http://www.olivenation.com/
They carry spices, cheeses, etc. I just ordered some vanilla beans from them and their prices are very reasonable and they are having free shipping on their vanilla beans right now.
I'm going to be making my own vanilla extract. More later...
Saturday, February 26, 2011
What have I been up to lately...
Well on Thursday I decided to go to the Joann Fabric Store grand opening in Huntsville. DH decided to go with me and after I was done spending the big bucks there we were going to go to EarthFare which is in the same mini-mall. I wanted to get there early as they were going to be giving away 100 $10 gift certificates. Instead of waiting in the car, DH decided to wait in line with me until the store opened. We had gotten there 1/2 hour early and there was a line...crazy. But when they opened the doors since we were in the first 100 we got gift certificates and since DH was with me he got one too! He handed it to me...isnt he sweet? So the next time I get a chance to go I can use them and get $20 off....Woohoo! Oh by the way I only spent $22 not the big bucks you had in mind huh?
We then went over to EarthFare. I had gotten on the computer before we left the house and got on their site. I signed up for emails from them and got a free meal coupon plus some others. The free meal coupon was for a whole fresh chicken, 1# bag of baby carrots and some potatoes from the deli. Total for all of them would have been close to $16 and we got it all for free! Let me tell you we ate the potatoes and they were GREAT! Yummy, just so yummy. The chicken we froze to eat later and the carrots are in the fridge. We have decided to go there more often because it didnt cost as much as we thought it would and they werent that busy that early in the morning. We got some milk there too which was just pasturized and not homogenized and it was under $6 a gallon which wasnt bad and it was local milk too!
On Friday I was sick...why oh why did I make a pig of myself on the peanuts, cranberry, dark chocolate mixture. Felt a lot better after I threw up later that day but we wont go there...:)
Today we had eggs, pancakes and some yummy applewood smoked bacon again from EarthFare. DH had off and took down some of the fencing from our old chicken run. He is going to rototill the earth there and plant some clover for the chicks. We decided to plant some things just for them so that our feed bill wont be so high. On some of the other blogs I read I see that the prices have gone up on the feed. We buy two 25 lb bags at a time usually and supplement with sunflower seeds, scratch and alfalfa cubes that DH crushes up for them at least for this past winter and we try to buy greens in the store for them. This summer they should have clover galore and I'm going to plant sunflowers so we will have seeds for them this winter. Anything to keep the cost down since they are only going to go up because of what is happening overseas. Do you do anything like this for your chickens or other livestock that you would want to share with any readers here? I think we should share information as much as possible just to get through these difficult times and I know I appreciate any information you can give.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
We then went over to EarthFare. I had gotten on the computer before we left the house and got on their site. I signed up for emails from them and got a free meal coupon plus some others. The free meal coupon was for a whole fresh chicken, 1# bag of baby carrots and some potatoes from the deli. Total for all of them would have been close to $16 and we got it all for free! Let me tell you we ate the potatoes and they were GREAT! Yummy, just so yummy. The chicken we froze to eat later and the carrots are in the fridge. We have decided to go there more often because it didnt cost as much as we thought it would and they werent that busy that early in the morning. We got some milk there too which was just pasturized and not homogenized and it was under $6 a gallon which wasnt bad and it was local milk too!
On Friday I was sick...why oh why did I make a pig of myself on the peanuts, cranberry, dark chocolate mixture. Felt a lot better after I threw up later that day but we wont go there...:)
Today we had eggs, pancakes and some yummy applewood smoked bacon again from EarthFare. DH had off and took down some of the fencing from our old chicken run. He is going to rototill the earth there and plant some clover for the chicks. We decided to plant some things just for them so that our feed bill wont be so high. On some of the other blogs I read I see that the prices have gone up on the feed. We buy two 25 lb bags at a time usually and supplement with sunflower seeds, scratch and alfalfa cubes that DH crushes up for them at least for this past winter and we try to buy greens in the store for them. This summer they should have clover galore and I'm going to plant sunflowers so we will have seeds for them this winter. Anything to keep the cost down since they are only going to go up because of what is happening overseas. Do you do anything like this for your chickens or other livestock that you would want to share with any readers here? I think we should share information as much as possible just to get through these difficult times and I know I appreciate any information you can give.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Monday, February 21, 2011
Mavis' blog
http://100dollarsamonth.blogspot.com/
Mavis is great. She has all the bargains on her site. Stop over and see for yourself. She is feeding her family on $25 a week.
Mavis is great. She has all the bargains on her site. Stop over and see for yourself. She is feeding her family on $25 a week.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
An actual written post!
Thursday I went out with my friend, Kathy, her daughter and granddaughter for lunch. We went to 88 Buffet on University Drive. We got there at 11 which was great because just a half an hour later there was a line all the way outside to get in! It was a very good buffet with lots of different dishes and the price was really good. For the three of us (the granddaughter is under 2) it was only $22 and I had gotten a sweet tea so it would have only been $21 plus tax. No wonder there were so many people there. After we were done we went over to the new Joann's Fabric store. It's been open only for two weeks. Of course we said we werent going to get anything. You know how that went...we each bought something. Going out to lunch with friends can be very expensive sometimes LOL. No I really didnt spend that much. I just got a few small items and a magazine. When I got home I signed up for Joanns flyer so should be receiving the sales flyers regularly now.
On Friday evening, hubby and I went to Publix. I've been coupon cutting lately and actually with all their buy one get one free things plus my coupons we got out of there under $120 which was pretty good. I saved about $30 with my coupons. I would love to be one of those coupon cutters who can go in and get a carload of groceries and only pay the tax. I wanted to go to CVS but hubby was tired and cranky (he worked 8 hours and shopping is not his favorite thing to do) and he just wanted to go home and eat his sandwich.
Today I went to CVS. Most of the things I was going to get were sold out. So next time if there is something I really want I need to get my butt in there the first of the week when the sale starts. I used my extrabucks up though and only spent $4 for my bag of stuff. I was pleased anyway. I also stopped at a new thrift store that just opened a couple of months ago. I got a little crock for $5. It was cute and who couldnt find a use for a crock? Tonight we are going to eat leftover sandwiches for supper. We always get a full hoagie and then half it and eat one half the first night and either eat the remaining sandwich for lunch the next day or for supper.
I'll have to take a pic of my crock so you can see it.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
On Friday evening, hubby and I went to Publix. I've been coupon cutting lately and actually with all their buy one get one free things plus my coupons we got out of there under $120 which was pretty good. I saved about $30 with my coupons. I would love to be one of those coupon cutters who can go in and get a carload of groceries and only pay the tax. I wanted to go to CVS but hubby was tired and cranky (he worked 8 hours and shopping is not his favorite thing to do) and he just wanted to go home and eat his sandwich.
Today I went to CVS. Most of the things I was going to get were sold out. So next time if there is something I really want I need to get my butt in there the first of the week when the sale starts. I used my extrabucks up though and only spent $4 for my bag of stuff. I was pleased anyway. I also stopped at a new thrift store that just opened a couple of months ago. I got a little crock for $5. It was cute and who couldnt find a use for a crock? Tonight we are going to eat leftover sandwiches for supper. We always get a full hoagie and then half it and eat one half the first night and either eat the remaining sandwich for lunch the next day or for supper.
I'll have to take a pic of my crock so you can see it.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
New Warning on shatter resistant bulbs from McMurray Hatchery
Shatter Resistant Bulbs: A Potential Danger to Your Chickens
Posted on February 18, 2011 by McMurray Staff
Shatter resistant or safety coated light bulbs are a potential source for toxic fumes that can be dangerous to your chickens and other poultry. There are a number of shatter resistant light bulbs on the market today. These include heat lamp bulbs, work lamp bulbs, and appliance bulbs. These bulbs have or may have a coating made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which makes them shatter resistant.
When these bulbs are used, they heat up, and if the glass wall of the bulb becomes hot enough the coating can release toxic fumes. Birds (such as chickens or other poultry) are very sensitive to airborne toxins and can die from the exposure to such fumes. This can happen quickly.
We were recently contacted by a small flock owner whom this happened to. She went out to her chicken coop to find all of her chickens dead. The cause? She had recently purchased a shatter resistant light bulb and used it in her chicken coop. The bulb’s packaging contained no information on the potential dangers and did not tell the composition of the shatterproof coating. The deeply saddened flock owner had her chickens examined by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service’s Veterinarian, a pathological specialist. The veterinarian examined the chickens, and could find no disease. The only thing that had changed in the management of the chickens was the installation of this light bulb. The veterinarian researched the light bulb and found that it has a PTFE coating. The conclusion was that the coating heated up during the use of the bulb, and in the enclosed coop produced high enough concentrations of toxic fumes to kill the chickens.
