Eddie Griffin Goes In!

Happy Eastern Star

Melanin and the "Black" Cube

Gold Hits $1500 Per Ounce

Source: Bloomberg

The reason is clear: the U.S. dollar is going into the crapper. As I wrote in Gold Bullion: The Ultimate Hedge to Insure Your Portfolio, gold guards against currency debasement and protects the purchasing power of your wealth. According to the measuringworth.com website, the U.S. dollar lost 91.6% of its value between the end of World War II in 1945 and 2009. In other words, to have the same $1,000 worth of purchasing power in 1945 required $11,900 in 2009. In contrast, the purchasing power of gold has remained constant over the same time period. Actually, the purchasing power of gold has remained virtually constant since ancient Roman times. Now that’s protection!
Gold Goes Up When the U.S. Dollar Goes Down

The U.S. dollar may experience periodic short-term rallies – especially around June 30th when the Fed is scheduled to end its quantitative easing campaign -- but the long-term trend is still down. How can it be otherwise given the trillion dollar annual budget deficits the U.S. government is running year after year? The only way that the U.S. can get out from under its massive debt burden is to monetize the debt through inflation. The U.S. debt problem is so severe that Standard and Poor’s downgraded to “negative” the outlook for our country’s credit rating!

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Gold Hits $1500 Per Ounce

Gold Hits $1500 Per Ounce

By Jim Fink
4/20/2011
Stocks to Watch



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The yellow metal has maintained its value throughout the ages and will recover from this temporary swoon to $1,360 per ounce.

-- Ben Shepherd, Personal Finance (Feb. 11, 2011)

Yesterday (April 19th), gold bullion traded at $1,500 per ounce for the first time in history:

Source: Bloomberg

The reason is clear: the U.S. dollar is going into the crapper. As I wrote in Gold Bullion: The Ultimate Hedge to Insure Your Portfolio, gold guards against currency debasement and protects the purchasing power of your wealth. According to the measuringworth.com website, the U.S. dollar lost 91.6% of its value between the end of World War II in 1945 and 2009. In other words, to have the same $1,000 worth of purchasing power in 1945 required $11,900 in 2009. In contrast, the purchasing power of gold has remained constant over the same time period. Actually, the purchasing power of gold has remained virtually constant since ancient Roman times. Now that’s protection!
Gold Goes Up When the U.S. Dollar Goes Down

The U.S. dollar may experience periodic short-term rallies – especially around June 30th when the Fed is scheduled to end its quantitative easing campaign -- but the long-term trend is still down. How can it be otherwise given the trillion dollar annual budget deficits the U.S. government is running year after year? The only way that the U.S. can get out from under its massive debt burden is to monetize the debt through inflation. The U.S. debt problem is so severe that Standard and Poor’s downgraded to “negative” the outlook for our country’s credit rating!

Take a look at the following chart which shows the inverse correlation of gold with the U.S. dollar:

Gold is Stronger than Crude Oil

If the U.S. dollar continues to go down, that means only one thing: gold is going to continue going up. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) agrees. As I wrote last week in Goldman Sachs Recommends Selling Commodities, Goldman didn’t recommend selling all commodities. In fact, while Goldman recommended selling crude oil and industrial metals, it continued to recommend buying gold and soybeans. As the following chart shows, gold has significantly outperformed Brent rude oil over the past three years:

Gold’s outperformance compared to oil is quite extraordinary when you take into account the price spike oil has seen from the recent Middle East political turmoil. Part of the reason may be the continued supply glut of natural gas, which can act as a partial substitute for oil and may be keeping pressure on oil going even higher.

How high can gold go? Many analysts believe gold will hit at least $2,100 an ounce is in the cards over the next three years and upwards of $5,000 an ounce by the end of the decade. While many commodities have surpassed their inflation-adjusted highs of 1980, gold has – hard to believe – lagged and would need to top $2,000 an ounce to surpass its 1980 high.
Find the Best Gold Mutual Fund with the Help of Personal Finance!

