Shelby County, Tennessee 2010 General Election Coverage

I'm heading out to Memphis, TN in a few hours for the general elections in Shelby County and the primaries for both the State and federal elections. I will probably not be back at my Remixx World! post until Sunday evening, so I will not be updating the blog until that point. Check the live Twitter feed in the right column for any breaking updates live from Shelby County, TN.

US Government Financial Support Creates 10,000 jobs in Northern Sri Lanka (Including Business Process Outsourcing)

I don't mind helping other countries if all our problems were solved, but our problems here in the United States of America are many. Therefore, why are we creating jobs in other countries when millions of people are unemployed here?

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US Government Support Creates 10,000 jobs in Northern Sri Lanka

Colombo, July 30, 2010: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)/Colombo, the development office of the U.S. Embassy, has recently forged four new business alliances with Sri Lankan private companies, under USAID's Public/Private Alliance (PPA) Program. These partnerships are expected to create 10,000 full-time jobs in northern Sri Lanka.

Construction Alliance

An alliance between USAID and a Sri Lankan construction consortium will establish seven mobile training centers for construction craftsmen in the Northern Province. Training will be provided to 5,000 persons over a period of six months including three months of on-the-job training.

Jaffna Garment Alliance

USAID has established another PPA with a leading garment textile firm in Jaffna which manufactures and exports denim textiles to U.S. clients including Levi's, Jones New York, J.C. Penny, Tema, and Charles Voegele. This alliance will create 1,800 full-time jobs over three years.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Alliance

To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID is teaming with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers in each of the five districts in the Northern Province.. Courses in Business Process Outsourcing, Enterprise Java, and English Language Skills will be offered at no charge to over 3,000 under- and unemployed students who will then participate in on-the-job training schemes with private firms.

Northern Garment Alliance

USAID is establishing another PPA with a major garment manufacturer to expand its operations to northern Sri Lanka. This alliance is expected to initially employ 750 full-time staff and market its finished apparel to such firms as Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Columbia Sportswear, Next, Tesco, and Burberry. Emphasis will be placed on supporting widows, single mothers, and families with disabled members.

USAID Mission Director Rebecca Cohn said, "The U.S. Agency for International Development/Sri Lanka is proud to announce these new public private alliances. We are committed to helping conflict-affected communities return to normalcy through the creation of sustainable jobs and increased business opportunities. USAID strongly believes that the private sector is the most important engine for economic growth. In April, USAID launched five new alliances in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, including aquaculture, horticulture, logistics, and garment partnerships. I am confident these new alliances together with the previously established alliances will be significant catalysts to spur development in the North."

These four alliances are all with Sri Lankan private companies. USAID's investment of about Rs.1.1 billion is generating an additional Rs.2.9 billion investment from the private sector for a total investment of approximately Rs.4 billion in the construction, business process outsourcing, and apparel manufacturing sectors.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided development and humanitarian assistance in developing countries worldwide for nearly 50 years. Since 1956, USAID/Sri Lanka has invested nearly Rs.230 billion to benefit all the people of Sri Lanka.

Stanley Ann Dunham Obama-Soetoro's Passport Application Reveals Barack Obama's "Saebarkah" Alter Ego

Stanley Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro Passport Application File Strunk v Dept of State FOIA Release 7-29-10

Who is Saebarkah? The name "Saebarkah" appears in quotes below Barack Obama's name on page 3 of the above documents. Christopher Strunk secured the documents from the U.S. State Department pursuant to a FOIA request.

Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone" Has Doubled in Size Since 2009

The report says that there is no evidence to link the "dead zone" increase to the BP oil spill, but that is always possible. Due to the hot temperatures in the Gulf of the Mexico this summer and low oxygen levels in the water, huge marine die-offs are possible. The Salton Sea experiences huge fish die-offs in the summer from low water oxygen levels when the California desert temperatures can reach 120 degrees.

Although no evidence links it to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, this year's "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico has doubled since last year, and researchers say it might be even larger than mapped.

Source: Courthouse News Service

FLASHBACK: Cass Sunstein Says Wikileaks Was Founded by Dissidents in China and Other Nations (2007)

Cass Sunstein is quite a piece of work in the game. Nevertheless, he's definitely a shot-caller on the Presidential team. Mr. Sunstein's official title in the White House is the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. That is quite a long, bureaucratic title. Check out Sunstein's background (see: Wikipedia), especially the areas about him wanting to change the 1st Amendment and his opposition to blogs.