Something similar occurred on a larger scale in 1999 in a poultry research facility in Missouri, where many birds in a 2400 bird broiler flock died over the course of several days. According to clinical results, the death of the broiler chickens was due to exposure to noxious gas. No change had been made to the management of the birds other than the installation of 48 PTFE-coated heat lamp bulbs.
PTFE is a synthetic polymer that was developed in 1938. Besides the coating in shatter resistant light bulbs, it is used in a number of other household products, some of which include portable heaters, irons and ironing board covers, hair curling irons, stain resistant coatings on carpet, stove top burners, drip pans, self-cleaning ovens, non-stick cooking pans, slow cookers, waffle makers, bread makers, and tortilla presses. Not all such products contain PTFE, but some do. PTFE is also associated with the brand names Teflon®, Rulon®, Chemfluor®, and possibly others.
PTFE is relatively stable and chemical and heat resistant at room temperature, but at high temperature it can release toxic fumes. These fumes can be dangerous to humans, causing flu-like symptoms, but are even more harmful to birds because of their small size, efficient lungs, and high metabolic rate.
We do not recommend using shatter proof bulbs or any products containing PTFE in your chicken coops or in brooders for baby chicks. If you have any doubts as to the safety of a particular product, please research it as thoroughly as possible before using it with your poultry. The heat lamp bulbs that we carry on our website and in our catalog are free of PTFE and are safe to use with your poultry.
Other types of fumes that can also be harmful or fatal to chickens or other birds include include aerosols, fumes from paint, paint thinners, gasoline, certain glues, or other heated plastics, tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, pesticides (such as foggers or bug bombs), and moth balls.
Posted on February 18, 2011 by McMurray Staff
Shatter resistant or safety coated light bulbs are a potential source for toxic fumes that can be dangerous to your chickens and other poultry. There are a number of shatter resistant light bulbs on the market today. These include heat lamp bulbs, work lamp bulbs, and appliance bulbs. These bulbs have or may have a coating made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) which makes them shatter resistant.
When these bulbs are used, they heat up, and if the glass wall of the bulb becomes hot enough the coating can release toxic fumes. Birds (such as chickens or other poultry) are very sensitive to airborne toxins and can die from the exposure to such fumes. This can happen quickly.
We were recently contacted by a small flock owner whom this happened to. She went out to her chicken coop to find all of her chickens dead. The cause? She had recently purchased a shatter resistant light bulb and used it in her chicken coop. The bulb’s packaging contained no information on the potential dangers and did not tell the composition of the shatterproof coating. The deeply saddened flock owner had her chickens examined by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service’s Veterinarian, a pathological specialist. The veterinarian examined the chickens, and could find no disease. The only thing that had changed in the management of the chickens was the installation of this light bulb. The veterinarian researched the light bulb and found that it has a PTFE coating. The conclusion was that the coating heated up during the use of the bulb, and in the enclosed coop produced high enough concentrations of toxic fumes to kill the chickens.
Something similar occurred on a larger scale in 1999 in a poultry research facility in Missouri, where many birds in a 2400 bird broiler flock died over the course of several days. According to clinical results, the death of the broiler chickens was due to exposure to noxious gas. No change had been made to the management of the birds other than the installation of 48 PTFE-coated heat lamp bulbs.
PTFE is a synthetic polymer that was developed in 1938. Besides the coating in shatter resistant light bulbs, it is used in a number of other household products, some of which include portable heaters, irons and ironing board covers, hair curling irons, stain resistant coatings on carpet, stove top burners, drip pans, self-cleaning ovens, non-stick cooking pans, slow cookers, waffle makers, bread makers, and tortilla presses. Not all such products contain PTFE, but some do. PTFE is also associated with the brand names Teflon®, Rulon®, Chemfluor®, and possibly others.
PTFE is relatively stable and chemical and heat resistant at room temperature, but at high temperature it can release toxic fumes. These fumes can be dangerous to humans, causing flu-like symptoms, but are even more harmful to birds because of their small size, efficient lungs, and high metabolic rate.
We do not recommend using shatter proof bulbs or any products containing PTFE in your chicken coops or in brooders for baby chicks. If you have any doubts as to the safety of a particular product, please research it as thoroughly as possible before using it with your poultry. The heat lamp bulbs that we carry on our website and in our catalog are free of PTFE and are safe to use with your poultry.
Other types of fumes that can also be harmful or fatal to chickens or other birds include include aerosols, fumes from paint, paint thinners, gasoline, certain glues, or other heated plastics, tobacco smoke, carbon monoxide, pesticides (such as foggers or bug bombs), and moth balls.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Obama creates the worlds first superstate
http://www.freestatevoice.com.au/politics/item/609-obama-creates-the-worlds-first-superstate-with-us-canada-merger
After Kelle's comment on the last post, I looked up the first one. If you want to see that one, the link doesnt work because it was too long but if you just go to the above shortcut and go to their site, they have lots of articles and the one she mentioned was under the politics tab. It is further down than the one I have posted above. This paper is from Australia. It is very interesting to see what other countries know about our own country that we dont. Now we all need to ask ourselves why is our media not covering these things?
And before I forget, Thanks Kelle for the info!!!
After Kelle's comment on the last post, I looked up the first one. If you want to see that one, the link doesnt work because it was too long but if you just go to the above shortcut and go to their site, they have lots of articles and the one she mentioned was under the politics tab. It is further down than the one I have posted above. This paper is from Australia. It is very interesting to see what other countries know about our own country that we dont. Now we all need to ask ourselves why is our media not covering these things?
And before I forget, Thanks Kelle for the info!!!
U.S. Budget Deficit
I keep posting these articles. I dont know if anyone reads them but you really should. I know it is a lot to comprehend but the economy does affect everyone. My food bill has gone up and I'm sure that yours has as well. If we dont cut the deficit, we will not be able to pay the interest. Who do we owe the interest to? China and other countries but mainly China. If you dont pay your loan payment on your house what happens? That's right the bank forcloses so if we arent able to pay even the interest rate what do you think happens? Do you think China will just let it ride? They will say no problem just pay us later? Maybe to pay them we will have to give them some national forests or other government owned buildings, land, etc. Its scary and it has been going on for a long time. And we just cant keep printing money with nothing to back it up with such as gold or silver. You can print all the money you want to - it just isnt worth anything. And the more money that they print the less it is worth which affects everyone's buying power.
NIA Projects Multi-Trillion Dollar U.S. Budget Deficits
Earlier this week, President Obama released the White House's budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 along with their budget projections for the following 10 years. The White House projects a record budget deficit in 2011 of $1.645 trillion, but for the deficit to be reduced to $1.101 trillion in 2012, $768 billion in 2013, $645 billion in 2014, and a low of $607 billion in 2015, before rising back up to $774 billion in 2021. We give Obama credit for being honest and admitting that he has no intention of making any attempt to balance the budget. However, NIA believes the White House is making ridiculous assumptions and deceiving the public about future budget deficits.
In our opinion, the White House will be right about the U.S. having a record budget deficit in 2011. Unfortunately, we believe this is the only thing they will be right about. Any proposed spending cuts coming out of Washington today are so small that they are a waste of time even discussing. The truth is, the total cost of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other mandatory programs alone will be $2.2 trillion in 2011. Then when you add in the projected $205 billion in interest payments on our national debt in 2011, we will have a budget deficit of $235 billion right there without including any of the government's $891 billion in security and $496 billion in non-security discretionary spending.
Obama's proposed freeze on non-security discretionary spending will only save $406 billion over the next 10 years, which is absolutely nothing. If Obama didn't just freeze discretionary spending, but he cut all discretionary spending down to zero, we would still have a budget deficit. Nobody in the mainstream media is educating the American public about just how dire our country's fiscal situation is. We get called fear-mongers for preparing Americans for hyperinflation, but we speak the truth while the mainstream media ignores our country's financial problems. We wouldn't have to spend close to a million dollars per year producing documentaries and writing articles about the hyperinflationary crisis ahead if the mainstream media did their job.
NIA believes that after our record budget deficit this year, there is a 99% chance that we will continue to see more record budget deficits in the years ahead. Even if 2012 or 2013 saw a minor dip in our budget deficit, we could see budget deficits that are double or triple their current level within the next few years. In fact, NIA doesn't think our nation will survive until 2021 based on the path we are currently on. The U.S. won't be able to continue printing money to monetize the debt and deficits, without seeing an outbreak of massive inflation and perhaps hyperinflation at some point this decade.
