Dams Place 39 US Reactors in Line of Fire Says Nuclear Expert — Fukushima-Style Scenarios Possible (Pt. 6)
(EnviroNews DC News Bureau) — Editor’s Note:The following news piece represents the sixth in a 15-part mini-series titled, Nuclear Power in Our World Today, featuring nuclear authority, engineer and whistleblower Arnie Gundersen. The EnviroNews USA special encompasses a wide span of topics, ranging from Manhattan-era madness to the continuously-unfolding crisis on the ground at Fukushima Daiichi in eastern Japan. The transcript is as follows:
Arnie Gundersen: When Maggie and I were walking one day in February [a month] before the [Fukushima] accident, she said to me, “Where is the next accident going to be?” And I said, “I don’t know where, but I know it’s going to be in a Mark 1 reactor.” And, I’m not alone. It’s not like I was clairvoyant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a report that they published in 1982, and they said there was an 85 percent chance, if there was a meltdown in a Mark 1 reactor, that the containment would explode. The writing was on the wall.
Emerson Urry: How many of these things are still out there in operation today?
Gundersen: In the U.S. all 23 continue to run.
Josh Cunnings (Narrator): Welcome to the EnviroNews USA news desk. I’m Josh Cunnings. Tonight, we bring you the sixth of 15 short films in our educational series, Nuclear Power in Our World Today, featuring esteemed nuclear expert and whistleblower Arnie Gundersen.
To the people whose homes and lives were taken from them by this almighty tidal wave, it made no difference if the water came from a bursting dam or levee, an overflowing river, or from the sea. It probably just doesn’t make much difference at the point where either your home, or yourself or your children, are floating away to their demise. Likewise, it will make absolutely no difference where the waters come from if, or when, they end up submerging a nuclear power plant again in the future.
The lurking and looming danger of another flood overtaking a nuclear reactor is the topic of conversation in this episode. To delve more deeply into that issue, here’s nuclear expert and former power plant operator Arnie Gundersen – again with EnviroNews USA Editor-in-Chief Emerson Urry. Take a listen.
Urry: And on that topic of the Mark 1, and some of the dangers there, nuclear power is more prevalent on the East Coast in this country than the western side – could we have… what if we had one of these big tsunamis like happened to Indonesia, and it happened on the East Coast? Do we have multiple nuclear power plants in the line of fire of such an event, and what could happen in a situation like that? Is that something that is ever even talked about, or that they plan for, or think about at all?
Gundersen: Well, it doesn’t have to be a tsunami to cause the same kind of accident we had at Fukushima Daiichi. There’s a power plant called the Oconee — and it’s just three of them, and they are downstream from a huge dam — and if the dam fails, you’ve got an inland tsunami. There was a plant out in… the Fort Calhoun plant near Omaha – the pictures from about three years ago show it completely surrounded because the river flooded. There were six upstream dams and if one of them had failed, they all would have cascaded, and we would have had not a nuclear power plant, but a nuclear submarine. So, these problems don’t require a sea-wave to come in and knock them out. There’s 39 plants at risk of upstream dam failures. That’s just one example of [how] the NRC has, not only hidden that report, but when two people on the NRC brought that report out anyway, those two people were investigated by the cops. It doesn’t pay to be honest with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Urry: Have we been pretty lucky so far?
Gundersen: Yes. We’ve been extraordinarily lucky. [The] Union of Concerned Scientists writes a report every year about all the near misses, and they have no trouble filling a couple hundred pages, every year, of near misses.
Cunnings: Well, there you have it. These risks are there and they are all too real. The question is: how many catastrophic nuclear disasters does humanity need to get the point? And how severe do these catastrophes need to be for humans to understand?
It’s important to remember that because Mikhail Gorbachev made the incredibly difficult decision to throw about 600,000 men directly at Chernobyl’s ground zero – and due to the incredibly heroic and deadly work performed by those brave young men and soldiers, only about four percent of what could have been released from Chernobyl, was actually released – and even that wreaked untold devastation.
How many nuclear disasters must the world undergo, and what must the severity be, in order for humanity to change its ways?
Extremely unsafe situations – like reactors downhill from dams, represent only one example of the myriad threats facing nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, old Mark 1s, and many other dangerously located reactors, remain in operation today – despite countless safety concerns.
One thing that’s almost certain is if you play with fire long enough you will get burned. Sadly, humans often suffer a form of collective amnesia regarding the severity of these disasters. Hopefully, over time, and with more good reporting and educational programming, that will change.
Join us tomorrow when we ask the question: what is America’s worst-ever nuclear disaster? Think you already know what it is? The answer to that question may very well surprise you.
From the EnviroNews USA news desk, this is John Cunnings. Thank you for joining us, and good night.
Excerpt from History Channel Video on Idaho’s Teton Dam Failure
Narrator: Another warning sign: high-pressure springs appeared in the earth thousands of feet downstream from the dam. On the dam face itself the wet spots became leaks. On the morning of June 5, 1976, more leaks developed. A government photographer took this series of pictures as the wet spots turned into small holes; then larger holes in the face of the dam. The dam was collapsing before his eyes. Then suddenly, the 500-yard-thick earthen wall collapsed like a sand castle under a wave. Torrent washed away everything in 300 square miles. 80 billion gallons of water totally destroyed two towns and killed 11 people. The failure of the Teton Dam led to a national review of federal rules regarding dam construction and inspection.
WATCH OTHER EPISODES FROM THE ENVIRONEWS SERIES NUCLEAR POWER IN OUR WORLD TODAY
…decided to organize an event to unite different entities from industry, politics and culture.
After the fourth Meeting back in 1958, the Bilderberg members put together the conditions of the Treaty of Rome. It was finally signed and the European Community was born with 6 States members.
Today the European Community contents 28 countries. And today the Bilderbergers advise 134 states members.
Today, my speech will be officially published by our new ‘enemy’: the Media.
Bilderberg isn’t a secret society, never was. Perhaps in the eyes of the population, but what we did is we kept our topics and decision to ourselves. We are not an evil. I do not have an all-seeing eye. My ancestors only made sure the Eye is on the [U.S.] dollar bill.
Bilderberg is no conspiracy, but people and conspiracists with their infantile fantasies see it as such. None of you, and I don’t care how powerful you are, sit around the table in a dark room, holding hands, staring at a crystal ball, planning the world’s future.
The exuberant myth created by conspiracy theorists, journalists, and media moguls has been fabricated about the image of the Bilderberg. But are they really the cause of our consequences? Didn’t we involve ourselves into this luxurious secretive, mystical image?
Going back in time, I am today in conversation with a certain controversial researcher who studied the Illuminati for more than 2 decades [Fritz Springmeier]. I respect this gentleman for his courage and vision.