Ben Shepherd, mutual fund editor of Personal Finance, believes gold is going much higher for reasons other than just U.S. currency debasement. He recently told subscribers that increasing consumer demand for gold jewelry in high-growth emerging markets is also fueling gold’s rise:

Not only is gold the ultimate insurance in an uncertain market, but the precious metal also remains in high demand. According to the World Gold Council, Chinese demand for gold amounts to roughly 530 tons per year. The country’s gold imports rose fivefold in 2010. Consumers and retail investors accounted for much of this spike; demand for gold in jewelry and as an investment has increased as fears of inflation intensify.

To capitalize on gold’s continued meteoric rise, Ben likes one particular gold-focused mutual fund that includes both bullion and gold mining stocks. Mr. Shepherd describes the mutual fund this way:

A track record of success and an extraordinarily low expense ratio of 0.94 percent -- the average is 1.5 percent -- make this fund a winner

http://www.investingdaily.com/id/18585/gold-hits-1500-per-ounce.html

Mcdonalds the only job available for most Americans.

It's a sad day in America, when adults are competing for teenage jobs.



Job hungry Americans flock to McJobs AFP – Fast food giant McDonald's vowed to hire 50,000 new employees in a single day.(AFP/Jim Watson)
by Sebastian Smith – Tue Apr 19, 3:28 pm ET

NEW YORK (AFP) – Thousands of job-hungry applicants sank their teeth into a McDonald's mass hiring event Tuesday, with the fast-food giant attempting to sign up 50,000 new employees across America in a single day.

The home of the Big Mac turned itself into Big McJob as 14,000 US outlets laid out the welcome mat, each looking to fill on average three to four positions.

For job seekers in a still shaky, post-recession economy, the offer was a rare glimmer of hope.

New Yorker Thomas Hill, 24, raced to make it to as many interviews as possible before the day's end. The New York area counts 620 McDonald's and by mid-morning Hill and a friend had already interviewed at five.

"I'm open to any position. I'd do anything. I just need the finances to get myself steady," he said after interviewing at a midtown Manhattan outlet.

Wearing pointed black leather shoes, an over-sized tie, and a velvety jacket embroidered with sequins, Hill said: "We got up early and we got dressed nicely."

Bosses are keen to dispel the common perception of McDonald's jobs as low-wage and low-prospect.

Applicants are given leaflets promising "fun in a fast-paced environment," a chance to "feel good about yourself," and "learn as you earn."

"We love our McJobs and are very proud," said Elaine Diekmann, owner of a Manhattan franchise.

A dyed-in-the-wool McDonald's enthusiast, she's worked for the company for 37 years, starting at entry level and working her way up, along with her McDonald's veteran husband, to joint-owner.

"McDonald's is anything you want it to be. It can be part-time, short-term, pay-for-college type thing, or if they have the interest and ability to go through management development they can do anything," she said.

Jonathan Harris, 21, said he needed to finance paralegal courses that he takes at a New York community college with a view to an ambitious career.

"I want to be a district attorney and work with children and victims of domestic violence," the soft-spoken youngster said after putting in his McJob application.

Demand was also fierce for the 2,500 jobs on offer in the Chicago area, where McDonald's is headquartered.

John Lemond, 21 came dressed in a red shirt and tie in hopes of standing out from the crowd of applicants.

"I'm not picky at all -- I just need a job," he said while waiting for his turn for a brief interview at a franchise in the suburb of Evanston.

Chris O'Conner, 32, is hoping for a job in management but also said he was willing to take anything.

He's working a couple part-time jobs right now and is drawn to the health care and other benefits McDonald's offers.

"I'm looking for something full-time with benefits and a job I can grow in," he said as he waited with his hands resting on his application.

"McDonald's, they have a very good reputation as a very fast growing company. They have different career opportunities that appeal to me."

Managers declined to say how much they were offering candidates.

Nicole Curtin, a spokeswoman for McDonald's, said benefits include medical coverage and education support, although wages could go as low as the national minimum of $7.25 an hour.

"Some of our restaurants do pay minimum wage, but we're not considered a minimum wage employer. Depending on what your position is you may start above minimum wage," Curtin said.

In 24-hour outlets the work and the odd shifts can be demanding. With the pressure of fast-food, sometimes grumpy customers, and modest pay, the employee is still expected to serve with a smile.

But that's OK, New York franchise manager Daisy Perez said: "We train people to smile."

