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       #Post#: 14760--------------------------------------------------
       How "Essential" is Bottled Water? Ep. 6.163
       By: AGelbert Date: December 9, 2019, 11:02 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]How "Essential" is Bottled Water? Ep. 6.163[/center]
       10,191 views•Dec 7, 2019
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/P8N0UNE2e-s[/center]
       Steve Lehto
       115K subscribers
       Michigan court of appeals shoots down the argument that bottled
       water is "essential" in the same manner as electricity and
       sewers.
  HTML http://www.lehtoslaw.com
       #Post#: 14777--------------------------------------------------
       Walmart Store Holding Thanksgiving Charity Food Drive -- For Its
        Own Employees!
       By: Surly1 Date: December 10, 2019, 6:22 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Walmart Store Holding Thanksgiving Charity Food Drive -- For Its
       Own Employees!
  HTML https://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/11/18/walmart-store-holding-thanksgiving-charity-food-drive-for-its-own-employees/?fbclid=IwAR2jsd0nD8JCMILvEQNnTFXGvbXpypTzu9BSiJSxOhzC-bfj4inKdVV7swI#1b8b885e2ee5
  HTML https://b-i.forbesimg.com/rickungar/files/2013/11/walmart-555x416.jpg
       [html]<div><a _ngcontent-c26=""
       href="safari-reader://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/"
       data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Rick
       Ungar</a></div>&#13;<p>Recently, <a
       href="
  HTML http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ten-companies-paying-americans-least-112523979.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"
       data-ga-track="ExternalLink:
  HTML http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ten-companies-paying-americans-least-112523979.html">Yahoo&rsquo;s<br
       />24/7 Wall Street </a>column sought to identify the
       nation&rsquo;s 10 worst paying employers, based on the
       methodology ultizied by the National Employment Law Project in
       its 2012 report, <a
       href="safari-reader://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2013/11/18/
       walmart-store-holding-thanksgiving-charity-food-drive-for-its-ow
       n-employees/nelp.3cdn.net/e555b2e361f8f734f4_sim6btdzo.pdf"
       target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"
       data-ga-track="ExternalLink:nelp.3cdn.net/e555b2e361f8f734f4_sim
       6btdzo.pdf">&ldquo;Big
       Business, Corporate Profits, and the Minimum
       Wage.&rdquo;</a></p>&#13;<p>To the surprise of nobody, Walmart
       came out on top, achieving the distinction of being the worst
       paying company in America.</p>&#13;<p>Still, when it comes to
       Walmart, there are certain analysts and observers who
       can&rsquo;t seem to remove the blinders. They continue to insist
       that Walmart pays its workers an average of over $18.00 per hour
       when even the company acknowledges that the average full time,
       hourly rate is $12.83&mdash;and that number includes the
       salaries of some of the highest paid employees in the averaging
       such as the CEO who earned $20.7 million last
       year.</p>&#13;<p>Maybe, at long last, the blinders will come off
       when these deniers are forced to come to grips with the fact
       that Walmart associates are paid so poorly that a store in
       Canton, Ohio, located in the northeastern part of the state, now
       holds an annual, Thanksgiving drive to collect canned foods for
       <em>fellow Walmart employees in need.</em></p>&#13;<p>Walmart
       spokesperson, Kory Lundberg, thinks this is all just the most
       wonderful thing&mdash;bragging that the drive to collect holiday
       food for fellow employees shows just how much Walmart employees
       care about one another.</p>&#13;<p>Do you imagine the
       spokesperson has yet to realize just how remarkable her
       statement is?</p>&#13;<p>Surely, those in need at the Canton,
       Ohio store are benefitting from the good will of <i>some</i>
       fellow workers who care enough to drop off a can of cranberry
       sauce to help make their co-workers&rsquo; holiday meal a bit
       nicer, even though they too suffer from earning too little to
       take care of their own families.</p>&#13;<p>However, what about
       the <i>other</i> employees at Walmart&mdash;say, for example,
       CEO Mike Duke who could make this in-house charitable effort
       unnecessary by simply paying his employees a livable wage so
       that they might afford a decent Thanksgiving dinner on their
       own?</p>&#13;<p>While spokesperson Lundberg seems to be feeling
       all &lsquo;Christmassy' as a result of the good works company
       employees are performing when it comes to their own modern day
       Tiny Tim story, other employees at the Walmart store in question
       are not quite so cheery.</p>&#13;<p>One employee, <a
       href="
  HTML http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/18/wal-mart-asks-employees-to-donate-canned-goods-to-workers-who-dont-have-enough-to-eat/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"
       data-ga-track="ExternalLink:
  HTML http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/18/wal-mart-asks-employees-to-donate-canned-goods-to-workers-who-dont-have-enough-to-eat/">who<br
       />did not wish to divulge her name for fear of being fired</a>,
       found the food drive containers in her locker a few weeks ago
       upon arriving at work. The employee, who found the campaign
       &ldquo;demoralizing&rdquo; and &ldquo;kind of depressing&rdquo;,
       snapped photos of the containers which are now making their way
       around social media outlets as proof positive of just how bad
       Walmart&rsquo;s indifference to their employees' living
       circumstances has become.</p>&#13;<p>If what is happening at the
       Canton, Ohio store is insufficient proof that this
       company&rsquo;s wages are too low, then there is clearly no
       measure or metric that could possibly serve to make the
       point.</p>&#13;<p><a
       href="
  HTML http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/18/wal-mart-asks-employees-to-donate-canned-goods-to-workers-who-dont-have-enough-to-eat/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"
       data-ga-track="ExternalLink:
  HTML http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/18/wal-mart-asks-employees-to-donate-canned-goods-to-workers-who-dont-have-enough-to-eat/">Says<br
       />Kate Bronfenbrenner</a>, director of labor education research 
       at
       Cornell Univeristy&rsquo;s school of labor, &ldquo;That captures
       Wal-Mart right there. Wal-Mart is setting up bins because its
       employees don&rsquo;t make enough to feed themselves and their
       families.&rdquo;</p>&#13;<p>Of course, the start of the holiday
       season will not be grim for everyone at Walmart as there will
