Global Food Crisis - USDA funds Domino's Pizza while riots break out worldwide
(NaturalNews) Experts worldwide are voicing concerns over the very real possibility of a global food crisis that is slowly descending upon the citizens of the world. With many aspects of a food crisis already in full swing, the economic bi-product, "increased cost of living," has begun catching up with the world economy. Pricing of commodities such as butter, cheese, meat, sugar, and others are soaring to new heights and shattering previous records. Despite the starving families who cannot afford basic food items, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently decided to funnel 12 million dollars into the popular pizza chain Domino's Pizza to promote their new extra-cheese pizza. Due to the increased monetary strain on the citizens of the world to purchase these commodities, violent protests and riots have broken out around the world, leading analysts to believe that a global food pandemic may be sooner than previously thought.
Data produced and released by the Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United Nations (FAO) has given the world a look into the drastic price increase of food commodities over the past 10 years. The food index count, which is an overall score reflecting the total price of the top 6 food commodities, rose to 215 in December of 2010 - up from 90 in the year 2000. Sugar spearheaded the spike, hitting only 2 points away from the 400 mark in December of 2010. In response to the outlandish price changes, violent protests and food riots have sprung up in parts of Asia and the Middle East.
Among the food riots and escalating food prices that make up the recent state of food chaos, the USDA has decided to fund Domino's new marketing campaign in a little-known bailout that received almost no mainstream attention. The 12 million dollar bailout is centered around promoting Domino's new pizza that is made with 40% more cheese. Instead of formulating a program which could potentially yield more crops for the starving families worldwide, the USDA has decided that pouring millions of dollars into a pizza chain is a more important venture. The USDA's financial support of Domino's Pizza will undoubtedly lead to more customers, who will consume the cheese-loaded and additive-filled pizza and will surely contribute to the United States' obesity epidemic. While the pizza seems to be healthy for Domino's' sales, consumers are eating away their health with every slice.
With surging food prices and worldwide riots, what will be the end result of this food crisis? Experts speculate that the riots similar to those in the Middle East and South Asia could soon be seen in North America. "We are entering a danger territory," Abdolreza Abbassian, chief economist at the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), says. Experts believe that the short-lived food riots that took place in Haiti, Kenya, and Somalia in 2008 could be a new reality for North America in the upcoming months. As oil prices climb to new highs, and prices of commodities are escalated across the board, citizens of the world are forced to carry the debt.
Despite the looming threat of a global food catastrophe, it is very possible to sustain yourself in the event that this occurs. Growing your own organic produce and purchasing storable food are great ways to ensure that you have a steady food supply amid uncertain economic times. The s510 Food Safety Bill, of course, threatens this right, though a concerned and audacious public has the power to counter the implementation of the bill. In the face of uncertain times, living off the grid is essential. Gloomy economic times may act as a reminder that it is of extreme importance to be self-sustainable.
Sources:
http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituati...
https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/u...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kerry...
http://www.businessinsider.com/un-f...
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031286_USDA_food_crisis.html#ixzz1DndeAMyD
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Landmark Meeting of Chemtrail Activists and Local EPA
by Zen Gardner (with TheIntelHub)
Local Chemtrail activists in Alachua County, Florida recently took the initiative and asked for a meeting with their local EPA officials to express their concerns. They view portions of "What in the World Are They Spraying" to open the meeting, and then discussed the need for more scientific data to help explain the phenomenon--to which the EPA agreed!
The local EPA head even makes the suggestion of accessing what he calls a "massive data base" of information collected country wide regarding pollution levels due to acid rain over the past 30 years! Let's see if they deliver.
This is a terrific example of taking action locally and opening up a dialog with local officials.
There's so much great information available we can show these people. They cite the information gathered in Shasta, California which is really powerful. Other great offical information on California's state-wide rise in metallic salts in water sources are thoroughly covered at www.californiaskywatch. com. The documented government weathermod programs and the public list of aerosol patents is also powerful.