To reach the White House's projected reductions in the budget deficit after a record budget deficit in 2011, the White House is projecting that annual price inflation in the U.S. will rise from just 1.3% in 2011, to just 1.8% in 2012, 1.9% in 2013, 2% in 2014, and 2.1% per year from 2016 through 2021. NIA believes these numbers are unrealistic and that real price inflation in the U.S. is already north of 5%. NIA believes real price inflation is likely to rise above 10% in either the second half of 2011 or early 2012. The Federal Reserve has held interest rates at artificially low levels of 0% to 0.25% for over two years. Artificially low interest rates are very inflationary. In order to contain price inflation and keep it under control, the Federal Reserve must raise interest rates to above the real rate of price inflation. The Fed won't do this because it would destroy our phony economic recovery.
If the Federal Reserve never lowered interest rates and kept them at 5.25% where they were in 2006, instead of having 5% price inflation today, we would likely have at least 5% price deflation. This means inflation is now conservatively 10% higher than where it would have been without the Federal Reserve's destructive actions. To put this into perspective, with three years of 5% price inflation, a product becomes 35% more expensive than it would have been with three years of 5% price deflation.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported yesterday that year-over-year price inflation in the month of January was 1.63%, compared to 1.5% in December. Even based on the phony BLS numbers, it is obvious to all that price inflation in the U.S. is accelerating. NIA estimates that real price inflation is now closing in on 6%.
Not only is the White House budget using deceptive inflation numbers, but it is also misleading Americans about GDP growth. The White House budget is projecting 5% annual nominal GDP growth over the next 10 years. Over the past decade, the U.S. has seen an average annual nominal GDP growth rate of 3.95% and if you go back to the years 2001-2005 during the Real Estate bubble, we saw annual nominal GDP growth during those five years of 4.86%.
It is absolutely insane for the White House to be projecting nominal 5% GDP growth per year, with inflation of only 2% per year. There is absolutely no chance of the U.S. economy seeing real GDP growth of 3% per year, which would be higher than our average real GDP growth during the biggest artificial boom in U.S. history. In our opinion, any GDP growth the U.S. sees this decade will be created entirely by inflation. Considering that the White House expects there to be a lot of GDP growth in the years ahead, they are clearly putting a lot of pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to create as much monetary inflation as possible.
As part of the White House's budget projections, they also project unemployment in the U.S. to decline from an average of 9.6% in 2011 to a low of 5.3% in years 2016 through 2021. Real unemployment in the U.S. today, after accounting for both short and long-term discouraged workers, is now approximately 22%. Between federal, state, and local government workers, government employees now make up 16% of all U.S. payrolls. Over the past 60 years, government employment growth has just about doubled the rate of U.S. population growth. During the upcoming hyperinflationary crisis, we could very easily see the number of government employees cut in half, which would send the official U.S. unemployment rate up to 16% and the real unemployment rate up to 29%.
The biggest problem NIA has with the White House budget is their projections for interest payments on our national debt. Historically, going back the past 50 years, yields on the 10-year bond have averaged about 7.2%. The 10-year bond yield has been skyrocketing in recent months and is currently 3.57%, up from being 2.381% on October 8th of last year. With the 10-year bond yield surging 50% over the past four months, there is no reason the yield can't surge another 50% over the next six to twelve months up to 5.36%. Yet, the White House is projecting the bond yield to average 3% in 2011 and to rise to only 3.6% in 2012, 4.2% in 2013, and up to a high of 5.3% for years 2017 to 2021. Trust us, if interest rates on the 10-year bond don't rise to 5.3% within the next six to twelve months, we guarantee they will still do so a lot closer to six months than six years.
With treasury yields having been held at artificially low levels for so long, we expect them to rise above historically average levels and remain there for many years. There is no doubt that we will see bond yields back above 7.2% in the years ahead. As inflation begins to spiral out of control, we expect to see bond yields rise to above 10% and beyond. The White House doesn't expect interest payments on our national debt to rise above $500 billion until the year 2015. They're projecting net interest payments in 2015 of $505 billion with our public debt averaging the year around $13.9 trillion. In order words, they expect us to pay only 3.6% interest on our debt that year.
To summarize, Obama expects our budget deficit to decline from $1.645 trillion this year down to a low of $607 billion in 2015 by having 5% per year GDP growth, only 2% per year inflation, unemployment in 2015 of only 5.9%, and an overall interest rate that is only 1/2 of historical 10-year treasury yields. NIA projects that the U.S. will see zero GDP growth adjusted for inflation and if we are right, and we also see the U-3 unemployment rate rise back above 10% along with our overall interest rate on our debt rising back to historical levels of 7.2%, our actual deficit in 2015 could very easily surpass $3 trillion.
In early 2008, the Bush Administration was projecting the U.S. budget deficit to decline to $160 billion in 2010, $96 billion in 2011, and for the U.S. to have a $48 billion surplus in 2012. Look how easily a $96 billion projected deficit turned into a $1.645 trillion deficit, 17 times higher than projected. It is nearly impossible to reduce budget deficits once they begin spiraling out of control, unless the government acted to dramatically slash spending by 50% or more in all areas of the budget including the so-called untouchable areas like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Obama pledged while running for President to cut the budget deficit in half during his first term, but it has so far increased by 262%. If we have just a few more years of trillion dollar plus budget deficits, interest payments on our national debt will begin to approach half of U.S. government tax receipts and at that point, hyperinflation will be all but guaranteed.
NIA Projects Multi-Trillion Dollar U.S. Budget Deficits
Earlier this week, President Obama released the White House's budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 along with their budget projections for the following 10 years. The White House projects a record budget deficit in 2011 of $1.645 trillion, but for the deficit to be reduced to $1.101 trillion in 2012, $768 billion in 2013, $645 billion in 2014, and a low of $607 billion in 2015, before rising back up to $774 billion in 2021. We give Obama credit for being honest and admitting that he has no intention of making any attempt to balance the budget. However, NIA believes the White House is making ridiculous assumptions and deceiving the public about future budget deficits.
In our opinion, the White House will be right about the U.S. having a record budget deficit in 2011. Unfortunately, we believe this is the only thing they will be right about. Any proposed spending cuts coming out of Washington today are so small that they are a waste of time even discussing. The truth is, the total cost of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other mandatory programs alone will be $2.2 trillion in 2011. Then when you add in the projected $205 billion in interest payments on our national debt in 2011, we will have a budget deficit of $235 billion right there without including any of the government's $891 billion in security and $496 billion in non-security discretionary spending.
Obama's proposed freeze on non-security discretionary spending will only save $406 billion over the next 10 years, which is absolutely nothing. If Obama didn't just freeze discretionary spending, but he cut all discretionary spending down to zero, we would still have a budget deficit. Nobody in the mainstream media is educating the American public about just how dire our country's fiscal situation is. We get called fear-mongers for preparing Americans for hyperinflation, but we speak the truth while the mainstream media ignores our country's financial problems. We wouldn't have to spend close to a million dollars per year producing documentaries and writing articles about the hyperinflationary crisis ahead if the mainstream media did their job.
NIA believes that after our record budget deficit this year, there is a 99% chance that we will continue to see more record budget deficits in the years ahead. Even if 2012 or 2013 saw a minor dip in our budget deficit, we could see budget deficits that are double or triple their current level within the next few years. In fact, NIA doesn't think our nation will survive until 2021 based on the path we are currently on. The U.S. won't be able to continue printing money to monetize the debt and deficits, without seeing an outbreak of massive inflation and perhaps hyperinflation at some point this decade.
To reach the White House's projected reductions in the budget deficit after a record budget deficit in 2011, the White House is projecting that annual price inflation in the U.S. will rise from just 1.3% in 2011, to just 1.8% in 2012, 1.9% in 2013, 2% in 2014, and 2.1% per year from 2016 through 2021. NIA believes these numbers are unrealistic and that real price inflation in the U.S. is already north of 5%. NIA believes real price inflation is likely to rise above 10% in either the second half of 2011 or early 2012. The Federal Reserve has held interest rates at artificially low levels of 0% to 0.25% for over two years. Artificially low interest rates are very inflationary. In order to contain price inflation and keep it under control, the Federal Reserve must raise interest rates to above the real rate of price inflation. The Fed won't do this because it would destroy our phony economic recovery.