       likely be ample goodies of bonus checks and stock options in the
       stockings of top employees at the company, as Walmart's net
       income rose to $17 billion last year.</p>&#13;<p>If your idea of
       American capitalism is of the "bah humbug" variety, then I'm
       sure that this story will leave you saying, "They're damned
       lucky they have a job at all!" But for those Americans who still
       believe that free enterprise means that working hard at a job
       should be compensated with a livable wage, I hope you will let
       your feelings be known.</p>&#13;<p>And if you happen to live in
       the Canton, Ohio area, drop by and make a contribution. The
       folks at Walmart who are helping you to pick out that nice
       turkey for your Thanksgiving family gathering will appreciate
       your helping to give them some happiness on that day as their
       own Ebenezer Scrooge of an employer won't be dropping by with a
       Christmas goose.</p>&#13;<p><em>Contact Rick at
       thepolicypage@gmail.com and follow me on <a
       href="
  HTML http://www.twitter.com/rickungar"
       target="_blank"
       rel="nofollow noopener"
       data-ga-track="ExternalLink:
  HTML http://www.twitter.com/rickungar"
       >Twitter</a>
       and <a href="
  HTML http://www.fac
       ebook/richard.ungar" target="_blank"
       rel="nofollow noopener"
       data-ga-track="ExternalLink:
  HTML http://www.fac
       ebook/richard.ungar">Facebook</a>.</em></p>[/html]
       #Post#: 14970--------------------------------------------------
       Facebook&#128584;&#128585;&#128586;&#128520; biggest Child P O R
        N platform and  HIDES Corporate Slavery Supply Chains!!
       By: AGelbert Date: December 25, 2019, 6:53 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]Is It Time To Reboot [emoji83] Facebook? (w/ Andrew
       Behar )[/center]
       1,301 views•Dec 19, 2019
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/Aj5rw4nzK3o[/center]
       Thom Hartmann Program
       201K subscribers
       Is it time to reboot Facebook so the company is no longer a
       danger to democracies or people?
       &#128308; Subscribe for more clips like this:
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/user/thomhart...
       #Post#: 15125--------------------------------------------------
       &#128121; Amazon Warns Employees Who Spoke Out On Climate Change
       By: AGelbert Date: January 8, 2020, 7:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]BLACK BEAR NEWS: &#128121; Amazon Warns Employees Who
       Spoke Out On Climate Change[/center]
       473 views•Jan 8, 2020
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/pmpMklUwht8[/center]
       Black Bear News
       2.56K subscribers
       #FridayGasStrike #ExtinctionRebellion #ClimateStrike
       #GretaThunberg #ClimateChange #CompassionateDegrowth
       #BlackBearNews
       Amazon Warns Employees Who Spoke Out On Climate Change
  HTML https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amazon-warns-employees-climate-change_n_5e0e42bbc5b6b5a713b769a0
       A Grim New Definition of Generation X
  HTML https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/01/01/grim-new-definition-generation-x
       What If...? | a spoof in which we make all the right decisions |
       Extinction Rebellion
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/geopolitics/profiles-in-courage/msg15124/#msg15124
       T-SHIRTS -
  HTML http://redllamamusic.com/BlackBear.htm
       Watch on Rokfin
  HTML https://www.rokfin.com/BlackBearNews
       Watch on Climate Crush TV:
  HTML https://frozen.ear
       th/tv/
       Twitter @BlackBearNews1
       Support via Paypal:
  HTML https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
       Support via Square:
  HTML https://cash.me/$RedLlamaMusic
       Red Llama Music
       PO Box 132
       So. Pasadena, CA 91031
       Category People & Blogs
       #Post#: 15161--------------------------------------------------
       Boeing's fired CEO had $62 million payout on the day 2,800 laid 
       off
       By: Surly1 Date: January 11, 2020, 6:04 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Boeing's fired CEO got his $62 million payout confirmed the same
       day
       2,800 people in the 737 Max supply chain were laid off
  HTML https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-muilenburg-payout-same-time-thousands-layoffs-2020-1
       [img
       width=800]
  HTML https://image.businessinsider.com/5e192d32b2e66a4cfa14b212?width=2500&format=jpeg&auto=webp[/img]
       [html]<h1></h1>&#13;<div><a data-e2e-name="byline-author-name"
       href="
  HTML https://www.businessinsider.com/author/kieran-corcoran">Kieran<br
       />Corcoran</a>&#13;<div data-timestamp="2020-01-11T02:36:52Z"
       data-e2e-name="byline-timestamp">9 hours
       ago</div>&#13;</div>&#13;<section data-track-content=""
       data-post-type="post">&#13;<div
       data-piano-inline-content-wrapper="">&#13;<ul>&#13;<li>Dennis
       Muilenburg, the recently-ousted CEO of Boeing, is leaving with a
       $62 million payout, the company said Friday.</li>&#13;<li>The
       substantial award comes despite being fired for poor handling of
       the fatal crashes, aftermath, and continued suspension from
       service of the 737 Max.</li>&#13;<li>Also on Friday other
       workers lost their jobs because of the 737 Max: 2,800 employees
       of Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems.</li>&#13;<li>Spirit said
       the workers had to go because there was no work for them in
       light of Boeing suspending production of the 737 Max while it is
       grounded.</li>&#13;<li>Unlike Muilenburg, they did not get large
       exit packages, and will instead receive 60 days'
       pay.</li>&#13;<li><a
       href="
  HTML https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit<br
       />Business Insider's home page for more
       stories.</a></li>&#13;</ul>&#13;<p>The recently-fired CEO of
       Boeing is leaving the company with a package worth $62 million,
       the company said Friday &mdash; just hours after 2,800 workers
       lost their jobs over the 737 Max disaster.</p>&#13;<p>Payout
       details for Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted from Boeing in
       late December, were made public in <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/12927/000001292720000003/a202001jan108k.htm">a<br
       />filing with the US Securities and Exchange
       Commission</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Muilenburg lost his job over Boeing's
       disastrous handling of two fatal crashes by the 737 Max in which
       346 people died.</p>&#13;<p>The jet was grounded ten months ago,
       in March 2019. It has no firm date to return to service and
       Boeing has stopped building new ones.</p>&#13;<p>On his
       departure, Boeing stripped him of his bonus, any severance pay,
       and other incentives worth nearly $15
