Hurricane Isaac Strengthening As it closes in on Louisiana
Tomorrow August 29th, will mark the seven year anniversary of major Hurricane Katrina as it roared ashore southeast Louisiana. Katrina absolutely inundated New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina as it stormed ashore Southeast Louisiana August 29, 2005
and the surrounding communities of this low lying marshland hurricane vulnerable state. After a series of catastrophic levee failures on August, 30th 2005, a day after Katrina passed it led to mass pandemonium and 1,836 dead.
Later this evening Hurricane Isaac will test the resolve of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to see if the levees they worked on can stand up against the impending 6-12 foot storm surge forecasted by the National Hurricane Center.
A storm surge, is dome of water that is pushed onto the land where onshore flow
Storm Surge illustration, courtesy of the National Hurricane Center.
pushes the sea inland near the land falling tropical low pressure center. This aspect of Hurricanes is one of the most mortally threatening to humans and wildlife.
Winds have been increasing in Southeast Louisiana as Isaac approaches, up to 60 mph has been recorded by buoys close to the shore. Winds off Lake Pontchartrain have varied around 35 mph from the northwest this afternoon. So far New Orleans (KMSY) is seeing wind gusts up to 40 mph, with light rain.
Before Isaac was a threat to the northern Gulf Coast, it passed through the leeward islands just days ago as a tropical storm, from there it passed just south of Puerto Rico, then the Dominican Republic and eventually turned more northwesterly going over the western peninsula of Hati. Thereafter it hugged the 
northeastern coast of Cuba missing the mountainous terrain. Moving away from land the center of still Tropical Storm Isaac moved west northwesterly through the Straits of Florida to the south of Key West and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Though the storm never reached hurricane status until earlier today, rainfalls along its path were impressive and its affects were felt far away from the center. Issac dumped 10-20 inches of precipitation along and to the north of its path through the Caribbean, the Straits of Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico toward the North Gulf Coast.
Now continuing to strengthen at 6pm CDT, just hours away from landfall Isaac is looking more impressive on satellite. Winds are sustained at 80mph making Isaac a category one on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 60 miles and tropical storm force winds of 39-73mph reach 185 miles from the center. Air force Reserve Hurricane Reconnaissance Hunters
Isaac just hours before its arrival on the southeast coast of Louisiana, in the Northern Gulf Coast this evening. Notice in the visible satellite how an eye is becoming more apparent. This is indicative of further intensification. Image Courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
measured a recent central pressure of 970 millibars, or 28.64 inches of mercury. Storm surge flooding is already occurring in southeast Louisiana.
Hurricane Season lasts form June1st through November 30th, with the climatological peak on September 9th. Forecasters increased their prediction for the total number of named storms upward to 15-19 storms. If they are right we are only about half way done.
Make sure to monitor the latest tropical weather forecasts or news and be prepared before the storm is at your door. Have a Hurricane Preparedness plan in place for you and your family. The up two week supply of essentials are Canned Foods, Bottled Water, Weather Radio, Batteries, First Aid Kit, Multivitamins, Sunscreen,Extra Cash from ATM’s, Bug Repellant, Flashlights, Other non-perishable food items, extra gas for generators or vehicles as gas stations will not work after a storm passes due to power outages.
Empire State Shooting Claims 2 Lives, Leaving 8 Wounded
Two people were killed and at least eight wounded in a shooting outside the 
Empire State Building on Friday, a New York police source said, creating chaos and shocking tourists and commuters who witnessed the bloody scene outside the landmark tourist attraction.
This comes on the heels of the Sikh temple shooting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 5th and the Dark Knight Rises shooting in Aurora, Colorado on July 21st.
With the frequency of these shootings amidst the U.N. Gun Ban Treaty, one can only wonder the ramifications if any for the 2nd Amendment. At the very least this may give an impetus towards stricter gun control laws for the U.S. .
Information coming from New York City Law Enforcement officials on the scene say there are no terrorist links to this shooting.
T. D. Nine in The Atlantic to become Tropical Storm Isaac, while southeast U.S. Keeps a Watchful Eye
By Ryan Matthew Dernick
According to the National Hurricane Center Tropical Depression Nine formed earlier today in the Atlantic, it is currently about 700 miles east of the
The large and newly formed Tropical Depression Nine Spells immediate concern for the Caribbean and soon thereafter the Southeast United States by as early as Sunday evening. Models forecast the Depression to become Tropical Storm Isaac later today and a Hurricane in 48 hours.