If the Federal Reserve never lowered interest rates and kept them at 5.25% where they were in 2006, instead of having 5% price inflation today, we would likely have at least 5% price deflation. This means inflation is now conservatively 10% higher than where it would have been without the Federal Reserve's destructive actions. To put this into perspective, with three years of 5% price inflation, a product becomes 35% more expensive than it would have been with three years of 5% price deflation.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported yesterday that year-over-year price inflation in the month of January was 1.63%, compared to 1.5% in December. Even based on the phony BLS numbers, it is obvious to all that price inflation in the U.S. is accelerating. NIA estimates that real price inflation is now closing in on 6%.
Not only is the White House budget using deceptive inflation numbers, but it is also misleading Americans about GDP growth. The White House budget is projecting 5% annual nominal GDP growth over the next 10 years. Over the past decade, the U.S. has seen an average annual nominal GDP growth rate of 3.95% and if you go back to the years 2001-2005 during the Real Estate bubble, we saw annual nominal GDP growth during those five years of 4.86%.
It is absolutely insane for the White House to be projecting nominal 5% GDP growth per year, with inflation of only 2% per year. There is absolutely no chance of the U.S. economy seeing real GDP growth of 3% per year, which would be higher than our average real GDP growth during the biggest artificial boom in U.S. history. In our opinion, any GDP growth the U.S. sees this decade will be created entirely by inflation. Considering that the White House expects there to be a lot of GDP growth in the years ahead, they are clearly putting a lot of pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to create as much monetary inflation as possible.
As part of the White House's budget projections, they also project unemployment in the U.S. to decline from an average of 9.6% in 2011 to a low of 5.3% in years 2016 through 2021. Real unemployment in the U.S. today, after accounting for both short and long-term discouraged workers, is now approximately 22%. Between federal, state, and local government workers, government employees now make up 16% of all U.S. payrolls. Over the past 60 years, government employment growth has just about doubled the rate of U.S. population growth. During the upcoming hyperinflationary crisis, we could very easily see the number of government employees cut in half, which would send the official U.S. unemployment rate up to 16% and the real unemployment rate up to 29%.
The biggest problem NIA has with the White House budget is their projections for interest payments on our national debt. Historically, going back the past 50 years, yields on the 10-year bond have averaged about 7.2%. The 10-year bond yield has been skyrocketing in recent months and is currently 3.57%, up from being 2.381% on October 8th of last year. With the 10-year bond yield surging 50% over the past four months, there is no reason the yield can't surge another 50% over the next six to twelve months up to 5.36%. Yet, the White House is projecting the bond yield to average 3% in 2011 and to rise to only 3.6% in 2012, 4.2% in 2013, and up to a high of 5.3% for years 2017 to 2021. Trust us, if interest rates on the 10-year bond don't rise to 5.3% within the next six to twelve months, we guarantee they will still do so a lot closer to six months than six years.
With treasury yields having been held at artificially low levels for so long, we expect them to rise above historically average levels and remain there for many years. There is no doubt that we will see bond yields back above 7.2% in the years ahead. As inflation begins to spiral out of control, we expect to see bond yields rise to above 10% and beyond. The White House doesn't expect interest payments on our national debt to rise above $500 billion until the year 2015. They're projecting net interest payments in 2015 of $505 billion with our public debt averaging the year around $13.9 trillion. In order words, they expect us to pay only 3.6% interest on our debt that year.
To summarize, Obama expects our budget deficit to decline from $1.645 trillion this year down to a low of $607 billion in 2015 by having 5% per year GDP growth, only 2% per year inflation, unemployment in 2015 of only 5.9%, and an overall interest rate that is only 1/2 of historical 10-year treasury yields. NIA projects that the U.S. will see zero GDP growth adjusted for inflation and if we are right, and we also see the U-3 unemployment rate rise back above 10% along with our overall interest rate on our debt rising back to historical levels of 7.2%, our actual deficit in 2015 could very easily surpass $3 trillion.
In early 2008, the Bush Administration was projecting the U.S. budget deficit to decline to $160 billion in 2010, $96 billion in 2011, and for the U.S. to have a $48 billion surplus in 2012. Look how easily a $96 billion projected deficit turned into a $1.645 trillion deficit, 17 times higher than projected. It is nearly impossible to reduce budget deficits once they begin spiraling out of control, unless the government acted to dramatically slash spending by 50% or more in all areas of the budget including the so-called untouchable areas like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Obama pledged while running for President to cut the budget deficit in half during his first term, but it has so far increased by 262%. If we have just a few more years of trillion dollar plus budget deficits, interest payments on our national debt will begin to approach half of U.S. government tax receipts and at that point, hyperinflation will be all but guaranteed.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Couldnt resist posting this one...
TEXTING FOR SENIORS
Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting there appears to be a
need for a STC (Senior Texting Code).
Pass this on to your Children and Grandchildren so they can understand your
texts.
ATD: At The Doctor's
BFF: Best Friend Farted
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CGU: Can't get up
CGIP: Can't get IT up
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
PIMP: Pooped in my pants
ROFL... CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil
GLKI (Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In)
Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting there appears to be a
need for a STC (Senior Texting Code).
Pass this on to your Children and Grandchildren so they can understand your
texts.
ATD: At The Doctor's
BFF: Best Friend Farted
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CGU: Can't get up
CGIP: Can't get IT up
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
PIMP: Pooped in my pants
ROFL... CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil
GLKI (Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In)
Friday, February 11, 2011
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Reserves Overstated by 40%
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Reserves Overstated by 40%
Many people including CNBC’s Steve Liesman have been criticizing NIA’s recent food inflation report, claiming that agricultural commodity prices only make up a small portion of the price of a finished food product in the supermarket. The truth is, when you see a 50% surge in nearly all agricultural commodities in six months, it will translate into much higher prices in the supermarket. At first, wholesalers and retailers will take a hit on their profit margins hoping that commodity prices will come back down, but after what NIA estimates to be a six month lag time, the full effects of rising agricultural commodities will be seen at your local supermarket and NIA conservatively estimates that the U.S. will see 10% food price inflation in the first half of 2011.
Besides the cost of agricultural commodities, the second largest cost that makes up food prices is oil. Oil is used not only for the farming of agricultural commodities and the production and packaging of food, but also shipping food to your supermarket. Oil prices have lagged behind agricultural commodities in recent months, but oil’s inevitable spike back above $100 per barrel that NIA predicted (and was wrong) would occur in 2010, could be just around the corner.
Major news is out today that cables from WikiLeaks show that a senior Saudi government oil executive claims that Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves have been overstated by 300 billion barrels or nearly 40%. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and according to the WikiLeaks cables, the U.S. fears that Saudi Arabia does not have enough oil reserves to prevent oil prices from skyrocketing.
Apparently, it was said by an executive at Aramco that they couldn’t reach a 12.5 million barrel per day capacity to keep a lid on oil prices, but could only possibly reach a 12 million barrel per day capacity in 10 years. This same executive also said that “peak oil” production could be reached as early as year 2012.
This may be the catalyst needed to drive oil permanently above $100 per barrel and gas prices to $5 per gallon. NIA remains very bullish on oil stocks for the long-term. They have been out of favor since late-2008, but could be back in play very soon.
NIA previously suggested on April 23rd, 2009, the ETF “DIG” at $22.65 as the best way to play oil stocks and it has since risen by 141% to $54.61. However, DIG is still way off of its high seen in May of 2008 of $131.08 and therefore still has much more upside potential.
Many people including CNBC’s Steve Liesman have been criticizing NIA’s recent food inflation report, claiming that agricultural commodity prices only make up a small portion of the price of a finished food product in the supermarket. The truth is, when you see a 50% surge in nearly all agricultural commodities in six months, it will translate into much higher prices in the supermarket. At first, wholesalers and retailers will take a hit on their profit margins hoping that commodity prices will come back down, but after what NIA estimates to be a six month lag time, the full effects of rising agricultural commodities will be seen at your local supermarket and NIA conservatively estimates that the U.S. will see 10% food price inflation in the first half of 2011.
Besides the cost of agricultural commodities, the second largest cost that makes up food prices is oil. Oil is used not only for the farming of agricultural commodities and the production and packaging of food, but also shipping food to your supermarket. Oil prices have lagged behind agricultural commodities in recent months, but oil’s inevitable spike back above $100 per barrel that NIA predicted (and was wrong) would occur in 2010, could be just around the corner.
Major news is out today that cables from WikiLeaks show that a senior Saudi government oil executive claims that Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves have been overstated by 300 billion barrels or nearly 40%. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and according to the WikiLeaks cables, the U.S. fears that Saudi Arabia does not have enough oil reserves to prevent oil prices from skyrocketing.
