No GMO Cheerios

Over 100,000 people have facebook liked this website I never heard of.  It talked General Foods to go non-GMO on Cheerios.

"Get big or get out" as agricultural policy and "food as a weapon" as the corollary has resulted in extremely unfortunate distribution of food.  Job #1 is to correct those policies and the direct action is to start bring good food.  It appears to cost more, but the nutritional value means you consume less.  Go that way.

Now, under "get big or get out" a layer of pointless silly regulations, policies and practices (particularly in banking) were introduced over the years to destroy any chance of small farmers continuing in the business.  We see the results.

Now, since big and small have to follow all of the regulations, big found it economical to computerize all of the compliance issues.  Guess what?  Now the cost of all that has dropped to the point where even small farmers can afford it.

Further, the systems are so tightly integrated that the exact field exact food came from can be tracked, which is turning out to be a problem for the GMO people, and a boon to the organic trade that needs traceability.

Deus ex machina.  Labor is never a factor in international trade, management is what matters.  In our political bid to weaponize food in USA, we also developed the ability to manage the best whole food production systems in the world.

Time to end the "get big or get out" and "food as a weapon" policies and go forward with the best management of good food production on earth.

Whole lotta opportunity would open up.

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Store Closing Predictions

We start a business with the assumption we know nothing and can see nothing.  We are working from one minimum to the next...  we need only get enough orders from customers to cover the suppliers minimum production requirement in a workable amount of time, profitably.  Then repeat as necessary.

What does this look like after 60 years?

I spoke to this fellow a year or so ago, he still works the show booths, has no idea what is next...

http://www.obermeyer.com/about-klaus.html

Read his mantra...

“You always have it never made.”

His native language is German, so I'll leave it to linguists to suss out the syntax.  But I take that to mean no one ever "has it made" in the colloquial sense safe and secure and "large".  We are always hanging on to it all be the skin of our teeth, no matter what business you are in.  Too many people think "skin of the teeth" is unacceptable, so they settle for employment, unaware that those for whom they give up their own lives to work for others are in fact working for someone who has not idea what tomorrow will bring.

I say cut out the middle man and you be the one having no idea what tomorrow will bring.

As to the fear there will be many store closings coming up, I hope so.  We have far too many zombie businesses in place that need to go, free up real estate so prices can fall and other businesses come in. Even if we go into a depression, and 50% of the economy is wiped out, that means we still have 50% of a multi-trillion dollar economy...  what happens in Washington or on Wall Street matters not in the least, if it is not this problem, it is some other.

So the NBC prediction means nothing, even if accurate.

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If Gold Does Not Matter...

How come countries are moving it around?

German gold is also held at The Bank of England which stores 13% in London, while the Bank of France in Paris has 11% in total and the remainder is held at the Bundesbank’s headquarters in Frankfurt.
At the time of the initial announcement Bill Gross of Pimco, the world’s largest money manager, summed up the situation perfectly in a tweet, which today appears even more prescient:
@PIMCO  Gross: Report claims Germany moving gold from NY/Paris back to Frankfurt. Central banks don’t trust each other?
In November 2011, Venezuela repatriated some 180 tonnes of gold held in vaults in London and elsewhere to store it with the Caracas central bank under orders from late President Hugo Chavez.

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Bill Gates On Surveillance

Poker players call it the tell.  Watch his face when Gates says:

“Well certainly when I’m calling somebody on the phone, I don’t assume that’s being tapped into,” Gates said. “When I’m sending emails, I’m willing to talk about confidential matters, what salary, who we’re going to promote, what we’re going to do in things. So there is a basic sense that whoever is providing that technology has to make it’s secure.”

Of course he takes a middle view, he became a billionaire cooperating with the state.

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Patent Trolling Goes To Asia

Seems a very bad idea is working in Asia...

How did Transpacific IP get its start?I found an opportunity; there was a good patent portfolio available for sale through a national auction in Taiwan. I knew where to locate some money and went ahead and put a bid in. We kind of came out of the blue and we were successful. I thought if we could just buy 500, maybe 1,000 patents, and license them out, we’d make a pretty good business. Within 12 months, we were well into 1,500 patents, and it’s just been going on and on since then. 