       million.</p>&#13;<p>However, that still left him with <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.businessinsider.com/boeings-ousted-ceo-muilenburg-not-entitled-to-severance-payment-2020-1">a<br
       />parting package of $62 million</a> made up of Boeing stock,
       pension payments, and other deferred
       contributions.</p>&#13;<p>Meanwhile, rank-and-file aviation
       workers in Boeing's supply chain were cut lose without anything
       like that kind of compensation.</p>&#13;<p>Earlier on Friday,
       Spirit AeroSystems, a Kansas-based manufacturer, which gets more
       than half its revenue from the 737 Max, <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-737-max-spirit-aerosystems-layoffs-2020-1">announced<br
       />layoffs for 2,800 workers at its Wichita
       facility</a>.</p>&#13;<p>When Boeing froze the 737 Max
       production line, it promised not to lay off any of its own
       staff.</p>&#13;<p>But the loss of work proved devastating for
       suppliers like Spirit, which said <a
       href="
  HTML https://spiritaero.com/media/78/spirit-aerosystems-initiates-workforce-actions-due-to-expected-lower-levels-of-737-max-production/">in<br
       />a statement</a> that the grounding and production freeze left
       them little.</p>&#13;<p>"Spirit is taking this action because of
       the 737 MAX production suspension and ongoing uncertainty
       regarding the timing of when production will resume and the
       level of production when it does resume," the statement
       said.</p>&#13;<p>Spirit said it plans to lay off an unspecified
       number of workers at two plants in Oklahoma, and may also have
       to shed more workers at its Wichita base if 737 Max production
       does not recommence.</p>&#13;<p>The laid off are due to receive
       60 days' pay, Spirit said.</p>&#13;</div>&#13;</section>[/html]
       #Post#: 15162--------------------------------------------------
       Big Pharma Won’t Let Us Import Drugs From Canada, But...
       By: Surly1 Date: January 11, 2020, 6:09 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Big Pharma Won’t Let Us Import Drugs From Canada, But Insists on
       Sending Carcinogen-Contaminated Pills to the Public
  HTML https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/01/big-pharma-wont-let-us-import-drugs-from-canada-but-insists-on-sending-carcinogen-contaminated-pills-to-the-public.html
       [html]<header class="entry-header">&#13;<div
       class="single-title-meta"><span class="sep">Posted on</span> <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/01/big-pharma-wont-let-us-import-drugs-from-canada-but-insists-on-sending-carcinogen-contaminated-pills-to-the-public.html"<br
       />title="Big Pharma Won&rsquo;t Let Us Import Drugs From Canada,
       But Insists on Sending Carcinogen-Contaminated Pills to the
       Public" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date date updated"
       datetime="%3$s" pubdate="">January 11, 2020</time></a> <span
       class="sep">by </span><span class="author vcard"><a class="url
       fn n" href="
  HTML https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/author/yves-smith"<br
       />title="Yves Smith" rel="author">Yves
       Smith</a></span></div>&#13;</header>&#13;<div
       class="entry-content">&#13;<div class="pf-content">&#13;<p>Yves
       here. I understand the desire of Americans to be able to
       re-import drugs from Canada. But this is at best an interim
       strategy, since meaningful orders from Canada could easily cause
       problems with supplies for Canadians and could thus lead the
       Canadian government to restrict or bar shipments to the
       US.</p>&#13;<p>The point would be to pressure the US government
       to do what every other advanced economy government does:
       negotiate drug prices. The fact that we don&rsquo;t when the US
       provides so much R&D support to Big Pharma is, as Lambert would
       say, wonderfully clarifying.</p>&#13;<p><em><strong>By Thom
       Hartmann, a <a href="
  HTML https://www.thomhartmann.com/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">talk-show host</a> and the auth
       or
       of <a
       href="
  HTML https://smile.amazon.com/Hidden-History-War-Voting-Stole/dp/1523087781/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Hidden History of the War o
       n
       Voting</a> and more than <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.amazon.com/Thom-Hartmann/e/B000AQ449C"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">25 other books in print</a>. Hi
       s
       most recent project is a science podcast called <a
       href="
  HTML https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-revolution-with-thom-hartmann/id1488059541"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><i>The Science
       Revolution</i></a>. He is a writing fellow at the <a
       href="
  HTML https://independentmediainstitute.org/"
       target="_blank"
       rel="nofollow">Independent Media Institute</a> Produced by <a
       href="
  HTML https://independentmediainstitute.org/economy-for-all/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Economy for All</a>, a project 
       of
       the Independent Media Institute.</strong></em></p>&#13;<p>Big
       Pharma <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/19/big-pharma-money-lobbying-us-opioid-crisis"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">spends a small fortune</a> ever
       y
       year buying politicians to make sure we can&rsquo;t import
       prescription drugs from Canada, but they&rsquo;re more than
       happy to sell us contaminated medications from countries with
       weak manufacturing controls and exploitable labor that ensure
       high profit margins.</p>&#13;<p>A toxic compound that
       doesn&rsquo;t belong anywhere near medicine known as NDMA was
       first <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-12/how-carcinogen-tainted-generic-drug-valsartan-got-past-the-fda"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">discovered</a> in some blood
       pressure medications in 2018, and the <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/zhejiang-huahai-pharmaceutical-566685-11292018"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">FDA</a> issued an alert and wro
       te
       a complaint letter to the raw materials supplier to Big Pharma
       companies. It turns out the meds follow the very common pattern
       of being <a
       href="
  HTML https://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/cheap-india-made-contaminated-drugs-spark-lawsuit-in-america-against-walmart-3-others/237414"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">made in India</a> with raw
       ingredients coming from <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.export.gov/article?id=China-Pharmaceuticals"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">China</a>. And they are sold by
       big companies for obscenely high prices to U.S.