Apparently, it was said by an executive at Aramco that they couldn’t reach a 12.5 million barrel per day capacity to keep a lid on oil prices, but could only possibly reach a 12 million barrel per day capacity in 10 years. This same executive also said that “peak oil” production could be reached as early as year 2012.
This may be the catalyst needed to drive oil permanently above $100 per barrel and gas prices to $5 per gallon. NIA remains very bullish on oil stocks for the long-term. They have been out of favor since late-2008, but could be back in play very soon.
NIA previously suggested on April 23rd, 2009, the ETF “DIG” at $22.65 as the best way to play oil stocks and it has since risen by 141% to $54.61. However, DIG is still way off of its high seen in May of 2008 of $131.08 and therefore still has much more upside potential.
Egypt: Preview of America in 2015
Egypt: Preview of America in 2015
The rioting and looting currently taking place in Egypt is primarily a result of massive food inflation and shows what all major cities in the United States will likely look like come year 2015 due to the Federal Reserve’s zero percent interest rates and quantitative easing to infinity. On December 16th, 2009, NIA named Time Magazine’s 2009 ‘Person of the Year’ Ben Bernanke our ‘Villain of the Year’, saying he created “unprecedented amounts of inflation in unprecedented ways” and “When it costs $20 for a gallon of milk in a few years, Americans will have nobody to thank more than Bernanke.”
What started out a few weeks ago as protests in Algeria with citizens chanting “Bring Us Sugar!” and five citizens being killed, quickly spread to civil unrest in Tunisia which saw 14 more civilian deaths, and has now spread to riots in Egypt where 300 Egyptian citizens have been killed. Food inflation in Egypt has reached 20% and citizens in the nation already spend about 40% of their monthly expenditures on food. Americans for decades have been blessed with cheap food, spending only 13% of their expenditures on food, but this is about to change.
NIA was the first to predict the recent explosion in agricultural commodity prices in our October 30th, 2009, article entitled, “U.S. Inflation to Appear Next in Food and Agriculture”, which said we have a “perfect storm for an explosion in agriculture prices”. A couple of months later in ‘NIA’s Top 10 Predictions for 2010′ we predicted “Major Food Shortages” and said, “Inventories of agricultural products are the lowest they have been in decades yet the prices of many agricultural commodities are down 70% to 80% from their all time highs adjusted for real inflation”. Over the past year, agricultural commodities as a whole have outperformed almost every other type of asset, with silver being one of only a few other assets keeping pace with agriculture. (On December 11th, 2009, NIA declared silver the best investment for the next decade at $17.40 per ounce and it has so far risen 64% to its current price of $28.39 per ounce).
The world is at the beginning stages of an all out inflationary panic. Wheat, which NIA previously called on ‘NIAnswers’ its favorite investment besides gold and silver, is now up to a new 30-month high of $8.63 per bushel and has doubled in price since June of last year. Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat this past week, bringing their total purchases for the month of January up to 1.8 million tonnes, which was quadruple expectations. Saudi Arabia is also beginning to stockpile their inventories of wheat. Rice futures have gained 8% during the past few days with Bangladesh and Indonesia placing extraordinary large orders. Indonesia’s latest rice order was quadruple its normal allotment and Bangladesh plans to double rice purchases this year. Meanwhile, the U.S., which is the world’s third largest exporter of rice, is expected to cut production by 25% in 2011.
NIA considers rice to be one of the world’s most undervalued agricultural commodities at its current price of $15.96 per 100 pounds and forecasts a move back to its 2008 high of $24 per 100 pounds as soon as the end of 2011. NIA believes cotton, at its current price of $1.80 per pound, may have gotten a bit ahead of itself in the short-term. In NIA’s first ever article about agriculture on February 17th, 2009, we said that cotton’s “upside potential is astronomical” at its then price of $0.44 per pound. NIA pointed to increasing sales to textile companies in China and the fact that cotton was down 70% from its all time high as reasons to be very bullish on cotton at $0.44 per pound. Early NIA members could have made 309% on cotton, but today we see much bigger potential in rice. The recent spike in cotton reminds us of the 2008 spike in oil. Although we believe cotton will ultimately rise above $3 per pound later this decade, we coul d possibly see a dip to below $1.40 per pound first.
Many people in the mainstream media have been criticizing NIA’s recent food inflation report, claiming that agricultural commodity prices have very little to do with prices of food in the supermarket. CNBC’s Steve Liesman, in particular, claims that “rising commodity prices won’t cause inflation”. Liesman has it backwards. NIA has never claimed that rising commodity prices cause inflation. Soaring budget deficits that the U.S. government can’t possibly pay for through taxation causes inflation when the Fed is forced to monetize the debt by printing money.
Rising commodity prices are only a symptom of inflation. The reason NIA was so bullish on agricultural commodities going back two years ago when we produced our first documentary ‘Hyperinflation Nation’, is because while gold is the best gauge of inflation and is often the best tool for predicting future money printing, agriculture is where the majority of the monetary inflation ends up going after the Fed’s newly printed money trickles down to the middle-class and poor. With gold prices already surging two years ago when we produced ‘Hyperinflation Nation’, NIA said in the documentary “food prices have the potential to surge most during hyperinflation”.
One thing NIA is almost 100% sure of is that come year 2015, middle-class Americans will be spending at least 30% to 40% of their income on food, similar to Egyptians today. As NIA warned in its latest documentary ‘End of Liberty’, if you don’t have enough money to accumulate physical gold and silver, it is important to begin establishing your own food storage, and store enough food to feed you and your family for at least six months during hyperinflation. Many store shelves in Egypt are now empty after recent panic buying, with shortages of nearly all major staple items throughout the country.
The U.S. Treasury is getting ready to sell $72 billion in new long-term bonds next week, as the U.S. rapidly approaches its $14.29 trillion debt limit. The debt limit is now expected to be reached by April 5th and Treasury Secretary Geithner warned the U.S. will see “catastrophic damage” if it isn’t raised. With the Federal Reserve now surpassing China and Japan as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, the real “catastrophic damage” ahead will be hyperinflation as a result of the U.S. government doing absolutely nothing to dramatically reduce spending. It is an absolute joke that Obama during his State of the Union address announced $400 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, but then the very next day, the Congressional Budget Office increased its 2011 budget deficit projection by $400 billion to $1.48 trillion.
Not raising the debt limit would be a good thing, as it would force Washington to live within its means. Sure, the stock market would collapse and the U.S. economy would enter into its next Great Depression, but at least it would save the U.S. dollar from losing all of its purchasing power. In fact, the standard of living for middle class Americans might actually improve if the government allowed the free market to put our economy into a depression, because goods and services would get cheaper.
The U.S. economy has become a drug addict that is dependent on cheap and easy money from the Federal Reserve. While Wall Street bankers took home a record $135 billion in total compensation in 2010, up 5.7% from $128 billion in 2009, this money was stolen from middle-class and poor Americans through inflation. The more monetary inflation (heroin) the Federal Reserve creates in order to satisfy the (in the words of Gerald Celente) “money junkies” on Wall Street, the more middle-class and poor Americans become dependent on unemployment checks and food stamps just to survive. Millions of American students are graduating college with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt but no jobs. Luckily for them (but not holders of U.S. dollars), NIA is hearing reports from both unemployed and underemployed college graduates with student loans that the government is reducing their required monthly payments by sometimes 90% or more based on their current incomes.
China and Japan recently saw their credit ratings downgraded, while the U.S. credit rating remains at “AAA”. NIA believes it would make far more sense for the world’s largest debtor nation to be downgraded instead of the world’s two largest creditor nations. The Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing has yet to even reach the halfway point and the Fed already holds about $1.11 trillion in U.S. treasuries. By the time QE2 is over at the end of June, the Fed will own $1.6 trillion in U.S. treasuries, about what China and Japan own combined. Shockingly, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig is already dropping hints about QE3. According to Hoenig, the Fed may consider extending treasury purchases beyond June 30th, 2011, (the scheduled completion date for QE2) if U.S. economic data looks disappointing.
With the Fed taking over as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, China is beginning to rapidly move away from the U.S. dollar and into gold. In just the first 10 months of 2010, China imported 209 metric tons of gold compared to 45 metric tons in all of 2009, a stunning five-fold increase. While the western world is downplaying the threat of inflation as much as possible, Asian countries understand that hyperinflation is the most devastating thing that can possibly happen to any economy. The demand for gold in Asia right now is the most intense it has ever been, as they look to tackle rising inflation before it becomes hyperinflation.