Leeward Islands. Environmental conditions are favorable for intensification and the depression is forecast to become a hurricane by Thursday. Tropical storm warnings are in now effect for the Lesser Antilles and watches have been posted for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
NOAA forecasters earlier this month increased the number of storms forecast and say they expect a total of 12 to 17 tropical storms, with as many as five to eight hurricanes, for the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season from June 1 to Nov. 30. Two to three of storms could become major hurricanes. It was only back in May when forecasters had initially only predicted nine to 15 tropical storms, with as many as four to eight hurricanes
So far this year there have been five tropical storms and three hurricanes with the most recent being Hurricane Gordon that just days ago passed through the Southern Azores. Since then it has become extra tropical as its remnants move ENE though Portugal.
With not one major hurricane to date yet for this Atlantic Hurricane Season
T.D. Nines Projected Path Shows that core of the storm will move westward through the Lesser Antilles while staying just South of Puerto Rico. As it continues to traverse west along the south coast of the Dominican Republic and Hati it will begin to feel the tug northward by the Deepening Trough across the Eastern United States. In response to that strengthening trough the High Pressure Ridge over Florida and Bahamas will weaken turning then Hurricane Isaac Northwest through Central Cuba.
this storm may change that.
South Florida residents and visitors in particular need to remain vigilant on updates According to The National Weather Service forecast Office in Miami, Florida. Weather Models are continuing to indicate it is becoming more likely that South Florida may be directly impacted late this weekend into early next week by this developing tropical cyclone.
Make sure to monitor the latest tropical weather forecasts or news and be prepared before the storm is at your door. Have a Hurricane Preparedness plan in place for you and your family. The up two week supply of essentials are Canned Foods, Bottled Water, Weather Radio, Batteries, First Aid Kit, Multivitamins, Sunscreen,Extra Cash from ATM’s, Bug Repellant, Flashlights, Other non-perishable food items, extra gas for generators or vehicles as gas stations will not work after a storm passes due to power outages.
Heat, Fires and a Summer for Weather Records to be Broken
The heat gripping the United States in a seemingly never ending fashion eased a bit this past Saturday as a cold front came through along the eastern half of the country .This has given a slight respite from the horrendous triple digit heat there. It’s a marginal silver lining, but at least temp’s will be in the low to mid 90’s in the eastern United States. Temperatures will begin to creep past the 100 degree mark in the Western states in cities like Salt Lake City, Utah by Wednesday in response to a developing high pressure over the Rockies.
The West will start to cook this week. Image Courtesy of The National Weather Service.
Out west high pressure will continue to build in further over the week pushing the jet stream northward into southwestern Canada, allowing the heat to advance north as well. The unbearable conditions from the heat wave have unfortunately claimed 74 lives across the U.S. since it began just two weeks ago.
The hot spell caused highways to buckle in Illinois and Wisconsin, officials said. In Maryland, investigators said heat likely caused rails to kink and led a commuter train to partially derail Friday. No one was injured. Many states in the Midwest have not seen heat like this since the Dust Bowl of 1936. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association 2012 has broken well over 40,000 daily heat records nationwide. It was the countries hottest July 4th since recording began. Agriculture like corn and soy crops are being heavily damaged from the pressure cooking heat. Severe thunderstorms blew through over a week ago knocking out power to millions in the eastern part of the U.S. . This has only added insult to injury from the already sweltering summer.
In lakes and rivers across parched areas of the U.S., heat and lower water levels are reducing oxygen levels thereby killing fish populations by the thousands. When water becomes hypoxic or lacks oxygen these large water animal die offs can occur. Wildfires continue to burn across the western United States, including wildfires in Colorado and the Fontenelle Fire in Wyoming.
Fires scorching the mountainside July 2012 in Colorado Springs, Colorado
NASA says the fires have a warming effect on the atmosphere due to the increased emission of aerosols, which are suspended solid or liquid particles in the air. These particles can absorb more radiation from the sun hence causing hotter weather and poorer air quality in the form of smog. Children and the elderly are the most susceptible to these adverse weather events. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids and wear sunscreen when venturing outside.
Senior Scientist in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Dr. Kevin Trenberth talked with Judy Woodruff on PBS about the unusual warmth across North America.
