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Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Monday 17 May 2010

Ron Paul on CNBC’s Squawk Box - Those Who Voted Against Audit The Fed Will Pay The Price -

Ron Paul on CNBC’s Squawk Box - Those Who Voted Against Audit The Fed Will Pay The Price - 




Texas Congressman Ron Paul appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box earlier today to discuss the financial crisis and his ongoing effort to audit the Federal Reserve.
Paul, speaking publicly for the first time since the Senate passed a watered down version of his HR1207 amendment to fully audit the Fed, said that those who had essentially voted for more Fed power would see repercussions.
“The Federal Reserve is a big issue and those individuals who voted against auditing the Fed, there will be a political price to pay for that, just as much as those who voted for the bailout.” The Congressman said.
“Right now, those that vote to enhance the Fed will get punished politically, because the people are waking up and they realise the Fed is the culprit.” Paul, a member of the Joint Economic Committee, added.
Although Paul’s amendment to fully audit the Fed every year is now likely to be stripped from the final financial reform bill, the Congressman remains positive.
“I’m surprised we have done this well. My main goal was to call attention to the American people of the importance of the Federal Reserve. In economic terms we’ve achieved a whole lot. Win or lose, the people are not going to forget about the Federal Reserve. So in some ways, it’ll prove my point.” Paul stressed.
“Lets say they strip my amendment out and they put in a watered down version, and you don’t really have an audit of the Fed, it will just prove to the American people that this show is being run by the Federal Reserve, they have unbelievable powers. We’ve had this crisis, they are to blame for so much of it and we’re going to give them more power! Not only are we not going to have them audited in a true sense of the word, they’re going to end up with more power, more regulations, more control over the consumers, and it won’t go well with the American people. They’ll realise then how powerful the institution is, and those who benefit by the creation of money and credit – you can’t have a military industrial complex without the Fed, you can’t run these wars, you can’t have a welfare state without the Fed.” The Congressman explained.
Paul also warned that Americans should expect a situation akin to that of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece, should the U.S. continue the course the country is on.
“…the dollar is still trusted, and people still buy treasury bills, but all of that will come to an end, because the type of problem that Greece is following will eventually hit the United States because everything has too much debt.” Paul commented.
“You can’t correct the problems of debt with creating more debt and expect the Fed to endlessly create money and credit. That is not the answer, even though it makes people feel better, and will sort of delay some of the problems that we have, but we’re in for a lot more trouble as far as I can see.” The Congressman added.


“The Federal Reserve behind the scenes has the power to create money out of thin air, I mean it’s absolutely bizarre. Never in the history of the world has any one single bank been given the power to create the reserve currency of the world like we have had since 1971. So yes, they can bailout their friends and let the people they don’t like fail, and create a trillion dollars or more out of thin air in order to prop up some companies at the expense of others, it’s not viable, it makes no sense.” Paul urged.
“When the history of this time is written, people will say ‘how in the world did they believe that a few people in a secret room can decide what interest rates should be, how much the money supply should be, who should fail, what bad assets, what worthless assets the tax payers have to buy?’ it’s absolutely bizarre, yet the American people right now I think are waking up to it.”
“This whole experiment over the last 35 years or so is a failure and that’s what we’re involved in right now.” The Congressman concluded.

Scientists Find ‘Baffling’ Link Between Autism and Vinyl Flooring - emit chemicals called phthalates - and causes Autism? -

Scientists Find ‘Baffling’ Link Between Autism and Vinyl Flooring - emit chemicals called phthalates - and causes Autism? - 





Children who live in homes with vinyl floors, which can emit chemicals calledphthalates, are more likely to have autism, according to research by Swedish and U.S. scientists published Monday.

The study of Swedish children is among the first to find an apparent connection between an environmental chemical and
autism.

The scientists were surprised by their finding, calling it "far from conclusive." Because their research was not designed to focus on autism, they recommend further study of larger numbers of children to see whether the link can be confirmed.
Bernard Weiss, a professor of environmental medicine at University of Rochester and a co-author of the study, said the connection between vinyl flooring and autism "turned up virtually by accident." He called it "intriguing and baffling at the same time."