A page from the Apocalypse: plagues of flies, worms, bees

April 13, 2011 – INDONESIA - Parts of Indonesia are under siege by swarms of hairy caterpillars, which are getting into homes and causing skin rashes, according to local news reports. “The caterpillars are very disturbing. They crawl into the house and make our skin itch for days. They have long hairs,” a Jakarta resident identified as Nurhayati told the Jakarta Globe. A caterpillar swarm was first reported in East Java two weeks ago, according to the Globe, and new swarms have been observed in Bekasi, West Java, and Buleleng, Bali. The caterpillars are targeting the leaves of mango trees in Bali, according to a Bali Times report. Bali agricultural chief Made Putra Suryawan said Wednesday that authorities there are spraying insecticide and burning garbage to stop the spread of the insects, according to an Agence France Presse report on kompas.com. Suryawan said the species of caterpillars had not yet been identified. Their elevated numbers could be caused by a lack of predators, he said in the AFP report. “There’s a reduction in the number of birds and ants that feed on these caterpillars. People catch the birds to sell them and catch the ants to feed their pet birds,” Suryawan is quoted as saying. –CNN


United Kingdom- Hatfield- Mrs Minn called in an expert beekeeper, who said he had no idea why the bees, which have an essential role to play in pollinating crops and plants, had been attracted to her car in particular. –WH Times India - Berhampur (Orissa) (PTI) A man died and four others suffered wounds after they were stung by a swarm of wild bees at Aska, about 40 km from here today, police said. Kala Krushan Swain (35) was attacked by the bees while he was going to a local temple. He died on his way to hospital. Four passers-by were also stung and they were hospitalized. This was the third incident in two months in Ganjam and Kandhamal districts where three persons died in wild bee attack. -IBN


New Zealand – A thick swarm of small, hairy, fatty critters are invading homes all over South Canterbury in plague proportions. Cluster fly season has returned with a vengeance, leaving weary homeowners vacuuming daily and battling with sprays to keep the thousands of mites from taking over their home. David Curry, of Timaru-based company The Exterminator, said the phone had been running red hot. He described it as plague proportions. Cluster flies, named because of their ability to communicate with each other using a scent to summon themselves into clusters, were plaguing the whole district, mostly in rural areas, he said. “I’ve been to Geraldine and I’m down in Waimate doing some now,” he said yesterday. The first signs of cluster flies began a month ago. “Because they come en masse, it’s hard to control them all.” They’re just everywhere. It’s just unbelievable where they’re getting in.” When they would disappear depended on the weather, he said. The recent warm autumn days, where the flies fill buildings looking for a place to hibernate, meant the problem could last for some time. “It’ll be until we get the real cold snap,” Mr Curry said. “If we get real bad weather, that could be it because they’ll be killed off or they hibernate.” –Stuff NZ

Obama’s Plan on Gas Prices Is…

Following up on our previous post in which a top official with the American Petroleum Institute says we can expect gas prices to rise to $5 per gallon, John Hawkins happens to have piece up today on Barack Obama’s plan to address gas prices … well, sort of.

It’s not exactly about Obama’s plan to address gas prices, because … even with prices having risen 30% over the last year and now averaging $3.69 per gallon (up 67% since he took office) … Obama has no such plan. Only what Hawkins aptly describes as Obama’s Plan To Come Up With A Plan To Convince People He Has A Plan On Gas Prices:

Obama hates the oil industry, he’s blocking drilling in ANWR, he still has the clamps down on drilling in the Gulf — in other words, if it increases the price of oil, he’s favor. If he were honest, Obama would simply make the case to the American people for high gas prices. But of course, Obama’s not honest. He’s a diehard socialist with a moderate candy shell designed to trick people into swallowing his leftism.

So instead of the truth, we get a dog and pony show that’s designed to mislead the American people

Read more …

As John goes on to aptly note, we can expect Obama to continue to make the situation worse while doing nothing more than delivering rhetoric and spin, telling the American people about how important it is to him (while continuing to do nothing to bring prices down by drilling for more here in the U.S.) … essentially employing the same strategy of rhetoric and talking points – and nothing more, that he has used for dealing with the deficit — and look how well that’s worked out for us.