One suggestion to is perhaps use Rosalind Peterson's suggestion of calling them persistent contrails when speaking with officials to not set off the pre-pragrammed "conspiracy" reaction. Aerosols is also a great word.
Whichever, fire away!
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/415/020/Landmark_Meeting_of_Chemtrail_Activists_and_Local_EPA.html
Local Chemtrail activists in Alachua County, Florida recently took the initiative and asked for a meeting with their local EPA officials to express their concerns. They view portions of "What in the World Are They Spraying" to open the meeting, and then discussed the need for more scientific data to help explain the phenomenon--to which the EPA agreed!
The local EPA head even makes the suggestion of accessing what he calls a "massive data base" of information collected country wide regarding pollution levels due to acid rain over the past 30 years! Let's see if they deliver.
This is a terrific example of taking action locally and opening up a dialog with local officials.
There's so much great information available we can show these people. They cite the information gathered in Shasta, California which is really powerful. Other great offical information on California's state-wide rise in metallic salts in water sources are thoroughly covered at www.californiaskywatch. com. The documented government weathermod programs and the public list of aerosol patents is also powerful.
One suggestion to is perhaps use Rosalind Peterson's suggestion of calling them persistent contrails when speaking with officials to not set off the pre-pragrammed "conspiracy" reaction. Aerosols is also a great word.
Whichever, fire away!
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/415/020/Landmark_Meeting_of_Chemtrail_Activists_and_Local_EPA.html
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Leaked cable tells of 3 previously undisclosed members of 9/11 plot
By Peter Finn and Julie Tate
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 1, 2011; 8:50 PM
A newly released U.S. diplomatic cable discloses the existence of previously undisclosed participants in the Sept. 11, 2001, plot: a group of Qatari men who conducted surveillance of targets in New York and the Washington area before leaving the United States on the eve of the attacks.
The three men flew into the United States on Aug. 15, 2001, and "visited the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and various areas in Virginia" before flying on to Los Angeles, according to the cable, part of the cache of documents obtained by the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks.
But a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to comment on classified material made public by WikiLeaks, said that the three men were "looked at" within days of the attacks and that investigators concluded they could not be charged.
"There is no manhunt," said the official, playing down a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that disclosed the contents of the cable. "There is no active case. They were looked at, but it washed out."
The cable, sent on Feb. 11, 2010, from the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, to various agencies in Washington, including the FBI and the CIA, recommended that an individual named Mohamed al-Mansoori be added to a government watch list. The cable said he was a threat to civil aviation in the United States and abroad.
The cable goes on to explain that Mansoori assisted the group of three Qataris - identified as Meshal Alhajri, Fahad Abdulla and Ali Alfehaid - while they were in the United States.
Mansoori, from the United Arab Emirates, lived in Long Beach, Calif., in September 2001. "He is suspected of aiding people who entered the U.S. before the attacks to conduct surveillance of possible targets and providing other support to the hijackers," the cable states.
The existence of a surveillance team supporting the 19 hijackers led by Mohammed Atta appears to add a new element to the narrative of the plot's execution. There is no direct mention in the 9/11 Commission report of such a team.
Two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, first landed in Los Angeles, and the report says it is likely they would have had some "friendly contacts" in California. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, denied that al-Qaeda had any operatives in the state, according to the commission's report.
The report also notes that there was evidence that a second wave of attacks was being prepared. Philip Zelikow, a member of the commission, said that this group of Qataris might have figured in such a plan. He noted that by the time the Qataris reached the United States in August 2001, the 9/11 plan was largely in place, so surveillance by such late arrivals appears odd.
"Not everything is in the report, and my memory of the details has dulled with time so I can't say if we had some trace of this group," Zelikow said. "They might have been seen by us as a group that was part of a second wave, and if that was the case, we wouldn't have named them for obvious reasons."
