Gerald Celente dealing with Impostors

In the past I have used the Gerald Celente Blogspot site for the info that is passed along. I did not realize the implications of all of this. I even had the site in my New Media Bibliography. After receiving the information from Mr. Celente below, I have decided to take down that link and certainly won't link to their articles in the future.

Mr. Celente is the World's leading trend forecaster and his information is highly sought. That is how I first happened upon this Blogspot site as I am sure with many others. This is certainly an issue that Google needs to deal with. One can certainly see how this can affect a person's life and their finances.

 Celente Sues Google For Allowing Impostors
To Steal His Identity

KINGSTON, NY, 12 November 2012 — After numerous attempts to deactivate impostor blogs through Google’s “Enforcement of Blogger’s Content Policy,” Gerald Celente has taken action. Last week he filed a federal lawsuit against Google and those running the impostor blogs.   

This case could be precedent-setting and have wide implications for the Internet giant who owns the blog hosting service where the impostors flourish with impunity. The lawsuit, filed in New York last Wednesday, claims that malicious bloggers are exploiting Celente's name and trademarks in order to generate revenue for themselves through advertising.

The suit further states that the impostors post inaccurate and offensive information that viewers are led to mistakenly believe comes from Celente, thus doing irreparable harm to his reputation while damaging his business.   

Commenting on his lawsuit, Celente observed, “When Google acquired Blogger last April it represented a departure from its business model. Indeed, Google admitted, ‘truth is, we're still figuring a lot of it out.’

“A year later, since Google persists in refusing to act upon its own clearly stated anti-impostor policy, it would appear that either they are ‘still figuring a lot of it out,’ or they’re making so much money from impostor blogs on their AdSense "click-through" advertisements that they just don't care about the extensive and ongoing damage being done,” said Celente.

“Maybe The Google Blogger Team doesn’t actually know what the word ‘impostor’ means,” mused Celente. “The multiple complaints addressed to Google provided detailed information to substantiate my claims of trademark infringement, unfair competition and impersonation, but we receive only evasive, inane responses that fail to address the impostor issue:”

Hello,

Thanks for Your reply.

Blogger is a provider of content creation tools, not a mediator of that content. We allow our users to create blogs, but we don’t make any claims about the URLs or content of these pages. In cases involving trademark, if a contact email address is listed on the blog, we recommend you working directly with the author to have the information in question removed or changed.

Sincerely,
The Blogger Team

Celente suggested that the Google Blogger Team should consult a dictionary for the definition of ‘impostor:’ One who imposes upon others for the purpose of deception; a pretender.

“You don’t need a Philadelphia lawyer to tell you what the word means. Maybe Google would do well to contact Facebook for a lesson in how to address the impostor policy it claims to have but refuses to enforce,” Celente added. “When I complained to the corporation about an impostor site hosted on Facebook, it replied swiftly and responsibly:” 

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We have removed or disabled access to the third-party or user-generated content you have reported to us for violating our Statement of Rights & Responsibilities.  

Celente contends that Google is one of the few social networking sites that has not yet developed a means for brand owners to protect their trademarks. “I continually read how Google aggressively protects its own intellectual property, why aren’t they applying the same standards when it comes to protecting my intellectual property?” he concluded.

Note: The case is Celente et al. v. Google Inc. et al., case number 1:12-cv-08083, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Celente is seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages for unfair competition, cybersquatting and violations of privacy and publicity rights.

©MMXII The Trends Research Institute^®

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- November 11, 2012

Share This Massive List Of Post-Election Firings And Layoffs With Everyone You Can - Economic Collapse Blog  - Michael - November 9th, 2012 - The victory by Barack Obama on election night has resulted in a huge wave of firings and layoffs all over America. A large number of businesses seem to have suddenly shifted into panic mode. The number of layoff announcements that we have seen in the last 48 hours has been absolutely shocking. So why is this happening? Well, the truth is that the federal government is absolutely suffocating small businesses all over America with rules, regulations and taxes. If you have never tried to run a small business, then you have no idea how oppressive this system actually is for people that are trying to run small businesses successfully. It has steadily gotten worse over the years no matter who has been in the White House and no matter who has controlled Congress. So we shouldn't put 100% of the blame on Obama. Bush massively expanded government and made things harder on small business people too. But what many small business people were looking for on this election day was just a little bit of help. Many were desperately holding out hope that Obamacare would be repealed so that they would not have to get rid of some of their employees. Many were hoping to get a little bit of relief from the crippling regulations and taxes that are absolutely crushing them. But now that Barack Obama has been given another four years, they understand that there is no hope on the horizon and that things are only going to get worse. So they are making the hard decisions that they feel are necessary in order to survive in this economic environment.                     And I certainly don't blame them. You only want to have employees if you can make a profit on them. And in this environment it is getting harder than ever to make a profit on an employee. You see, the truth is that what you cost your employer goes far beyond your salary or your hourly wage. I think many of you would be absolutely shocked if you learned how much it actually costs your employer to employ you. And now thanks to Obamacare, that cost is going to go up even more.                 Many businesses are not even feasible at all in this economic environment. Many small businesses had been holding out hope that somehow this election might turn things around and make it possible for them to keep going, but when Obama won it was kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back.                 You can't do what the federal government and the state governments are doing to us and expect to have a thriving economy. They are choking the life out of us.                     New businesses and small businesses are supposed to be at the heart of our economic system. Unfortunately, the environment that has been created is absolutely killing them. This is a recipe for disaster.                  In a previous article, I noted that the number of jobs created at new businesses in 2010 in the United States was less than half of what it was back in the year 2000.                 Now we can expect that number to get even worse and we can expect large numbers of small businesses to shrink in size or close their doors completely.                The following is a list of some of the post-election firings and layoffs that we have seen since Tuesday night...