I want to change history. I do believe that mankind has a right to their future.
The population is frustrated, manipulated, and demoralized by their own leaders. They live in their own Cartesian fantasies with the hope God will sent a messiah to save their soul! God has other plans with humanity. He creates the balance between good and evil.
Time changes: and I am glad to feel those changes. I feel a general awareness and singularities of awaken ones… People are beginning to ask me the good questions. Their main question is “what is right?”. It’s a phenomenon of response and reaction to an overly felt perception that the entire world is doomed to catastrophe, poverty, injustice and misery.
What makes the Bilderberg so strong?
It is because of its perseverance. Members are coming and leaving, guests come and go but the system grows stronger and stronger. No president, no king, no dictator, nor prime minister dares to criticize my name nor the Bilderbergers, and they know they are the puppets of the powerful Illuminati working from behind the scenes.
The general economy is collapsing. People are grasped by something they don’t always understand. But, it forces them to act in a blind way for their own interest.
That’s what they are doing in major countries and certainly in the United States: the anthropic country!
Hillary Clinton told me yesterday it’s like a streaming movement came upon America and washed its pride away. As people realize that their existence is threatened, they pray to God, blame their government, the Bilderbergers and the King of Satan called the Illuminati.
At the recent Council on Foreign Relations speech in Brussels a few days ago, I warned that a “global population awareness,” was threatening a revolution towards their governments.
You come from very different ideological, economic, cultural and political backgrounds. What unites us is that we are all determined to find the solution for humanity and its humankind.
And those who work for their own greediness, success and hunger for fame, who have sold their nations like,
Seven years ago the economy of Europe almost collapsed. It wasn’t because of the Europe’s weak economy. It came right to us from the United States of America with their unstable banking system.
The bursting of the U.S. housing bubbles which peaked in 2006 caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet, damaging financial institutions globally without mentioning the national debts.
World economy crisis because of American housing?
Because of their gluttony?
Does the rest of the world economy need to rely on US economy?
Another key is implemented in the United States: a universal principle of welfare on which the United States is based.
But welfare does not mean a useless bum sitting on the couch, eating a pizza, slobbering the beer over himself, watching television, while he/she is waiting for an unemployment check to arrive.
Please ask an average man the intention of the existence of humans, or of government? Would his/her answer be to provide for the general welfare of future generations of mankind? I don’t think so.
People want a Nation, an Empire. Educate the people that is what they want: globalization.
People believe that in order to have an Empire, you need money. But money is not a result of wealth. The economy is not based on money but on production and innovation. Money does not make the world go around. Money has no value. When families are harvesting their own vegetables and fruits in their garden they have more value and real money.
Human Mind Control. Human Minds affect the planet. This is how it is measured. It means immortality for the Soul of humankind. We are able to enjoy the universal principles. It allows people to innovate, to believe, and to harmonize the relation between man and nature.
Human are destroying their own life on purpose by their hunger for higher living standards. They are digging their own grave pushed by their own debts. If humanity doesn’t change its attitude, 35% of the population will be wiped out. They destroy their own creative power with no reason.
Population blamed on the depression. But the 2008 depression was not an event that wiped out the world capitalists. It was meant to make the world population aware of their greediness and laziness in their life, to let them face the spectacle of poverty. They blame the banks, the governments, and all of us.
Let’s give them what they want…
Why don’t we give them the right of ruling the nature of economy, social welfare, the game of the wars and the innovation of the future…
The Greeks are blowing the European system with their unpayable debts.
The French are voting the Front National to rescue the French patriotism.
The Italians are Italians.
I do not ask you to be too emotional, we’re not Spanish.
I even don’t want to go the direction of Eastern Europe, Russia nor Asia.
And then comes Brussels and the European Community.
Let’s fire them all…
Those horrible useless people, sitting in nice conference room, kick out Herman Van Rompuy (sorry Herman) but he is useless. Brussels the evil city of the world ruled by the Illuminati.
Washington, those wet rags… fighting between dumb Republicans with their belief in guns and gospels against the stupid Democrats with their socialism ideology following the rules of Lenin.
Ask a Republican redneck the difference between socialism and fascism or the democrats about guns and gospel…
Does the government even know about the needs of its citizens?
Do they know about the middle class and its poverty?
Are they aware about the lack of education of its citizens?
The truth behind the abomination of the health system?
We need to resolve the American problem for its population.
With a stronger America we will be able to influence the world economy in the right direction for humanitarian purposes. We will have a better understanding in the Asian Market. Guns, gospels, and socialism will not help them. Each single American has to do it by him/herself.
Population will rule perfectly the world for the greater good of Humanity!
I am talking about morality, and not scientific nor economic problems.
Do people think about their future in 10 years?
What kind of future will they have in 5 decades?
Do they have a right to dream?
Who are the bad guys here?
I told myself all humanity must be saved. But is it really possible?
The brutality in humanity only waits for the courageous and the sane human to perfect the concept of nations. I believe in the fraternity of Nations. But at the moment governments are ruling by their own personal political agendas manipulated by the interest of the industries either to solve the problems in their countries.
It is the duty of the Illuminati to control every movement within any government, to provide security to its population, therefore we create the rules, we decide about nations policy.
The Bilderberg needs to guide the economic factors in the right direction and build trust within the population!
I refuse any secrecy of decisions made by us. Why should we continue to rule the system behind closed doors? Why wouldn’t we face the population with their own mirror and tell them: Hey! Wake up…
Bilderberg Meeting is tool of the Illuminati. It runs because of the Illuminati. Bilderberg is the strongest and most powerful association, the perfect concept for sound economic security, by keeping the world order in shape, and the initiator of mankind in the age of reason.
I want this Bilderberg to be the first meeting in a new direction providing ‘openness’ to the population in regard and respect for the future generations.
Next year positive results will show to the world that we aren’t evil, but we help humanity because humanity isn’t able to rescue itself.
Positive Diversity is the only hallmark of progress with an insurance policy for the population.