       consumers.</p>&#13;<p>More recently, NDMA contamination provoked
       a nationwide recall of the popular anti-heartburn medication <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zantac-ndma-levels-potentially-dangerous-chemical-zantac-ranitidine-heartburn-pills-2019-10-08/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Zantac</a>and all its generic
       versions.</p>&#13;<p>And now the world&rsquo;s most widely
       prescribed drug of all, which is used to treat and prevent Type
       2 diabetes called <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-fda-idUSKBN1Y92UN"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">metformin</a>, is contaminated
       with NDMA.</p>&#13;<p>NDMA (N-Nitrosodimethylamine) is,
       according to the World Health Organization, <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/ndmasummary_2ndadd.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">produced by</a> &ldquo;the
       degradation of dimethylhydrazine (a component of rocket fuel) as
       well as from several other industrial processes. It is also a
       contaminant of certain pesticides.&rdquo;</p>&#13;<p>And
       it&rsquo;s one of the world&rsquo;s most potent carcinogens, at
       least for humans and other mammals. Our livers produce an enzyme
       that converts it to methyldiazonium that then leads to <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/ndmasummary_2ndadd.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">O6-methylguanine</a>, both of
       which alter a process at the cellular level called methylation
       that is a <a
       href="
  HTML https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/59/4/793"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">cancer
       turbocharger</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Because it&rsquo;s such a potent
       biological agent, NDMA is also <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.pharmaceuticalintegritycoalition.org/blog/148/derelict-fda-allows-huahais-carcinogen-contaminated-valsartan-into-the-us/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">extremely poisonous</a>; a
       Chinese medical student put a few drops in his roommate&rsquo;s
       water and killed him. Ditto for a Canadian grad student, who
       injected it into a colleague&rsquo;s apple
       pie.</p>&#13;<p>It&rsquo;s so poisonous that the FDA has set the
       &ldquo;acceptable&rdquo; amount for human daily intake at <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/statement-janet-woodcock-md-director-fdas-center-drug-evaluation-and-research-impurities-found"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">96 nanograms</a>, or 0.000096 o
       f
       1 milligram (a single grain of salt is about a milligram). In
       some of the generic brands of the blood pressure medication,
       just one tablet was found to have NDMA levels <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/laboratory-analysis-valsartan-products"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">almost 20 times higher</a> than
       the &ldquo;acceptable&rdquo; 96 nanograms, and nearly all were
       drugs that are taken daily.</p>&#13;<p>Once it gets into
       groundwater, NDMA is wicked hard to get out, as citizens of
       numerous <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-01-me-36356-story.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">California</a> cities <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.resources.trojanuv.com/treatment-ndma-california/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">found out</a> in the <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-30-me-46411-story.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">late 1990s</a>. Its &ldquo;<a
       href="
  HTML https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_ndma_january2014_final.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">miscibility</a>&rdquo; (rapid <
       a
       href="
  HTML https://www.wisegeek.com/in-chemistry-what-is-miscibility.htm#didyouknowout"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">solubility</a>) with water is
       extreme, meaning that a few drops of it rapidly spreads through
       miles of underground aquifers or other water supplies in a
       matter of hours or days at most. Because of this, it&rsquo;s
       nearly impossible to isolate the contamination once it happens,
       the only solution then being radical and expensive water
       treatment everywhere in the aquafer, principally using <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/docs/ndma.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ultraviolet
       light</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Ever since 1987 when Congress and the
       Reagan administration cut a corrupt deal with Big Pharma to ban
       the retail import of pharmaceuticals into the U.S., Democrats
       have pushed to allow Americans to get their prescription drugs
       from other countries when they&rsquo;re too expensive here
       (which is nearly always the case; we <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.mic.com/articles/125688/here-s-how-much-more-the-us-spends-on-medicine-than-everyone-else-in-6-charts"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">pay about twice as much</a>for
       drugs as any other country in the world).</p>&#13;<p>In 2000,
       Congress passed a law to allow imported retail drugs, but the
       Clinton administration, heavily funded by the health care
       industry, <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/27/us/in-a-turnaround-white-house-kills-drug-import-plan.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">killed it
       administratively</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Nonetheless, progressive
       Democrats have pushed for years for the elimination of the ban.
