Farmers are getting a small break. Urea: US$815/ton to US$247/ton. Diammonium Phosphate: US$1218/ton to US$469/ton. Potash prices still high: Murialte of potash trades at US$875/ton.
From
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/i-wfp121608.php
Fertilizer prices drop worldwide.
February 19th, 2009Tooth Fairy Economics
February 18th, 2009February 18, 2009
Dear Friend of Liberty,
Yesterday, Barack Obama signed the $787 BILLION “stimulus” bill into law. This marks his first major legislative action, but just one of many already broken campaign promises.
He promised transparency and accountability in the legislative process, but the details of the bill were negotiated in closed-door sessions. Then, only a very limited number of physical copies were made available.
In addition, lawmakers had less than 24 hours to review the over 1,000 page bill before the vote was taken, hardly enough time to read a bill with such critical implications for our economy.
So far, one thing is clear from these early weeks of the Obama administration:
Barack Obama has brought no real change to Washington.
He is continuing the reckless spending and out of control debt of the last administration. He is playing the usual Washington games of partisan bickering and exempting those who work for him from standards
required of every other American. His “stimulus” is packed with lobbyist payoffs and special-interest pork.
Barack Obama is right about one thing — we ARE facing a serious economic crisis. But he is wrong that only government can break the vicious cycle.
Big Government economic policies are the cause of the cycle, not the solution!
Reckless spending and socialist meddling will only prolong the economic turmoil our government has created. We cannot allow the new administration continue down this same destructive path.
Only fiscal restraint, free markets, and individual liberty can return us to stability and prosperity.
Click here to see Dr. Paul
discussing this pork-laden spendfest and its hurried passage on CNN’s American Morning.
And for an interesting explanation of the problems with these Keynesian policies, read best-selling author
Tom Woods’ Campaign for Liberty featured article Tooth Fairy Economics.
In Liberty,
John Tate, President
Campaign for Liberty
P.S. Real change requires Revolution, not empty promises. Campaign for Liberty is dedicated to relighting the fire of our Founders’ Revolution.
Holy Cow! Meat Pollution?
February 18th, 2009with quotes from Agence France Presse
Many scientists believe the raising of meat for human consumption is a major source of green house gases. “That’s because beef is such an incredibly inefficient food to produce and cows release so much harmful methane into the atmosphere,” said Nathan Pelletier of Dalhousie University in Canada.
“Meat once was a luxury in our diet,” Pelletier said. “We used to eat it once a week. Now we eat it every day.”
“Given the projected doubling of (global) meat production by 2050, we’re going to have to cut our emissions by half just to maintain current levels,” Pelletier said.
“Technical improvements are not going to get us there.”
That’s why changing the kinds of food people eat is so important, said Chris Weber, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.
Food is the third largest contributor to the average US household’s carbon footprint after driving and utilities, and in Europe - where people drive less and have smaller homes - it has an even greater impact.
“Food is of particular importance to a consumer’s impact because it’s a daily choice that is, at least in theory, easy to change,” Weber said.
“You make your choice every day about what to eat, but once you have a house and a car you’re locked into that for a while.”
The average US household contributes about five tons of carbon dioxide a year by driving and about 3.5 tons of equivalent emissions with what they eat, he said.
“Switching to no red meat and no dairy products is the equivalent of (cutting out) 8,100 miles driven in a car … that gets 25 miles to the gallon,” Weber said in an interview following the symposium.
Buying local meat and produce will not have nearly the same effect, he cautioned.
That’s because only five percent of the emissions related to food come from transporting food to market.
“You can have a much bigger impact by shifting just one day a week from meat and dairy to anything else than going local every day of the year,” Weber said.
For more information on how to eat a low carbon diet, visit www.eatlowcarbon.org.
On Reinstating the Draft
February 17th, 2009Texas Straight Talk by Dr. Ron Paul (R)
U.S. Congressman - TX 14
Much has been made by the new administration of the idea of national service and volunteerism. While service to one’s community is certainly admirable, it is not the federal government’s place to “encourage” or promote volunteerism. Moreover, there are troubling signs that national service could transition from voluntary to mandatory, or de facto mandatory, such as the requirement of service in order to be granted a diploma, or something along those lines.
Involuntary servitude was supposed to be abolished by the 13th Amendment, but things like Selective Service and the income tax make me wonder how serious we really are in defending just basic freedom. The income tax enslaves workers for nearly 4 months out of a year by garnishing what amounts to all their wages in that period of time. A military draft could demand your very life, without your consent. This should be unthinkable in a free society.
Proponents of reinstating the draft claim it is needed to protect liberty from enemies abroad. But what about the enemies of liberty right here at home? I am convinced that there are more threats to American liberty within the 10 mile radius of my office on Capitol Hill than there are on the rest of the globe. If we would get our troops off of foreign soil, those perceived enemies of our liberty abroad are much more likely to stand down and let us be. We have more than enough troops to mind our own business and defend ourselves. It is only for world domination that we have a troop shortage.