Unfortunately, Barack Obama’s ideologically-based energy agenda runs completely counter to the only solution – ‘expanded exploration and production’ – not cheap talk and taking credit for what other administrations have done. As Howard Rich points out in his Obama AWOL on Gas Prices, the administration continues to say one thing and do another on the rising price of gas — ignoring opportunities to increase our oil supply while at the same time taking credit for production gains that he is actively seeking to dismantle.


Gold, Silver And Oil Are All Skyrocketing And That Is Bad News For The U.S. Economy

The following is one statement that you should get used to seeing: “The price of gold set another record today.” Today, spot gold reached a new all-time record of $1461.91 an ounce before settling back a little bit. Silver is also skyrocketing. At one point today silver hit $39.75 an ounce. It seems inevitable that at some point we are going to be talking about $50 silver. The price of oil is also continuing to relentlessly march upwards. At last check U.S. oil was at about $108 a barrel. All of this is great news for those that are investing in gold, silver and oil, but all of this is also really bad news for the U.S. economy. Why? Well, because when these commodities go up in price it is a sign that the U.S. dollar is dying and that our country is getting closer to economic collapse.

Traditionally, there has been an inverse correlation between the price of gold and the value of the U.S. dollar. Usually when the U.S. dollar goes down, the price of gold goes up.

One of the main reasons why gold has been so strong over the past year is because the U.S. dollar has been rapidly losing value.

So why is the U.S. dollar declining?

Most economists point to all of the quantitative easing that the Federal Reserve has been doing.

So exactly what is quantitative easing?

Well, it is basically like playing Monopoly with someone that reaches under the table and pulls out a bunch of extra money when they are almost broke.

The Federal Reserve has been creating huge amounts of money out of thin air and has been pumping it into the financial system. It is essentially cheating, and it is highly inflationary. The rest of the world has not been amused.

But quantitative easing is not the only issue.

The truth is that whenever the U.S. government goes into more debt, more money is created. The U.S. has been running trillion dollar deficits for several years now, and this has created a lot of new money.

This is another reason why it is so important to get the U.S. government debt situation under control. The Obama administration is projecting that the budget deficit for this fiscal year will be about 1.6 trillion dollars. This is highly inflationary and it will continue to destroy the value of the dollar.

In addition, the rest of the world is beginning to have serious doubts about the sustainability of U.S. government debt. They are starting to lose faith in the U.S. dollar and in U.S. Treasuries.

In fact, investors are losing faith in paper currencies all over the globe. The euro is on the verge of a massive crisis. On Tuesday, Moody’s downgraded Portuguese government debt for the second time in a month. Portugal needs a bailout, but they are far from alone. A half dozen European nations are experiencing a financial meltdown and the European debt crisis could spiral out of control at any moment.

Because of all of this financial instability, investors have been seeking some place safe to put their money.

For many investors, precious metals and commodities have been the answer.

In fact, silver has been doing even better than gold lately. On Wednesday, silver set a new 31-year high for the third day in a row.

People are even starting to talk about the possibility of $50 silver. Most analysts would have considered such talk complete nonsense a year ago.

But now nobody is laughing.

The price of oil is also soaring. Some of that is due to inflation, but not all of it. The truth is that when it comes to oil there are other factors at play.

Unfortunately, a high price for oil is far more damaging to the U.S. economy than a high price for gold is.

The U.S. economy has been designed to use massive amounts of cheap oil to transport massive quantities of goods over vast distances. When the price of oil goes to $100 or $150 a barrel, it fundamentally changes the dynamics of our economic system.

Nobody has ever been able to prove that the U.S. economy can successfully handle a price for oil over $100 for an extended period of time.

Do you remember what happened back in 2008? The price of oil hit a record high in June and then the entire financial system came unglued just a few months later.