The three Qataris are part of a 2002 FBI list of individuals whom the government wanted to interview about the Sept. 11 attacks.
After leaving the East Coast, the three men stayed at a hotel near the airport in Los Angeles. The cable says the hotel rooms and the men's plane tickets were paid for by a convicted terrorist, who was not named in the document. The three men also spent a week traveling around California with Mansoori.
Hotel staff later told investigators that the men had "pilot-type" uniforms and computer printouts listing pilot names, airlines, flight numbers and flight times.
The men were scheduled to fly to Washington on Sept. 10, 2001, on the Boeing plane that was hijacked the next day and flown into the Pentagon. Instead, the men flew to London and then on to Qatar on Sept. 13.
Mansoori's visa was later revoked and he was apparently able to leave the United States unhindered.
The CIA and the FBI declined to comment on the cable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106379.html
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 1, 2011; 8:50 PM
A newly released U.S. diplomatic cable discloses the existence of previously undisclosed participants in the Sept. 11, 2001, plot: a group of Qatari men who conducted surveillance of targets in New York and the Washington area before leaving the United States on the eve of the attacks.
The three men flew into the United States on Aug. 15, 2001, and "visited the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and various areas in Virginia" before flying on to Los Angeles, according to the cable, part of the cache of documents obtained by the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks.
But a U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to comment on classified material made public by WikiLeaks, said that the three men were "looked at" within days of the attacks and that investigators concluded they could not be charged.
"There is no manhunt," said the official, playing down a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that disclosed the contents of the cable. "There is no active case. They were looked at, but it washed out."
The cable, sent on Feb. 11, 2010, from the U.S. Embassy in Doha, Qatar, to various agencies in Washington, including the FBI and the CIA, recommended that an individual named Mohamed al-Mansoori be added to a government watch list. The cable said he was a threat to civil aviation in the United States and abroad.
The cable goes on to explain that Mansoori assisted the group of three Qataris - identified as Meshal Alhajri, Fahad Abdulla and Ali Alfehaid - while they were in the United States.
Mansoori, from the United Arab Emirates, lived in Long Beach, Calif., in September 2001. "He is suspected of aiding people who entered the U.S. before the attacks to conduct surveillance of possible targets and providing other support to the hijackers," the cable states.
The existence of a surveillance team supporting the 19 hijackers led by Mohammed Atta appears to add a new element to the narrative of the plot's execution. There is no direct mention in the 9/11 Commission report of such a team.
Two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, first landed in Los Angeles, and the report says it is likely they would have had some "friendly contacts" in California. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, denied that al-Qaeda had any operatives in the state, according to the commission's report.
The report also notes that there was evidence that a second wave of attacks was being prepared. Philip Zelikow, a member of the commission, said that this group of Qataris might have figured in such a plan. He noted that by the time the Qataris reached the United States in August 2001, the 9/11 plan was largely in place, so surveillance by such late arrivals appears odd.
"Not everything is in the report, and my memory of the details has dulled with time so I can't say if we had some trace of this group," Zelikow said. "They might have been seen by us as a group that was part of a second wave, and if that was the case, we wouldn't have named them for obvious reasons."
The three Qataris are part of a 2002 FBI list of individuals whom the government wanted to interview about the Sept. 11 attacks.
After leaving the East Coast, the three men stayed at a hotel near the airport in Los Angeles. The cable says the hotel rooms and the men's plane tickets were paid for by a convicted terrorist, who was not named in the document. The three men also spent a week traveling around California with Mansoori.
Hotel staff later told investigators that the men had "pilot-type" uniforms and computer printouts listing pilot names, airlines, flight numbers and flight times.
The men were scheduled to fly to Washington on Sept. 10, 2001, on the Boeing plane that was hijacked the next day and flown into the Pentagon. Instead, the men flew to London and then on to Qatar on Sept. 13.
Mansoori's visa was later revoked and he was apparently able to leave the United States unhindered.