Inherent in the idea of IP is fantastic wealth for the individual, which is contrary to good order and prosperity.  With all of the harm done to the US by IP, well documented, why would anyone wish this on Asia?

American business vertainly does not have much use for IPR.

The essential argument against IPR is the regime requires the violence of the state to maintain.  It is not a free market mechanism.

Of course some people will make money any way they can. But IP will cripple asia the way it has USA.

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Knowledge & Experience

I've been saying this for years:

Older people do not decline mentally with age, it just takes them longer to recall facts because they have more information in their brains, scientists believe.

but my kids say I just have CRS.

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Patterson On Detroit as Indian Reservation

Comes a Michigan politician who has hit on a plan:

He said, “What we’re going to do is turn Detroit into an Indian reservation, where we herd all the Indians into the city, build a fence around it, and then throw in the blankets and corn.”

Before I make my point, pause here, and note the subtext...  American Indians are the target of a genocidal plan, one well known, but never mentioned in polite society.  The blankets have smallpox and the corn is GMO.

Now, although the Detroit area was once a native Idyll, it is now known for its African-American majority.  So the reference is to the current situation, with a throwback response.

But let's stick with the "Indian Reservation" idea.  A few years back some prime land in Seattle was claimed by Indians under a treaty that said decommissioned federal lands reverted to Indian corporate ownership.  Of course that agreement too was abrogated, but sometimes living up to agreements can be a good idea for States.

I've also mentioned many times here Detroit should be turned into a Hong Kong style city-state, under a one country, two systems regime.  And like Hong Kong, there is no private ownership of real estate.  The real estate is owned by the Indians, who lease out land in 99 year shots, such as is the case on many reservations across the USA.

This recognizes the land belongs to the Indians, assures the Indians who own the land are able to share it while benefitting from it.  Everyone else is leaseholders or guests of leaseholders (the "guests of" is the de facto immigration policy of Hong Kong, and it would be an excellent de jure policy, assuming there is no welfare provisions.)

How would a transformation work? Anyone with a lease or a title would have a new 99 year lease going back to the date of the title document.  If your "bought" a house in 1976, your are in year 28 of a 99 year lease, and on your 30 year mortgage, you have 2 more years of lease payments.  Unoccupied property is forfeit (and any unused land is lease-forfeit in 3 years), so there is plenty of land for the Indians to lease anew.

For those grandfathered, the leases cannot be transferred.  For new leases, transfers are available for the balance, or leases can be abandoned for 3 years and re-leased.

Banks are not allowed to transfer welfare payments into Detroit.  Now, those who do not care to live in freedom are free to move to USA, out of Detroit, but for the first time in USA history, people will make or break it on the content of their character, instead of race or class.

For their part, the Indians will auction off leases as they come up, and use the revenue to provide what government system they may find best assures their weal.

Freedom, prosperity, peace and justice works for the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, why not here?

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Organic Shortages

It's working:

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) -Organic and cage free eggs are becoming popular to the point that that some major grocery chains are reporting shortages.

The more shortages and price spikes the more fields will be put into organic and then the prices come down as production expands and economies of scale bring ever more profits.

Another welcome change will be the proper labelling of what is really organic...

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Watch Robots Eliminate Skilled Labor

This company does not allow videos to be embedded, but it is fairly amazing what can be done, see in this 2 min video...

So that skilled butcher is out of work, on a mass assembly line.  But he is in demand at higher wages where specialty meats are concerned, where natural beef is to be slaughtered and the products sold on design, not price.

Sorting work, unskilled labor... here again, people are freed up for more productive pursuits.



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Calling All Freight Forwarders

A critical fundamental in trade is infrastructure to support trade.  No one can beat the infrastructure we enjoy in USA.  But we can do more and thus expand trade.  The opportunity is the growing demand for fresh agriculture in Asian markets.  The potential is within the new and better high quality specialty crops being produced in USA.  The common tactic is to “search and learn” markets by offering LCL export quotes.  The problem is a lack of coordination of present resources to support this market.  The solution is a LCL Chill Seasonal Weekly Sailing from a West Coast USA port.  The “seasonal” stipulation reflects the fact that for probably 3 months a year,  there is neither enough supply nor demand to warrant the service, at least initially.