How Many Businesses Have Announced Closings or Layoffs Since Obama Won A Second Term? - The Blaze - November 8, 2012 - Do elections have consequences? If you have been paying attention to the financial markets, you might think so. Wall Street has had two horrible days since President Obama won a second term.               However, stock prices are not the only thing taking a hit. It appears that the job market is also suffering. In the last 48 hours, the following major corporations have announced layoffs in America (links take you to news stories about the layoffs – with details from the companies): Energizer, Exide Technologies, Westinghouse, Research in Motion Limited, Lightyear Network Solutions, Providence Journal, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing (30% of their management staff), CVPH Medical Center, US Cellular, Momentive Performance Materials, Rocketdyne, Brake Parts, Vestas Wind Systems, Husqvarna, Center for Hospice New York, Bristol-Meyers, OCE North America Darden Restaurants, West Ridge Mine, United Blood Services Gulf


America Has Shifted To The Left And The Culture War Is Over - End of the American Dream Blog - Election day 2012 showed once again that America is moving steadily to the left.  Yes, Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney, but the underlying dynamics run much deeper than that – especially when you take a look at social issues.  Older voters are more conservative when it comes to social issues, but they are slowly dying off and being replaced by younger voters that tend to be much more liberal.  So on a whole host of controversial social issues including gay marriage, abortion, immigration and drug legalization we are seeing a dramatic shift take place.  The American people as a whole are rejecting traditional values and are embracing a more “progressive” view of morality that is being promoted by our education system, the entertainment industry and the federal government.  Those that want to cling to the morality of the past are being told that they “are on the wrong side of history” and that they need to come into the 21st century.  On election night I spent a lot of time watching CNN, and even their “conservative pundits” were trashing those that still believe in traditional values.  Sadly, it is likely that those that believe in traditional values are going to have a harder and harder time trying to win national elections.  It is much easier to get people to change their minds about economic issues or foreign policy issues than it is about fundamental questions of right and wrong.  The demographic tidal wave that is pushing America to the left is not going to stop, and it would literally take a miracle to see this country start to move back in the direction of traditional values. (Read More.....)


Fed Report: 100% Chance of Recession - SHTFPlan.com - Mac Slavo - November 7th, 2012 - Now that the election is over, the propaganda media can back off the burying of those critical stories that they couldn’t be bothered to report in the lead up to the re-election of President Obama.                What are we talking about?                    For starters, the Federal Reserve’s recent report, which received nary a comment from the political and financial pundits on television.                   While the economy was on the minds of most voters last night, what they didn’t know may have very well swung the election to one candidate over another.                 And this particular tidbit of data is as important as it gets when we’re talking about economic health:

Moreover, if you look at the real numbers behind the numbers, like the rate of real inflation, and bounce those against this purported economic growth you may be surprised to find that we never exited the recession!                           Look at the chart below. You see that red line? That’s the government’s official GDP, a measure for economic growth. The government shows it in positive territory and its been heralded without question by the mainstream machine as the proof for an economic recovery.                   Now look at the blue line. That’s the unofficial GDP as calculated by economist John Williams using algorithms that account for distortions in the way government calculates inflation.

FEMA Disaster Centers Shut Doors 'Due to Weather' - DNA Info New York - November 7, 2012 - TOTTENVILLE — They fly into disaster areas, but flee from raindrops.                   FEMA disaster recovery centers in Hurricane Sandy-ravaged sections of the city that were supposed to provide assistance to hurricane victims went MIA Wednesday morning, posting signs saying that they were closed due to the approaching Nor'easter.                   The temporary shuttering of the facilities, which help victims register for disaster relief, as well as city food distribution centers come even as many of those still reeling from the monster storm were not told that they had to leave the battered areas.            On Tuesday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that residents in the low-lying portions of Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn were advised to leave ahead of the nor'easter, which could hit the city with 60 mph gusts and several inches of rain Wednesday afternoon, but that the evacuation was not mandatory like the one issued for all of Zone A ahead of Sandy.              “We do not believe that it’s necessary to evacuate people,” said the mayor Wednesday.                      The move left residents of the storm-ravaged areas fuming.                    "The storm is coming. We don't know how hard it's going to hit us," said Jenny Cartagena, 46, who found the FEMA center in Coney Island closed Wednesday when she went there looking for food. "I need some help now."                  Because the FEMA centers were located with food distribution and warming services, some residents who arrived there were confused by the closed centers.