       I first met Bernie Sanders when I lived in Montpelier, Vermont,
       around the turn of the century and he was <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-04-mn-60970-story.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">organizing busloads of
       Vermont</a>seniors to travel the two hours to Montreal to fill
       their prescriptions.</p>&#13;<p>And now, in another popular
       policy position &ldquo;borrowed&rdquo; from progressive
       Democrats (who have also <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.ontheissues.org/International/Sherrod_Brown_Free_Trade.htm"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">opposed neoliberal trade
       deals</a> for decades), the Trump administration is talking
       about letting American consumers buy drugs from Canada or
       overseas.</p>&#13;<p>The downside of this is that generic drugs
       sold in Canada are just as likely to be made in India and China,
       and thus just as contaminated, as drugs sold here. The upside is
       that because Canadian drugs will be cheaper, some of us can
       afford to buy the name-brand versions made in Germany,
       Switzerland or Ireland and sold in Canada, and not worry about
       getting cancer from NDMA in our generic drugs. (Yes, I mean this
       sarcastically.)</p>&#13;<p>There was a time when virtually all
       drugs sold in the U.S. were manufactured here, including
       generics, or in Switzerland and Germany. Congress passed a
       special tax break for American drug manufacturers who&rsquo;d
       move their factories to Puerto Rico, and for decades that was
       the hub of U.S. drug manufacturing. But in past decades
       neoliberalism has won out, and <a
       href="
  HTML https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/29/news/companies/puerto-rico-drug-makers/index.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">only a fraction of</a> the phar
       ma
       facilities in and around San Juan remain in
       operation.</p>&#13;<p>Trump ran on the traditionally Democratic
       and progressive position of bringing manufacturing back to the
       U.S., a project that progressive senators including Sherrod
       Brown and Bernie Sanders have worked on their entire modern
       political careers.</p>&#13;<p>It&rsquo;s time to apply it to
       manufacturing pharmaceuticals or at least insist on global
       regulations that can protect
       everyone.</p>&#13;</div>&#13;</div>[/html]
       #Post#: 15165--------------------------------------------------
       We don't need no silly Precautionary Principle &#128519;, say th
       e  rocket (&#9760;&#65039; fuel) Scientists 
       By: AGelbert Date: January 11, 2020, 1:12 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Surly1 link=topic=34.msg15162#msg15162
       date=1578744590]
       [center]Big Pharma Won’t Let Us Import Drugs From Canada, But
       Insists on Sending Carcinogen-Contaminated Pills to the Public
  HTML https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/01/big-pharma-wont-let-us-import-drugs-from-canada-but-insists-on-sending-carcinogen-contaminated-pills-to-the-public.html[/center]
       [html]<header class="entry-header">&#13;<div
       class="single-title-meta"><span class="sep">Posted on</span> <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/01/big-pharma-wont-let-us-import-drugs-from-canada-but-insists-on-sending-carcinogen-contaminated-pills-to-the-public.html"<br
       />title="Big Pharma Won&rsquo;t Let Us Import Drugs From Canada,
       But Insists on Sending Carcinogen-Contaminated Pills to the
       Public" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date date updated"
       datetime="%3$s" pubdate="">January 11, 2020</time></a> <span
       class="sep">by </span><span class="author vcard"><a class="url
       fn n" href="
  HTML https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/author/yves-smith"<br
       />title="Yves Smith" rel="author">Yves
       Smith</a></span></div>&#13;</header>&#13;<div
       class="entry-content">&#13;<div class="pf-content">&#13;<p>Yves
       here. I understand the desire of Americans to be able to
       re-import drugs from Canada. But this is at best an interim
       strategy, since meaningful orders from Canada could easily cause
       problems with supplies for Canadians and could thus lead the
       Canadian government to restrict or bar shipments to the
       US.</p>&#13;<p>The point would be to pressure the US government
       to do what every other advanced economy government does:
       negotiate drug prices. The fact that we don&rsquo;t when the US
       provides so much R&D support to Big Pharma is, as Lambert would
       say, wonderfully clarifying.</p>&#13;<p><em><strong>By Thom
       Hartmann, a <a href="
  HTML https://www.thomhartmann.com/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">talk-show host</a> and the auth
       or
       of <a
       href="
  HTML https://smile.amazon.com/Hidden-History-War-Voting-Stole/dp/1523087781/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Hidden History of the War o
       n
       Voting</a> and more than <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.amazon.com/Thom-Hartmann/e/B000AQ449C"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">25 other books in print</a>. Hi
       s
       most recent project is a science podcast called <a
       href="
  HTML https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-science-revolution-with-thom-hartmann/id1488059541"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><i>The Science
       Revolution</i></a>. He is a writing fellow at the <a
       href="
  HTML https://independentmediainstitute.org/"
       target="_blank"
       rel="nofollow">Independent Media Institute</a> Produced by <a
       href="
  HTML https://independentmediainstitute.org/economy-for-all/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Economy for All</a>, a project 
       of
       the Independent Media Institute.</strong></em></p>&#13;<p>Big
       Pharma <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/19/big-pharma-money-lobbying-us-opioid-crisis"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">spends a small fortune</a> ever
       y
       year buying politicians to make sure we can&rsquo;t import
       prescription drugs from Canada, but they&rsquo;re more than
       happy to sell us contaminated medications from countries with
       weak manufacturing controls and exploitable labor that ensure
       high profit margins.</p>&#13;<p>A toxic compound that
       doesn&rsquo;t belong anywhere near medicine known as NDMA was
       first <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-12/how-carcinogen-tainted-generic-drug-valsartan-got-past-the-fda"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">discovered</a> in some blood
       pressure medications in 2018, and the <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/zhejiang-huahai-pharmaceutical-566685-11292018"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">FDA</a> issued an alert and wro
       te
       a complaint letter to the raw materials supplier to Big Pharma
       companies. It turns out the meds follow the very common pattern
       of being <a
       href="
  HTML https://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/cheap-india-made-contaminated-drugs-spark-lawsuit-in-america-against-walmart-3-others/237414"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">made in India</a> with raw
       ingredients coming from <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.export.gov/article?id=China-Pharmaceuticals"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">China</a>. And they are sold by
       big companies for obscenely high prices to U.S.