The CIA and the FBI declined to comment on the cable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106379.html
Republicans Move to Make PATRIOT Act Permanent
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
Friday, February 4, 2011
Freshly emboldened by their mid-term congressional wins, establishment Republicans are set to extend the unconstitutional police state Patriot Act. It is set to expire in three weeks and Republicans are eager to make sections of the legislation permanent.
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote to continue and extend the law. “Having this debate year after year offers little certainty to agents utilizing these provisions to keep the nation safe,” said ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
“Short-term reauthorizations lead to operational uncertainty and compliance and reporting problems if the reauthorization occurs too close to expiration,” Grassley continued. “If these provisions are necessary, we should provide more certainty rather than simply revisiting the law year after year given the indefinite threat we face from acts of terrorism, and that looks like decades ahead. We should permanently reauthorize the three expiring provisions.”
Grassley, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Intelligence Committee Ranking Republican Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., will introduce legislation to make the measures permanent.
Republicans Move to Make PATRIOT Act Permanent 250111banner3
The Senate leadership has initiated procedures for a vote on the legislation. “These are going to expire in a couple weeks so I would hope that all senators in both parties who have interest in that will meet with me and Sen. Grassley. None of us want to play politics on national security and we should get moving on this,” said committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.
Leahy introduced a reauthorization of the unconstitutional act last week that would extend and reform some provisions set to expire on February 28. Leahy’s reforms, known as the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011, would limit the government’s power in gathering intelligence on individuals in the United States.
Many observers, including the ACLU and the American Library Association, say the reforms do not go far enough. The ACLU has called the legislation unconstitutional.
Prison Planet.com
Friday, February 4, 2011
Freshly emboldened by their mid-term congressional wins, establishment Republicans are set to extend the unconstitutional police state Patriot Act. It is set to expire in three weeks and Republicans are eager to make sections of the legislation permanent.
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote to continue and extend the law. “Having this debate year after year offers little certainty to agents utilizing these provisions to keep the nation safe,” said ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
“Short-term reauthorizations lead to operational uncertainty and compliance and reporting problems if the reauthorization occurs too close to expiration,” Grassley continued. “If these provisions are necessary, we should provide more certainty rather than simply revisiting the law year after year given the indefinite threat we face from acts of terrorism, and that looks like decades ahead. We should permanently reauthorize the three expiring provisions.”
Grassley, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Intelligence Committee Ranking Republican Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., will introduce legislation to make the measures permanent.
Republicans Move to Make PATRIOT Act Permanent 250111banner3
The Senate leadership has initiated procedures for a vote on the legislation. “These are going to expire in a couple weeks so I would hope that all senators in both parties who have interest in that will meet with me and Sen. Grassley. None of us want to play politics on national security and we should get moving on this,” said committee chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.
Leahy introduced a reauthorization of the unconstitutional act last week that would extend and reform some provisions set to expire on February 28. Leahy’s reforms, known as the USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011, would limit the government’s power in gathering intelligence on individuals in the United States.
Many observers, including the ACLU and the American Library Association, say the reforms do not go far enough. The ACLU has called the legislation unconstitutional.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Ova-Fusion and the Elimination of the Male
This post is now deleted due to the author threatening me to remove it from this site or he would report my blog to the blog server. He stated that I can link to it.
I don't think it's an extremely important article to even link to.
I don't think it's an extremely important article to even link to.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
EPA to limit rocket fuel chemical in tap water
DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Dina Cappiello, Associated Press – Wed Feb 2, 10:15 am ET
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency is setting the first federal drinking water standard for a toxic rocket fuel ingredient linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and young children, the Obama administration announced on Wednesday.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson said that setting the standard will protect public health and spark new technologies to clean up drinking water. Based on monitoring conducted from 2001 to 2005, 153 drinking water sources in 26 states contain perchlorate. The standard could take up to two years to develop, the EPA said.