The Chinese are so smart that families are now giving each other gold bullion as gifts instead of traditional red envelopes filled with cash. China is now on track to soon surpass India as the world’s largest consumer of gold. The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently gave Beijing-based Lion Fund Management Co. approval to create a fund that will invest into foreign gold ETFs.
U.S. stock mutual funds saw $6.7 billion in net inflows during the past two weeks, the most in any two week period since May of 2009. The rioting, looting, and civil unrest in Egypt is now making the U.S. look like the safe haven of the world, even though it should be considered the riskiest place to invest. From the Dow’s low in August until now, about $38 billion was actually removed from U.S. stock mutual funds, despite the stock market rising 20%. The Dow Jones has been rising from September until now solely due to the Federal Reserve printing around $350 billion out of thin air. When central banks print money, stock markets often act as a relief valve due to there being too much inflation going into the hands of financial institutions.
The U.S. M2 money supply surged by $46.6 billion during the week ending January 17th to a record $8.8623 trillion, following a rise during the previous week of $7.6 billion. The rise in the M2 money supply over the past two weeks of $54.2 billion equals an annualized increase of 16%. The M2 multiplier now stands at 4.218 compared to a long-term average of 10. When QE2 is complete, the Fed’s monetary base will likely stand at $2.59 trillion. A return to the long-term average M2 multiplier of 10 means we are due to see a 192% increase in the M2 money supply and that is not even including a possible QE3 and QE4.
The U.S. economic ponzi scheme could unravel very quickly in the years ahead, with the velocity of money increasing much faster than anybody expects. As more Americans learn about NIA and become educated to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation, a complete loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar could occur very suddenly. It is important for all Americans to prepare as if hyperinflation will be here tomorrow. At least in Egypt, their currency still has purchasing power and their citizens are trying to implement a regime change before it is too late. By 2015 in America, it will already be too late and the civil unrest here has the potential to be many times worse.
The rioting and looting currently taking place in Egypt is primarily a result of massive food inflation and shows what all major cities in the United States will likely look like come year 2015 due to the Federal Reserve’s zero percent interest rates and quantitative easing to infinity. On December 16th, 2009, NIA named Time Magazine’s 2009 ‘Person of the Year’ Ben Bernanke our ‘Villain of the Year’, saying he created “unprecedented amounts of inflation in unprecedented ways” and “When it costs $20 for a gallon of milk in a few years, Americans will have nobody to thank more than Bernanke.”
What started out a few weeks ago as protests in Algeria with citizens chanting “Bring Us Sugar!” and five citizens being killed, quickly spread to civil unrest in Tunisia which saw 14 more civilian deaths, and has now spread to riots in Egypt where 300 Egyptian citizens have been killed. Food inflation in Egypt has reached 20% and citizens in the nation already spend about 40% of their monthly expenditures on food. Americans for decades have been blessed with cheap food, spending only 13% of their expenditures on food, but this is about to change.
NIA was the first to predict the recent explosion in agricultural commodity prices in our October 30th, 2009, article entitled, “U.S. Inflation to Appear Next in Food and Agriculture”, which said we have a “perfect storm for an explosion in agriculture prices”. A couple of months later in ‘NIA’s Top 10 Predictions for 2010′ we predicted “Major Food Shortages” and said, “Inventories of agricultural products are the lowest they have been in decades yet the prices of many agricultural commodities are down 70% to 80% from their all time highs adjusted for real inflation”. Over the past year, agricultural commodities as a whole have outperformed almost every other type of asset, with silver being one of only a few other assets keeping pace with agriculture. (On December 11th, 2009, NIA declared silver the best investment for the next decade at $17.40 per ounce and it has so far risen 64% to its current price of $28.39 per ounce).
The world is at the beginning stages of an all out inflationary panic. Wheat, which NIA previously called on ‘NIAnswers’ its favorite investment besides gold and silver, is now up to a new 30-month high of $8.63 per bushel and has doubled in price since June of last year. Algeria bought 800,000 tonnes of wheat this past week, bringing their total purchases for the month of January up to 1.8 million tonnes, which was quadruple expectations. Saudi Arabia is also beginning to stockpile their inventories of wheat. Rice futures have gained 8% during the past few days with Bangladesh and Indonesia placing extraordinary large orders. Indonesia’s latest rice order was quadruple its normal allotment and Bangladesh plans to double rice purchases this year. Meanwhile, the U.S., which is the world’s third largest exporter of rice, is expected to cut production by 25% in 2011.
NIA considers rice to be one of the world’s most undervalued agricultural commodities at its current price of $15.96 per 100 pounds and forecasts a move back to its 2008 high of $24 per 100 pounds as soon as the end of 2011. NIA believes cotton, at its current price of $1.80 per pound, may have gotten a bit ahead of itself in the short-term. In NIA’s first ever article about agriculture on February 17th, 2009, we said that cotton’s “upside potential is astronomical” at its then price of $0.44 per pound. NIA pointed to increasing sales to textile companies in China and the fact that cotton was down 70% from its all time high as reasons to be very bullish on cotton at $0.44 per pound. Early NIA members could have made 309% on cotton, but today we see much bigger potential in rice. The recent spike in cotton reminds us of the 2008 spike in oil. Although we believe cotton will ultimately rise above $3 per pound later this decade, we coul d possibly see a dip to below $1.40 per pound first.
Many people in the mainstream media have been criticizing NIA’s recent food inflation report, claiming that agricultural commodity prices have very little to do with prices of food in the supermarket. CNBC’s Steve Liesman, in particular, claims that “rising commodity prices won’t cause inflation”. Liesman has it backwards. NIA has never claimed that rising commodity prices cause inflation. Soaring budget deficits that the U.S. government can’t possibly pay for through taxation causes inflation when the Fed is forced to monetize the debt by printing money.
Rising commodity prices are only a symptom of inflation. The reason NIA was so bullish on agricultural commodities going back two years ago when we produced our first documentary ‘Hyperinflation Nation’, is because while gold is the best gauge of inflation and is often the best tool for predicting future money printing, agriculture is where the majority of the monetary inflation ends up going after the Fed’s newly printed money trickles down to the middle-class and poor. With gold prices already surging two years ago when we produced ‘Hyperinflation Nation’, NIA said in the documentary “food prices have the potential to surge most during hyperinflation”.
One thing NIA is almost 100% sure of is that come year 2015, middle-class Americans will be spending at least 30% to 40% of their income on food, similar to Egyptians today. As NIA warned in its latest documentary ‘End of Liberty’, if you don’t have enough money to accumulate physical gold and silver, it is important to begin establishing your own food storage, and store enough food to feed you and your family for at least six months during hyperinflation. Many store shelves in Egypt are now empty after recent panic buying, with shortages of nearly all major staple items throughout the country.
The U.S. Treasury is getting ready to sell $72 billion in new long-term bonds next week, as the U.S. rapidly approaches its $14.29 trillion debt limit. The debt limit is now expected to be reached by April 5th and Treasury Secretary Geithner warned the U.S. will see “catastrophic damage” if it isn’t raised. With the Federal Reserve now surpassing China and Japan as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, the real “catastrophic damage” ahead will be hyperinflation as a result of the U.S. government doing absolutely nothing to dramatically reduce spending. It is an absolute joke that Obama during his State of the Union address announced $400 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, but then the very next day, the Congressional Budget Office increased its 2011 budget deficit projection by $400 billion to $1.48 trillion.
Not raising the debt limit would be a good thing, as it would force Washington to live within its means. Sure, the stock market would collapse and the U.S. economy would enter into its next Great Depression, but at least it would save the U.S. dollar from losing all of its purchasing power. In fact, the standard of living for middle class Americans might actually improve if the government allowed the free market to put our economy into a depression, because goods and services would get cheaper.
The U.S. economy has become a drug addict that is dependent on cheap and easy money from the Federal Reserve. While Wall Street bankers took home a record $135 billion in total compensation in 2010, up 5.7% from $128 billion in 2009, this money was stolen from middle-class and poor Americans through inflation. The more monetary inflation (heroin) the Federal Reserve creates in order to satisfy the (in the words of Gerald Celente) “money junkies” on Wall Street, the more middle-class and poor Americans become dependent on unemployment checks and food stamps just to survive. Millions of American students are graduating college with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt but no jobs. Luckily for them (but not holders of U.S. dollars), NIA is hearing reports from both unemployed and underemployed college graduates with student loans that the government is reducing their required monthly payments by sometimes 90% or more based on their current incomes.