The price of oil affects the price of almost everything else. Almost all forms of economic activity use energy. Almost all goods have to be transported a significant distance.

http://www.favstocks.com/obamas-plan-on-gas-prices-is/0742453/

Jesse Ventura goes in on the view

Mounting disasters see doomsday bunker sales skyrocket 1000%

April 1, 2011 – ARIZONA – Reservations for a doomsday bunker in the U.S. have rocketed since Japan’s catastrophic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. The 137,000sq ft bunker – designed to house 950 people for a year and withstand a 50 megaton blast – is currently being built under the grasslands of Nebraska. Vivos, the California-based company behind it, is taking $5,000 (£3,100) deposits, which will have to be topped up to $25,000 (£15,600) to secure a place. It says applications have soared 1000 per cent in the wake of the disasters in Japan. And the bunkers will be kitted out with all the modern conveniences the American consumer has come to expect. Once finished the complex will feature four levels of residential suites, a dental and medical center, kitchens, pet kennels, a bakery, a prayer room, a fully stocked wine cellar and even a prison to detain any misbehaving residents. There will also be a 350ft tall lookout tower so residents can see what is going on around them – and if it’s safe to emerge. ‘People are afraid of the earth-changing events and ripple effects of the earthquake, which led to tsunamis, the nuclear.

6.4 Fiji quake sends more warning signs for Pacific Ring of Fire

March 31, 2011 – WAILAGI LALA, FIJI (BNO NEWS) — A strong earthquake struck the South Pacific Ocean on early Thursday afternoon, not far from an island part of Fiji, seismologists said. No tsunami warnings were issued. The 6.4-magnitude earthquake at 12.11 p.m. local time (0011 GMT) was centered about 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of Wailagi Lala, the northernmost outpost of Fiji’s Lau Islands with no known population. It struck about 23.7 kilometers (14.7 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 people in the region may have noticed weak to light shaking, but said no damage was to be expected. “There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage,” the agency said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning. –Channel 6 News


This is the 7th quake to strike Fiji in a week. This is more evidence that our preliminary assessment of volcanic and seismic activity along the volcanic trench of Tonga-Kermadec in the subduction zone has been in a period of escalation for the last 3 months. The Tonga Trench in the South Pacific Ocean is 10,882 meters (35,702 ft) deep at its deepest point which is known as the Horizon Deep. Under the sea, the Pacific Plate is being subducted below the Tonga and the Indo-Australian Plate. In this transform fault zone, where plates also slide in horizontal fashion, the convergence is taking place at a rate estimated at approximately 15 centimeters (6 inches) per year; however, recent Global Positioning Satellite measurements indicate in places a convergence of up to 24 centimeters (10 inches) per year is occurring across the northern Tonga Trench. This is the fastest plate velocity recorded on the planet. This results in the earth’s most active zone of mantle seismicity, where mantle is essentially devoured and recycled. This process takes place under both tremendous heat and pressures. The escalation of seismic activity in this region, Tonga, New Zealand, Kermadec may be one more indication also that geothermal gradient is increasing. The Fiji quake and resulting stress on the Pacific Plate was almost immediately followed by yet another 6.2 earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan. The Pacific Ring of Fire is becoming more volatile and dangerous and this seismic dynamism continues to perturb the stability of surrounding plates in the region

101 hit by mountainside collapse: California’s epidemic of landslides continue

March 31, 2011 – GARBERVILLE — A major artery through southern Humboldt County was shut down Wednesday following a massive slide of mud and rocks, the California Highway Patrol said. Officials estimated that the stretch of Highway 101 could be closed for up to two weeks. Crews may be able to open the section to one-way, controlled traffic in two to three days. Tons of debris tumbled and slid onto the highway about 5 miles north of Garberville around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, causing the road to buckle under the weight, CHP Officer Len Johnson said. “The whole mountain came down and just took the 101 out,” Johnson said, describing the large cracks in the road. “It looked like an earthquake.” Southern Humboldt Unified School District officials decided to close three schools for the rest of the week over transportation and food delivery concerns, The Times-Standard of Eureka reported. The closure comes as Humboldt County supervisors were set to declare an emergency to deal with $2 million in damage to county roads.

Farrakhan warns, advises Obama on Libya

Hundreds of dead fish wash up on Alabama beaches

March 29, 2011 – ALABAMA — Months after the hundreds of birds fell dead from the sky and after thousands of dead fish, crabs, sardines, dolphins, and whales washed ashore worldwide, more dead fish washed ashore in Alabama, and a dead whale washed ashore in Virginia. There’s still no cause for the hundreds of dead fish that were found dead along the gulf shores over the weekend. They were also found along the gulf state pier Saturday morning. Park officials said it was unusual to see spade fish in that area this early in the year. The dead sigh spanned about three miles of shoreline. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will take the fish in for testing. In Sandbridge, VA, the carcass of a Sei whale was found Sunday morning. The whale measured 35 to 40 feet long. Staffers from the Virginia Beach Aquarium were called to the site so that it could be secured and would not wash back into the ocean. The aquarium is planning to perform a necropsy on the dead animal to determine a cause of death. Sei whales are not common to the Virginia Beach area

Everett, Washington: Land Crack Appears, Neighborhood is Sinking

EVERETT, Wash. -- People living in the Valley View neighborhood of southeast Everett are waiting and watching. A two story house on their block is tilted at a 20 degree angle and could collapse at any moment.