Perchlorate is also used in fireworks and explosives. In most cases, water contamination has been caused by improper disposal at rocket testing sites, military bases and chemical plants.
"As improved standards are developed and put in place . clean water technology innovators have an opportunity to create cutting edge solutions that will strengthen health protections and spark economic growth," Jackson said in a statement.
Jackson is expected to make that case before a Senate panel Wednesday, where she will likely face opposition from Republicans who plan to take on the EPA over air pollution regulations, controls on the gases blamed for global warming, and other regulations. Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the environment panel, will bring forward legislation Wednesday to strip the agency of its ability to control heat-trapping gases under the Clean Air Act. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., will release an identical draft bill.
Democrats, who have pushed for the EPA to regulate perchlorate, say the decision shows the administration standing up for rules that protect public health, even if they burden business. President Barack Obama recently announced a review of all regulations to reduce barriers to economic growth and investment.
The perchlorate standard is eight years in the making. In 2002, an EPA draft risk assessment found that 1 part per billion should be considered safe. Six years later, the Bush administration decided not to regulate the chemical, instead recommending that concentrations not exceed 15 parts per billion. At the time, federal scientists estimated that 16.6 million Americans could be exposed to unsafe levels through their drinking water.
California and Massachusetts in the meantime have set state-level drinking water standards.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who has sponsored legislation to require the EPA to set a standard, said in a statement Wednesday that she was pleased the government was "finally going to protect our families from perchlorate." California has the most water supplies affected — 58, according to the 2001-05 data. Many of the others are in Texas.
"I will do everything I can to make sure this new protection moves forward," Boxer said.
Pentagon officials have spent years questioning the EPA's assessment of perchlorate's risk but have denied influencing the agency's decisions. The military could face liability for tainting water during rocket and missile testing, since the standard will force water agencies around the country to clean up the pollution.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_he_me/us_rocket_fuel_drinking_water%3B_ylt%3DArwCtVaZQQWwLPvKDgCiYgSs0NUE%3B_ylu%3DX3oDMTFlMmxkZHE4BHBvcwM4MARzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3BvbGl0aWNzBHNsawNlcGF0b2xpbWl0cm8-
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency is setting the first federal drinking water standard for a toxic rocket fuel ingredient linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women and young children, the Obama administration announced on Wednesday.
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson said that setting the standard will protect public health and spark new technologies to clean up drinking water. Based on monitoring conducted from 2001 to 2005, 153 drinking water sources in 26 states contain perchlorate. The standard could take up to two years to develop, the EPA said.
Perchlorate is also used in fireworks and explosives. In most cases, water contamination has been caused by improper disposal at rocket testing sites, military bases and chemical plants.
"As improved standards are developed and put in place . clean water technology innovators have an opportunity to create cutting edge solutions that will strengthen health protections and spark economic growth," Jackson said in a statement.
Jackson is expected to make that case before a Senate panel Wednesday, where she will likely face opposition from Republicans who plan to take on the EPA over air pollution regulations, controls on the gases blamed for global warming, and other regulations. Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the top Republican on the environment panel, will bring forward legislation Wednesday to strip the agency of its ability to control heat-trapping gases under the Clean Air Act. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., will release an identical draft bill.
Democrats, who have pushed for the EPA to regulate perchlorate, say the decision shows the administration standing up for rules that protect public health, even if they burden business. President Barack Obama recently announced a review of all regulations to reduce barriers to economic growth and investment.
The perchlorate standard is eight years in the making. In 2002, an EPA draft risk assessment found that 1 part per billion should be considered safe. Six years later, the Bush administration decided not to regulate the chemical, instead recommending that concentrations not exceed 15 parts per billion. At the time, federal scientists estimated that 16.6 million Americans could be exposed to unsafe levels through their drinking water.
