High Probability Of A Large US Military Buildup In Ukraine Right Now.

Obama announces new round of sanctions against Russia

Florida Warns Beachgoers of Flesh-Eating Bacteria in the Water

Health officials in Florida today issued new warnings about high levels of a flesh-eating bacterium in the ocean and other recreational waters in the state. The state says that bacterium,Vibrio vulnificus, causes ulceration and rapid skin decay and is fatal in about 50 percent of people who get it in their bloodstreams.

Vibrio "has hospitalized 32 people, and killed ten in Florida, although through a period of years, not all at once," according to the state; however, another report today, focusing on one infected lagoon in South Florida, says there were "41 reported cases of infections from the deadly bacteria last year in Florida, which killed 11 people, including a 59-year old man infected while crabbing in the Halifax River near Ormond Beach."

According to the Broward-Palm Beach New Times, this shit is no joke:

"A person can contract the virus by eating tainted raw shell fish and oysters," Florida Department of Health Deputy Press Secretary Pamela Crane tells New Times. "And people who swim in seawater who have open wounds are also vulnerable to the bacteria."

The virus can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, but is especially dangerous with those with a weaker immune system, especially in people with chronic liver disease. Vibrio can get into the bloodstream and cause life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include fever, chills, a drop in blood pressure and skin lesions...

So basically, if you have a weak immune system, or an open wound, best to avoid the water for now.

The state notes that Vibrio is naturally occurring and tends to flare up in the summer—not unlike other human-caused disease-causing bacteria and viruses (read: poop-related diseases) that have been found in massive concentrations along much of Florida's lightly-regulated coast this summer.

In one instance, a "no" swimming advisory was put into effect in North Florida for enterococcibacteria levels that were 30 times acceptable levels—far higher than the worst readings in the Gowanus Canal after Hurricane Sandy blew through. (The "no" is in quotes because swimming was discouraged but not banned.)

Florida doesn't typically require beach shutdowns for bacteria infestations; in fact, 59 percent of its beaches aren't tested for bacteria levels; the others rely on federal funding to carry out periodic tests. But hey, only the strong survive in a libertarian paradise!

Credit to Gawker

Gerald Celente on USA Watch Dog

Canadian Doctor Quarantines Himself Over Ebola Fears After Returning From Liberia

Earlier today we wondered, rhetorically, if the CDC was wrong when it stated, with confidence, that there is "little risk" for the Ebola virus to leave the African continent, and cross the Atlantic, landing in North America. We may have gotten the official refutation less than 6 hours later, when moments ago Canada's CTV reported that a Canadian doctor is in self-imposed quarantine after spending nearly a month in West Africa treating patients in the deadly Ebola outbreak that has claimed nearly 700 lives. 

"Dr. Azaria Marthyman of Victoria, B.C. was among a handful of Canadian health-care workers who traveled to Liberia, where the Ebola epidemic is currently raging. He was part of a North American team from the Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse." This is the same charity organization whose two US citizen members were previously reported to have caught the virus.



Dr. Azaria Marthyman of Victoria, B.C. is seen putting on protective
gear before treating Ebola patients in Liberia.

Dr. Marthyman worked at the agency’s facility in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, before returning to Canada last Saturday. While he has not tested positive for the disease, he has quarantined himself as a precaution.

And immediately, the attempt to spin this as good news emerges: "Azaria is symptom-free right now and there is no chance of being contagious with Ebola if you are not exhibiting symptoms," Melissa Strickland, a spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse, told CTV Vancouver Island.

That last statement may be worth a #timestamp, especially considering that one of Marthyman’s colleagues with Samaritan’s Purse, Dr. Kent Brantly, is confirmed infected. The 33-year-old married father of two children is undergoing intensive treatment for the disease, but has been able to speak with doctors and work on his computer.

From CTV:

Health care workers undergo rigorous decontamination processes to avoid infection.

“It takes about 45 minutes to suit up before going into the isolation area,” Marthyman said by telephone.

His journey to West Africa is not his first to an area ravaged by disease or disaster. Last year, he travelled to the Philippines to provide medical care to victims of Typhoon Haiyan. In 2010, he joined a medical team that treated patients affected by a cholera epidemic in Haiti.

In an interview prior to his trip to Haiti, the father of seven shared why he risks his life to help others.

“We have this slogan at home that we always say at the table, and it’s ‘do your share and let the love go around,’” Marthyman said.

We congratulate Dr. Marthyman for doing the right thing, and we certainly hope that all of his Ebola tests turn out negative.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Putin Says Russia’s Defense Industry Absolutely Self-Sufficient, Safe From Political Risk

NOVO-OGARYOVO, July 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s defense industry is capable of producing all parts and military hardware on its own, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

“Some things are evident for all of us. First of all, we are absolutely capable of doing everything on our own. Absolutely everything,” Putin said at a meeting devoted to import substitution.

“Our task is to insure ourselves against risks of non-compliance with contracts by our foreign partners,” the president added. “We need to ensure reliable and timely supply of required components and monitor their quality closely.”