What is going on with abusive psychiatry today?TRAPPED BY CORRUPT PSYCHIATRY!January 2020 From: Angela Budd Hello my name is Angela, I am a 49 year old christian woman located in The Miramaci New Brunswick canada area, how ever i was residing in British columbia for quite a number of years until May 2017, I thought that i would explain my story that has been going on now for nearly 17 years, I want to see ifDeborah taverse can help me to stop the crime that has been happening to me or at least get some body who can and will help me! My story goes back to the year of 2003 when i was residing in the British columbia surrey area of Canada! I was in a new area of Surrey B,C. and i was going to join a new church group, When all of a sudden i was unlawfully detained by a very corrupt governmental agency known as Frasier Health Authority Located at 11th Floor Station Tower 9Gateway station) 13401- 108th Ave Surrey B.C CANADA V3T- 5T3 to make a very long story short i was held against my will by psyciatry for my christian religouse beliefs I was kidnapped by FRasier health authority psyciatry and they will not let me go to make matters even worse i must tell you that i was and have been being very badly abused, to torturouse states and lied about ( character assination) is what you would call it and psyciatry made up untrue stories about me to be able to unlawfully and unfairly detain me further they lied about me having a mental illness and said that i had schizophrenia when i do not have any mental problems at all as well as my behaviour is perfectly calm and loving and very normal! and my church friends that know me will tell people that, i was held and i was also surgically raped and injured purposly by the OBGYN that FRasier health authority forced me to go and see! They have injured my uterus so that i can not hold a pregnancy in or get a baby out of me without a doctors help! this is surgical rape and an attempt to sterilize me against my will! i was made impoverished as they got and had complete control over me ( my person) they controlled my bank accounts my money and they also sat on my name date of birth as well as place of birth and my social insurance number they were moving me around against my will ( which is legal definition for kidnapp) and they were interfering with my employment as well as employers i got into college a few years back as i am very intelligent i got up the funding myself and i did the work and i made better grades i was told than the people already in college there i was doing very well in college i had make up on new clothes as well as new books and i was making good grades and not missing any classes and when the psyciatrist who liked to control everything about me found out that i had funding and he saw the new clothes and books he was not happy for me at all instead he purposly had my college funding as well as my college education shut down on me! ( PLEASE. NOTE: that when i was in B.C i am an intelligent woman and psyciatry did not like that very much as they were controlling everything about me they (FRASIER HEALTH AUTHORITY) had kept me impoverished, abused, locked up in cold cruel cells and when i was in public i was so impoverished that i could not even afford to buy myself a small coffee at the local mcdonald’s restauraunt! I made several complaints to the Surrey R.C.M.P. about FRASIER HEALTH AUTHORITY and the R.C.M.P. told me that they would get back to me however they acted like they had not received any reports from me and they did not step in to protect me from the psyciatric abuse i was being transported to the Surrey memorial hospital located at 96 AVE. and KING GEORGE HIGWAY IN THE SURREY B.C. AREA FRASIER HEALTH AUTHORITY IN SURREY B.C are a very corrupt governmental agency that should be closed down i was so badly abused by them that in the summer of 2016 i was litterally on my death bed i was vommiting large quantities of bright red blood as well as i was told that my kidney’s were shutting down and that the doctor said that i might need dialysis i was very sick because of psyciatry was poisioning me by over dosing me with several kinds of very harmful dangerouse psyciatric drugs PLEASE ALSO NOTE: that they were forcing the drugs into me by injections against my will they even were forcing me to see a doctor a general practioner every week to every 2 weeks when i was first detained by them i was not sick then and i was being forced against my will to go to these so called check ups were the doctor always was checking me for christian pregnancies and she would every week try to examine my vaginal area as well as give me full physicals as well as breast exams and asking me very personal questions which was none of her buisness like what boys i was interested in in the community etc! PLEASE NOTE: that i am a full grown intelligent woman that know when i need to go see a doctor and i am quite capable of choosing my own family doctor and also this was medicalized rapes as i do not need vaginal exams nor full physicals nor breast exams every 1 to 2 weeks!FRASIER HEALTH AUTHORITY was also coming into my home againstmy will and they were playing a very unfair, scarry, abusive, corrupt governmental system against me ! PLEASE ALSO NOTE: that they did and have been doing all this to me and i have not even been to court once they just pulled me out of a church in canada under false pretensis of the mental health act and raped tortured abused me and held me controlling everything about me against my will PLEASE NOTE: that i have not commited any crimes nor have i broken any laws THE CRIMES ARE BEING COMMITED BY PSYCIATRY AND THEY ARE DETAINING OTHER INNOCENT PEOPLE AS WELL AND DRUGGING THEM AND TORTORING THEM ALL BECAUSE OF OUR RELIGOUSE OR POLITICAL BELIEFS! please see on internet cchr international videos about psyciatric abuse one video is called CCHR INTERNATIONAL VIDEO :WHAT WE BELIEVE” also see CCHR INTERNATIONAL VIDEOS ON PSYCIATRIC ABUSE AND CRIMES i have made psyciatric abuse reports with CCHR INTERNATIONAL but all they can do is document the abuse i need urgent help to get a lawyer in my area who can practice this type of law in the new brunswick area as well as in the BRITISH COLUMBIA area also in MAY 2017 I had taken all the persecution, medicalized rapes,torture and the unfair detainment i had taken all i could take from FRASier health authority and i walked out of the Surrey BRitish columbia area and for the first time in my life found myself having to hitch hike my way back to were i was originally from miramichi new brunswick area, I only hitch hiked because FRSIER HEALTH AUTHORITY HAD ME COMPLETELY IMPOVERISED AND THEY WERE AND STILL ARE VICTIMIZING ME THEY HAD THE R.C.M.P. FOLLOW MY ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND JUST WHEN I MADE IT BACK TO MY HOME TOWN THE LOCAL R.C.M.P. TREATED ME LIKE A CRIMINAL AND GRABBED ME AND I SAID TO THE VERY CORRUPT OFFICER : I HAVE NOT COMMITED ANY CRIMES NOR AM I A DANGER TO OTHER”S OR MYSELF WHY ARE YOU TREATING ME LIKE A CRIMINAL LIKE I DID SOMRTHING WRONG WHEN IT IS YOU WHO ARE IN THE WRONG?” SHE GAVE ME NO ANSWER BUT BROUGHT ME INTO PSYCIATRY AGAIN WERE I AM STILL BEING UNFAIRLY DETAINED AGINST MY WILL AND THEY PSYCIATRY IS LYING ABOUT ME AGAIN AS WELL AS ABUSING ME AGAIN AND THEY ARE INJECTING ME