Nevertheless, some think recruiting for our military is too low and that the younger generation will not answer the call of duty willingly, and must be drafted by force. I take extreme exception to this characterization of young people today. First of all, I believe they correctly see that foreign policy, as unpopular as it has been under Bush, is not significantly changing under Obama, and has little, if anything, to do with defending the United States, and certainly not the Constitution. Second, many see friends and acquaintances who have voluntarily enlisted, and have taken note of how the soldier, the veteran is treated. Perhaps rather than blaming younger generations for being selfish, older generations should remember their promises to those who volunteer for military service and be mindful of how they are treated. Every homeless vet by the side of the road, every suicide, every report of substandard conditions in veteran hospitals is a sign of how we let our military down. Perhaps we should look to those issues if we have problems with military recruitment, rather than to trample freedom in the name of protecting it.
If that is not enough reason, consider that most in the military are against a draft. There is a vast difference between serving alongside another volunteer, and serving alongside a reluctant conscript. Americans need to be on the lookout for any propaganda trying to ease us back into the draft. Too often a flawed foreign policy prompts the need for a draft. Abolishing the Selective Service is one thing we could do to counter those efforts.
What Goes Around, Comes Around
February 16th, 2009Radioactive materials shipped to the Third World return. “One commentator said that some western countries have been dumping their toxic wastes in India, with the Indian government having turned a blind eye. This time, the material has gone back to the western country.” Indeed we all live downstream. From
http://www.domainb.com/economy/environment/20081108_indian_company.html
Bank Failures Increase Worldwide
February 16th, 2009by widgette.com
Bank failures continue to escalate over the face of the globe. Four more US banks were closed by regulators in Nebraska, Florida, Illinois and Oregon.
In the UK, Lloyds is already 43.5% government owned after having to seek assistance last fall. Now, they face $14.2 billion loss. At the same time, they still wish to pay multi-million dollar bonuses to employees. It is unlikely the government stakeholders will approve such bonuses. On the other hand, the government may be forced to nationalize the bank.
GlaxoSmithKline Going Opensource? A Good World Citizen?
February 16th, 2009The head of drug giant Glaxo SmithKline, Andrew Witty, announced the company plans a couple major policy changes. One change will be to slash prices of drugs to developing countries by 75%. With the remaining profits from these countries, they would help develop the healthcare infrastructure.
The other major change will be to open up some of their patents to a “patent pool.” Initially, this would include patents for drugs that treat malaria and cholera. However, to the dismay of many, they do not plan on sharing patents for HIV Aids. Nevertheless, this is an important step for the pharmaceutical industry in making drug improvements more like opensource computer software. When patents are shared with other experts and not treated as industrial secrets, the best scientist in the world can all contribute to improvements.
Spokesmen for GSK are quoted as saying:
“We work like crazy to come up with the next great medicine, knowing that it’s likely to get used an awful lot in developed countries, but we could do something for developing countries.
“Are we working as hard on that? I want to be able to say yes we are, and that’s what this is all about - trying to make sure we are even-handed in terms of our efforts to find solutions not just for developed but for developing countries.”
“Slashing drug prices is good. But without the necessary health infrastructure many won’t be able to access those drugs. Therefore, investment by GSK, along with the knowledge pooling, make this a landmark announcement.
“This is a gutsy move in a commercial world. Witty has demonstrated a willingness to make saving lives a business goal along with making money.”
If these are brains, we don’t need them
February 15th, 2009From Bloomberg we learn that executive compensation limits on banks would lead to a ‘brain drain.’ Dear me, these are the same brains that ruined the USA and almost ruined the world. We don’t need these brains. We need to clawback bonuses from these brains. In fact, we need these brains to go to jail. Read this if you have a strong stomach.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agRC0._CfuBY&refer=home
Philadelphia Sports Extravaganza & Wellness Expo
February 14th, 2009Live from PhillyExpo.info
GWCC Internet Services
You can access the web and find out about health and wellness.
Contact Us
The Philadelphia Expo Center is in Oaks, PA. There are plenty of exhibitors and special events. Find health food and drinks, watch karate, strong man competition, arm wrestling, model search, powerlifting and seminars.
Join the Delaware Valley Wellness Network!
Exhibitors and new friends include:
- Fruit Tubes - Glenmoore, PA
- Water To Go - Merchantville, NJ
- Lee Wayne Corporation - Erdenheim, PA
- Back From The Edge - A movie about health and wellness in North America - Werner Berger, Moutaineer - Executive Producer - Most recent claim to fame is his ascension of Mount Everest in 2007
- Cortiva Institute - School of Massage Therapy
- Centercreate.webs.com
- Dutch Blitzkrieg
- Not Your Mother’s Self-Help Book - An E-book
- HealthyChocolateWafer.com
- The Falafel Factory
- Paradise Manor
- AbSolo
- TRU Chocolate
- Harmonic Well-being
- Knockouts Haircuts For Men
Day 2 - Feb. 15th
Activity is brisk here this morning. The karate events have attracted lots of competitors and their friends and families.
Is the USA at War With Pakistan?
February 14th, 2009How many countries is the United States at war with? It would appear as though Pakistan needs to be added to the list. Another missile attack killed 27 in Pakistan. Drone aircraft have been launching attacks in Pakistan since at least July. There are reports of more than 30 such invasions. However, officials from Pakistan say the deaths have been mostly to the civilian population.