California and Massachusetts in the meantime have set state-level drinking water standards.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who has sponsored legislation to require the EPA to set a standard, said in a statement Wednesday that she was pleased the government was "finally going to protect our families from perchlorate." California has the most water supplies affected — 58, according to the 2001-05 data. Many of the others are in Texas.
"I will do everything I can to make sure this new protection moves forward," Boxer said.
Pentagon officials have spent years questioning the EPA's assessment of perchlorate's risk but have denied influencing the agency's decisions. The military could face liability for tainting water during rocket and missile testing, since the standard will force water agencies around the country to clean up the pollution.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_he_me/us_rocket_fuel_drinking_water%3B_ylt%3DArwCtVaZQQWwLPvKDgCiYgSs0NUE%3B_ylu%3DX3oDMTFlMmxkZHE4BHBvcwM4MARzZWMDYWNjb3JkaW9uX3BvbGl0aWNzBHNsawNlcGF0b2xpbWl0cm8-
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
18 Ridiculous Statistics About Medical Bills, Medical Debt And The Health Care Industry That Will Make You So Mad You Will Want To Tear Your Hair Out
The American Dream
Feb 1, 2011
Do not read this article if you do not want to get angry. The health care industry in the United States has become one gigantic money making scam, and tens of millions of American families now live in great fear of illness and disease. Why are they so afraid? It is not because they fear the illnesses and diseases. Rather, the prospect of racking up tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars in medical debt is enough to deeply frighten just about anyone. Today, virtually every single American is one really bad day from financial ruin. Did you know that medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcy in the United States? Did you know that the vast majority of people that go bankrupt due to medical bills actually have health insurance? Meanwhile, there are a significant number of people that are becoming fabulously wealthy off of this system. Our “health care industry” has turned large numbers of doctors, lawyers, health insurance company executives and pharmaceutical company executives into multi-millionaires. The health care industry in the United States has been so corrupt and so greedy for so long that we don’t even remember what a legitimate medical system even looks like anymore.
Democrats hailed “Obamacare” as the solution to many of our health care problems, but the truth is that it does not solve any of them. In fact, it is almost certain to increase health care costs. Health insurance companies all over the United States have already announced plans to raise premiums substantiallybecause of this new law.
Not that the Republicans are proposing anything better. They want to repeal Obamacare, which is a great idea, but beyond that they don’t have any real solutions for the health care nightmares that we are facing.
The system simply does not work and it is causing millions of Americans to go bankrupt. So yes, let us repeal Obamacare. It is one of the worst pieces of legislation that the Congress has ever passed in all of U.S. history.
However, just repealing Obamacare will not fix our health care problems. It will not do anything to address the nightmarish statistics that you are about to read.
The truth is that even if you do have health insurance, you are just one really bad accident or one really bad illness away from bankruptcy unless you are fabulously wealthy.
The health care system is designed to rapidly drain money out of us when we are at our most vulnerable. If you have to call for an ambulance to take you to the hospital are you thinking about how much your care will cost at that point?
Of course not. You are just hoping that you will survive.
Well, in today’s world it is really easy to rack up $10,000, $20,000 or even $30,000 in medical debt in the blink of an eye and many hospitals are becomingextremely aggressive about collecting on those medical debts.
I guarantee that many of you that are reading this article know exactly what I am talking about.
One trip to the hospital can wipe out years of financial savings. But why should it cost so much? Often a doctor only spends a few minutes with you.
Well, you find out the truth when you follow the money. There are a lot of people that this system really benefits, and unfortunately that does not include middle class Americans.
18 Ridiculous Statistics About Medical Bills, Medical Debt And The Health Care Industry That Will Make You So Mad You Will Want To Tear Your Hair Out 101210banner4
The following are 18 ridiculous statistics about medical bills, medical debt and the health care industry that will make you so mad you will want to tear your hair out….
#1 According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills cause more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States.
#2 According to that same study, approximately three-fourths of those that do go bankrupt because of medical bills actually do have health insurance.