Fed QE3 May Hit $1 Trillion as Fiscal Deadlock Persists - Bloomberg - Caroline Salas Gage and Jeff Kearns - Nov 8, 2012 - The Federal Reserve stands as the only source of policy support for a U.S. economy burdened by 7.9 percent unemployment after the presidential election preserved the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans.         “If you’re going to get stimulus, it’s got to come from the Fed,” said Paul Edelstein, the director of financial economics at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “They’re the only game in town.”...                           fiscal boost to the economy is probably off the table as President Barack Obama negotiates revenue increases and spending cuts with leaders of a Democratic-controlled Senate and a House of Representatives led by Republicans, Edelstein said. That may leave only the Fed in the position of trying to boost the economy, and its third round of quantitative easing may extend through next year and climb past $1 trillion, said economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Pierpont Securities LLC.        


Foodstamps Surge By Most In One Year To New All Time Record - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - November 10, 2012 - While there had been speculation that the BLS may delay the release of its October nonfarm payroll number until after the election, it turned out there was no reason to worry. Perhaps this is because the number, while at stall speed, was not quite as horrible as some had expected (even if the change in average hourly earnings did tumble to new all time lows) and so boosted Obama's reelection chances. There was, however, another closely tracked number which perhaps is far more indicative of the economic "growth" in the past 4 years, which certainly had a delayed release. The number of course is that showing how many Americans are on foodstamps, and usually is released at the end of the month, or the first day or two of the next month. This time the USDA delayed its release nine days past the semi-official deadline, far past the election, and until Friday night to report August foodstamp data. One glance at the number reveals why: at 47.1 million, this was not only a new all time record, but the monthly increase of 420,947 from July was the biggest monthly increase in one year. One can see why a reported surge in foodstamps ahead of the elections is something the USDA, and the administration may not have been too keen on disclosing.

Chart Of The Day: When $0.99 Becomes Unaffordable, We Have A Problem - Tyler Durden - November 8, 2012 - Earlier today, fast food juggernaut McDonalds reported same store sales for the month October. At -1.8%, this number was well below expectations of -1.1%, and a drop from September's 1.9%. It was driven by a 2%+ drop in comp store sales across all locations: US, Europea and APMEA, with the US performing just as bad as Europe. Most importantly, this was the first monthly drop in MCD comp sales since March 2003! So our question is: at what point does the perpetually self-deluded US population finally admit to itself that when even 99 cent meals are no longer affordable, that this country has a problem? Charting the last 4 years of McD sales, and eagerly looking forward to 4 more years.

US employers post fewest job openings in 5 months in September; layoffs also fall - AP through Fox News - November 06, 2012 - U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in September after advertising more in August than first estimated. The report suggests hiring will likely remain modest in the coming months.                   The Labor Department said Tuesday that job openings dropped by 100,000 to 3.56 million, the fewest in five months. August's openings were revised up to 3.66 million.                    The number of available jobs has jumped about 63 percent since July 2009, one month after the recession ended. It remains well below the more than 4 million jobs a month advertised before the recession began in December 2007.                    The job market remains very competitive. With 12.1 million people unemployed in September, there were 3.4 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. In a healthy economy, that ratio is roughly 2 to 1.                      Employers filled fewer available positions in September than in August. And the number of people who quit fell to the lowest level in 10 months. That's a bad sign for the job market, because it suggests workers see fewer opportunities to move to a better job. Workers tend to quit when they have other job offers.                      One positive sign in the report: Layoffs fell.
Hiring looked a little better in October, according to the Labor Department's employment report released Friday. Employers added 171,000 jobs last month and hiring in August and September was better than first estimated.

Fiscal Cliff Explained by Mike Maloney - (Words from the Gerald Celente Blog) - Peter Schiff and Ron Paul have been calling this "fiscal cliff" for years and years. But general public are too oblivious to heed the advice. Mike gets lost in details that have nothing to do with the fundamentals of money. What is money & how money is created and traded. The trap was set in the wee hours of Dec night in 1913 with passage of the Federal Reserve Act. That trap was sprung when Nixon, w/o any Constitutionally granted authority, reneged on international trade agreements to tie US Dollars to gold reserves. The ability to create money from nothing was thus borne and the collapse of economies around the globe begun.

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of November 6, 2012

 This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.

At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.

You will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the 11/6/2012 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:

Please remember that pressing Ctrl and + will magnify the text and page and pressing Ctrl and - will make the text and page smaller. This will help the readability for those with smaller screens and/or eye difficulties.

All materials and maps for this meeting are provide at this link:  City Council Agenda - November 6, 2012



Invocation by Rev. Mark Andrews, Pastor St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

Alderman Seaver acted as Mayor Pro Tem due to Mayor Wright's absence.