China and Japan recently saw their credit ratings downgraded, while the U.S. credit rating remains at “AAA”. NIA believes it would make far more sense for the world’s largest debtor nation to be downgraded instead of the world’s two largest creditor nations. The Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing has yet to even reach the halfway point and the Fed already holds about $1.11 trillion in U.S. treasuries. By the time QE2 is over at the end of June, the Fed will own $1.6 trillion in U.S. treasuries, about what China and Japan own combined. Shockingly, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig is already dropping hints about QE3. According to Hoenig, the Fed may consider extending treasury purchases beyond June 30th, 2011, (the scheduled completion date for QE2) if U.S. economic data looks disappointing.
With the Fed taking over as the largest holder of U.S. treasuries, China is beginning to rapidly move away from the U.S. dollar and into gold. In just the first 10 months of 2010, China imported 209 metric tons of gold compared to 45 metric tons in all of 2009, a stunning five-fold increase. While the western world is downplaying the threat of inflation as much as possible, Asian countries understand that hyperinflation is the most devastating thing that can possibly happen to any economy. The demand for gold in Asia right now is the most intense it has ever been, as they look to tackle rising inflation before it becomes hyperinflation.
The Chinese are so smart that families are now giving each other gold bullion as gifts instead of traditional red envelopes filled with cash. China is now on track to soon surpass India as the world’s largest consumer of gold. The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently gave Beijing-based Lion Fund Management Co. approval to create a fund that will invest into foreign gold ETFs.
U.S. stock mutual funds saw $6.7 billion in net inflows during the past two weeks, the most in any two week period since May of 2009. The rioting, looting, and civil unrest in Egypt is now making the U.S. look like the safe haven of the world, even though it should be considered the riskiest place to invest. From the Dow’s low in August until now, about $38 billion was actually removed from U.S. stock mutual funds, despite the stock market rising 20%. The Dow Jones has been rising from September until now solely due to the Federal Reserve printing around $350 billion out of thin air. When central banks print money, stock markets often act as a relief valve due to there being too much inflation going into the hands of financial institutions.
The U.S. M2 money supply surged by $46.6 billion during the week ending January 17th to a record $8.8623 trillion, following a rise during the previous week of $7.6 billion. The rise in the M2 money supply over the past two weeks of $54.2 billion equals an annualized increase of 16%. The M2 multiplier now stands at 4.218 compared to a long-term average of 10. When QE2 is complete, the Fed’s monetary base will likely stand at $2.59 trillion. A return to the long-term average M2 multiplier of 10 means we are due to see a 192% increase in the M2 money supply and that is not even including a possible QE3 and QE4.
The U.S. economic ponzi scheme could unravel very quickly in the years ahead, with the velocity of money increasing much faster than anybody expects. As more Americans learn about NIA and become educated to the truth about the U.S. economy and inflation, a complete loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar could occur very suddenly. It is important for all Americans to prepare as if hyperinflation will be here tomorrow. At least in Egypt, their currency still has purchasing power and their citizens are trying to implement a regime change before it is too late. By 2015 in America, it will already be too late and the civil unrest here has the potential to be many times worse.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Well here's a new one...
Hubby went to get some grease for his grease gun at Harbor Freight on Monday. They asked him for his birthday. Seems they cant sell grease to anyone under 21. I wonder what they do with it...ohh the things that run through your mind LOL.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Talk to ya later!
Denise
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Lundberg Family Farms
If you are looking for a good rice product look at Lundberg's site. They sell at national retailers. The following is an excerpt from their email I recently received...
Lundberg Family Farms® proudly sponsored the first ever Non-GMO Month in October
by participating in the “Celebrate your right to choose Non-GMO” campaign on Facebook.
The Facebook application educated users about GMOs, the Non-GMO Project, and featured
brands participating in the product verification program, including Lundberg. It also
raised funds for the Project with vendor sponsors donating $1 for every click from users.
The process of genetic modification, which takes place in a laboratory, typically merges
DNA from different species, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes
that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.
Studies, meanwhile, increasingly show a correlation between consumption of GMOs and an array
of health risks. As a result, more and more consumers are seeking non-GMO choices, and Nielson
reported in February of last year that “GMO-free” is now the fastest growing store brand label claim.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that GMOs currently are in approximately 80%
of conventional processed foods in the United States, but they are not labeled. To fill the information
gap, a “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal has been created. Manufacturers earn the seal through
compliance with rigorous GMO avoidance standards, including ingredient testing, as part of the
nation’s first third party non-GMO verification program.
Lundberg was among the first companies to have their products verified by the Non-GMO Project
and is currently working on adding the “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal to the packaging
of 82 rice products that have been “Non-GMO Project Verified”.
I thought the 80% of processed foods are GMO was very interesting...
Lundberg Family Farms® proudly sponsored the first ever Non-GMO Month in October
by participating in the “Celebrate your right to choose Non-GMO” campaign on Facebook.
The Facebook application educated users about GMOs, the Non-GMO Project, and featured
brands participating in the product verification program, including Lundberg. It also
raised funds for the Project with vendor sponsors donating $1 for every click from users.
The process of genetic modification, which takes place in a laboratory, typically merges
DNA from different species, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes
that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.
Studies, meanwhile, increasingly show a correlation between consumption of GMOs and an array
of health risks. As a result, more and more consumers are seeking non-GMO choices, and Nielson
reported in February of last year that “GMO-free” is now the fastest growing store brand label claim.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that GMOs currently are in approximately 80%
of conventional processed foods in the United States, but they are not labeled. To fill the information
gap, a “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal has been created. Manufacturers earn the seal through
compliance with rigorous GMO avoidance standards, including ingredient testing, as part of the
nation’s first third party non-GMO verification program.
Lundberg was among the first companies to have their products verified by the Non-GMO Project
and is currently working on adding the “Non-GMO Project Verified” seal to the packaging
of 82 rice products that have been “Non-GMO Project Verified”.
I thought the 80% of processed foods are GMO was very interesting...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
All I can say...
is it is a good thing that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow because if he had I think a lot of people would have made a trip to Punxsy to see him and it would not be pretty :). Poor little groundhog...LOL.
Stonyfield's email just got today on GE alfalfa
I just got this email today from Stonyfield. If you didnt know, now they are also going to farm GE rice that has had human DNA put in it. Wrong, wrong, so wrong....
As you know this past Thursday, the USDA announced its decision to deregulate genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. Alfalfa is an important crop for many organic dairy farmers and despite a growing body of scientific evidence against GE crops, the USDA decided to allow planting of GE alfalfa without any oversight or protections for organic farmers. We believe that the USDA decision favors the interests of the biotech industry, and deals a major blow to both organic farming and the public’s right to choose foods free of GE contamination.
It is crucial that those of us who care about organic and feeding our families food free of GE ingredients join together and act. We hope you’ll take the time to read this letter below from Maria Rodale, Michael Pollan, and the organic community and learn how to take action.
We also hope you’ll share it with your on-line and off-line communities. Here is the direct, easily sharable link: http://huff.to/g0qE1u
LETTER FROM THE ORGANIC COMMUNITY
We stand united in opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to once again allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers.
Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its draft EIS on GE Alfalfa. Instead of responding to these comments and concerns, including expert comments from farmers, scientists, academics, conservationists, and food safety and consumer advocates, the USDA has chosen instead to listen to a handful of agricultural biotechnology companies.
USDA’s decision to allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of
Monsanto’s GE Roundup Ready alfalfa without any restrictions flies in the face of the interests of conventional and organic farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice. USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of American farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.
The Center for Food Safety will be suing on this decision.
In the coming months, we will be seeing USDA proposals to allow unrestricted plantings of GE sugar beets, and GE corn and soy crops designed to resist toxic pesticides, such as 2-4D and Dicamba, highly toxic pesticides that pose a serious threat to our health and the environment. To win these critical and difficult battles, the entire organic community, and our allies in the conventional food and farming community, will have to work together.
Now is the time to unite in action. We need to work together to restore sanity to our food system, stop the deregulation of GE crops and join together against the forces that are seeking to silence hundreds of thousands of Americans.
As we move forward, we are united in opposing genetically engineered organisms in food production and believe that pressure to stop the proliferation of this contaminating technology must be focused on the White House and Congress. The companies responsible for this situation are the biotech companies whose GE technology causes genetic drift and environmental hazards that are not contained as the deregulation of genetically engineered alfalfa goes forward. The organic community stands together with consumer, farmer, environmental and business interests to ensure practices that are protective of health and the environment.
We urge you to join us today.
