buildings that are already completed already sum up Nazarbayev’s occult vision.

Govt wants ISPs to record browsing history

(ZDNet) – Companies who provide customers with a connection to the internet may soon have to retain subscriber’s private web browsing history for law enforcement to examine when requested, a move which has been widely criticised by industry insiders.

The Attorney-General’s Department yesterday confirmed to ZDNet Australia that it had been in discussions with industry on implementing a data retention regime in Australia. Such a regime would require companies providing internet access to log and retain customer’s private web browsing history for a certain period of time for law enforcement to access when needed. Read More Here

Daniel Ellsberg fears a US hit on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange

(RawStory) – Daniel Ellsberg, who gained fame when he leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971 in hopes of ending the Vietnam War, told MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan on Friday that he not only sees a parallel between himself and the person who recently leaked a video of an assault by US forces on Iraqi civilians but also fears for the safety of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who published the video.

Video: The Dying Corporate Media Vilifies Alex Jones, Rand Paul, & The Rising Rage Against The Empire

(TheExcavator) – A new MSNBC documentary called ‘Rise of The New Right’ that is set to air next Wednesday falsely paints the Tea Party’s growing influence in electoral politics as a precursor to a new age of racist rage. The documentary, hosted by Chris screwball Matthews, also targets popular radio show host, documentarian, and one of the internet’s rising stars, Alex Jones. Infowars.com received a copy of the script for the piece from an MSNBC insider, which reveals the program’s soft propaganda, and deliberate lies about the nature of the citizen backlash against the corrupt government in D.C, and the banks and corporations who rule it. View Video Here

World War

(CagePrisoners) – Murders at Guantánamo: The Cover-Up Continues

Sometimes the truth is so sickening that no one in a position of authority — senior government officials, lawmakers, the mainstream media — wants to go anywhere near it. Read More Here

(StrategicCultureFoundation) – Iran and the Balkans: Russia Risks Making the Same Mistakes

UN Security Council Resolution Slapping Sanctions on Iran: Defeat for Russian Diplomacy Read More Here

(CounterPunch) – Obama’s Doublespeak on Iran – Extending Hands or Clenching Fists? – Read More Here

(PressTV) – 50 ships may join Freedom Flotilla II

The next Freedom Flotilla will be much bigger than the first one, the head of a non-governmental organization says.

Yasser Qashlaq, the director of the Free Palestine Movement, said on Thursday that up to 50 ships could join the Freedom Flotilla II, the International Middle East Media Center reported. Read More Here

(FutureOfFreedomFoundation) – Terrorism: Made in the U.S.A. – Sheldon Richman

It’s a perilous world, as our so-called leaders love to remind us. And for a change they’re right. It is a perilous world. But guess who is most responsible for the peril to Americans? Those very same “leaders” and a long line of predecessors.

Moreover, they — along with anyone else who takes time to examine the matter — know that they create the greatest dangers Americans face. They just don’t care. They have bigger fish to fry than keeping Americans safe. Besides, the dangers they create provide excuses for more power. Read More Here

REPOST – (McClatchy) – Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn’t about security

As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as “economic warfare” against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory. Read More Here

(LondonTimes) – Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites

Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal. Read More Here

(PressTV) – US accepts Israeli probe of Flotilla – Read More Here

(AP) – NKorea vows to blow up South propaganda facilities

North Korea says it will attack South Korean loudspeakers and other propaganda facilities along its border, warning it can even turn Seoul into a “sea of flame.” Read More Here

(MSNBC) – Video: Saudi Arabia Approves Israeli Jets To Use Saudi Airspace To Bomb Iran!

FLASHBACK – 2007 – Video: Interview – Confessions of an Economic Hit Man – John Perkins –