LIKE A LAB RAT OR GUINE PIG IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ARE TESTING DRUGS ON THE PUBLIC AGAINST OUR WILL AND I HAVE BEEN HAVING MY HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSED AS WELL AS MY WOMEN;S RIGHTS ABUSED AS WELL AS MY RIGHTS TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND RELIGOUSE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ABUSED I HAVE BEEN BEING HELD AND ABUSED AND THREATENED BY PSYCIATRY AND I HAVE DONE ABSOLUTLY NOTHING WRONG THIS IS CHRISTIAN CRUELTY AND PERSECUTION PLEASE SEE THE LEGAL DEFINITON OF PERSECUTION IT IS SOM GROUP TREATING AN INDIVIDUAL OR ANOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE KEEPING THEM IN FEAR FOR THERE LIVES AS WELL AS IMPRISSONMENT UNFAIR UNLAWFUL DETAINMENT USUALLY BECAUSE OF RELIGOUSE BELIEFS AS WELL AS KEEPING THAT INDIVIDUAL IN PAIN FEAR AND TORTURE! I HAVE BEEN BEING HELD NOW AGAINST MY WILL AND ABUSED GOING NOW ON SEVENTEEN YEARS PLEASE NOTE” THAT I HAVE 1 SON WHO IS NOW 28 YEARS OF AGE AND I HAVE ALSO BEEN SEPERATED FROM HIM AND I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM IN 3 YEARS NOW AND I LOVE HIM AND MISS HIM VERY MUCH! SO CAN YOU PLEASE HELP FREE ME FROM MY NIGHTMARE?PSYCIATRY HAS LIED ABOUT ME ABUSED AND TORTURED ME MAIMED ME INJURED ME AS WELL AS FINANCIALLY IMPOVERISHED ME I HAVE NOT COMMITED ANY CRIMES NOR HAVE I DONE ANYTHING WRONG TO DESERVE THIS ABUSE DETAINMENT SEPERATION FROM MY CHILD NOR AM I A DANGER TO ANY ONE HOWEVER THE CORRUPT GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES WILL NOT LET ME GO NOR LEAVE ME ALONE I WAS UNLAWFULLY DETAINED UNLAWFULLY LABELLED AND UNLAWFULLY IMPRISONED FOR THE LAST 17 YEARS AND I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GO SEE A JUDGE HAVE A COURT HEARING OR A TRIAL APPARENTLY PSYCIATRY TODAY IS ALLOWED TO UNFAIRLY DETAIN INNOCENT PEOPLE WITHOUT THEM BEING ABLE TO HAVE A FAIR DUE LEGAL PROCESS WHEN SOMBODY IS MAKING UP STORIES ABOUT YOU THAT ARE UNTRUE AND TAKING AWAY YOUR FREEDOM AND CALLING YOU MENTALLY ILL SO THEY CAN HAVE POWER AND CONTROL OVER YOU AND HURT YOU BUT I THINK THAT I HAVE A RIGHT AS A CANADIAN CITIZEN TO GET A LAWYER AND TO GO INTO COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL AND EXPLAIN MY SIDE OF THE STORY! SORRY THAT THIS EMAIL IS SO LONG BUT MY QUESTION TO DEBORAH TAVERS IS CAN YOU HELP ME DEBORAH HELP ME TO GET A LAWYER AS I HAVE BEEN TRYING AND WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO GET LEGAL REPRESENTATION HOWEVER I SEEM TO BE STUCK WITHIN A VERY CORRUPT GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM ONE IN WHICH THE POLICE DO NOT PROTECT ME FROM THESE PSYCIATRIC CRIMINALS I WAS THREATENED BY THE PSYCIATRIST WHO IS NOW ABUSING ME IN THE MIRAMICHI NEW BRUNSWICK AREA HIS NAME IS DR. SANJAY SIDDHARTHA OF HORIZON HEALTH IN THE MIRAMICHI NEW BRUNSWICK HOSPITAL PSYCIATRY UNIT LOCATED AT 500 WATER STREET MIRAMICHI NEW BRUNSWICK! CAN YOU PLEASE TRY TO GET ME A LAWYER I AM HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME GETTING A LAWYER AS PSYCIATRY HAS KICKED ME UP ON DISSABILITY AND HAS COMPLETLY IMPOVRISHED ME AS A MEANS TO CONTROL ME! THEY (PSYCIATRY) IS DOING THIS TO ME TO MAKE MONEY THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT PEOPLE IT IS LIKE A HITLER MOVEMENT ALL OVER AGAIN! PLEASE DO NOT SEND THE CANADIAN R.C.M.P AS THEY HA E BEEN BEHAVING VERY CORRUPTLY AGAINST ME! PLEASE LET ME KNOW SEND ME BACK AN EMAIL EITHR WAY TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN HELP ME TO GET A LAWYER OR IF YOU CAN HELP ME IN SOME OTHER WAY MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS angelabudd1@gmail.com thank you very much and god bless please help to stop the crimes being done against me and to set an innocent person free and to stop this psyciatric abuse it’s torture i would also like to see my only son whom i have not seen for 3 years now because i can not go back to the B.c. atea were my son lives because FRASIER HEALTH AUTHORITY WILL BEGIN TO TORTURE AND CONTROL EVERYTHING ABOUT ME AGAIN! thanks sincerly Angela TRAPPED BY CORRUPT PSYCHIATRY!
Harvesting the “Blood” of America’s Poora plasma market of dehumanization No lack of human “victims” willing to be treated like animals in farms, in exchange for a few dollars. It was an assembly line to extract liquid gold from human mines. “It’s absolutely deplorable to leverage literal blood money from people who have so few options.” Donors are publicly weighed to make sure they are heavy enough. Obese people are worth more to the bloodthirsty companies as they can safely extract more plasma from them each session (while paying out the same compensation).
IN AMERICA’S wretched economy, where around 130 million Americans admit an inability to pay for basic needs like food, housing or healthcare, buying and selling blood is of the few booming industries America has left.One study found that the majority of donors in Cleveland generate more than a third of their income from “donating” blood. Almost half of America is broke, and 58 percent of the country is living paycheck to paycheck, with savings of less than $1000. 37 million Americans go to bed hungry, including one-sixth of New Yorkers and almost half of South Bronx residents.And over half a million sleep on the streets on any given night, with many millions more in vehicles or relying on friends or family. It is in this context that millions in the red have turned to selling blood to make ends meet. In a very real sense then, these corporations are harvesting the blood of the poor, literally sucking the life out of them.Donated blood is crucial in treating medical conditions such as anemia and cancer and is commonly required to perform surgeries.
The majority of the plasma goes to wealthy European countries; Germany, for example, buys 15 percent of all U.S. blood exports. China and Japan are also key customers
Blood has become big business in the United States and there is no shortage of corporations ready to exploit America’s most vulnerable populations in order to get a piece of the pie.
For much of the world, donating blood is purely an act of solidarity; a civic duty that the healthy perform to aid others in need. The idea of being paid for such an action would be considered bizarre. But in the United States, it is big business. Indeed, in today’s wretched economy, where around 130 million Americans admit an inability to pay for basic needs like food, housing or healthcare, buying and selling blood is of the few booming industries America has left.
The number of collection centers in the United States has more than doubled since 2005 and blood now makes up well over 2 percent of total U.S. exports by value. To put that in perspective, Americans’ blood is now worth more than all exported corn or soy products that cover vast areas of the country’s heartland. The U.S. supplies fully 70 percent of the world’s plasma, mainly because most other countries have banned the practice on ethical and medical grounds. Exports increased by over 13 percent,to $28.6 billion, between 2016 and 2017, and the plasma market is projected to “grow radiantly,”according to one industry report. The majoritygoes to wealthy European countries; Germany, for example, buys 15 percent of all U.S. blood exports. China and Japan are also key customers.