Back in 2007, Mr. Sunstein was quoted by the Washington Post saying Wikileaks is a Chinese organization. I do not know if Mr. Sunstein ever rescinded or modified his statement about Wikileaks' founding, but the revelation of Chinese involvement in the current Wikileaks matter would take the release of classified military information to a whole new level.

Wikileaks.org, founded by dissidents in China and other nations, plans to post secret government documents and to protect them from censorship with coded software.

Also, what other nations are you referring to Mr. Sunstein?

Time to do some further cyber-digging like I'm playing a game of Dig Dug on a wi-fi laptop at Showbiz Pizza Place in a 1982 time hole.

Source: The Washington Post

FLASHBACK: Minister Louis Farrakhan Exposes the Globalist Bankers & the Reason for America's Debts (1995)

Whether you love Minister Farrakhan or hate him, you should check out this video, because his explanation of the globalist banking system is on point. From YouTube:

Minister Farrakhan exposing the synogauge of Satan and its agents: The Rothschilds and Warburgs. This lecture was done during a very special Saviours Day in 1995, preceding the Million Man March.

C3-Class Solar Flare Spawns Coronal Mass Ejection That is Headed for Earth!

I hope we are not headed for another 1859 Carrington Event when a massive solar flare hit the Earth.

If you cannot see the video at the very top of this page, then click here.

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Coronal Mass Ejection Headed for Earth

On August 1st around 0855 UT, Earth orbiting satellites detected a C3-class solar flare. The origin of the blast was Earth-facing sunspot 1092. C-class solar flares are small (when compared to X and M-class flares) and usually have few noticeable consequences here on Earth besides aurorae. This one has spawned a coronal mass ejection heading in Earth's direction.

Coronal mass ejections (or CMEs) are large clouds of charged particles that are ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours and can carry up to ten billion tons (1016 grams) of plasma. They expand away from the Sun at speeds as high as a million miles an hour. A CME can make the 93-million-mile journey to Earth in just three to four days.

When a coronal mass ejection reaches Earth, it interacts with our planet’s magnetic field, potentially creating a geomagnetic storm. Solar particles stream down the field lines toward Earth’s poles and collide with atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere, resulting in spectacular auroral displays. On the evening of August 3rd/4th, skywatchers in the northern U.S. and other countries should look toward the north for the rippling dancing “curtains” of green and red light.

The Sun goes through a regular activity cycle about 11 years long. The last solar maximum occurred in 2001 and its recent extreme solar minimum was particularly weak and long lasting. These kinds of eruptions are one of the first signs that the Sun is waking up and heading toward another solar maximum expected in the 2013 time frame.

Plague Kills Peruvian Teenager & Infects Thirty-One (31) in Ascope Province

Two weeks ago, Remixx World! reported on a possible plague outbreak in Peru. The story I quoted in Three (3) People Contract Pneumonic Plague in Trujillo, Peru as Fears of an Outbreak Increase was a foreign language story, so I had to rely on Google's translation of the web page in order to write the blog. While I am usually confident with Google's translation, I am always worried that something will be lost in the translation. FoxNews.com has just confirmed that previous blog entry.

Peru's health minister says an outbreak of plague has killed a 14-year-old boy and infected at least 31 people in a northern coastal province.

Source: FoxNews.com

EPA Looks to Strengthen Regulations Against Farm Dust

What will the federal government try to regulate next? Once the EPA wants to clamp down on farm dust, then you know that there's not much left to regulate.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a crackdown on farm dust, so senators have signed a letter addressing their concerns on the possible regulations.

The letter dated July 23 to the EPA states, "If approved, would establish the most stringent and unparalleled regulation of dust in our nation's history."

If you want to read the EPA letter signed by 21 senators including Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, click this link.

And if you are a scientist type who likes reading really long documents, then click here to read the 357-page EPA draft policy assessment.

Source: KWTV-News 9

Emerging Antimicrobial-Resistant E.coli Strain May Become Almost Untreatable Superbug in U.S.

As if we did not need another pathogen to worry about here the USA, we now have to worry about a super E.coli bug!

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NEWS RELEASE
Infectious Diseases Society of America

For Release: Friday, July 30, 2010
Contact Information

Contact Name: John Heys
Contact E-mail: jheys@idsociety.org
Contact Phone: 703-299-0412

Emerging E. coli Strain Causes Many Antimicrobial-Resistant Infections in U.S.