A crack in the earth that first appeared six weeks ago is now threatening about four homes. The City of Everett has "red tagged" the home on Burl which is collapsing. That means no one is allowed near the property.

A "yellow tag" was posted on two other properties where the land is giving way.

A surface slide in the area of Rob and Margaret Lund's house caused their deck and cement patio to completely collapse.

"There is nothing to stop this from happening again and again," said Rob Lund.

Recent heavy rains has caused the sliding to accelerate in the neighborhood. Neighbors said the problem appears to be getting much worse.

"If that house goes, the land will go with it," said Steve Mosman, who lives right next door to the collapsing home. "It would pull our land down with it. We just don't know what is going to happen."

The City of Everett is monitoring the problem daily but has no authority to re-enforce private property. City engineers have recommended the homeowner demolish the collapsing home.

http://trentslist.org/trents-blog/69-announcements/283-everett-washington-land-crack-appears-neighborhood-is-sinking

New 6.5 Earthquake in Japan 3-28-2011

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck off the northeast coast of Japan as the country struggles to mitigate the consequences of its nuclear disaster.


According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a 50-centimetre (18 inch) tsunami warning has been issued for the Pacific coast of Miyagi prefecture, which was ruined by the huge earthquake and tsunami that hit on March 11, AFP reported on Sunday.

A massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 in Japan's northern coast set off the nuclear problems by knocking out power to cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant and causing radiation leaks.

The government has ordered the evacuation of about 200,000 people living in a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) area around the plant, and told people living between 20 kilometers and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the plant to remain indoors.

Japan has announced that nearly 28,000 people have died or are feared dead as a result of the disastrous quake and tsunami.

The quake is now considered Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 142,000 people

Suriving the coming food crisis.

Activist Post

Recently there has been an incredible flurry of news reporting about food shortages and the pending global food crisis. Everyone who looks at the indicators would agree that this crisis is only likely to worsen. It is estimated that the Australia floods alone could cause a 30% jump in food prices. Although the average shopper already can feel the food inflation, it is difficult to recognize the severity of the looming food shortages. After all, there are still 15 types of colorfully-boxed Cheerios packing the isles, which gives us the illusion of abundance.

The truth is that we are headed for large food production shortfalls, manipulated or not, while middle-class food demand grows massively in the developing world. For decades the world's agriculture community produced more than enough food to feed the planet, yet some now believe we are reaching "Peak Food" production levels. In turn, other experts believe the "food bubble" is about to burst, and not even the biotech companies can save us.


However, there are still vast unused stretches of fertile land that can be used around the globe, and the U.S. ethanol mandates that reportedly consume at least 25% of the corn harvest could be reduced to ease the burden. Therefore, it seems that despite the extreme weather and dwindling harvests, food production still has room to increase, but not without foresight and planning.

Additionally, the current systems for growing food are fully dependent on oil to achieve high levels of production, while livestock production is running at full concentration-camp capacity; the end product must then travel thousands of miles to get to store shelves. Clearly we can see the fragile nature of this system, especially on human health and the environment. Consequently, solving the so-called "food crisis" is far more complex than simply fixing statistical supply and demand issues.

Indeed, these are turbulent times where humanity appears to be nearing Peak Everything. Ultimately, solutions to the food crisis will begin at the local level. There are cutting-edge farming techniques gaining popularity that produce a large variety of crops by mimicking nature, as well as innovative techniques for small-scale food production at home or in urban buildings. These hold promise for easing local hunger.