OOCL currently offers such a service on their webpage, but sadly informs us a lack of equipment stymies their effort.  I suspect it is a lack of sales that is the real problem.  Nonetheless, OOCL does have a chill consolidator under contract in Seattle, ready to perform.

While the tactic of MOQ FOB is well-received in processed ag exports, in fresh produce it is a non-starter for lack of reliable LCL chill service.  Lack of demand inhibits service.  So who moves first?

For my part, I am acquainting specialty fresh growers with the MOQ FOB sales tactic, with a view to inviting demand when logistics warrant.  Specifically, I am asking them to reply to the unsolicited export requests they are recieving, and spelling out the plans for LCL chill that are afoot.

My ambition is to gather a critical mass of marketers that warrants OOCL to make regular the LCL Chill shipment.  If I diagram the goal, then the means may become clear:

The key to making this work is the Freight Forwarders (FF).  If they promote the tactic to their clients the chance of a critical mass to interest OOCL is gained faster.  Any Freight Forwarder that would like me to present to their clients can count on me.  Just let me know.

In the last year I have talked over the problems with growers in various states.  Growers in Wyoming worry about the costs of LCL interstate to port, to which the reply is, those costs are included in the quote, and if you get a prepaid order, the buyer obviously thinks it is worthwhile.

Freight forwarders are concerned about being worked to death with daily quotes requests, but the exporter’s MOQ FOB offer is one size fits all.  One quote is made, and then whether the marketing is active or passive on the part of the exporter, a sale is the same thing in every instance.  Not only is the first quote the same a year later to any and all inquiries, any sale is referenced to that FF to book and earn.

FF are also worried about incoterms, but to start there is only one to know, and that is FOB.  And since it is FOB, the quote is evergreen, with export forwarding quoted when requested.

While LCL Dry and LCL Frozen is simple enough, LCL Chill has many complications, such as “no mixing garlic and apples.”  Then there is the different temps ideal of diff products, and then proper venting of each.  Given the complexity of the loading matrix, the FF’s want to be absolved of any claims at delivery.

Bankers worry about payment expertise regarding letters of credit, etc, but the MOQ FOB is strictly prepaid.  TT is enough expertise.

The exporter is expert strictly in the MOQ FOB.

These and other problems can be worked out in practice.  Perhaps to start the most likely mixed load candidates can be targeted, and perhaps include not necesarily chill items that can stand a chill shipment, such as (hops?).

What’s in it for me?  I’ve already been paid by the Ag Associations, whether this works or not.  What is left is work to reverse the “get big or get out” policies that have hampered small ag exports from the usa for the last 40 years.  That is my ambition.

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Bank Payment Obligations

The ICC has put out what appears to be simply an electronic version of the Letter of Credit.  I suppose it is a good idea to call it something else, as opposed to Letter of Credit, in an abundance of caution, for unseen differences when actual paper is not in the deal.  Here is the current info available.

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Chinese Dams And World Economy

In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins took credit for what was already well-known, and that is the USA would offer to build infrastructure for a country, oversell, bankrupt and then own a country.  The owning of a country was made easier by the fact the dam was built, for it is well cited that bureaucracies emerged to manage waterworks.  With a bureaucracy emergent due to waterworks, then it was only a matter of owning the leaders of the bureaucracy.

China Daily has remarkably frank discussion of this process, which China seems to be repeating.

IR's Peter Bosshard agreed. "There is often a bit of geopolitics involved in these projects," he told China Daily. "Obviously, Brazil has a very active dam-building industry as well and is kind of the regional powerhouse. But there are governments that are trying to become a bit more independent from Brazilian influence, so that is where China plays a more active role in Ecuador."

China can beat the USA at this game because they charge less.  Just as Nassar played the USA off the USSR, so leaders today are doing the same.

The USA is betting on weapons instead of dams for domination.  Good luck with that policy, and good luck with unlimited spying.  Something as simple as distaste for indecency can break our relations worldwide.