Special Presentations
A. (2:45) Presentation of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Proclamation to Austin Pierce, Executive Director for the Hickory Soup Kitchen and Teena Willis, Housing Coordinator for Partners Behavioral Health Management and Chair of the Housing Visions Continuum of Care.

B. (8:10) Recognition of Master Police Officer Danny Crump for completing his year as President of the NC Law Enforcement Officers Association. Presentation by Police Chief Adkinson.

C. (11:00) Recognition of Investigator David Rockett who was recognized by the National Insurance Crime Bureau at their annual meeting for his work on a theft ring. Presentation by Police Chief Adkinson.

D. (15:50) Presentation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012.

Unqualified Opinion on financial statements and compliance
Cooperative Staff - very successful transition year
General Fund - fund balance increased $3,654,835 after transfers and long term debt issued

The General Fund Summary shows that Expenses increased by $368,055 during the fiscal year (to $39,822,538 in 2012 from $39,454,483 in 2011).

The Fund Balance has increased to $31,882,614 for 2011-12 from $28,227,779 in 2010-11 and $25,165,923 in 2009-10.

Ad Valorem Tax Revenues actually decreased by $355,939 during the fiscal year (to $23,228,814 in 2012 from $23,584,753 in 2011).

Other Tax Revenues actually increased by $262,173 during the fiscal year (to $12,656,894 in 2012 from $12,394,721 in 2011).

Sales and Service Revenues increased by $39,708 during the fiscal year (to  $1,670,625 in 2012 from $1,630,917 in 2011).

Transportation Expenses increased by $95,572 during the fiscal year (to  $4,839,106 in 2012 from $4,743,534 in 2011).

 Cultural and Recreational Expenses increased by $406,541 during the fiscal year (to  $5,657,529 in 2012 from $5,250,988 in 2011).

Assistant City Manager Warren Wood's statements about last year's financial numbers. General Fund's unassigned balance increased by $288,000. This brings the Fund balance to $11.9 million, which is 27% of the total operating budget. The Water & Sewer fund decreased slightly by $16,000. The city can go 268 days without any additional revenues, which is an 11 day increase over the last year. The city's assets increased by $2 million. The City's collection rate fell 96.5% to 95.9%. This has been a consistent negative trend. The City has 10 years to collect this money.


 Consent Agenda - (25:20)

A. Approval of Community Relations Council Grant Recommendations for Fall 2012 Agency Project Title Amount Requested Amount Recommended by CRC
Organization - Amount Requested - Amount Budgeted 
Java Journey Recovery Project $1,500 - $0
Council on Adolescence Reproductive Health and Safety Education $1,365 - $1,000
CVCC Multicultural Series Multicultural Program - $1,500 - $1,000
Hickory Community Theatre Bridgeview Project 2013 - $2,500 - $1,000
Women’s Resource Center Women’s Life Transition Services $1,500 - $1,500
Young People of Integrity Making Hickory Home - $2,000 - $1,000
Total Requested by all agencies - $10,365
Total Recommended for funding by CRC - $5,500

B. Call for Public Hearing of required updates to the City of Hickory Sewer Use Ordinance - (Authorize Public Hearing for November 20, 2012) - The City of Hickory is required to operate under a NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources (NCDENR) approved Sewer Use Ordinance due to the size of the Wastewater Treatment Facilities and the presence of Industrial customers on the City of Hickory wastewater system. The adoption of an approved Sewer Use Ordinance is a requirement of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and subsequent revisions. The proposed revisions to the existing City of Hickory Sewer Use Ordinance are to address recent environmental regulation changes. This version of the City of Hickory Sewer Use Ordinance is intended to ensure that the City of Hickory Pretreatment Program operates in compliance with the appropriate State and Federal regulations, A NCAC 2H.0900 and 40 CFR 403 respectively.

C. Approval of “Food for Fines” Amnesty Week at the Library, December 3 – 8, 2012 - Approval of the waiver of overdue fines for library customers who donate canned food items at either Patrick Beaver Memorial Library or Ridgeview Branch Library during the week of December 3-8, 2012. One can or box of food will cancel $1.00 in overdue fines, and donated items will be given to Greater Hickory Cooperative Christian Ministry.

*** Removed from the Consent Agenda discussed and voted upon to extend the dates from December 3 through December 8 to December 3 to December 15.

D. Offer to Purchase Property from Lenoir Rhyne University to City of Hickory to purchase approximately .06 +/- acre located at 10 Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard NE, PIN 3713-17-01-3455) in the amount of $2,000. - Lenoir Rhyne University (LRU) has presented an offer to purchase approximately .06 +/- acre owned by the City and located at 10 Lenoir Rhyne Boulevard NE. The tract is too small to build upon by the City and it would complete the parcel grouping for LRU if allowed to purchase it. Staff recommends acceptance of the offer to purchase from LRU and authorization to advertise for upset bids. Once the property is advertised, other parties will have ten (10) days to submit upset bids.