It is primarily the plasma– a golden liquid that transports proteins and red and white blood cells around the body– that makes it so sought after. Donated blood is crucial in treating medical conditions such as anemia and cancer and is commonly required to perform surgeries. Pregnant women also frequently need transfusions to treat blood loss during childbirth. Like all maturing industries, a few enormous bloodthirsty companies, such as Grifols and CSL, have come to dominate the American market.
But in order to generate such enormous profits, these vampiric corporations consciously target the poorest and most desperate Americans. One study found that the majority of donors in Cleveland generate more than a third of their income from “donating” blood. The money they receive, notes Professor Kathryn Edin of Princeton University, is literally “the lifeblood of the $2 a day poor.” Professor H. Luke Schaefer of the University of Michigan, Edin’s co-author of $2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, told MintPress News:
The massive increase in blood plasma sales is a result of an inadequate and in many places non-existent cash safety net, combined with an unstable labor market. Our experience is people need the money, that’s the primary reason people show up at plasma centers.”
Almost half of America is broke, and 58 percent of the country is living paycheck to paycheck, with savings of less than $1000. 37 million Americans go to bed hungry, including one-sixthof New Yorkers and almost half of South Bronx residents. And over half a million sleep on the streets on any given night, with many millions more in vehicles or relying on friends or family. It is in this context that millions in the red have turned to selling blood to make ends meet. In a very real sense then, these corporations are harvesting the blood of the poor, literally sucking the life out of them.
I see we’ve moved on to the “harvesting the blood of the poor” stage of late capitalism
MintPress News spoke to a number of Americans who consistently donated plasma. Some of them did not want to be fully identified. But none were under any illusions about the system and how they were being exploited.
“The centers are never in a good part of town, always somewhere they can get a never ending supply of poor people desperate for that hundred bucks a week,” noted Andrew Watkins, who sold his blood in Pittsburgh, PA for around 18 months.
The people who show up are a mix of disabled, working poor, homeless, single parents, and college students. With the exception of the college students who are looking for booze money, this is probably the easiest and most reliable income they have. Your job may fire you at any time when you’re on this level of society, but you always have blood. And selling your blood doesn’t count as a job or income when it comes to determining disability benefits, food stamps, or unemployment eligibility so it’s a source of money for the people who have absolutely nothing else.”
Rachel from Wisconsin, who donated hundreds of times over a seven-year period, also commented on the obvious socio-economic makeup of donors.
We were poor, all of us in there you could easily tell that we were on the lower ends of the income bracket. They incentivize you with bonuses and the more you donate in a month the more you’ll get paid, recruiting friends bonuses, holiday bonuses, etc.”
Keita Currier from Washington, D.C., noted how she and her husband had little choice but to continue visiting clinics in Maryland for years but resented their payment methods.
They’re predatory, the price set for your plasma is based on a whim. For example, one place I donated the first five times you get $75, then you get 20, 20, 30, 50, 25. It’s random, it doesn’t matter, but they know you are desperate and if you don’t do your $30 donation you won’t get your 50 next time. Apparently, the plasma is worth something in the hundreds, so it is not surprising that you’re screwed over.”
Zombifying America’s poor
Respondents all agreed that they were indeed being exploited, but in more ways than one. Desperate Americans are allowed to donate twice per week (104 times per year). But losing that much plasma could have serious health consequences, most of which have not been studied Professor Schaefer warns, stressing that more research is necessary. Around 70 percent of donors experience health complications. Donors have a lower protein count in their blood, putting them at greater risk of infections and liver and kidney disorders. Many regulars suffer from near-permanent fatigue and are borderline anemic. All this for an average of $30 per visit. Rachel described the terrible Catch-22 many of the working poor find themselves in:
I got turned away twice – once for being too dehydrated and once for being anemic. Being poor created a shitty paradox where I couldn’t eat, and because I couldn’t eat my iron levels weren’t high enough to allow me to donate. That was a week of a pay cut, money I desperately needed for rent and bills and meds.”
A common method of cheating in endurance sports is to inject extra blood into your system before a race, giving you a huge performance boost. But extracting it has the opposite effect, making you sluggish and tired for days. Thus, this debilitating practice is zombifying America’s poor.
A Maryland plasma center is shown in a promotional image for CSL Plasma, one of the largest corporations dominating the market
The process of giving blood is not a pleasurable one. Currier noted that after constantly donating, “the bruising gets terrible…Sometimes they can’t find the vain ‘n’ shit or they insert it wrong and they have to adjust the needle underneath your skin” she said, claiming that just thinking about it freaks her out, and revealed that her husband had to temporarily stop donating as his bosses thought he was on heroin due to the track marks on his arms.
Watkins agreed. “You could always tell how long someone had been doing the job by that needle,” he recalls. “Once they’d been there a year or so, they’d have stabbed literally thousands of people and could just tap your elbow once and slide the needle into the vein with no problems. New guys would miss the vein, punch through the vein, or try to hunt for it with the needle tip, which would leave terrible bruises.”
There is also little thought for the comfort of the patients. As Watkins explained, the thermostats are always turned down to around 50-60ºF for the plasma’s sake. Once the amber-colored plasma has been extracted, your cooled blood is re-injected in a painful process that feels as if ice is being inserted into the body. “Combined with the already cold air temperatures, this was maddening,” he notes.
Thus, America’s zombie poor are left almost permanently mentally drained like heroin addicts, and with similarly bruised and punctured arms, except they are being paid for the inconvenience. But perhaps the worst thing about the experience, according to those interviewed, is the dehumanization of the process.
Donors are publicly weighed to make sure they are heavy enough. Obese people are worth more to the bloodthirsty companies as they can safely extract more plasma from them each session (while paying out the same compensation). “They definitely turn you into a product in a very literal sense,” Watkins says; “It’s deeply exploitative and a symptom of just how far gone capitalism is.”
Many centers are enormous, with multiple rows of dozens of machines working in an attempt to appease the insatiable appetite of the vampiric corporation. And there is, according to Watkins, no lack of human “victims” willing to be treated like animals in battery farms, in exchange for a few dollars: “It was an assembly line to extract liquid gold from human mines,” he notes.
Currier also highlighted the treatment of the staff and the cost-cutting measures of clinics in Maryland she visited would enact:
Usually the places are hugely understaffed which means they frequently don’t change gloves, the people are overworked, and at the minimum you’re staying there for 2-3 hours which means you have to plan a whole day around this shit only to get 20 bucks in your pocket to make it through the next few days. It’s depressing, disheartening and frankly embarrassing to have to hustle like this. I feel like shit after I donate.”
