Tom Usher from GooglePlus

Tom Usher
at May 4, 2013 9:08:59 PM
Must Watch! "Seemingly Irrefutable Proof: Boston Marathon False-Flag Operation"

Seemingly Irrefutable Proof: Boston Marathon False-Flag Operation | Real Liberal Christian Church | Christian Commons Project
Watch the video from 1:28 to 1:59. The full video is below. They announced that there would be a controlled explosion; but if that's not been reported correctly, pay attention to the next part where t...

Tom Usher
at May 4, 2013 3:55:31 PM

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: Chemical weapon use in Syria 'could have been an Israeli false flag...
Retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell during the Bush administration, talks to Cenk about how President Obama should hand...

Tom Usher
at Apr 30, 2013 8:26:15 AM
"CO2 atmospheric levels have been steadily rising for 200 years, registering around 280ppm at the start of the industrial revolution and 316ppm in 1958 when the Mauna Loa observatory started measurements. The increase in the global burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause of the increase." http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/29/global-carbon-dioxide-levels

Global carbon dioxide levels set to pass 400ppm milestone
The concentration of carbon in the atmosphere over the next few days is expected to hit record levels

Tom Usher
at Apr 30, 2013 4:02:16 AM

"Germany Should End Austerity, Not Ireland." Not Really | Real Liberal Christian Church | Christian Commons Project
Ireland, held up as Europe's poster child for austerity, is a good example of the pitfalls of loosening deficit targets for a country in fiscal crisis. The government has passed half a dozen austerity...

Tom Usher
at Apr 30, 2013 12:53:19 AM

Cocaine, Bankers, and Global Financial Crisis | PropertyPak™
Concerning cocaine use by Wall Street bankers and its role in the global financial crisis, Geraint Anderson writes the following on The Guardian: Greed, selfishness, ignorance and ruthlessness also pl...

Tom Usher
at Apr 29, 2013 12:55:11 AM

Is Organic Better? Ask a Fruit Fly
A middle-school experiment using fruit flies and organic foods has won publication in a national scientific journal and spurred a debate about the relative benefits of organic eating.

Tom Usher
at Apr 29, 2013 12:54:42 AM
$45 Million in Lies and Dirty Tricks Killed Prop 37

Please sign the pledge below to let the following companies know you're joining the boycott. These companies make billions of dollars selling organic and "natural" brands, yet they spent millions to defeat Prop 37, CA Right to Know's ballot initiative to label genetically modified food. Click the hyperlinks to contact specific brands.

  • PepsiCo (Donated $2.5M): Naked Juice, Tostito’s, Tropicana, Loóza, Izze, Sabra, Smartfood, Stacy's, Mother's and Near East
  • Kraft, recently became Mondelez (Donated $2M): Boca Burgers and Back to Nature
  • Safeway (Member of Grocery Manufacturers Association, which donated $2M):“O” Organics
  • Coca-Cola (Donated $1.7M): Honest Tea, Odwalla
  • General Mills (Donated $1.2M):  Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar
  • Con-Agra (Donated $1.2M): Orville Redenbacher’s Organic, Hunt’s Organic, Lightlife, Alexia
  • Kellogg’s (Donated $791k): Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms, Gardenburger
  • Smucker’s (Donated $555k ): R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic
  • Unilever (Donated $467k): Ben & Jerry’s
• Dean Foods (Donated $254k): Horizon, Silk, White Wave http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8959

Organic Consumers AssociationBoycott the Brands that Blocked Your Right to Know!
All About Organics: Research and action to promote organic food and agriculture

Tom Usher
at Apr 28, 2013 1:00:19 AM
"An increase in corporate income tax to skim off the rents that businesses extract due to the unlimited supply of labor is entirely appropriate. The government can use the tax revenues to redistribute income in favor of workers, boosting consumer demand, or invest in education, bolstering human capital.