Personal ways to protect yourself from food shortages may seem obvious to some, but many feel the task can be insurmountable. To the contrary, here are 5 simple ways to protect yourself from the coming food crisis:


Source
1. Create a Food Bank: Everyone should have a back-up to the everyday food pantry. In this environment, you should consider your personal food bank far more valuable than a dollar savings account. Start by picking up extra canned goods, dried foods, and other essentials for storage each time you go to the store. Also, hunt for coupons and shop for deals when they come up. Devise a plan for FIFO (first in, first out) rotation for your food bank. It is advisable to acquire food-grade bins to store your bulk dried foods, and be sure to label and date everything. Besides the obvious store-able foods like rice and beans, or canned goods, some other important items to hoard are salt, peanut butter, cooking oils, sugar, coffee, and powdered milk. If you don't believe the food crisis will be too severe, then buy items that you would eat on a normal daily basis. But if you believe the crisis will be sustained for some time, purchasing a grain mill to refine bulk wheat or corn may prove to be the most economical way to stretch your food bank. Some emergency MREs are also something to consider because they have a long shelf life.

2. Produce Your Own Food: Having some capacity to produce your own food will simply become a necessity as the food system crumbles. If you don't know much about gardening, then start small with a few garden boxes for tomatoes, herbs, or sprouting and keep expanding to the limits of your garden. And for goodness sakes, get some chickens. They are a supremely easy animal to maintain and come with endless benefits from providing eggs and meat, to eating bugs and producing rich manure. Five laying hens will ensure good cheap protein for the whole family. If you have limited growing space, there are brilliant aquaculture systems that can produce an abundance of fish and vegetables in a small area. Aquaculture is a contained organic hydroponic system where the fertilized waste water from the fish tank is pumped through the vegetable growing trays which absorb the nutrients before returning clean water to the fish tank. Set high goals for independent food production, but start with what's manageable.

3. Learn Food Preservation: Food preservation comes in many forms such as canning, pickling, and dehydrating. In every case some tools and materials are required along with a good deal of knowledge. If you can afford a dehydrator, they all usually come with a preparation guide for most foods. You can also purchase a vacuum sealer if you have the means. A good vacuum sealer should come with thorough instructions and storage tips, and will add months if not years to many food items. If you're a beginner at canning, start with tomatoes first. It's easy and very valuable when all your tomatoes ripen at the same time and you want fresh pasta sauce in the winter. A bigger ticket item that is nice to have for food preservation is a DC solar powered chest freezer. It is the ultimate treasure chest.

4. Store Seeds: The government and the elite have seed banks and so should you. Seeds have been a viable currency in many civilizations past and present. They represent food when scarcity hits. Before the rise of commercial seed giants like Monsanto, local gardeners were adept at selecting seeds from the healthiest plants, saving them, and introducing them to the harvest for the following year, thus strengthening the species. Through local adaptation to pests, genetic diversity was further ensured; it was long-term thinking at its finest. That is why it is important to find heirloom seed banks and learn to save seeds from each harvest.

5. Join or Start a Local Co-Op: Joining local cooperatives is very important, especially when food shortages occur. You may not be able to provide for yourself completely, especially in terms of variety, so having a community mechanism to spread the burden and share the spoils will be critical. If you don't know if you have a local food cooperative in your area you can search the directory at LocalHarvest.org. You may also be able to get information from your local farmers market. If your area doesn't have a co-op, then start one. These co-ops don't have to be big or elaborate. In fact, it may be more optimal to organize it with friends, neighbors, or co-workers. Whether you join or start a cooperative, work to expand the participants and products.

Please tell us how you're preparing by sharing your story in the comment section.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA WAKING UP FINALLY

Shift of Earth's magnetic north pole impacts Tampa airport

TAMPA - Scientists say the magnetic north pole is moving toward Russia and the fallout has reached -- of all places -- Tampa International Airport.

The airport has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to repaint the numeric designators at each end and change taxiway signage to account for the shift in location of the Earth's magnetic north.

The closure of the west parallel runway will result in more activity on the east parallel runway and more noise for residential areas of south Tampa.

The busiest runway will be re-designated 19R/1L on aviation charts. It's been 18R/36L, indicating its alignment along the 180-degree approach from the north and the 360-degree approach from the south.

Later this month, the airport's east parallel runway and the seldom used east-west runway will be closed to change signage to their new designations.