Exploitation reaches new levels
But the exploitation of humans has reached new levels in clinics on the U.S.-Mexico border. Every week, thousands of Mexicans enter the U.S. on temporary visas to sell their blood to for-profit pharmaceutical corporations. The practice is banned on health grounds in Mexico but is completely legal north of the border. According to ProPublica, there are at least 43 blood donation centers along the border that prey primarily on Mexican nationals in a legally ambiguous practice.
According to a Swiss documentary on the subject, there are precious few checks on the cleanliness of the blood these companies accept, with some donors interviewed admitting they were drug addicts. But all is sacrificed in the pursuit of dazzling profits, something donors were well aware of. Rachel from Wisconsin admitted,
I did it for the money, I think we all do it for the money, but it’s not really something you out and out say because there’s a veneer of “helping the sick” slathered over it. But I caught glimpses of what kind of industry it was on occasion through innocuous questioning. The amount of plasma drawn from one person per donation was worth upwards of $600, I never really got a clear answer on that.
Andrew from Pennsylvania agreed, noting wryly,
I know my plasma was worth thousands of dollars per donation [to others], because I’ve seen what a hospital in my city charged a hemophiliac for platelets, so the pittance that they pay is ridiculous, but there is only one buyer making offers at the human level. If you’re poor and out of other options, you’ll take $40 however you can get it. Any port in a storm.”
Michael, a social worker from Georgia who sold his blood for extra cash, was deeply scornful of the entire situation. “I’ve known quite a number of people who rely on money made by selling plasma. A lot of times it’s to cover childcare or prescriptions or something along those lines,” he said. “It’s absolutely deplorable to leverage literal blood money from people who have so few options.”
A sign encouraging students to sell blood to fund their education. Twitter | @tjulrich
Big pharma is particularly interested in the blood of the young. One billboard campaign from Grifols intentionally targeted working-class students. “Need books? No worries. Donate Plasma” reads the headline. Teenager blood is in high demand in, of all places, Silicon Valley, where anti-aging technologies are the latest trend. One company, Ambrosia, charges $8,000 per treatment to aging tech executives, infusing them with the blood of the young, turning these individuals into bloodsuckers in more ways than one. Despite the fact that there is no clinical evidence that the practice has any beneficial effects, business is booming. One committed customer is PayPal co-founder turned Trump surrogate Peter Thiel, who is reportedly spending vast sums of money on funding anti-aging startups. Thiel claims that we have been conned by “the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual” and believes that his own immortality may be just around the corner, a notion that has deeply concerned academics and commentators alike.
The new and booming blood market is the perfect embodiment of the late capitalist dystopia modern America has become. The dehumanizing process of harvesting the blood of the poor to fund the quixotic immortality dreams of the super-wealthy turns the former into walking, living zombies and the latter into vampires, feasting on the blood of the young; a true American horror story worthy of Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft. As Rachel from Wisconsin said:
It really is an industry where ‘squeezing blood from stones’ is about as literal as you can get.”
See the speech of William van Duyn from Bilderberg Group Meeting 2014, note the members of the steering committee (Christine Lagarde, William van Duyn) and Hillary Clinton having breakfast with William van Duyn on June 2, 2014 (a real meddling in the US-Presidential election 2016): William van Duyn was at Bilderberg Meeting 2019 together with Mike Pompeo and met there with EU´s Ursula von der Leyen (real meddling in EU elections by the Illuminati/William van Duyn):https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_bilderberg_54.htm
The world’s fossil fuel vehicle sales have continued to freefall in 2019, dropping by around 4.35 million, or some 4.7%, compared to 2018, accelerating a now inexorable trend. Global electric vehicle sales meanwhile have continued to rise, with 2019 EV market share reaching 4.7% in China and 3.8% in Europe. (Note that “electric vehicles” in this report concerns both fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.)
Peugeot e-208. Image courtesy Peugeot
LMC automotive has released its 2019 global auto sales figures this past week, with an overall drop from 2018’s 94.416 million to 90.266 million. The gross figures don’t detail the fossil fuel vehicle vs. EV sales split, but regional EV data (or firm estimates) are now in place for the 3 largest markets (China, Europe, and the US), which together make up almost two-thirds of global auto sales.
Let’s grasp the overall picture via the combined total of combustion vehicle sales and EV sales in these 3 major markets:
Apart from the noticeable combustion vehicle drop, we can see that EV sales were also trimmed back slightly in 2019 due to major changes to the NEV incentive policy from July. These changes have now settled, and the EV market will be back to growth in 2020. Importantly, despite this trimming, EV market share actually increased from 4.5% to 4.7% due to the dramatic decline in combustion vehicle sales.
With further fossil fuel vehicle drops forecast for 2020, EV market share in China will almost certainly cross the 5% mark this year, perhaps crossing 6% if the local EV market quickly gets back to growth.
Europe
In Europe (EU + EFTA), there’s a different mix of market dynamics at play. 2019 fossil fuel vehicle sales actually increased by a tiny 0.059% (less than one tenth of one percent), largely from a Q4 pull forward (fire sale?) due to the tough CO2 emissions regulations that have now come into effect (2020 onwards). EV sales on the other hand grew strongly, from 407,000 to an estimated 579,000 (provisional figures from EV Volumes, and via José Pontes’ country reports). Here’s the overview:
The ~172,000 increase in EV sales marks a strong 43% growth over 2018, even before the new regulations push things along further in 2020. In market share terms, EVs grew from 2.67% to 3.8%. I’m expecting close to 1 million EV sales in Europe this year, and a steep decline in fossil vehicle sales (to around 14.5 million or less), giving EVs over 6% market share. (Editor’s note: We have a bit of a China vs. Europe EV market share competition now! That’s fun.)
US Market
The 2019 US picture is more mixed. Fossil vehicle sales dropped by 180,000 units, a fall of 1.1%. EV sales meanwhile dropped by 32,000, a fall of 8.9% (data estimates from our friends over at InsideEVs). Here’s the graph:
The US EV market share thus fell from 2.1% to 1.9%. A major cause of lower EV sales in the US is weak US availability of compelling affordable EV offerings (e.g., the Hyundai Kona EV and Kia e-Niro), and very few new EV models in more affordable segments in 2019. In contrast, Europe gets many more electric choices and deliveries of hot models are reportedly prioritized in Europe. Also complicating things is that Tesla had not started shipping the Model 3 abroad in 2018, maximizing US deliveries before a big drop in the US tax credit for Tesla buyers. The Model 3’s arrival in Europe (and China) in 2019 gave those markets a boost that the US market benefited from earlier, in 2018.