A new, drug-resistant strain of E. coli is causing serious disease, according to a new study, now available online, in the August 1, 2010 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The new strain, ST131, was a major cause of serious antimicrobial-resistant E. coli infections in the United States in 2007, researchers found. This strain has been reported in multiple countries and encountered all over the United States. In the study, researchers analyzed resistant E. coli isolates collected during 2007 from hospitalized patients across the country. They identified 54 ST131 isolates, which accounted for 67 percent to 69 percent of E. coli isolates exhibiting fluoroquinolone or extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance.

“If we could discover the sources of this strain, the transmission pathways that allow it to spread so effectively, and the factors that have led to its rapid emergence, we could find ways to intervene and possibly slow or halt this strain’s emergence,” said study author James Johnson, MD, of the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis.

In the past, highly virulent E. coli strains usually have been susceptible to antibiotics, while highly resistant strains have been fairly weak in terms of their ability to cause disease. The susceptible strains were easily treated even though they caused serious infections, while the resistant ones tended mostly to affect only weakened or vulnerable individuals. Now, the study’s findings suggest, the ST131 strain has appeared with a high level of virulence and antimicrobial resistance.

“If this strain gains one additional resistance gene,” Dr. Johnson added, “it will become almost untreatable and will be a true superbug, which is a very concerning scenario.”

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Founded in 1979, Clinical Infectious Diseases publishes clinical articles twice monthly in a variety of areas of infectious disease, and is one of the most highly regarded journals in this specialty. It is published under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Based in Arlington, Va., IDSA is a professional society representing more than 9,000 physicians and scientists who specialize in infectious diseases. For more information, visit www.idsociety.org.

Hundreds of Dead Trout Fish Wash Ashore at Lake Shasta, California Due to Unknown Causes

More fish die-offs, this time in California. I wonder if this die-off is related to the recent fish die-offs in Gulfport, Mississippi, Lake Spokane, Washington and Short Creek Dam, North Dakota. While I doubt it, I can never be too sure. Therefore, I will keep following the news to see if any other stories appear in the news.

Visitors...saw hundreds of dead fish along the shoreline and in the water...at Lake Shasta.

But it’s a mystery how the fish died.

Today there were still dozens of dead fish floating belly-up in the water and scattered on the shoreline.

Source: Redding.com

Twenty-Five (25) People Fall Ill to a Suspected Anthrax Outbreak in Orissa's Sundergarh District in India

More anthrax news since I have written previously about anthrax outbreaks in Texas deer, North Dakota beef bull and Montana bison. However in this story, the victims are people and the setting is across the vast Pacific Ocean over in India where twenty-five (25) people are ill from a suspected anthrax outbreak.

At least 25 people, including six women, and a child have fallen ill with suspected anthrax contracted from dead animals in Orissa's Sundergarh district, health official said Friday.

The people found with the infection are residents of Dukatola village and its nearby hamlets, some 500 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, chief district medical officer Bikrant Kindo told IANS.

The outbreak is believed to be caused by some villagers who ate the meat of infected animals.

Source: Yahoo India

University of Arizona Entomologists Create Genetically Modified Mosquitoes That Are Malaria-Proof

What happens if Arizona's GMO mosquito has side effects which eventually become much worse than malaria (as bad as malaria is)? It is likely that these GMO mosquito will supplant existing mosquitoes once the GMO ones are introduced into the population. If the mosquitoes are indeed malaria-proof, then these GMO mosquitoes will be a good thing, but if there are side effects as there seem to be with all GMOs, who knows what may ultimately happen?

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The First Malaria-Proof Mosquito

For years, researchers worldwide have attempted to create genetically altered mosquitoes that cannot infect humans with malaria. Those efforts fell short because the mosquitoes still were capable of transmitting the disease-causing pathogen, only in lower numbers.

Now for the first time, University of Arizona entomologists have succeeded in genetically altering mosquitoes in a way that renders them completely immune to the parasite, a single-celled organism called Plasmodium. Someday researchers hope to replace wild mosquitoes with lab-bred populations unable to act as vectors, i.e. transmit the malaria-causing parasite.