"But just like businesses, countries are subject to competition, namely international tax competition. The trend has been to lower corporate income taxes, instead of raising them. Between 2000 and 2011 the corporate income tax rates in OECD countries dropped on average 7.2 percentage points, from 32.6% to 25.4%. In addition, countries have been nursing tax loopholes, to lure the same multinationals that benefit most from the global labor glut. Rather than being the solution, governments are part of the problem."

The Big Wage Squeeze by Heleen Mees
In the ongoing economic debate about what policy to pursue in the face of economic slack and prolonged unemployment, economists can roughly be divided into two groups. Keynesian economists argue for g...

Tom Usher
at Apr 26, 2013 5:38:37 AM

Teacher Suspended for Showing Gardening Tools to Class
Doug Bartlett, a veteran teacher with an upstanding record of 17 years, has filed a lawsuit against the school district of Chicago for suspending him without pay after giving a lesson on gardening too...

Tom Usher
at Apr 24, 2013 2:17:15 AM
"'One cannot buy growth with new debt,' Westerwelle insisted." Want to bet? I wouldn't even be gambling. http://buff.ly/11Awph0

German foreign minister defends belt-tightening, rebuffs EU call to ease austerity policies
BRUSSELS - Germany on Tuesday defended the policy of tightening the budgets in a number of European countries despite a blunt warning from a top European Union official that the 27-nation bloc's auste...

Tom Usher
at Apr 23, 2013 11:58:18 PM
FBI's History of Handing "Terror Suspects" Live Explosives [1993: FBI blew up garages of the WTC, murdering, maiming] http://buff.ly/YMy7IV

Tom Usher
at Apr 23, 2013 11:49:36 PM
Do you trust Blackwater types? "'Contractors' at Boston Marathon Stood Near Bomb, Left Before Detonation" http://buff.ly/Zjx1YO

“Contractors” at Boston Marathon Stood Near Bomb, Left Before Detonation | Global Research
What appear to be private contractors, wearing unmarked, matching uniforms and operating an unmarked SUV affixed with communication equipment near the finish line of the Boston Marathon shortly after ...

Tom Usher
at Apr 23, 2013 11:25:20 PM
Iraq: Time for Maliki to go. Must Read: "Boston on the Tigris," by Dirk Adriaensens. BRUSSELLS TRIBUNAL. http://buff.ly/ZjtSs1

Boston on the Tigris
While on 15 April the whole world was focused on the Boston marathon blasts, at least 79 people were killed, and over three hundred others injured – mostly civilians – in a series of bombings and arme...

Tom Usher
at Apr 21, 2013 5:16:53 PM
"\jre1.7.0_21\java_sp.dll" corrupt? Do an "off line" install: http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_offline.jsp

Tom Usher
at Apr 21, 2013 5:42:13 AM
Hmmm, Alex Jones video summarizes why he thinks the Boston Marathon Bombings may very well be an FBI False-Flag operation. What do you think? Even if he's only half right, there's a huge problem.

I'm pretty sure he's more than half right about how the government (part of it, the shadow government, the part that's not public) has been operating for many decades.

NY Times: Terrorist Plots, Hatched by The F.B.I.
This is the latest up to the minute info on the tragic Boston marathon bombings. The FBI and other agency's have a long and well documented history of stagin...

Tom Usher
at Apr 20, 2013 11:32:38 PM
He confirmed what we knew & had been saying: Austerity is stupid: "Grad Student Who Shook Global Austerity Movement http://nym.ag/10lcB4v

Meet the 28-Year-Old Grad Student Who Just Shook the Global Austerity Movement
Thomas Herndon is definitely getting an A this semester.

Tom Usher
at Apr 20, 2013 10:41:20 PM
http://my.firedoglake.com/masaccio/2013/04/19/chained-cpi-helps-fund-corporate-tax-breaks-and-trickle-down/

Chained CPI Helps Fund Corporate Tax Breaks and Trickle Down | MyFDL
Jack Lew, the Treasury Secretary and former head of the Office of Management and Budget, testified before the Senate Budget Committee recently. His written testimony explains the priorities set by Pre...