       consumers.</p>&#13;<p>More recently, NDMA contamination provoked
       a nationwide recall of the popular anti-heartburn medication <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zantac-ndma-levels-potentially-dangerous-chemical-zantac-ranitidine-heartburn-pills-2019-10-08/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Zantac</a>and all its generic
       versions.</p>&#13;<p>And now the world&rsquo;s most widely
       prescribed drug of all, which is used to treat and prevent Type
       2 diabetes called <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-fda-idUSKBN1Y92UN"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">metformin</a>, is contaminated
       with NDMA.</p>&#13;<p>NDMA (N-Nitrosodimethylamine) is,
       according to the World Health Organization, <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/ndmasummary_2ndadd.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">produced by</a> &ldquo;the
       degradation of dimethylhydrazine (a component of rocket fuel) as
       well as from several other industrial processes. It is also a
       contaminant of certain pesticides.&rdquo;</p>&#13;<p>And
       it&rsquo;s one of the world&rsquo;s most potent carcinogens, at
       least for humans and other mammals. Our livers produce an enzyme
       that converts it to methyldiazonium that then leads to <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/ndmasummary_2ndadd.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">O6-methylguanine</a>, both of
       which alter a process at the cellular level called methylation
       that is a <a
       href="
  HTML https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/59/4/793"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">cancer
       turbocharger</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Because it&rsquo;s such a potent
       biological agent, NDMA is also <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.pharmaceuticalintegritycoalition.org/blog/148/derelict-fda-allows-huahais-carcinogen-contaminated-valsartan-into-the-us/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">extremely poisonous</a>; a
       Chinese medical student put a few drops in his roommate&rsquo;s
       water and killed him. Ditto for a Canadian grad student, who
       injected it into a colleague&rsquo;s apple
       pie.</p>&#13;<p>It&rsquo;s so poisonous that the FDA has set the
       &ldquo;acceptable&rdquo; amount for human daily intake at <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/statement-janet-woodcock-md-director-fdas-center-drug-evaluation-and-research-impurities-found"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">96 nanograms</a>, or 0.000096 o
       f
       1 milligram (a single grain of salt is about a milligram). In
       some of the generic brands of the blood pressure medication,
       just one tablet was found to have NDMA levels <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/laboratory-analysis-valsartan-products"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">almost 20 times higher</a> than
       the &ldquo;acceptable&rdquo; 96 nanograms, and nearly all were
       drugs that are taken daily.</p>&#13;<p>Once it gets into
       groundwater, NDMA is wicked hard to get out, as citizens of
       numerous <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-01-me-36356-story.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">California</a> cities <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.resources.trojanuv.com/treatment-ndma-california/"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">found out</a> in the <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-30-me-46411-story.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">late 1990s</a>. Its &ldquo;<a
       href="
  HTML https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrrofactsheet_contaminant_ndma_january2014_final.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">miscibility</a>&rdquo; (rapid <
       a
       href="
  HTML https://www.wisegeek.com/in-chemistry-what-is-miscibility.htm#didyouknowout"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">solubility</a>) with water is
       extreme, meaning that a few drops of it rapidly spreads through
       miles of underground aquifers or other water supplies in a
       matter of hours or days at most. Because of this, it&rsquo;s
       nearly impossible to isolate the contamination once it happens,
       the only solution then being radical and expensive water
       treatment everywhere in the aquafer, principally using <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/docs/ndma.pdf"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">ultraviolet
       light</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Ever since 1987 when Congress and the
       Reagan administration cut a corrupt deal with Big Pharma to ban
       the retail import of pharmaceuticals into the U.S., Democrats
       have pushed to allow Americans to get their prescription drugs
       from other countries when they&rsquo;re too expensive here
       (which is nearly always the case; we <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.mic.com/articles/125688/here-s-how-much-more-the-us-spends-on-medicine-than-everyone-else-in-6-charts"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">pay about twice as much</a>for
       drugs as any other country in the world).</p>&#13;<p>In 2000,
       Congress passed a law to allow imported retail drugs, but the
       Clinton administration, heavily funded by the health care
       industry, <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/27/us/in-a-turnaround-white-house-kills-drug-import-plan.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">killed it
       administratively</a>.</p>&#13;<p>Nonetheless, progressive
       Democrats have pushed for years for the elimination of the ban.