"If you want to effectively stop the spreading of the malaria parasite, you need mosquitoes that are no less than 100 percent resistant to it. If a single parasite slips through and infects a human, the whole approach will be doomed to fail," said Michael Riehle, who led the research effort, the results of which were published July 15 in the journal Public Library of Science Pathogens.

Riehle is a professor of entomology in UA's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and is a member of the BIO5 Institute. Riehle's team used molecular biology techniques to design a piece of genetic information capable of inserting itself into a mosquito's genome. This construct was then injected into the eggs of the mosquitoes. The emerging generation carries the altered genetic information and passes it on to future generations.

For their experiments, the scientists used Anopheles stephensi, a mosquito species that is an important malaria vector throughout the Indian subcontinent. The researchers targeted one of the many biochemical pathways inside the mosquito's cells. Specifically, they engineered a piece of genetic code acting as a molecular switch in the complex control of metabolic functions inside the cell. The genetic construct acts like a switch that is always set to "on," leading to the permanent activity of a signaling enzyme called Akt. Akt functions as a messenger molecule in several metabolic functions, including larval development, immune response and lifespan.

When Riehle and his co-workers studied the genetically modified mosquitoes after feeding them malaria-infested blood, they noticed that the Plasmodium parasites did not infect a single study animal.

"We were surprised how well this works," said Riehle. "We were just hoping to see some effect on the mosquitoes' growth rate, lifespan or their susceptibility to the parasite, but it was great to see that our construct blocked the infection process completely."

Of the estimated 250 million people who contract malaria each year, 1 million – mostly children – do not survive. Ninety percent of the number of fatalities, which Riehle suspects to be underreported, occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

Each new malaria case starts with a bite from a vector – a mosquito belonging to the genus Anopheles. About 25 species of Anopheles are significant vectors of the disease.

Only the female Anopheles mosquitoes feed on blood, which they need to produce eggs. When they bite an infected human or animal, they ingest the malaria parasite. Once the Plasmodium cells find themselves in the insect's midgut, they spring into action. They leave the insect's digestive tract by squeezing through the midgut lining. The vast majority of Plasmodium cells do not survive this journey and are eliminated by the mosquito's immune cells. A tiny fraction of parasite cells, usually not more than a handful, make it and attach themselves on the outside of the midgut wall where they develop into brooding cells called oocysts. Within 10-12 days, thousands of new Plasmodium cells, so-called sporozoites, sprout inside the oocyst. After hatching from the oocyst, the sporozoites make their way into the insect's salivary glands where they lie in wait until the mosquito finds a victim for a blood meal. When the mosquito bites, some sporozoites are flushed into the victim's bloodstream.

"The average mosquito transmits about 40 sporozoites when it bites," said Riehle, "but it takes only one to infect a human and make a new malaria victim."

Several species of Plasmodium exist in different parts of the world, all of which are microscopically small single-celled organisms that live in their host's red blood cells. Each time the parasites undergo a round of multiplication, their host cells burst and release the progeny into the bloodstream, causing the painful bouts of fever that malaria is known and feared for.

Malaria killed more soldiers in the Civil War than the fighting, according to Riehle. In fact, malaria was prevalent in most parts of the U.S. until the late 1940s and early 1950, when DDT spraying campaigns wiped the vectors off the map. Today, a new case of malaria occurs in the U.S. only on rare occasions.

The severity of the disease depends very largely on the species of the Plasmodium parasite the patient happens to contract.
"Only two species of Plasmodium cause the dreaded relapses of the disease," said Riehle. "One of them, Plasmodium vivax, can lie dormant in the liver for 10 to 15 years, but now drugs have become available that target the parasites in the liver as well as those in the blood cells."

That said, there are no effective or approved malaria vaccines. A few vaccine candidates have gone to clinical trials but they were shown to either be ineffective or provide only short-term protection. If an effective vaccine were to be developed, distribution would be a major problem, Riehle said.

Researchers and health officials put higher hopes into eradication programs, which aim at the disease-transmitting mosquitoes rather than the pathogens that cause it.

"The question is 'What can we do to turn a good vector into a bad vector?'" Riehle said. "The eradication scenario requires three things: A gene that disrupts the development of the parasite inside the mosquito, a genetic technique to bring that gene into the mosquito genome and a mechanism that gives the modified mosquito an edge over the natural populations so they can displace them over time."