#3 If you have an illness that requires intensive care for an extended period of time, it is really easy to rack up medical bills that total over 1 million dollars.
#4 It is estimated that hospitals overcharge Americans by about 10 billion dollars every single year.
#5 One trained medical billing advocate says that over 90 percent of the medical bills that she has audited contain “gross overcharges“.
#6 It is not uncommon for insurance companies to get hospitals to knock their bills down by up to 95 percent, but if you are uninsured or you don’t know how the system works then you are out of luck.
#7 One study found that approximately 41 percent of working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
#8 Health insurance premiums for small employers in the United States increased 180% between 1999 and 2009.
#9 Even as the rest of the country struggled with a deep recession, U.S. health insurance companies increased their profits by 56 percent during 2009 alone.
#10 Between 2000 and 2006, wages in the United States increased by 3.8%, but health care premiums increased by 87%.
#11 According to a report by Health Care for America Now, America’s five biggest for-profit health insurance companies ended 2009 with a combined profit of $12.2 billion.
#12 The top executives at the five largest for-profit health insurance companies in the United States received nearly $200 million in total compensation in 2009.
#13 Health insurance premiums are once again soaring in 2011. Blue Shield of California recently announced plans to raise health insurance rates by an average of 30% to 35% this year, and some individual policy holders could actually see their health insurance premiums rise by a whopping 59 percent.
#14 There were more than two dozen pharmaceutical companies that made over a billion dollars in profits in 2008.
#15 According to one doctor interviewed by Fox News, “a gunshot wound to the head, chest or abdomen” will cost $13,000 at his hospital the moment the victim comes in the door, and then there will be significant additional charges depending on how bad the wound is.
#16 Lawyers are certainly doing their part to contribute to soaring health care costs. According to one recent study, the medical liability system in the United States added approximately $55.6 billion to the cost of health care in 2008.
#17 According to a recent report, Americans spend about twice as much as residents of other developed countries on health care, but they receive much lower quality and far less efficiency in return.
#18 Approximately 46 million Americans do not currently have any health insurance at all. That means that 46 million Americans are just one really bad day away from financial ruin without any protection whatsoever.
So do you have any stories of ridiculous medical bills or outrageous medical debt that you would like to share with all of us? Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts below….
http://www.prisonplanet.com/18-ridiculous-statistics-about-medical-bills-medical-debt-and-the-health-care-industry-that-will-make-you-so-mad-you-will-want-to-tear-your-hair-out.html
Feb 1, 2011
Do not read this article if you do not want to get angry. The health care industry in the United States has become one gigantic money making scam, and tens of millions of American families now live in great fear of illness and disease. Why are they so afraid? It is not because they fear the illnesses and diseases. Rather, the prospect of racking up tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of dollars in medical debt is enough to deeply frighten just about anyone. Today, virtually every single American is one really bad day from financial ruin. Did you know that medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcy in the United States? Did you know that the vast majority of people that go bankrupt due to medical bills actually have health insurance? Meanwhile, there are a significant number of people that are becoming fabulously wealthy off of this system. Our “health care industry” has turned large numbers of doctors, lawyers, health insurance company executives and pharmaceutical company executives into multi-millionaires. The health care industry in the United States has been so corrupt and so greedy for so long that we don’t even remember what a legitimate medical system even looks like anymore.
Democrats hailed “Obamacare” as the solution to many of our health care problems, but the truth is that it does not solve any of them. In fact, it is almost certain to increase health care costs. Health insurance companies all over the United States have already announced plans to raise premiums substantiallybecause of this new law.
Not that the Republicans are proposing anything better. They want to repeal Obamacare, which is a great idea, but beyond that they don’t have any real solutions for the health care nightmares that we are facing.
The system simply does not work and it is causing millions of Americans to go bankrupt. So yes, let us repeal Obamacare. It is one of the worst pieces of legislation that the Congress has ever passed in all of U.S. history.