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 10:17:50 PM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/04/17/renting-v-owning-a-home-interesting-ditty/

Renting v. Owning a Home: Interesting Ditty | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
Froma Harrop points out the following: Housing isn’t the only place to put ones savings, however. A study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found that for 10-year occupancies started during...

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 9:40:29 PM
It's incomes, stupid? This is why it's a single-family-house bubble. http://buff.ly/1742RdO

Low Mortgage Interest Rates Masking High Home Price-to-Income Ratios
Zillow researchers have determined that low mortgage rates are overshadowing a bigger overall trend in which the overall prices of homes are significantly more expensive than historic norms relative t...

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 9:06:58 PM
China's government is accused of investments in vanity projects/ghost cities unlikely to produce sufficient returns. http://buff.ly/173YJKW

UPDATE 1-Moody's lowers China outlook after Fitch downgrade
April 16 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Tuesdayaffirmed China's government's bond rating of Aa3 but cut theoutlook to stable from positive, the second pessimistic revisionby a foreign rating...

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 8:05:50 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/16/sam-zell-william-ackman-kidding/

Sam Zell, William Ackman, Kidding? | PropertyPak™
Scare off would-be competition, sound advice, or just a little levity thrown in with either or both? “Go to medical school,” Zell [Sam Zell, Chairman, Equity Residential] quipped, when a student asked...

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 6:25:07 PM
Chinese trouble?: Housing const. fell 0.8%. Sales rose 41.2%. Value rose 69%. Land purchases by developers fell 22%. http://buff.ly/ZrBV5D

China Growth Loses Momentum in Blow to Global Expansion
China’s economic growth unexpectedly lost momentum in the first quarter as gains in factory output and consumption weakened, driving stocks and commodities lower on concern global expansion will slow....

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 5:56:29 PM
"The industry is still a long way from the easy-lending standards that caused the housing bust. Borrowers now must show a strong credit history and documented income to get loans.
...
"When the housing market crashed, the private mortgage industry lost billions and such insurance was tough to get. Now, that industry is recovering and the cost for private mortgage insurance has dropped for borrowers with higher credit scores.

"More home borrowers are deciding it's better to pay for insurance instead of putting 20% down, says Matt Johnson, loan officer at Sterling ...." http://buff.ly/ZuQlPl

Mortgages with 10% or less down are on the rise
More mortgage lenders are offering conventional loans with down payments well below the 20% or higher levels of recent years.

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 4:25:26 PM
Define your terms, and "bubbles" are local right now? "Return of the housing bubble? Not in Las Vegas - VEGAS INC" http://buff.ly/Z3oqJR

Return of the housing bubble? Not in Las Vegas
With cash investors snapping up houses, Las Vegas’ real estate market has been heating up with rising prices and multiple bids for listings. But unlike last decade, the valley is not mired in a housin...

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 3:41:55 PM
"...risk transfer mechanisms and pricing capabilities of other market participants has left FHA at...disadvantage." http://buff.ly/11gd5mg

Let the FHA Charge for Risk, Like Fannie and Freddie Do
The riskiest loans get priced out of Fannie and Freddie securities and end up guaranteed by the FHA. We are merely shifting risk from one set of federally insured entities to another.

Tom Usher
at Apr 17, 2013 3:07:02 PM
It's a bubble now (albeit "artificial"). "Home-buying tactics last seen during housing bubble are returning" http://buff.ly/15mfzGX

Home-buying tactics last seen during housing bubble are returning
WASHINGTON — They're back after barely a decade: escalation clauses in real estate contracts, "naked" contingency-free offers and low-ball-priced listings designed to pull in dozens of b...

Tom Usher
at Apr 16, 2013 4:02:16 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/15/fed-monetarism-caused-great-recession/

Fed Monetarism Caused Great Recession? | PropertyPak™
Here are some important highlights from economic research done by Ambrogio Cesa-Bianchi and Alessandro Rebucci concerning the Federal Reserve and the lax-regulatory causes of the Great Recession: …evi...