Experts suspect that 
genetic and environmental factors combine to cause autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder that has increased dramatically in children over the past 20 years.

In the new study, Swedish families were asked questions about flooring as part of research investigating 
allergies and indoor air pollutants. Phthalates, used to make soft plastic, have in previous studies been connected to allergies and asthma.

The study was based on surveys that asked a variety of questions related to the indoor environment. Of the study's 4,779 children between the ages of 6 and 8, 72 had autism, including 60 boys.

The researchers found four environmental factors associated with autism: vinyl flooring, the mother's 
smoking, family economic problems and condensation on windows, which indicates poor ventilation.  

Infants or toddlers who lived in bedrooms with 
vinyl, or PVC, floors were twice as likely to have autism five years later, in 2005, than those with wood or linoleum flooring.

"A greater proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder were reported to have PVC as flooring material in the child's and the parent's bedroom in 2000 compared to children without autism spectrum disorder," the scientists wrote in the journal Neurotoxicology. "Furthermore, children with autism spectrum disorder were reported to live in homes with more condensation on the inside of the windows, which...may be seen as an indicator for deficient ventilation."

Children in the study also were twice as likely to have autism 
if their mothers smoked cigarettes. The autistic children also were more likely to have asthma.

The lead investigator was Carl-Gustav Bornehag of Karlstad University in Sweden, who in 2004 found a high rate of asthma and allergies among children living in households with dust containing phthalates.

The scientists reported that they do not know if 
asthma and autism are related, or whether phthalates contributed to the risk of autism by some other mechanism, such as disruption of hormones. Phthalates in animal tests interfere with male hormones and sexual development.

"The data are far from conclusive. They are puzzling, even baffling, and not readily explicable at this time," the scientists wrote in their study. "However, because they are among the few clues that have emerged about possible environmental contributions to autistic disorders, we believe that they should be weighed carefully and warrant further study."

Several scientists who did not participate in the study cautioned that it has too many limitations to draw conclusions, but they suggested that new studies be designed to look for a connection between autism and indoor air pollutants.



Read more -http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=link-between-autism-and-vinyl

Obama's Aunt Granted Asylum, Stopping Her Deportation to Kenya - after she illegally stayed in the US -

Obama's Aunt Granted Asylum, Stopping Her Deportation to Kenya - after she illegally stayed in the US - 






CLEVELAND -- A U.S. immigration court granted asylum to President Barack Obama's African aunt, allowing her to stay in the country, her attorneys said Monday.
The decision was mailed Friday and comes three months after Kenya native Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, testified at a closed hearing in Boston, where she arrived in a wheelchair and two doctors testified in support of her case.
The basis for her asylum request hadn't been made public. People who seek asylum must show that they face persecution in their homeland on the basis of religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.
Her lawyer, Margaret Wong, said last year that Onyango first applied for asylum "due to violence in Kenya." The East African nation is fractured by cycles of electoral violence every five years.
In a November interview with The Associated Press, Onyango said she was disabled and was learning to walk again after being paralyzed from Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disorder.




Onyango moved to the United States in 2000. Her first asylum request was rejected, and she was ordered deported in 2004. But she didn't leave the country and continued to live in public housing in Boston.
Onyango's status as an illegal immigrant was revealed just days before Obama was elected in November 2008. Obama said he did not know his aunt was living here illegally and believes laws covering the situation should be followed.
A judge later agreed to suspend her deportation order and reopen her asylum case.
Wong has said that Obama wasn't involved in the Boston hearing. The White House also said it was not helping Onyango with legal fees.
In his memoir, "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," Obama affectionately referred to Onyango as "Auntie Zeituni" and described meeting her during his 1988 trip to Kenya.
Onyango helped care for the president's half brothers and sister while living with Barack Obama Sr. in Kenya.

Thousands of bees' swarm White House - army of insects hovered as President Barack Obama tried to play basketball -

Thousands of bees' swarm White House - army of insects hovered as President Barack Obama tried to play basketball -




A swarm of "thousands of bees" gathered outside the White House this morning.
The small army of insects hovered as President Barack Obama tried to leave the White House to play basketball at Fort McNair, according to a pool report.
By the time the president returned at noon, the bees were apparently nowhere in sight.