However, just repealing Obamacare will not fix our health care problems. It will not do anything to address the nightmarish statistics that you are about to read.
The truth is that even if you do have health insurance, you are just one really bad accident or one really bad illness away from bankruptcy unless you are fabulously wealthy.
The health care system is designed to rapidly drain money out of us when we are at our most vulnerable. If you have to call for an ambulance to take you to the hospital are you thinking about how much your care will cost at that point?
Of course not. You are just hoping that you will survive.
Well, in today’s world it is really easy to rack up $10,000, $20,000 or even $30,000 in medical debt in the blink of an eye and many hospitals are becomingextremely aggressive about collecting on those medical debts.
I guarantee that many of you that are reading this article know exactly what I am talking about.
One trip to the hospital can wipe out years of financial savings. But why should it cost so much? Often a doctor only spends a few minutes with you.
Well, you find out the truth when you follow the money. There are a lot of people that this system really benefits, and unfortunately that does not include middle class Americans.
18 Ridiculous Statistics About Medical Bills, Medical Debt And The Health Care Industry That Will Make You So Mad You Will Want To Tear Your Hair Out 101210banner4
The following are 18 ridiculous statistics about medical bills, medical debt and the health care industry that will make you so mad you will want to tear your hair out….
#1 According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills cause more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States.
#2 According to that same study, approximately three-fourths of those that do go bankrupt because of medical bills actually do have health insurance.
#3 If you have an illness that requires intensive care for an extended period of time, it is really easy to rack up medical bills that total over 1 million dollars.
#4 It is estimated that hospitals overcharge Americans by about 10 billion dollars every single year.
#5 One trained medical billing advocate says that over 90 percent of the medical bills that she has audited contain “gross overcharges“.
#6 It is not uncommon for insurance companies to get hospitals to knock their bills down by up to 95 percent, but if you are uninsured or you don’t know how the system works then you are out of luck.
#7 One study found that approximately 41 percent of working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
#8 Health insurance premiums for small employers in the United States increased 180% between 1999 and 2009.
#9 Even as the rest of the country struggled with a deep recession, U.S. health insurance companies increased their profits by 56 percent during 2009 alone.
#10 Between 2000 and 2006, wages in the United States increased by 3.8%, but health care premiums increased by 87%.
#11 According to a report by Health Care for America Now, America’s five biggest for-profit health insurance companies ended 2009 with a combined profit of $12.2 billion.
#12 The top executives at the five largest for-profit health insurance companies in the United States received nearly $200 million in total compensation in 2009.
#13 Health insurance premiums are once again soaring in 2011. Blue Shield of California recently announced plans to raise health insurance rates by an average of 30% to 35% this year, and some individual policy holders could actually see their health insurance premiums rise by a whopping 59 percent.
#14 There were more than two dozen pharmaceutical companies that made over a billion dollars in profits in 2008.
#15 According to one doctor interviewed by Fox News, “a gunshot wound to the head, chest or abdomen” will cost $13,000 at his hospital the moment the victim comes in the door, and then there will be significant additional charges depending on how bad the wound is.
#16 Lawyers are certainly doing their part to contribute to soaring health care costs. According to one recent study, the medical liability system in the United States added approximately $55.6 billion to the cost of health care in 2008.
#17 According to a recent report, Americans spend about twice as much as residents of other developed countries on health care, but they receive much lower quality and far less efficiency in return.
#18 Approximately 46 million Americans do not currently have any health insurance at all. That means that 46 million Americans are just one really bad day away from financial ruin without any protection whatsoever.
So do you have any stories of ridiculous medical bills or outrageous medical debt that you would like to share with all of us? Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts below….
http://www.prisonplanet.com/18-ridiculous-statistics-about-medical-bills-medical-debt-and-the-health-care-industry-that-will-make-you-so-mad-you-will-want-to-tear-your-hair-out.html
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