The “new” Nissan LEAF 62 kWh is mostly just a larger battery pack (still with no active cooling) and is overshadowed in value by the Tesla Model 3. The updated Hyundai Ioniq EV (38 kWh), on sale for months already in other regions, has still not made it to US shores. Few other affordable new models were available. The MG ZS EV, for example, which went straight into the #5 position in the Netherlands in December, isn’t available in the US, neither is the Renault Zoe, one of Europe’s most popular EVs. More affordable Volkswagen Group triplets also aren’t available in the US. The untimely retirement of the much-loved Chevy Volt, long one of the most popular EVs in the US, also effectively trimmed the market by around 13,400 vehicles.
In short, outside of Tesla, there’s a lack of diverse up-to-date EV offerings in the US, and a woeful lack of available supply for those that are most compelling. Finally, there’s also the waiting-for-Model-Y Osborne effect, which put a damper on 2019 US EV sales (and not just EVs). The Model Y will result in US sales volumes returning to strong growth in 2020.
Tesla Model Y. Image courtesy Tesla
Rest of the World
We’ll have to wait a while longer to learn the fully granular 2019 EV results from other markets, but we know that Canada, Japan, and South Korea will have totaled a little over 130,000 EV sales, and Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand around 25,000 more. Close to 2.3 million global EV sales will be the 2019 final tally, up from around 2.1 million in 2018. Given the 4.15 million drop in global auto sales, we can conclude that fossil fuel vehicle sales were down by around 4.35 million in 2019 compared to 2018.
Overall, the 2019 global EV market share was 2.5%, an increase from the 2.2% market share of 2018. The main growth driver was Europe, whilst we saw China — though still leading in volume and EV market share — pause to refresh its incentives landscape.
All auto market analysts continue to predict falling global auto volumes in 2020, especially in China, Europe, and the US. Conversely, EV sales will continue to grow (Tesla alone may grow by around 300,000 units this year), and we can expect global EV market share to climb to at least 3% in 2020, secured mostly by European regulations pushing back on pollution and emissions. We could potentially see up to ~3.5% global market share in 2020, depending on how quickly China and the US get back to volume growth. Much depends on just how precipitously fossil fuel vehicle sales continue to fall. Either way, it’s a certainty that fossil fuel vehicles will continue to move towards their end game and will fall again in 2020.
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Dr. Maximilian Holland Max is an anthropologist, social theorist and international political economist, trying to ask questions and encourage critical thinking about social and environmental justice, sustainability and the human condition. He has lived and worked in Europe and Asia, and is currently based in Barcelona. Follow Max on twitter @Dr_Maximilian and at MaximilianHolland.com, or contact him via LinkedIn.
So. Africa – World Bank/Grim Forecast and Utility – Deploying Prepaid Meters.So. Africa – Eskom to continue with power cuts in Soweto | eNCA Installing prepaid meters allow customer to consume what they can afford. Also, asking landlords to collect utility costs from tenants.
JOHANNESBURG – Eskom said it will continue to cut power supplies to residents who do not pay their electricity bills.
Residents of Soweto collectively owe the power utility a total of R18.2-billion, which is reportedly almost half of the total local municipal debt owed to the electricity utility.
‘Unfortunately, we cannot go on … where we just watch where the residents are just consuming without us collecting the revenue and hence that is why we needed to implement our credit management strategies,” said Eskom’s Client Service Senior Manager Daphne Mokwena.
Mokwena said those who don’t pay will be disconnected.
Eskom has also begun converting conventional meters to prepaid meters, allowing residents to manage their electricity use.
“We are saying that if customers are on prepaid then you can actually manage what you are consuming, as per your affordability but unfortunately most customers in Soweto are resisting this”, added Mokwena.
Mokwena says some residents continue to tamper with meters and buy electricity from ‘ghost vendors’. __________________________________________________________________
JOHANNESBURG – The outlook for South Africa’s economy is not about to improve, according to the World Bank.
In its latest Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank cut its economic growth forecast for South Africa to below 1 percent for 2020 and its all thanks to Eskom.
Massive debt wave could crash on developing countries, World Bank warns
WASHINGTON – A wave of debt in emerging and developing nations has grown faster and larger than in any period of the last five decades and could end with another crisis, the World Bank warned.
And if the wave breaks, it could be more damaging since it would engulf private companies in addition to governments, at a time when economic growth is sluggish, according to a new report that covers four debt surges from 1970-2018.
“The size, speed and breadth of the latest debt wave should concern us all,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement.
“Clearly, it’s time for course corrections,” he added.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have been sounding the warning about growing global debt for years, but the latest report is even more stark and turned up the volume on its calls for governments to take steps to prevent a debt crisis.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday saiddeveloping nations in Africa especially need to strike the right balance between financing development and a manageable debt level.
– Surging to $188-trillion –
The IMF reported that total global debt rose to $188-trillion at the end of 2018, equivalent to nearly 230 percent of the world’s economy.
The World Bank report highlights the “striking” debt surge in emerging and developing economies, which is the “largest, fastest and most broad-based in EMDEs in the past 50 years.”
After declining during the 2008 global financial crisis, amid very low borrowing costs in just eight years since 2010, debt in these countries climbed to an all-time high of roughly 170 percent of GDP or about $55-trillion.
Much of the growth was incurred by China (equivalent to more than $20-trillion), but Beijing also has become a large lender for low-income countries.
The report warns that the current debt wave “could follow the historical pattern and culminate in financial crises in these economies,” especially if interest rates spike or if there is a sudden global shock.
Better debt management, improved tax collection, flexible exchange rates and tighter fiscal rules to manage spending could help avert a crisis and soften the blow if one occurs, the World Bank said.
“Towering though it may seem, the latest global wave of debt can be managed,” Malpass said.
“But leaders need to recognize the danger and move countries into safer territory in terms of the quality and quantity of investment and debt — sooner rather than later.”
His IMF counterpart, Georgieva, in a blog post on Thursday repeated her concern about the massive increase in commercial borrowing in Africa — accounting for 70 percent of the ballooning of debt.
She urged governments in the region to find a “balanced approach” to managing debt and development.
“Africa is seeking to find the right balance between financing development and safeguarding debt sustainability, between investing in people and upgrading infrastructure, between long-term development objectives and pressing immediate needs,” she said.
Venezuela Sees Large-Scale Blackouts, Internet Shutdown
Monitoring Agency
According to Netblocks, a total of 16 out of 23 states in the country were affected, but Tachira, Merida, and Carabobo saw less than half of power supply restored.
Venezuelan human rights organisation Redes Ayuda said on Twitter that electricity outages in the country had also caused problems with internet connection in five states.
According to third-party observers and analysts, the power outages in Venezuela are caused by low investments in infrastructure and equipment deterioration.