Putin said that although he saw no particular risks for the Russian defense industry, “all difficulties should benefit us, because we should launch our own production where it did not exist before.”

Against the backdrop of Kiev’s ongoing special operation in eastern Ukraine, the country’s recently elected president, Petro Poroshenko, banned cooperation with Russia in the military-industrial sphere.

Responding to the initiative, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin stated that Russia already has a plan for import substitution of military products from Ukraine and that it will take about two-and-a-half years to completely withdraw from Ukrainian defense imports.

In April, President Putin noted that Russia’s switch to domestic products would likely lead to disaster for Kiev, because Moscow is the only consumer for the Ukrainian defense industry.

After the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have been seeking to toughen sanctions against Russia, including in the defense industry. The prospect if initiating an embargo against the Russian defense industry has also been raised.

Russian defense ministry officials said the situation would have no effect on Russia’s ambitious 20 trillion ruble ($640 billion) rearmament program through 2020. The program is to see the share of modern weaponry in Russia’s armed forces reach 30 percent by 2015 and 70 percent by 2020.

Credit to RIA Novosti

Deadbeat Nation: A Shocking 77 Million Americans Face Debt Collectors

We have been warning for years that as a result of the Fed's disastrous policies, America's middle class is being disintegrated and US adults are surviving only thanks to insurmountable debtloads. But not even we had an appreciation of how serious the problem truly was. We now know, and it is a shocker: according to new research by the Urban Institute, about 77 million Americans have a debt in collections.

The breakdown by region:

As the Washington Post reports, that amounts to 35 percent of consumers with credit files or data reported to a major credit bureau, according to the study released Tuesday by the Urban Institute and Encore Capital Group's Consumer Credit Research Institute. "It’s a stunning number," said Caroline Ratcliffe, senior fellow at the Urban Institute and author of the report. "And it threads through nearly all communities."

More:

The report analyzed 2013 credit data from TransUnion to calculate how many Americans were falling behind on their bills. It looked at how many people had non-mortgage bills, such as credit card bills, child support payments and medical bills, that are so past due that the account has since been closed and placed in collections.

Researchers relied on a random sample of 7 million people with data reported to the credit bureaus in 2013 to estimate what share of the 220 million Americans with credit files have debts in collection. About 22 million low-income adults who did not have credit files were not represented in the study.

While we understand why someone owing tens if not hundreds of thousands can just do what the US government does so well, and simply decide to stop paying their debt (if unlike the government, without the option to roll it), what is scary is that there are people who are in collection on amount as tiny as $25.

The debts sent to collections ranged from $25 on the low end and to more than $125,000 on the high end. Many consumers were burned for relatively small amounts -- about 10 percent of the debts were smaller than $125, Ratcliffe says. But the median debt, $1,350, is still pretty substantial, she adds.

The geographic breakdown is not surprising, headed by the state that hosts Las Vegas, where an unprecedented 47% of all consumers have debt in some stage of collection.

Nevada was hit the hardest, with 47 percent of consumers with a credit file showing a debt in collections -- a mark researchers said may stem from the housing crisis when people struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments may have fallen behind on other financial obligations.

It's not just Nevada. It's, well, everywhere else too:

In 12 states, including the District of Columbia, more than 40 percent of residents with a credit file have a bill in collections. That includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.

But how is it possible that tens of millions of Americans are in such dire straits? After all, banks have been reporting better delinquency data for years. The answer: the study found that the share of people with debt past due, meaning they are at least 30 days late with payment on a non-mortgage debt, was much smaller: 1 in 20 people. That includes people who are late with credit card bills, student loan payments and auto loans. The majority of those people, 79 percent, also had debt in collections. However, because certain bills, such as medical bills and parking tickets, may not show up on a person's credit score until they are sent to collections, the total share of people falling behind on their bills may actually be much higher.

The flowchart:

And the breakdown by state: the stunner, again, is that the share of Americans with debt in collections is 7 times greater than those with merely debt past due:

The report's punchline, via AP:

The Urban Institute's Ratcliffe said that stagnant incomes are key to why some parts of the country are struggling to repay their debt.

Wages have barely kept up with inflation during the five-year recovery, according to Labor Department figures. And a separate measure by Wells Fargo found that after-tax income fell for the bottom 20 percent of earners during the same period.

But.. recovery? And consumer confidence at 2007 highs? Or did the Conference Board decide to just poll the residents of 15 CPW and 740 Park?

Of course, there is a simple solution to all of the above: instead of being deadbeats, if only these 77 million Americans had BTFD as the the S&P's chief market valuation officer, Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke before her, had advised them, then the US would truly be a crony capitalist-cum-socialist nirvana by now. Sadly, the way it is right now, the US Department of Truth will have to put this record number of deadbeats out of the labor pool (and hook them to the government handouts machine), while pretending that what once used to be known as the economy, and now is nothing but pure propaganda, is getting "better."

Credit to Zero Hedge