Sign up to receive action alerts:
http://cfs.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Register
Consider making a donation to the legal effort ahead:
https://secure3.convio.net/cfs/site/Donation2?1311.donation=form1&df_id=1311&JServSessionIdr004=vqetvh6lh5.app306a
Let the White House know that you do not support the deregulation of GE alfalfa:
http://ota.capwiz.com/ota/issues/alert/?alertid=24747501
Sincerely,
Christine Bushway, Organic Trade Association
Jay Feldman, Beyond Pesticides
Michael Funk, United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI)
Elizabeth Henderson, NOFA Interstate Council
Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm
Liana Hoodes, National Organic Coalition
Kristina Hubbard, Organic Seed Alliance
Faye Jones, Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service
Robby Kenner, Robert Kenner Films
Andrew Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety
Russell Libby, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA)
Ed Maltby, Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA)
Robyn O’Brien, Allergy Kids
Keith Olcott, Equal Exchange
Michael Pollan, Author
Maria Rodale, Rodale Inc.
Eric Schlosser, Author
Robynn Schrader, National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA)
George Siemon, Organic Valley
Michael Sligh, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
Megan Westgate, Non-GMO Project
Maureen Wilmot, Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)
Enid Wonnacott, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)
As you know this past Thursday, the USDA announced its decision to deregulate genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa. Alfalfa is an important crop for many organic dairy farmers and despite a growing body of scientific evidence against GE crops, the USDA decided to allow planting of GE alfalfa without any oversight or protections for organic farmers. We believe that the USDA decision favors the interests of the biotech industry, and deals a major blow to both organic farming and the public’s right to choose foods free of GE contamination.
It is crucial that those of us who care about organic and feeding our families food free of GE ingredients join together and act. We hope you’ll take the time to read this letter below from Maria Rodale, Michael Pollan, and the organic community and learn how to take action.
We also hope you’ll share it with your on-line and off-line communities. Here is the direct, easily sharable link: http://huff.to/g0qE1u
LETTER FROM THE ORGANIC COMMUNITY
We stand united in opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to once again allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers.
Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its draft EIS on GE Alfalfa. Instead of responding to these comments and concerns, including expert comments from farmers, scientists, academics, conservationists, and food safety and consumer advocates, the USDA has chosen instead to listen to a handful of agricultural biotechnology companies.
USDA’s decision to allow unlimited, nationwide commercial planting of
Monsanto’s GE Roundup Ready alfalfa without any restrictions flies in the face of the interests of conventional and organic farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice. USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of American farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.
The Center for Food Safety will be suing on this decision.
In the coming months, we will be seeing USDA proposals to allow unrestricted plantings of GE sugar beets, and GE corn and soy crops designed to resist toxic pesticides, such as 2-4D and Dicamba, highly toxic pesticides that pose a serious threat to our health and the environment. To win these critical and difficult battles, the entire organic community, and our allies in the conventional food and farming community, will have to work together.
Now is the time to unite in action. We need to work together to restore sanity to our food system, stop the deregulation of GE crops and join together against the forces that are seeking to silence hundreds of thousands of Americans.
As we move forward, we are united in opposing genetically engineered organisms in food production and believe that pressure to stop the proliferation of this contaminating technology must be focused on the White House and Congress. The companies responsible for this situation are the biotech companies whose GE technology causes genetic drift and environmental hazards that are not contained as the deregulation of genetically engineered alfalfa goes forward. The organic community stands together with consumer, farmer, environmental and business interests to ensure practices that are protective of health and the environment.
We urge you to join us today.
Sign up to receive action alerts:
http://cfs.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Register
Consider making a donation to the legal effort ahead:
https://secure3.convio.net/cfs/site/Donation2?1311.donation=form1&df_id=1311&JServSessionIdr004=vqetvh6lh5.app306a
Let the White House know that you do not support the deregulation of GE alfalfa:
http://ota.capwiz.com/ota/issues/alert/?alertid=24747501
Sincerely,
Christine Bushway, Organic Trade Association
Jay Feldman, Beyond Pesticides
Michael Funk, United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI)
Elizabeth Henderson, NOFA Interstate Council
Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm
Liana Hoodes, National Organic Coalition
Kristina Hubbard, Organic Seed Alliance
Faye Jones, Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service
Robby Kenner, Robert Kenner Films
Andrew Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety
Russell Libby, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA)
Ed Maltby, Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA)
Robyn O’Brien, Allergy Kids
Keith Olcott, Equal Exchange
Michael Pollan, Author
Maria Rodale, Rodale Inc.
Eric Schlosser, Author
Robynn Schrader, National Cooperative Grocers Association (NCGA)
George Siemon, Organic Valley
Michael Sligh, Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
Megan Westgate, Non-GMO Project
Maureen Wilmot, Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF)
Enid Wonnacott, Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)
New Films coming out...
Well just heard that they will begin filming The Hobbit this month. It's going to be a two parter. Cant wait to see it. Some of the cast from Lord of The Rings is going to be in this one. They even said that Christopher Lee (who is 88) will be reprising his role. I am pretty sure that it is going to be just as good as the original trilogy. It is supposed to come out in 2013. Long wait for hopefully a good movie.
On the other hand I just read that they are going to be filming another movie. It's called Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter...Huh???? This vampire stuff is just getting way out of hand. They say that movies reflect the mood of the people. I guess we are just surrounded by vampires, well I'm not, just the people in Washington maybe LOL. :)
In my opinion there havent been very many good movies lately. I think the writers arent in touch with reality in some ways. Funny movies just arent funny. Replacing some good laughs with swearing and gutter humor really isnt working. TV doesnt have any really funny shows on. I guess maybe I'm getting too old. I remember when you watched Lucy, Barney, the Fonz, Laverne and Shirley and they were funny. Sure they were silly but it was a nice vacation from reality. TV doesnt have anything on that is worth watching really and the good shows that they do have on they cancel for lack of viewership. Where do they get the numbers? I watch some shows dont get me wrong but no reality shows. Dont get those at all. If I want reality all I have to do is go to the store. There's a big dose of reality. I want fantasy, just get away type of shows where I have to maybe think about the show during the week. I loved Lost though some people didnt get it and you really had to watch it from the beginning to halfway understand it. It had a religious ending which some people didnt like but I thought it was great. After the first season I could see the religious underpinnings which really came to the forefront during the last season.
I guess what I am trying to say in my rambling way is that movies and TV shows need to do something whether that is just making people laugh to taking them to a different place and time or into situations where they would never be to trying to make a difference in their lives whether it be from laughing and enjoying themselves to making them think or making them forget. Movies and TV are powerful. Although they are not the end all and be all by any means. I could live without TV but not without books. Books make you use your imagination and that is something we all could use a lot more of.
Well now that I have just about made a circle and not made any sense I'll close for now. Hope everyone made it through the bad weather. It was sure cold here this morning and yesterday the wind was whipping around so it made me think it was colder than it was.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
On the other hand I just read that they are going to be filming another movie. It's called Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter...Huh???? This vampire stuff is just getting way out of hand. They say that movies reflect the mood of the people. I guess we are just surrounded by vampires, well I'm not, just the people in Washington maybe LOL. :)
In my opinion there havent been very many good movies lately. I think the writers arent in touch with reality in some ways. Funny movies just arent funny. Replacing some good laughs with swearing and gutter humor really isnt working. TV doesnt have any really funny shows on. I guess maybe I'm getting too old. I remember when you watched Lucy, Barney, the Fonz, Laverne and Shirley and they were funny. Sure they were silly but it was a nice vacation from reality. TV doesnt have anything on that is worth watching really and the good shows that they do have on they cancel for lack of viewership. Where do they get the numbers? I watch some shows dont get me wrong but no reality shows. Dont get those at all. If I want reality all I have to do is go to the store. There's a big dose of reality. I want fantasy, just get away type of shows where I have to maybe think about the show during the week. I loved Lost though some people didnt get it and you really had to watch it from the beginning to halfway understand it. It had a religious ending which some people didnt like but I thought it was great. After the first season I could see the religious underpinnings which really came to the forefront during the last season.
I guess what I am trying to say in my rambling way is that movies and TV shows need to do something whether that is just making people laugh to taking them to a different place and time or into situations where they would never be to trying to make a difference in their lives whether it be from laughing and enjoying themselves to making them think or making them forget. Movies and TV are powerful. Although they are not the end all and be all by any means. I could live without TV but not without books. Books make you use your imagination and that is something we all could use a lot more of.
Well now that I have just about made a circle and not made any sense I'll close for now. Hope everyone made it through the bad weather. It was sure cold here this morning and yesterday the wind was whipping around so it made me think it was colder than it was.
Talk to ya later!
Denise
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