Remembering the 4th of July and What it Stood For
By: Ryan Matthew Dernick
Today when you are leisurely out enjoying the fireworks with family or friends remember this day was achieved through the blood sweat and tears by our American forefathers. Their hope was to draft a Declaration of Independence that would free them from the oppressive tyrannical nature of the British Empire. Tyranny now can be epitomized by the deleterious nature of the global banking system and its threat to not just our sovereign-ties but the entire economic freedoms of the world. From austerity measures overseas, to quantitative easing in the United States, the banks got us vaulted. I leave you with The Declaration of 
Independence July 4,1776 from the the U.S. Government Archives. This is a blueprint for any country or peoples who feel the ugly hand of tyranny upon them.
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:
Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
Tropical Storm Debby a Memory. Still Watching the Tropics
Tropical Storm Debby has since departed Florida, but the rains it brought just days previously were plentiful. North and Central Florida received the most,
Jacksonville Florida Residents make the best out of flooded roads from Tropical Storm Debby with a little suburban kayaking.
with 15-20 inches just three days ago. It is now once again tranquil in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Caribbean.
There are two areas of disturbed weather having only a slight potential of development over the next 24-48 hours according to the National Hurricane Center.
Our first area is the remnants of what was once Tropical Storm Debby. It is now just a disorganized low 
pressure system 490 miles south-southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The other is a disturbed area of weather in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico interacting with an upper-level low over Northern Mexico.
Make sure to monitor the latest tropical weather forecasts or news and be prepared before the storm is at your door. Have a Hurricane Preparedness plan in place for you and your family. The up two week supply of essentials are Canned Foods, Bottled Water, Weather Radio, Batteries, First Aid Kit, Multivitamins, Sunscreen,Extra Cash
Current color Sea Surface Temperature Satellite of The North Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Courtesy of The National Oceanic Atmospheric Association. Temperatures as of June 30th are 25-29 degrees Celsius, or 77-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Theses water temps are conducive for development.
from ATM’s, Bug Repellant, Flashlights, Valuable documentation, non-perishable food items, extra gas for generators or vehicles as gas stations will not work after a storm passes due to power outages. Stay ahead of the storm!!
Strengthening Tropical Storm Debby Wandering in Gulf of Mexico
As of Sunday 10 am central daylight time tropical storm Debby had sustained winds of 60mph, with higher gusts. The latest estimated minimum central pressure taken by Hurricane Reconnaissance flying near the center was 994mb or 29.35inches. Tropical storm force winds extend 200 miles mainly to the north and east of the center.The most
Sunday 11am EDT Visible Satellite of Tropical Storm Debby. Courtesy of NOAA
notable thing about Debby is when it was classified yesterday Saturday June 23, 2012 at 5pm it marked the first time in recorded weather history since 1851, that the 4th storm of any Atlantic Hurricane Season formed before July 1st. Sea surface temperatures in the eastern Gulf of Mexico are 1 degree above normal already for this time of year. A tropical storm warning has been issued for part of the southeast Louisiana coast and from the Mississippi-Alabama border eastward to the Florida Panhandle‘s Ochlockonee River. A tropical storm warning states that there will be tropical storm conditions (winds of 39-73mph) in 24 hours or less. A tropical storm watch is in place for South of the Suwannee River to Anclote Key Florida. That means tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area within the next 24-36 hours. A storm surge of 3-5ft may occur on the West Central Florida to the Alabama Gulf Coast especially at the times of high tide.
As of 10am CDT Sunday, the storm was crawling along toward the northeast at 6mph. Debby’s center was located about 140 miles SSW of Apalachicola Florida, or 190 miles ESE of the Mouth of the Mississippi River. The slow movement of the storm will lead to copious rainfall
Debby may eventually impact Louisiana by Wednesday According to the National Hurricane Center Forecast Track as of 10 am CDT Sunday June 24,2012. Though a group of other weather models take Debby to the east, or northeast instead toward Apalachicola to Tampa, Florida. This is in response to a digging trough north of the storm diving southeast toward the north east Atlantic seaboard.
accumulations of 3-5inches across South Florida with 10-15inches along the Northern Gulf Coast. The Florida Peninsula has already received 3-5inches of rain in the last 24 hours. There will also be a chance of isolated short lived tornadoes over the southern peninsula of Florida. Authorities there say at least one tornado has already been linked to the storm down in Collier County. Several homes were damaged and tree limbs were torn down.
Debby is already interfering with oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm system has caused nine production platforms and one drilling rig to be evacuated. This means roughly 2 percent of U.S. production has been suspended.