       I first met Bernie Sanders when I lived in Montpelier, Vermont,
       around the turn of the century and he was <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-04-mn-60970-story.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">organizing busloads of
       Vermont</a>seniors to travel the two hours to Montreal to fill
       their prescriptions.</p>&#13;<p>And now, in another popular
       policy position &ldquo;borrowed&rdquo; from progressive
       Democrats (who have also <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.ontheissues.org/International/Sherrod_Brown_Free_Trade.htm"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">opposed neoliberal trade
       deals</a> for decades), the Trump administration is talking
       about letting American consumers buy drugs from Canada or
       overseas.</p>&#13;<p>The downside of this is that generic drugs
       sold in Canada are just as likely to be made in India and China,
       and thus just as contaminated, as drugs sold here. The upside is
       that because Canadian drugs will be cheaper, some of us can
       afford to buy the name-brand versions made in Germany,
       Switzerland or Ireland and sold in Canada, and not worry about
       getting cancer from NDMA in our generic drugs. (Yes, I mean this
       sarcastically.)</p>&#13;<p>There was a time when virtually all
       drugs sold in the U.S. were manufactured here, including
       generics, or in Switzerland and Germany. Congress passed a
       special tax break for American drug manufacturers who&rsquo;d
       move their factories to Puerto Rico, and for decades that was
       the hub of U.S. drug manufacturing. But in past decades
       neoliberalism has won out, and <a
       href="
  HTML https://money.cnn.com/2017/09/29/news/companies/puerto-rico-drug-makers/index.html"<br
       />target="_blank" rel="nofollow">only a fraction of</a> the phar
       ma
       facilities in and around San Juan remain in
       operation.</p>&#13;<p>Trump ran on the traditionally Democratic
       and progressive position of bringing manufacturing back to the
       U.S., a project that progressive senators including Sherrod
       Brown and Bernie Sanders have worked on their entire modern
       political careers.</p>&#13;<p>It&rsquo;s time to apply it to
       manufacturing pharmaceuticals or at least insist on global
       regulations that can protect
       everyone.</p>&#13;</div>&#13;</div>[/html]
       [/quote]
       Yep, it turns out that a component of rocket fuel (i.e. NDMA)
       can rocket cancer in humans. Who coulda knowed, say our
       venerable pinnacle of human intelligence evolution, superior,
       smart, sapient, genius (and so on) rocket scientists [img
       width=70]
  HTML http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9HT4xZyDmh4/TOHhxzA0wLI/AAAAAAAAEUk/oeHDS2cfxWQ/s200/Smiley_Angel_Wings_Halo.jpg[/img].<br
       />[img
       width=30]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/3-130418200018.png[/img]
       [img
       width=50]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/1/3-240718213433-14592370.png[/img]http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/1/3-250718210509.gif<br
       />
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/1/3-210818163125-16722324.gif[img<br
       />width=90]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/gallery/renewablerevolution/1/3-120818185040-16582181.gif[/img]<br
       />This is just one more of a nearly continuous exposure of proof
       s,
       for the last 150 years or so (SEE: Industrial [s]pollution
       suicide[/s] Revolution), that the Precautionary Principle has
       been 1000% ignored on behalf of profit over people and planet.
       [center][img
       width=640]
  HTML https://khakispecs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/precautionary-principle.jpg[/img][/center]
       Have a nice day.
       [center][img
       width=940]
  HTML http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/styles/renewablerevolution/files/2989_post-26253-empty-swimming-pool-lYbC.jpeg[/img][/center]
       #Post#: 15221--------------------------------------------------
       Debt will kill the global economy. But it seems no one cares
       By: Surly1 Date: January 15, 2020, 1:23 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Debt will kill the global economy. But it seems no one cares
  HTML https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/04/debt-will-kill-global-economy-pensions-ageing-population
       Phillip Inman  Sat 4 Jan 2020 12.00 EST
       Warnings from the IMF and World Bank have been dismissed. But
       even if they are wrong, a demographic crisis looms
       [html]<header>&#13;<div>&#13;<div data-link-name="standfirst"
       data-component="standfirst">&#13;<p></p>&#13;</div>&#13;</div>&#
       13;<figure
       itemprop="associatedMedia image" itemscope=""
       itemtype="
  HTML http://schema.org/ImageObject"
       data-component="image"
       data-media-id="d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e">&#13;<d
       iv><picture><source
       media="(min-width: 980px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio:
       1.25), (min-width: 980px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"
       sizes="620px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a9954798c55600f3de8b18fc4f77ce34<br
       />1240w" /><source media="(min-width: 980px)" sizes="620px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=baed2c87cbf39e57d255e56459a336c0<br
       />620w" /><source media="(min-width: 740px) and
       (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 740px) and
       (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="700px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=700&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cf40cbf31dff49241567dcf6895705c0<br
       />1400w" /><source media="(min-width: 740px)" sizes="700px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=700&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=263595363e3a6139e2c6ca2dcd8e1966<br
       />700w" /><source media="(min-width: 660px) and
       (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and
       (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="620px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a9954798c55600f3de8b18fc4f77ce34<br
       />1240w" /><source media="(min-width: 660px)" sizes="620px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=baed2c87cbf39e57d255e56459a336c0<br
       />620w" /><source media="(min-width: 480px) and
       (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and
       (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="645px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=645&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=adaff0a10a018bcd112d583edf6266ed<br
       />1290w" /><source media="(min-width: 480px)" sizes="645px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=645&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=29ee05ad26924d74c0081659ca359a1f<br
       />645w" /><source media="(min-width: 0px) and
       (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and
       (min-resolution: 120dpi)" sizes="465px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=465&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=aed0b17ad20cc2675f74d6f75642b883<br
       />930w" /><source media="(min-width: 0px)" sizes="465px"
       srcset="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=465&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9689ee53cd623adc958a788f3cca7b98<br
       />465w" /><img itemprop="contentUrl" alt="IMF logo"
       src="
  HTML https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d242c6a2a84d51cecfffb7af3b98125508deb44e/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1c0e45477a97bf0c5a17eb98d309359c"<br
       />class="extendsBeyondTextColumn" width="702" height="421"
       /></picture></div>&#13;<figcaption
       itemprop="description"><span></span>The IMF says that large
       amounts of corporate debt in eight key economies could become
       unserviceable in the event of a recession. Photograph: Yuri
       Gripas/Reuters
       </figcaption>&#13;</figure>&#13;</header>&#13;<p>The warning
       signs are clear. Debt is rising on every continent and
       especially in the business sector, which has spent the past
       decade ramping up its borrowing to previously unheard-of
       levels.</p>&#13;<p><a
       href="
  HTML https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/oct/16/global-economy-faces-19tn-corporate-debt-timebomb-warns-imf"<br
       />title="" data-link-name="in body link">Last October, the
       International Monetary Fund</a> said that almost 40% of the
       corporate debt in eight leading countries &ndash; the US, China,
       Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Spain &ndash; would
       become so expensive during a recession that it would be
       impossible to service. In other words, tens of thousands of
       businesses, employing millions of people, would have gambled
       with high levels of borrowing and lost, making themselves
       insolvent.</p>&#13;<p>Worse, the IMF said the risks were
       &ldquo;elevated&rdquo; in eight out of 10 countries that boasted
       systemically important financial sectors, adding that this
       situation was a repeat of the years running up to the last
       financial crisis.</p>&#13;<p><a
       href="
  HTML https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/19/debt-in-developing-economies-rises-to-record-55tn"<br
       />title="" data-link-name="in body link">Last month, the World
       Bank joined in</a>. It said emerging-market and developing
       economies (EMDEs) had pushed their borrowing to a record $55
       trillion (&pound;42tn) in 2018.</p>&#13;<p>Unlike the richer
       nations already mentioned, the 100 EMDEs across Africa, Asia and
       South America covered by the report were affected by rising
       private-sector debt coupled with higher government borrowing.