The Federal Aviation Administration required the runway designation change to account for what a National Geographic News report described as a gradual shift of the Earth's magnetic pole at nearly 40 miles a year toward Russia because of magnetic changes in the core of the planet.


http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/jan/05/051903/shift-of-earths-magnetic-north-pole-impacts-tampa-/

Happy 2011

Cold As Hell:'Monster' storm set to cause travel chaos in U.S. this weekend (but at least it'll be a White Christmas

If you're in America and hoping for a White Christmas, it looks like you may be in luck.

Forecasters are predicting that up to half the country will be blanketed in snow this Christmas - well over the usual average of 25 per cent.

But with a 'monster' storm set to bear down on much of the north-east this weekend, many may actually be tired of the snow by the time Christmas rolls around.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336689/Monster-storm-set-cause-travel-chaos-U-S-weekend-itll-White-Christmas.html#ixzz17eCLeXY1



Accuweather meteorologists are predicting a major storm is set to sweep the country from the northern plains into Ohio - and then re-develop off the mid-Atlantic coast.

Travel chaos is being predicted over the weekend as snow is set to cover a great swathe of the country from the Dakotas up into the north-east.

'The storm has the potential to explode into a major snowstorm that could produce in excess of 6 inches of snow over a large area of the Northeast states and eastern Canada,' Accuweather.com meteorologists wrote.

The severe weather is part of a pattern that has developed across the country, forecasters said - the same pattern that could result in a white Christmas.

The blocking pattern over the Atlantic is creating a funnel for freezing air from Canada to flow down into the eastern U.S., forecasters said.

The frigid air is reaching all the way to Florida, where farmers are battling to save their orange trees as temperatures hit freezing.

The National Weather Service has also issued parts of Alabama and Georgia with freeze warnings.

The cold is set to last for at least two weeks, with few days of warmth in between

Why Earth may be entering a new Ice Age





All data points to the sun as the primary source of short-term and long term climate change on Earth. While volcanic eruptions such as the current one in Iceland can affect short-term weather conditions over a region, planetary climate is governed by solar activity-or lack of it.

The first inkling that something had changed with the sun was the recognition of an abnormal sunspot cycle. Then, astronomers noted that all the planets were heating up-even little Pluto on the outskirts of our solar system.


While climatologists on Earth massaged the data to make it seem like man-made global warming was real, major climate changes were occurring on Mars.

During the peak of the global warming debate, the prestigious National Geographic Magazine published a ground-breaking article by Habibullo Abdussamatov in 2007, "Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says."

Habibullo Abdussamatov, an astrophysicist and head of space research at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, stated that solar activity caused the climate change on Earth and that observations of Mars revealed the shrinking of the carbon dioxide ice caps at the Martian South Polar region.

In that article, Abdussamatov explained: "The long-term increase in solar irradiance is heating both Earth and Mars." The scientist, accurate in past predictions, has recently pronounced his belief that Earth will enter a "little Ice Age: as early as 2014 and lasting as long as two centuries. The last one occurred between 1650 and 1850 and accounted for many crop failures, outbreaks of famines and mass migrations.

Abdussamatov contends, "Long-term variations in the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth are the main and principal reasons driving and defining the whole mechanism of climatic changes from the global warmings to the Little Ice Ages to the big glacial periods."

If his theory is true—and the International Space Station will be testing parts of it over the next six years—then use of hydrocarbon technology should not be diminished, but increased. Only through technological applications in growing economies would humanity be able to "to maintain economic growth in order to adapt to the upcoming new Little Ice Age in the middle of the 21st century," he asserts.

Whereas global warming would be a good thing (despite the gloomy forecasts) a mini-Ice Age could be disastrous: growing seasons would be shortened, more energy must be extended to stay warm, and



food shortages may lead to breakouts of regional warfare.

"Observations of the sun show that as for the increase in temperature, carbon dioxide is not guilty." The Russian scientist is concerned about this move towards an extending cooling period. He states, "and as for what lies ahead in the coming decades, it is not catastrophic warming, but a global, and very prolonged temperature drop."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1336689/Monster-storm-set-cause-travel-chaos-U-S-weekend-itll-White-Christmas.html

http://www.helium.com/items/1837151-why-earth-may-be-entering-a-new-ice-age?page=2