"The third requirement is going to be the most difficult of the three to realize," he added, which is why his team decided to tackle the other two first. "It was known that the Akt enzyme is involved in the mosquito's growth rate and immune response, among other things," Riehle said. "So we went ahead with this genetic construct to see if we can ramp up Akt function and help the insects' immune system fight off the malaria parasite."

The second rationale behind this approach was to use Akt signaling to stunt the mosquitoes' growth and cut down on its lifespan.
"In the wild, a mosquito lives for an average of two weeks," Riehle explained. "Only the oldest mosquitoes are able to transmit the parasite. If we can reduce the lifespan of the mosquitoes, we can reduce the number of infections."

His research team discovered that mosquitoes carrying two copies of the altered gene had lost their ability to act as malaria vectors altogether.

"In that group of mosquitoes, not a single Plasmodium oocyst managed to form."

At this point, the modified mosquitoes exist in a highly secured lab environment with no chance of escape. Once researchers find a way to replace wild mosquito populations with lab-bred ones, breakthroughs like the one achieved by Riehle's group could pave the way toward a world in which malaria is all but history.

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Story by: Daniel Stolte, University Communications 520-626-4402 stolte@email.arizona.edu

Michael Riehle, UA College of Agriculture 520-626-8500; mriehle@email.arizona.edu

LINKS:

Research paper:www.plospathogens.org

Rare U.S. Office of War Information Color Photographs from 1939-43 Showing Effects of Great Depression on America’s Populations

If you like photographs and history, then definitely check out these seventy (70), rare color photographs by clicking the above picture or clicking this link.

Bound for Glory: America in Color is the first major exhibition of the little known color images taken by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (FSA/OWI). Comprised of seventy digital prints made from color transparencies taken between 1939 and 1943, this exhibition reveals a surprisingly vibrant world that has typically been viewed only through black-and-white images. These vivid scenes and portraits capture the effects of the Depression on America's rural and small town populations, the nation's subsequent economic recovery and industrial growth, and the country's great mobilization for World War II.

The photographs in Bound for Glory, many by famed photographers such as John Vachon, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, and Marion Post Wolcott, document not only the subjects in the pictures, but also the dawn of a new era -- the Kodachrome era. These colorful images mark a historic divide in visual presentation between the monochrome world of the pre-modern age and the brilliant hues of the present. They change the way we look -- and think about -- our past.

Source: Library of Congress

Bison Test Positive for Anthrax at Flying D Ranch in Gallatin County, Montana

This anthrax report in Montana is similar to the report of anthrax reports in both a beef bull in North Dakota and deer in Texas.

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For Immediate Release
July 14, 2010

Steve Merritt
Public Information Officer
Montana Department of Livestock
406-444-9431

Bison Tests Positive for Anthrax at Flying D, No Repeat of 2008 Outbreak Expected

Samples from the carcass of a yearling bison heifer on the Flying D Ranch in Gallatin County has been killed by naturally occurring anthrax, according to animal health officials with the Montana Department of Livestock.

Field tests on the dead bison, found Monday near a pasture where the disease killed 287 bison two years ago, were confirmed Tuesday at the Montana Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Bozeman. The pasture has been quarantined, said state veterinarian Dr. Martin Zaluski, and the ranch is monitoring its herd to quickly identify any additional cases that may occur.

Zaluski said a repeat of outbreak in 2008, which lasted three weeks, isn’t likely.

“Given the prophylactic measures implemented by the ranch after the outbreak in 2008, we would not expect to see many animals affected by the disease,” Zaluski said.

The positive test was not entirely unexpected, Zaluski said, as anthrax is known to be in the area. Most of the bison in the 2,500-head herd have been vaccinated against the disease at least once since 2008 and in most cases twice, although the dead bison had not been vaccinated due to its young age.

Livestock producers in the immediate area are encouraged to work with their local veterinarian to learn more about risks, prevention and treatment of the disease. Anthrax vaccines are effective and relatively inexpensive.

“If your area has a history of anthrax, it’s not a bad idea to discuss prevention strategies with your veterinarian,” Zaluski said. “You need to be aware that the disease is there, just lying in the ground, and that there is no way to predict when it might surface.”

Anthrax is caused by a naturally occurring bacteria, Bacillus anthracis. Spores of the bacteria can lie dormant in the soil for decades, then become active under certain conditions, typically after climactic events such as heavy rains or flooding preceded by drought. Animals are exposed to the disease by grazing or consuming forage or water contaminated with spores.