       And this extra state borrowing is not only larger, it has also
       changed in character. First, it has gone from being largely
       directed to investment spending to, more recently, being used
       simply to cope with the costs of health, education and welfare.
       Second, it is being more commonly borrowed from international
       investors hungry to lend developing countries cash at,
       relatively speaking, sky-high rates of
       interest.</p>&#13;<p>There is little evidence that anyone is
       paying any attention to the dire misgivings expressed by either
       organisation. This year, the US S&P 500 stock market resumed its
       long-term (100-year) upward trend following a near 200% increase
       since 2010. Likewise, the German Dax has soared over the past 10
       years from 5,500 to over 13,000 while the Paris CAC 40 has
       almost doubled to 6,000.</p>&#13;<p>Britain&rsquo;s main market
       in shares has struggled to make any headway over the past three
       years while Brexit uncertainty dominated. Yet the FTSE 100 shows
       a gain from less than 4,000 in 2009 to 7,600
       today.</p>&#13;<p>Some analysts have argued that the IMF and <a
       href="
  HTML https://www.theguardian.com/business/worldbank"<br
       />data-link-name="auto-linked-tag"
       data-component="auto-linked-tag">World Bank</a> are over-cooking
       their analysis after missing the last financial crash &ndash;
       seeing danger around every corner. Others dismiss them as
       archaic remnants of the postwar consensus that fail to
       understand how the global economy has entered a new phase, one
       that keeps stock markets humming along and bad recessions at
       bay.</p>&#13;<aside class="auxiliary float left
       pullquote"><span></span>&#13;<blockquote>&#13;<p>Without higher
       interest rates, everyone can keep merrily
       borrowing</p>&#13;</blockquote>&#13;</aside>&#13;<p>In the short
       term at least, the optimists could be right. And that is largely
       down to the actions of the US central bank, which was on course
       to repeat the mistake of 2005-07, when it matched rising debt
       levels (especially in sub-prime mortgage loans) with rising
       interest rates, triggering the kind of financial crash that the
       IMF and World Bank now fear is around the corner. This time, the
       Federal Reserve retreated after pushing base rates to almost
       2.5% &ndash; still well short of the pre-crash normality of
       4%-5%, but higher than almost everywhere else. After three rate
       cuts last year, the US economy starts 2020 with the base rate
       back in a range between 1.5% and 1.75%.</p>&#13;<p>Without
       higher interest rates, everyone can keep merrily borrowing. And
       when, for most businesses, borrowing rates remain below their
       potential income growth rate &ndash; even when that is
       lacklustre &ndash; there is not the usual imperative to boost
       growth through investment in order to afford higher debt
       repayments.</p>&#13;<p>But really, this is a back-to-front way
       of discussing the issue. Most of the problems afflicting the
       global economy relate to a lack of demand for goods and
       services, at least on average, compared with the years prior to
       the 2008 crash. And much of the weak demand relates to our
       ageing populations, which, in the main, focus more on storing up
       savings for retirement than on spending.</p>&#13;<p>They are
       also in the habit of voting for governments that promise to keep
       taxes low and property prices high, allowing them to accumulate
       even more wealth. Donald Trump and Boris Johnson fit that
       bill.</p>&#13;<p>Through their pensions and private investments
       they treat companies like cash machines, demanding a higher
       dividend every six months. Much of the borrowing by companies
       has been to pay these dividends, not to invest.</p>&#13;<p>Baby
       boomers will pretty much all have retired by the end of this new
       decade, so most will have stopped investing and just be
       withdrawing investment funds. And it is this turn of the wheel
       of fortune that will wreck the global economy &ndash; if the
       accumulation of debt and the climate crisis haven&rsquo;t got
       there first.</p>[/html]
       #Post#: 15226--------------------------------------------------
       The Internet is Controlling YOU! (w/ Ramesh Srinivasan)
       By: AGelbert Date: January 15, 2020, 3:21 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [center]The Internet is Controlling YOU! (w/ Ramesh
       Srinivasan)[/center]
       1,680 views•Jan 14, 2020
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/gMirp8O9000[/center]
       Thom Hartmann Program
       203K subscribers
       Has anything changed since 2016 ahead of the 2020 election
       cycle? We use the internet and social media to keep ourselves up
       with the news and the world.
       &#128308; Subscribe for more clips like this:
  HTML https://www.youtube.com/user/thomhart...
       If those websites and social media sites promote fake news and
       lies, how can we trust anything? Algorithms are set to promote
       political lies with advertising and if you see enough, you will
       believe them to be the truth.
       How is it that corporations like Facebook decide what you and I
       see and are they trying to control us?
       Thom spoke with Ramesh Srinivasan, Professor and Director of UC
       Digital Cultures Lab – Department of Information Studies and
       Design.
       &#128213; BOOK: Beyond the Valley -
  HTML http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262043130?t...
       [center]&#128293; WATCH NEXT: Beyond the Valley  [/center]
       [center]
  HTML https://youtu.be/pCqd2r5BfoQ[/center]
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