After last summer’s power outages in Caracas, Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez said that they had been caused by an “electromagnetic attack” targeting the country’s main hydroelectric system.
In March, an accident occurred at the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Plant, the country’s largest electricity supplier, which provoked an unprecedented blackout, with 20 of Venezuela’s 23 states affacted. Enterprises and government agencies across the country stopped working for almost a week.
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Homeland Security wants to expand facial recognition checks for travelers arriving to and departing from the U.S. to also include citizens, which had previously been exempt from the mandatory checks.
In a filing, the department has proposed that all travelers, and not just foreign nationals or visitors, will have to complete a facial recognition check before they are allowed to enter the U.S., but also to leave the country.
Facial recognition for departing flights has increased in recent years as part of Homeland Security’s efforts to catch visitors and travelers who overstay their visas. The department, whose responsibility is to protect the border and control immigration, has a deadline of 2021 to roll out facial recognition scanners to the largest 20 airports in the United States, despite facing a rash of technical challenges.
But although there may not always be a clear way to opt-out of facial recognition at the airport, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents — also known as green card holders — have been exempt from these checks, the existing rules say.
Now, the proposed rule change to include citizens has drawn ire from one of the largest civil liberties groups in the country.
“Time and again, the government told the public and members of Congress that U.S. citizens would not be required to submit to this intrusive surveillance technology as a condition of traveling,” said Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union .
“This new notice suggests that the government is reneging on what was already an insufficient promise,” he said.
“Travelers, including U.S. citizens, should not have to submit to invasive biometric scans simply as a condition of exercising their constitutional right to travel. The government’s insistence on hurtling forward with a large-scale deployment of this powerful surveillance technology raises profound privacy concerns,” he said.
Citing a data breach of close to 100,000 license plate and traveler images in June, as well as concerns about a lack of sufficient safeguards to protect the data, Stanley said the government “cannot be trusted” with this technology and that lawmakers should intervene.
A spokesperson for Customs & Border Protection said the agency was “currently in the rulemaking process and will ensure that the public has the opportunity to comment prior to the implementation of any regulation,” and that it was “committed to its privacy obligations.”
The global pig population is being absolutely decimated by a disease that does not have a cure. African Swine Fever, also commonly referred to as “Pig Ebola”, is raging out of control in dozens of countries all over the globe. It has a mortality rate of close to 100 percent, and once it hits an area even the pigs that are able to survive the disease are killed off in order to prevent it from spreading elsewhere. Unfortunately, African Swine Fever just continues to pop up in more locations. As you will see below, it is now sweeping through the heavily-populated nation of Indonesia. Nearly 270 million people live in Indonesia, and they are heavily dependent on pork as a source of protein. But of course the same thing could be said about almost all of the countries where African Swine Fever is currently raging.
The mainstream media in the U.S. hasn’t been properly reporting on this crisis, and that is likely because this disease has not spread to our nation yet.
But let there be no doubt – this is truly a crisis of Biblical proportions. In fact, it has been estimated that this epidemic has already killed about one-fourth of the world’s pigs. The following comes from an Australian news source…
African swine fever has been reported in nearly 50 nations — including China, South Korea, the Philippines and Belgium — and it’s causing an incredible crisis on a global scale. Alarmingly, more than one-quarter of Earth’s pigs have been wiped out by the virulent disease.
This should be front page news all across America, but of course the big news networks really don’t want to talk about anything other than the impeachment of Donald Trump these days.
Unfortunately, everyone on the entire planet is going to feel the pain of this crisis as it continues to intensify. We are potentially facing a serious global pork shortage, and this disease continues to pop up in new areas. When it recently began spreading in Indonesia, it made headlines all over the globe. The following comes from Reuters…
Nearly 30,000 pigs have died from African swine fever (ASF) in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province as of Dec. 15, causing millions of dollars of economic losses as authorities try to quarantine the areas affected, officials said on Wednesday.
The Agriculture Ministry has declared an outbreak of the highly contagious virus in the country and said it is contained only in some parts of North Sumatra, minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo told reporters.
Asian countries rely very heavily on pork to feed their populations, and the severe losses that we are witnessing are not going to be easy to replace. At this point, Indonesia has become the 11th Asian nation where African Swine Fever is spreading…
To date, 11 Asian countries have reported outbreaks since August 2018, including Indonesia, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Timor-Leste.
The epicenter for this crisis is in China. The Chinese produce and eat more pork than anyone else in the world, and it was recently projected that their hog herd “will likely shrink by 55% by the end of the year” due to this disease…
China’s hog herd fell by half in the first eight months of 2019 due to a devastating outbreak of African swine fever and will likely shrink by 55% by the end of the year, analysts at Rabobank said on Wednesday.
As I detailed in a previous article, it has been estimated that 150 million pigs have already died in China.
To put that in perspective, there are only about 70 million pigs in the United States right now.
So you could kill every pig in the United States twice and you would still not get to the total that have already died in China because of this epidemic.
Needless to say, pork prices are absolutely soaring in China. They have more than doubled since this time last year, and in November we saw another huge jump in Chinese food inflation. The following comes from Zero Hedge…
As has been the case for the past year, the culprit behind the headline CPI surge was food inflation, which accelerated further to a record +19.1% in November from +15.5% in October, primarily on higher inflation in fresh vegetable and pork prices.
So what is the bottom line?
The bottom line is that this is an extremely serious threat to the global food supply.
Beef, chicken, fish and pork are the four main global sources of protein, and right now pork is already in very short supply in some parts of the world.
And of course this comes at a time when global weather patterns are going absolutely nuts and we have seen disastrous harvest seasons all over the planet.
We are entering the time of “the perfect storm”, and most people have absolutely no idea what is ahead of us.
Even if you don’t eat pork, this is a story that you need to keep a very close eye on, because this is going to push up food prices everywhere. Demand for beef, chicken and fish will increase as pork becomes more expensive and consumers turn to other options. And in some of the poorer places around the world, some impoverished families may have to start cutting meat out of their diets entirely.
We have never seen a crisis quite like this in any of our lifetimes. Despite all of our advanced technology, we are still dependent on farmers to produce the food that we eat, and this is truly an existential crisis for the entire global pork industry.
There is no way to spin this to make it sound nicer. Many are hoping that this outbreak will subside eventually, but right now it doesn’t look like that will happen.
And once this disease reaches the United States, we will start to experience the same panic that is already sweeping through nearly 50 other nations around the globe.
Excerpts:
What was intended as a state-of-the-art, $32 million prison water treatment plant has turned into yet another state infrastructure boondoggle. Since the plant’s completion in 2010, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Deuel Vocational Institution, which uses brackish wells on its grounds, is supposed to run the water through a two-step treatment process before it reaches 2,300 prisoners and 1,000 corrections employees.