E. Special Meeting of Hickory City Council, Wednesday, November 14, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Hickory Regional Airport. - A special meeting of Hickory City Council to be held on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hickory Regional Airport Terminal Building Community Room at 3101 9th Ave Drive NW. The purpose of this special meeting is to update City Council on Airport activities in 2012.

F. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 6
1. To budget a $250 donation in the Parks and Recreation-Recreational Supplies line item. This donation is for the first annual "Bark Bash" event held at Stanford Park.
2. To budget a $5,000 insurance claim check from Argonaut Great Central Insurance Company in the Parks and Recreation Maintenance and Repair of Buildings line item. This insurance claim check is payment less deductible for damage to the Air Conditioning unit on Neil Clark Recreation Center.
3. To budget $762 of General Fund Miscellaneous Revenue in the Fire Department Departmental Supply line item. These funds were received from Mountain Recycling, Inc. for the sale of scrap metal from the shop.
4. To appropriate $206 for the month of September 2012 of Local Government Revenue and budget in the Police Department Overtime line item. This revenue is payment from Catawba County Mental Health for a portion of an Officers time spent when accompanying involuntary commitment patients.
5. To appropriate $54,910 of General Fund Balance (Funds reserved from the State of North Carolina Un-Authorized Substance Tax revenue) and budget in the Police Department's Capital Vehicles line item ($50,850) and Maintenance and Repair of Vehicles line item ($4,060). This amendment is necessary to purchase 10 new in-car cameras to replace obsolete existing in-car cameras. Parts cannot be found and the software is no longer supported. Funds are made available to the Police Department from the State and remain in General Fund Balance until appropriated.
6. To appropriate $75,000 of General Fund Balance (Funds reserved from the US Department of Treasury) and budget in the Police Department's Capital Improvements line item. This amendment is necessary to pay for the first phase of the renovation on the home located at 222 3rd Street SW, (Contiguous to HPD Headquarters property) which was purchased by the City in 2011. The first phase includes grading, concrete, tree removal, siding of the home, removal of the awning, dormer addition, porch columns replacement, interior cosmetic work, electrical additions, roof replacement, phone and other low voltage wiring, lighting, exit exterior stair replacement, landscaping and fence. Renovations will allow more office space for the Police Department and could have an occupancy of 10-15 personnel. Funds are made available to the Police Department from the US Department of Treasury and remain in General Fund Balance until appropriated.
7. To budget a $308 transfer of unused revenue from the Vision 100 Block Grant Project to the General Fund-Appropriated Fund Balance. This amendment is necessary to close the capital project and return $308 of unspent monies to the General Fund.
8. To budget a $200,000 check from the State of North Carolina Department of Commerce (One North Carolina Fund) in the Economic and Community Development Incentives line item. This check is the second and final payment to CheckFree Services Corporation (Fiserv). A grant was approved by the Department of Commerce One North Carolina Fund in the amount of $800,000. CheckFree Services Corporation has previously met requirements to receive payments in the amount of $600,000. This payment represents the final grant disbursement.
G. Grant Project Ordinance Amendment No. 2
1. To budget $301 of Retained Earnings in the Vision 100 Block Grant Project and to transfer a total of $308 ($301 Retained Earnings and $7 in Miscellaneous Capital) to the General Fund. This transfer is necessary to close the Vision Block Grant Project and return the remaining $308 of unexpended funds to the original funding source.
H. Grant Project Ordinance No. 4
1. To budget $400,000 for two ($200,000) Community-wide Brownfield Assessment Grants through the United States Environmental Protection Agency. These grants can be used to assess environmental contamination at identified Brownfield sites which are defined as vacant or under-utilized commercial and industrial properties whose redevelopment is hindered by either real or perceived environmental contamination. The funds will be used to perform Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments along with cleanup, redevelopment planning at selected sites and may be used for public outreach and community involvement. The grants will last from October 2012 through September 2015.

Informational Items
A. Report of Mayor Rudy Wright travel to North Carolina League of Municipalities, Charlotte, NC on October 22, 2012 (registration - $330.00, gas and parking - $80.38)

B. Report of City Manager Mick Berry travel to ICMA Annual Conference, Phoenix, Arizona on October 7 -10, 2012 (room - $727.20, per diem - $247.50, airfare - $302.00, parking and cabs - $125.50, registration fee - $620.00)

New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Quarterly Financial Report (30:30) - Warren Wood Presentation. Part of Warren's presentation is laid out above in relation to the 2011-12 Financial Statements.
Approval of a Resolution to the North Carolina General Assembly in support of the extension of Transitional Hold Harmless Revenues from the State of North Carolina to negatively affected local governments.

*** Property tax collections are $500,000 less than they should be. Bills went out late from the county and that may have caused this issue. The City is down $2.2 million versus the 5 year average of just over $1 million. some of this is thrown off by the missing $500,000, but the revenues are definitely off.

Loss of $84 million in tax base 1.8%, which translates to $421,000 in lost revenue.