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Pentagon Shaped Iyokan Citrus Fruits

Not exactly what I mean when I say compete on design in fruit and veggies, but it is clearly competing on design.  The express reason for the change is for competitive purposes, and the change is a bit of a gimmick, like the square watermelon thirty years ago.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540670/The-perfect-half-time-oranges-five-football-matches-Farmers-create-pentagon-shaped-fruit.html

Where in East Asia the pentagon shape may mean good luck, I suspect in the Middle East it has meant nothing but misery for the last twenty years.  Outside of Israel, a limited market I think.  But who knows?  Always test a market, opinions never matter.  "Eat the pentagon" may become a fad in the Levant.

GMO is competing on design as well, but in a Dr Evil sort of way.  ("An evil veterinarian?")

Competing on design in agriculture to my mind is limited to the necessary and sufficient mutations Mendel codified and Jacob used to get rich with his flocks.

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Pretending Pensions

Sunday is a good day to kick back and review  a long post by Mish in which he reviews an essay on money and economics, "monetary tectonics."

We are in deep and serious economic trouble.  The powers that be have zero interest in doing right or doing well, since it would mean less for them; or given any diminution of resources, less than a lions share.  At the commanding heights, no one wants improvement, since it necessarily means less for themselves.  The would rather rule in hell than be a shoe clerk in heaven.

Maldefinition of money has created a pretense in which people work at nothing productive and are promised that which cannot be delivered, to the extremely evil end were are all denied the good of other's contributions.

We have something called derivatives.  In 2008 the notional value (rough guess) is $182 trillion, now about $1.2 quadrillion.  Now here is the problem.  See that dollar sign?  But derivatives are not money.  Promises and cross promises. If you have a dollar in your pocket, that is a derivative.  Powerful people, representing us, have agreed with other powerful people, representing others, that they owe each other these astronomical figures.  then politics are arranged around the trouble areas:  who controls Greek vacation spots, who controls Iraq oil flows, who controls banking in Malaysia.  The rest of us are along for the ride, come what may.

Countless people head out daily and go through motions, often involving shopping on the internet to kill time, and produce absolutely nothing.  The farmer farms, the fisherman fishes, the trucker hauls, but beyond that, it quickly becomes EBT land, as the bigger the company, the less connection with a market.  What is formed is a sense of entitlement for time served. "I worked for 30 years as a...."  Lemme see, pension plus social security and my stock portfolio means I can live another forty years on vacation.

Even if it was true, it would be wrong, because we need all hands on deck, all hands producing, none denying us the good of their creativity.

But it is not true,  there are no more in assets behind the derivatives than the dollar in your pocket.  It is all faith, in Mammon.  People are making purchases and living a lifestyle they otherwise would not absent the pretend income they are enjoying on pretend appreciation on pretend investments.  There are no assets behind these investments, it is trillions in ponzie and fiat.

That is not to say I advise spartanism, quite the contrary.  I regret we are denied the vast riches available if we were living in a freer polity with less economic distortion.  Right now we have an economy where the vast majority is happy if they can just get by.

We waste unspeakable amounts on weapons and munitions to "defend this way of life" and make human sacrifice to Mars of our young.  And there is the connection that holds the USA together:  the rich with their Boeings and Carlysle and Bechtels manage and produce for war and the poor contribute the fighters through the poverty draft.  "One nation under God...'

These people are no different than the countless who are living off ebt cards, making purchases they otherwise would not.

Welfare recipients took out cash at bars, liquor stores, X-rated video shops, hookah parlors and even strip clubs — where they presumably spent their taxpayer money on lap dances rather than diapers, a Post investigation found.

Well, what do you think soldiers do with their money?

The most radical act a person can make is to start a business.  It is the only beneficial avenue that can be taken given the circumstances we are in.  It undermines directly the evil within our system, it is nonviolent, and to the degree you thrive you help others as you help yourself.

Of course it ain't easy, but easy is not the point.  You want change for the better.  Your own business is not the best way, it is the only way.

What causes you to suffer (passion) that working upon to resolve gives you joy?  That resolution is your product or service, your work form now on.  Figure that out.

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Ribbons!

At trade shows and conferences I always envied those who had ribbons on their badges, where I had none.  Ribbon envy.  I must be getting old...  this week my badge had ribbons!

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