Clinical signs of the disease include labored breathing, rising body temperature, staggering, depression, unconsciousness and convulsions. Untreated animals may die within 24-48 hours of exposure, and one or more animals are typically found dead without any recognition of early clinical signs.

A zoonotic disease, anthrax can be spread from animals to humans. Human infection usually takes the form of skin lesions and is generally the result of occupational exposure involving direct contact with infected animals or animal products such as wool, hides and horns. Montana has not had a reported case of human anthrax since 1961.

B. anthracis is fragile and easily inactivated by common disinfectants or exposure to moderate temperatures, and as such, poses virtually no risk to the food chain.

Additional information on anthrax can be found on the department's web site at http://liv.mt.gov/liv/ah/diseases/anthrax/general.asp.

Sheriff Deputies Will Escort New Mexico Department of Agriculture Livestock Scale Inspectors Along Border

The federal government once said that the border was "as safe and secure as it's ever been, but it can be more safe and more secure." The border must not be that secure, because all of sudden, New Mexico's law enforcement will now escort the State's livestock scale inspectors in their duties.

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Livestock Scale Inspections with Law Enforcement Escorts

Law Enforcement Escorts for Inspectors Along Border

	NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MSC 3189, P.O Box 30005 - Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003-8005 Office of the Director/Secretary Dr. I. Miley Gonzalez, Director/Secretary
MEDIA ADVISORY	Fax: (575) 646-8120

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For Immediate Release	Contact: Noreen Jaramillo (575) 646-7079
July 26, 2010

(Las Cruces, NM) Inspectors with the Standards and Consumer Services Division (SCS) at New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) begin inspecting livestock scales along the U.S/Mexico border during the week of July 26, 2010, but this year is different than years past. NMDA announced earlier this year that because of safety concerns in the area south of I-10 from Las Cruces to the Arizona border, sheriff’s deputies from Luna and Hidalgo counties would accompany the inspectors.

“Everyone deserves to be safe when they head to work. For our inspectors, during this time of year, their work happens to be in remote areas along the Mexican border where, unfortunately, there are risks involved,” said NMDA Director/Secretary Miley Gonzalez. “Often they don’t have cell phone service, so we are being proactive and luckily this year federal funds are available to help with that.”

The Department of Homeland Security awarded the Operation Stonegarden funds directly to law enforcement agencies such as the Luna and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s departments to assist with border security issues. Sheriff officials determine how the money will be used, whether it’s deputy overtime pay or to purchase equipment to secure the border. Five border law enforcement agencies in New Mexico are sharing the $4 million grant. “Only a fraction of the funds will be used to pay overtime for the sheriff escorts during the four-day livestock scale inspection period, yet their presence will have a big impact,” said Noreen Jaramillo, NMDA public information officer.

NMDA’s inspectors will test approximately 1000 livestock scales throughout the state this year, twenty-five of them are in southern New Mexico. NMDA inspectors are required by law to test all commercial weighing and measuring devices at least once each year. “Livestock scale inspections are important to both ranchers and the buyers of their livestock,” added Secretary Gonzalez.

Total cash receipts from livestock products in New Mexico in 2008 were an estimated $2.4 billion, which was the second highest cash commodity in the state.

A reporter from KRQE TV in Albuquerque went along with NMDA inspectors and their escorts on the first day of inspections. For that report clink on the link provided.

For further information, check out: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/on_assignment/armed-escorts-join-border-ag-inspectors

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan Says the Financial System Is Broken

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Remember, this is the guy who ran the Federal Reserve from 1987 until 2006. Many people actually blame Greenspan's policies for breaking the American financial system. Nevertheless, it is surprising to hear Mr. Greenspan make such a statement.

At the moment there is no sign of that because the financial system is broke and you can not have inflation if the financial system is not working."

Source: Zero Hedge

Trucking Industry Says U.S. Economy is Slowing as For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index Decreased 1.4% in June, 2010

The truckers deliver America's goods, so their opinion on the slowing economy is telling. In fact, I believe the truckers before I believe the politicians.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that the two sequential decreases reflect a slowing economy and growth in truck tonnage is likely to moderate in the months ahead as the economy decelerates. However, Costello believes that tonnage doesn’t have to grow very quickly at this point since industry capacity has declined so much. “Due to supply tightness in the market, any tonnage growth feels significantly better for fleets than one might expect,” he said.

Source: American Trucking Associations