Consistent losses in building permits.

A resolution was passed Unanimously by the City Council to ask the State legislature to extended this "Hold Harmless" transitional money. Cities with the largest Industrial bases were hit hardest. This is the 10th year and Hickory stands to lose $300,000 of budgeted revenues. Warren stated that we can not afford to lose this money. They tried to do this last year and it was unsuccessful. Hickory has joined other Municipalities in lobbying to extend these payments.

Matters not on the Agenda
*** Manager Berry asked the City Council to approve 8 days (3 - 1 day and 1 - 5 day) of vacation time to be raffled off at the City's Annual Employee Appreciation day. This was unanimously approved by City Council.

*** Alderman Lail spoke about a situation related to demolitions and surrounding properties. He talked about the dynamics with the county waving tipping fees and the city encouraging demolitions. He said it might be something as simple as wetting down the site. Manager Berry stated that he would direct staff to look into the matter. These demolitions cited were private demolitions and there are no ordinances related to this. If the city demolishes structures he stated that the city (administratively has decided that they will take care of this. The City is currently researching the issue. Council unanimously voted to direct the staff to look into this issue.

The Republican Party Today - November 7, 2012

Once again another election in my life and once again we see division. The vote goes right down the middle. As a Republican I found it hard to get 100% behind Romney, but I voted for him and I thought he would win, but I never thought for a minute that it would be a landslide and it was what I thought it would be.

Elections don't really matter. I have learned that. I go through the motions and participate, but Governance is what matters. These elections don't decide issues. The issues  are decided each and every day by actions of our representatives.

As someone who has studied Economics virtually my whole life, I saw Romney as representing austerity and Obama represents cranking up the printing presses and passing out the dough. Both of these extremes are bad. Romney's austere budgetary cuts would have led to deflation and Obama's print and spend policies will lead to hyperinflation -- way too many dollars pushed to the Banksters chasing commodities.

We have seen so many of these nail biting elections here lately. There will never be 100% agreement on anything, but we aren't even close to having a united front on the issues that face this nation.

My opinions are in the minority, because they take deep reflection and listening to others to develop. I care about the people in this country, but I am very frustrated by their trivial  and material desires. The Republican Party is 100% the opposite of its original founding. The GOP was the party of Lincoln, ended slavery, reined in the Robber Barons, and believed in keeping the military from getting overly involved in foreign entanglements. The Republicans need to get back to their roots or they are going to wither.

The Republicans have learned nothing over the last 12 years. The GOP still has the same strongholds and over the last 4 election cycles has not been able to expand its base. It has been spinning its wheels in the same battleground states; razor thin differences in Florida, Ohio, and Virginia and constantly trying to win Pennsylvania and Michigan, but failing each and every time by a couple percent.

The Republican Party is stagnant. It has not in my life seemed to have a long range plan and has for the most part been in denial about their prospects come election day. Look at what happened today. The Party always thinks candidates who aren't in the established hierarchy should wait their turn -- Bob Dole, Reagan, GHW Bush, McCain, and Romney. GW Bush was a product of his father. Democrats have pulled candidates from the background to the forefront -- Carter, Clinton, and Obama are prime examples.

The Republican Party needs to refresh itself. It needs to seek younger participants. It needs to represent the future generations and build momentum to the future. The GOP needs to reassess its priorities or it will keep having these failures. The Democrats can't help but overstep their bounds. It is in their inner being to create mandates out of thin air. The Republicans were able to capitalize on the overreach of 2009-10 in 2010, but the Republicans couldn't get out of their own way in this election, because of the staleness in the party.

The Republican Party couldn't motivate the Tea Party and they POed the working class with intolerant rhetoric and not thinking out, establishing, and educating the electorate about their positions. It is time that the Republicans take a look in the mirror to realize where the problems lie. When you represent narrow interests, then it is hard to gain expansive results. The Republican Party is viewed as the party of grumpy old white men. In order to move this nation forward, someone is going to have to step up to the plate and take us in another direction.

It's about Jobs that create the Standard of Living

Only losers, apologists, and excuse makers don't get this. We've been on this road to nowhere for far too long.

If we create more jobs, then the issue will focus on the supply and availability of labor versus now where it focuses on the supply and availability of jobs. When you create more jobs income naturally rises. And I am not talking about servant sector jobs. I am talking about production/creation.

It is that simple. These arguments that the problems in this country center on overregulation are overstated. The issues of overregulation are affected by fear of law suits. We need Torte Reform. We have needed that for decades. I don't see anyone making a move to bring that about, because most of the people running this country are lawyers.

We have to have regulations, because the corporate culture has not worked in the interest of America. We cannot deregulate our economy to mimic Developing Nation economies. Do you want our environment to be like that of a Third World country? Will our economic fortunes rise, if our wages match those of China and India and other developing nations? We have to demand that their standards match ours or we don't let their products in the country if they compete against our labor force and they are cutting corners.