Tom Usher
at Apr 15, 2013 3:04:26 PM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/04/14/highlights-investors-widen-us-rental-search/

Highlights: Investors Widen US Rental Search | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
From an article by John Gittelsohn & Heather Perlberg, Bloomberg: The best deals, measured by leases and the cost of becoming a landlord, are in Memphis, Tennessee, Saginaw, Michigan and Toledo, O...

Tom Usher
at Apr 15, 2013 3:03:36 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/14/new-us-apartment-construction-overbuilding/

New US Apartment Construction Overbuilding? | PropertyPak™
An article by Jay Parsons, Property Management Insider, says the following: While MPF Research is reporting that there is a lot of construction occurring, it’s not saying that these markets are being ...

Tom Usher
at Apr 11, 2013 5:03:53 PM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/04/11/still-small-investors-single-family-rentals/

Still Small Investors, Single-Family Rentals | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
Highlights from an article by Nick Timiraos, Real Time Economics – WSJ: Large private-equity backed investors have made a splash by purchasing thousands of homes that can be rented out. The largest of...

Tom Usher
at Apr 11, 2013 5:03:03 PM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/04/11/location-jobs-critical-us-housing-recovery/

Location, Jobs Critical: US Housing Recovery | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
Here are some choice tidbits from an article on Reuters by Leah Schnurr: “These appreciation rates we’re seeing are certainly not sustainable.” — Stan Humphries, chief economist, Zillow. “This has bec...

Tom Usher
at Apr 10, 2013 3:43:05 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/10/realtytrac-best-b2r-single-family-cities/

RealtyTrac: Best B2R Single-Family Cities? | PropertyPak™
A list such as the one provided by RealtyTrac is valuable frontline info; but unless an investor has very deep pockets and can take a few losses mixed in with mostly gains, it’s wisest in our view for the investor … Continue reading →

Tom Usher
at Apr 10, 2013 3:41:29 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/09/us-residential-rent-rates-choice-quotes/

US-Residential-Rent Rates: Choice Quotes | PropertyPak™
Interesting quotes from different posts and touching upon US-residential-rent rates: …nearly four million more single-family homes have been added to the rental market since 2005, stating that this new supply has fully caught up with the increased rental demand during … Continue reading →

Tom Usher
at Apr 8, 2013 5:14:48 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/08/investor-interest-alternative-real-estate/

Investor Interest: Alternative Real Estate | PropertyPak™
“…the cap rates on the best multifamily, office and retail buildings have fallen so low lately that it has become difficult to achieve decent yields.” That’s according to Elaine Misonzhnik, Demographi...

Tom Usher
at Apr 8, 2013 5:13:58 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/07/chinas-brave-new-world-jones-lang-lasalles-take/

China’s Brave New World: Jones Lang LaSalle’s Take | PropertyPak™
According to a recent article on the Asia Pacific Real Estate Blog of Jones Lang LaSalle, “Michael Klibaner is the Head of Research for Jones Lang LaSalle in Greater China, based in Hong Kong.” He wri...

Tom Usher
at Apr 4, 2013 5:40:04 AM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/03/draghis-horses-banking-union-cyprus-solution/

Draghi’s Horses: Banking Union, Cyprus Solution | PropertyPak™
Consistent with our tweet: The final Eurogroup decision on Cyprus ended up restoring deposit insurance and imposing a resolution of only the two money-center banks in Cyprus, leaving the rest of the b...

Tom Usher
at Apr 4, 2013 4:04:02 AM
http://propertypak.com/2013/04/02/smaller-lenders-support-fanniefreddie/

Smaller Lenders Support Fannie/Freddie | PropertyPak™
According to Brian Collins and Mark Fogarty, National Mortgage News, thousands of small lenders are afraid of being dominated and harmed by a few, huge, non-governmentally sponsored, mortgage-securiti...

Tom Usher
at Apr 4, 2013 3:19:19 AM

LABEL IT WA
I-522 is a Washington State initiative to establish mandatory labeling of foods produced through genetic engineering. Without disclosure, consumers of genetically engineered food unknowingly may viola...