I see these statistics about college graduates finding work versus high school and lower attainment not finding jobs. What those stats never delve into is underemployment. College graduates with degrees that are doing menial labor and who are qualified to do much more technical work. And I have shown you articles and stats that show retirees staying in the workforce and staying in management positions. They say the younger generations aren't qualified. Well, it's hard to be qualified when you aren't given the opportunity to move up the ladder.

The piousness and self sanctification of so many of the Baby Boomers does more than frustrate the younger generations. We hold our grandparents and great grandparents in high esteem. They fought their way through Depressions and World Wars to bring this country into its Golden years and the Boomers have frittered it into an Economic Depression and they are in a drunken stupor of denial about what it is going to take to get us out of it.

It is going to take people really working together and looking out for one another in a spiritually meaningful way to move forward. Dog eat Dog and I've got mine, you get yours are what have brought us to the point that we are at today. That is not what this country was built on.

Take heed, no one man is going to be able to change the country. For far too long we have seen big blown soliloquies  that never develop into fruitful endeavors. We see politicians looking out for their own interests instead of those of the people. Whomever is elected to the next term of the Presidency and all of the other offices near and far, big and small, it takes working together in a meaningful way to make things happen. It takes working together for the people you are supposed to represent to move things forward. It takes courage to make things happen. It takes more than words to make things happen. It takes action to make things happen.

Don't talk about it be about it!

Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- November 4, 2012

Job Creation Under Barack Obama: Less Than Meets The Eye? - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden November 3, 2012 - In the aftermath of yesterday's better than expected jobs number there have been many analyses in the media on both sides of the aisle, either attacking or defending Obama's track record in creating jobs. All have come up with arguments which according to their authors, are solid and defensible. There is one analysis, however, which is missing, and that is a follow up of what we showed yesterday in "Chart Of The Day: America's Geriatric Work F(a)rce."  In it we demonstrated the very much "under the radar" schism of America's workforce since the NBER-defined official end of the recession in June 2009 into the "haves", or those above 55, who have been able to get a job since the end of the recession, and the "have nots", or all those in the labor force who have not been able to find a job. So how does this data look when extended to the beginning of Obama's term, or the 46 full months starting with his inauguration in January 2009, and continuing through the latest, October 2012 data point. The chart is presented below; you decide.                      In summary: while those in the 55-69 age group have gained nearly 4 million jobs under President Obama, everyone else has lost just over 2.5 million.              In other words, those aged 55 and over should be scrambling for "4 more years." Everyone esle... perhaps not so much.

Chart Of The Day: America's Geriatric Work F(a)rce - Zero Hedge - Tyler Durden - November 2, 2012 -The traditional excuse apologists for America's collapsing labor force participation rate use every month is that due to "demographics" and retiring baby boomers, increasingly more old workers are no longer counted by the BLS and as a result, are skewing the labor force. That's where they leave it because digging into details is not really anyone's forte anymore. This would be great if it was true. It isn't.                            A month ago in "55 And Under? No Job For You" we presented visually and quite simply that of the 3.3 million jobs "created" (updated for October's data), a gasp-inducing 3.8 million has gone to workers aged 55 and over, or the one cohort that according to conventional wisdom is retiring, and actively leaving the workforce. How can America's elderly workers account for more than the total? Simple: workers in the young (16-19) and prime (25-54) cohorts have cumulatively lost a whopping 1.3 million, with just the 25-54 age group losing 842,000 jobs (don't believe us: spot check it right here courtesy of the Fed).                           In other words, America's edlerly are not only not in a rush to retire, they are reentering the workforce (thanks to the Chairman's genocidal savings policy which has just rendered the value of all future deposits worthless thanks to ZIRP), and in doing so preventing younger workers, in their prime years, from generating incremental jobs.                                 And nowhere is this more visible than in today's jobs report. On the surface, the US generated a whopping 413,000 jobs (after generating a massive 873,000 last month) according to the Household Survey in October. That's great, unfortunately breaking down this cumulative addition by age cohort confirms precisely what we have said: all the jobs are going to old workers, who have zero wage bargaining leverage (as they just want to have a day to day paycheck). To wit: when broken down by age group, the total October increase shows that of the new jobs, 10.7% went to those aged 16-19 (source), 11.6% went to those aged 20-24 (source), a tiny 9.8% went to the prime agr group: 25-54 (source), and a massive 67.8% went to America's baby boomers: those aged 55 and over (source), and who refuse to leave the workforce and make way for others.

Food Stamp Growth 75X Greater than Job Creation - The Weekly Standard - Daniel Halper - November 2, 2012 - With the latest jobs report, it is now the case that "Under Obama, Food Stamp Growth [Is] 75 Times Greater Than Job Creation," according to statistics compiled by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee. "For Every Person Added to Jobs Rolls Since January 2009, 75 People Added To Food Stamp Rolls." Here's a chart detailing the growth:

October Jobs Report Shows Incomes Continuing to Decline - Newsbusters.org - Noel Sheppard - November 02, 2012 - One of the negative features of the current economic recovery has been declining incomes of average Americans. This trend continued in October.                      The Labor Department reported Friday that despite 171,000 jobs being added to nonfarm payrolls in October, average hourly earnings for such employees edged down by 1 cent to $23.58.
Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees also dropped by 1 cent to $19.79.                        This continues a trend reported by the Census Bureau in August finding that since the recovery began in June 2009, median household incomes have fallen 4.8 percent adjusted for inflation.                    Also of note, the manufacturing workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.5 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls also edged down by 0.1 hour to 33.6 hours.                 As such, despite the positive headline numbers in this report, this is by no means a strong jobs market this far into an economic recovery.             



America's best job creators are slowing down - Fortune through CNN Money - Nin-Hai Tseng - October 31, 2012 - We're only halfway through earnings season, but it's clear corporate America is struggling. After seeing remarkable growth amid a shaky economy, U.S. companies expect a decline in year-over-year earnings for the first time in three years. And Sandy's economic toll certainly won't help most companies.                             As big companies brace for tougher times ahead, the niche market of mid-sized firms expect trouble, too, as a blast of tax hikes and spending cuts threaten to weigh on earnings, according to a survey by the National Centre for the Middle Market at Ohio State University. This suggests another piece of bad news for the job market, given that in the years following the Great Recession, mid-sized companies created more jobs than most other companies. 


Without Electricity, New Yorkers on Food Stamps Can’t Pay for Food - Color Lines - Jorge Rivas - Thursday, November 1 2012 - It’s been more than three days since power went out in many parts of New York City, including the Lower East Side where multi-story public housing complexes like the La Guardia Houses don’t have electricity, heat or water.                    Many of the residents are also without food.                 Many of the low-income residents receive cash and supplemental nutritional assistance from the state electronically through what the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance calls Electronic Benefit Cards (EBT.)                      Recipients buying eligible foods are suppose to swipe their EBT cards like any other credit card for their purchases but since Hurricane Sandy hit, most Lower East Side stores don’t have electricity to run credit card transactions and are only accepting cash. Leaving many people on EBT with empty wallets, empty refrigerators and no access to food.                   “The supermarkets don’t even really want to sell anything. They’re open but if you don’t have cash, you messed up. And everybody in these projects, they take EBT…food stamps,” a La Guardia Houses resident told WNYC’s Marianne McCune.                 Listen to Marianne McCune from the La Guardia Houses below and visit WNYC.org to read her story.
 

Save the Bees

 

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) - (Wikipedia) - is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or European honey bee colony abruptly disappear. While such disappearances have occurred throughout the history of apiculture, the term colony collapse disorder was first applied to a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of Western honey bee colonies in North America in late 2006.^[1] Colony collapse is significant economically because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by bees; and ecologically, because of the major role that bees play in the reproduction of plant communities in the wild.                 European beekeepers observed similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain,^[2] and initial reports have also come in from Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree^[3] while the Northern Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50%.^[4]                Multiple possible causes of CCD have been identified. In 2007, some authorities attributed the problem to biotic factors such as Varroa mites and insect diseases (i.e., pathogens^[5] including Nosema apis and Israel acute paralysis virus).^[6][7] Other proposed causes include environmental change-related stresses,^[8] malnutrition, pesticides (e.g.. neonicotinoids such as clothianidin and imidacloprid^[9][10][11]), and migratory beekeeping. More speculative possibilities have included both cell phone radiation^[12][13] and genetically modified (GM) crops with pest control characteristics.^[14][15]


Controversy Deepens Over Pesticides and Bee Collapse - Wired Magazine - Brandon KeimEmail - April 6, 2012 -         controversial new study of honeybee deaths has deepened a bitter dispute over whether the developed world’s most popular pesticides are causing an ecological catastrophe.                     Researchers led by biologist Chensheng Lu of Harvard University report a direct link between hive health and dietary exposure to imidacloprid, a so-called neonicotinoid pesticide linked to colony collapse disorder, the mysterious and massive die-off of bees across North America and Europe.                          The study isn’t without critics, who say doses used in the study may be unrealistically high. But the level of a realistic dose is also a matter of controversy, and even critics say the findings are troubling.                  “Our result replicates colony collapse disorder as a result of pesticide exposures,” said Lu, who specializes in environmental exposures to pesticides. “We need to look at our agriculture policy and see if what we’re doing now is sustainable.”                   Developed in the 1990s as a relatively less-toxic alternative to pesticides that seriously harmed human health, neonicotinoids soon became the world’s fastest-growing pesticide class and an integral part of industrial agricultural strategy. In the United States alone, neonicotinoid-treated corn now covers a total area slightly smaller than the state of Montana.                         Like earlier pesticides, neonicotinoids disrupt insects’ central nervous systems. But unlike earlier pesticides, which affected insects during and immediately after spraying, neonicotinoids spread through the vascular tissues of plants. They’re toxic through entire growing seasons, including flowering times when bees consume their pollen.


Bees Colony Collapse Disorder - Google Articles