Tom Usher
at Apr 2, 2013 4:50:03 AM
http://propertypak.com/2013/03/31/cyprus-were-banks-frozen/

Cyprus: Were Banks Frozen? | PropertyPak™
Fascinating tidbit: The two main banks in this crisis — Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank — have branches in other countries. And those foreign branches were not shut down this past week. Custome...

Tom Usher
at Apr 2, 2013 4:40:13 AM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/03/31/non-short-sales-sell-for-more/

Non-Short Sales Sell For More? | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
The following seems counterintuitive: The “not a short sale” designation will help a home sell quicker and for more money…. However, there’s this: Real estate agents and lawyers say banks are getting ...

Tom Usher
at Mar 31, 2013 1:46:34 AM
http://propertypak.com/2013/03/29/fed-v-fiscal-wait-for-april-tax-filings/

Fed v. Fiscal: Wait For April Tax-Filings | PropertyPak™
Of course the Fed is largely responsible, along with the huge real-estate buyers and mortgage GSE’s. As a result of the economy’s firmer underlying strength, many analysts now estimate government budg...

Tom Usher
at Mar 31, 2013 1:45:44 AM
http://propertypak.com/2013/03/29/us-mortgage-rates-down-because-of-cyprus/

US Mortgage Rates Down Because of Cyprus | PropertyPak™
This is how it works: Why does an island with a population of 1.1 million people matter to investors and to mortgage rates? Cyprus’ economy isn’t that important to investors, but the proposed tax on d...

Tom Usher
at Mar 31, 2013 1:35:06 AM
http://propertypak.com/2013/03/28/global-economies-age-of-deflation/

Global Economies: Age of Deflation | PropertyPak™
Here are 3 hand-picked paragraphs from the 1st in a series of 5 articles by A. Gary Shilling, Bloomberg (linking does not mean we necessarily fully concur with Mr. Shilling’s analysis; for the most pa...

Tom Usher
at Mar 30, 2013 8:51:32 AM

Full vaccine schedule safe for kids, no link to autism
At least 10% of parents of young children skip or delay routine vaccinations, often out of concern that kids are getting 'too many shots, too soon.'

Tom Usher
at Mar 29, 2013 7:59:53 AM

Scientists use bacteria to convert carbon dioxide into industrial products | Science Recorder
Bacteria may convert carbon dioxide into industrial products.

Tom Usher
at Mar 29, 2013 7:53:40 AM

Scientists propose laser system to produce the next LHC
An international team of physicists has proposed a revolutionary laser system, inspired by the telecommunications technology, to produce the next generation of particle accelerators, such as the Large...

Tom Usher
at Mar 29, 2013 7:42:33 AM

Tar Sands is why:

Canada quietly pulls out of UN anti-droughts convention - Canada - CBC News
The Harper government is pulling out of a United Nations convention that fights droughts in Africa and elsewhere, which would make Canada the only country in the world outside the agreement.

Tom Usher
at Mar 28, 2013 11:34:51 PM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/03/28/us-no-longer-foreclosure-nation/

US No Longer Foreclosure Nation? | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
Optimist, realist: “House prices in some cities are up 10-15% from the lows; but they are still in a lot of cases 30 to 40% below peak levels and the Canadian dollar is still strong,” said Robert Kavc...

Tom Usher
at Mar 28, 2013 11:33:19 PM
http://singlefamily.propertypak.com/2013/03/28/blackstone-v-individual-single-family-investors/

BlackStone v. Individual Single-Family Investors | SF (Single-Family) by PropertyPak™
We couldn’t pass up this tidbit from Morgan Brennan, Forbes Staff: While BlackStone has committed to amassing 15,000 properties in 2013, individual investors purchased a staggering 600,000 properties ...

Tom Usher
at Mar 28, 2013 11:22:29 PM
http://propertypak.com/2013/03/27/chinas-future-negative/

China’s Future Negative? | PropertyPak™
China’s hurdles keep surfacing. If China pops (or should we say when China pops), won’t the US be the safe harbor again, not that the global economy won’t suffer? Moody’s Investor Services saidChina’s...