Unless the storm strengthens and forces more production platforms to close the reduced production is not anticipated to impact oil prices.
North Atlantic 2012 Hurricane Season Staying Active. All Eyes on Gulf of Mexico
By: Ryan Matthew Dernick
Not since weather records began in 1851 has a tropical storm ever formed that far north in the Atlantic this early in the hurricane season this past Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center . When Chris took shape, it also marked the third earliest formation of the third tropical storm in the Atlantic Basin. During the years of 1887 and 1959 has such development occurred previously. Tropical storm Chris defied
1st Hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season, Hurricane Chris Thursday June 21, 2012 as it moved North Northeast well off the South East Canadian Coastline
the lack of warm water and further strengthened on Thursday to a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 75mph before weakening back down to a tropical storm. Tropical storms like Chris have developed north of a latitude of 40.0 degrees, but not until August or later when the northern Atlantic waters were suitably warm enough to support such development.
As of 11 am EDT Friday Chris has become a post tropical cyclone or no longer is deemed to have tropical characteristics. Chris was located 335 miles ESE of Cape Race Newfoundland, moving WSW at 16mph with a minimum central pressure of 990mb or 29.23in. Gale force winds extend outward up to 205 miles from the center. The forecast path of Post Tropical Cyclone Chris is to begin to turn toward the South and at a slower rate of speed.
If that wasn’t enough, as I discussed two weeks ago on the tropical weather post “2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season Gets a Head Start So Should You”, that the latter half of June we would see a tropical system take shape near the Yucatan Peninsula. Low and behold the dynamical models were spot on as we now have a large low pressure off the northern Yucatan coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Its associated disturbed weather is affecting the Yucatan, Northwest Caribbean Sea, South East Gulf of Mexico including Western Cuba and South Florida . This disturbance is now poised to become the fourth named storm of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Large low pressure system to become next 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season named storm (Debby) over the next 24-72 hours. Friday Afternoon IR Satellite Image Courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
All residents along the entire Gulf Coast of the United States are urged by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida to monitor this evolving weather system. Forecasters at the N.H.C. give the low pressure area a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression over the next day or so, as it slowly crawls north. The current movement is toward the northeast at 2mph with maximum sustained winds at 30mph. Models hint that this low will either move northeast toward the west central Gulf Coast of Florida or westward towards the Texas coast. At this time it is too early to tell the ultimate track, or strength with 100% accuracy. The fourth storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season has not historically occurred in any previous season before July, since recording began 161 years ago. There is always a first time for everything and this season so far is anything but average.
Make sure to monitor the latest tropical weather forecasts or news and be prepared before the storm is at your door. Have a Hurricane Preparedness plan in place for you and your family. The up two week supply of essentials are Canned Foods, Bottled Water, Weather Radio, Batteries, First Aid Kit, Multivitamins, Sunscreen,Extra Cash from ATM’s, Bug Repellant, Flashlights, Valuable documentation, non-perishable food items, extra gas for generators or vehicles as gas stations will not work after a storm passes due to power outages. Stay ahead of the storm!!
Can The Eurozone Weather the Financial Storm?
By Ryan Matthew Dernick
As the Eurozone continues to teeter at the edge of the precipice of an artificialized debt cliff, one can only wonder if the 100billion dollar
The Eurozone now has 4 of its EU countries financially hemorrhaging.
bailout that Spain just received actually will help them. Spain now joins Greece, Ireland and Portugal as the fourth EU country to ask for a bailout. So far, the EU and IMF have doled out over 500 billion euros to shore up debt-stricken member states.
Will the systemic present state of the Eurozone improve? So far it doesn’t seem promising, because June is the fifth consecutive month activity across the 17-nation bloc has declined, dragging down heavyweights Germany and France and likely increasing calls for the European Central Bank to take action to support the economy. Collapsing banks are not the worry in Germany but inflation of currency could hit Angela Merkel’s country moving German’s to invest in real estate.
17 Member States of the European Union that use the euro as their currency are Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland
In Europe’s most economically stricken countries, people are taking their money out of their banks as a way to protect their savings from the continent’s growing financial turmoil. Concerned that their savings could be devalued by a Bank Holiday, or that banks are on the verge of collapse and that governments cannot make good on deposit insurance, people in Greece, Spain and beyond are taking their money out of the Banks by the billions.
The looming fears of Greece exiting from the euro zone relaxed after pro-bailout parties loyal to the banks took weekend elections, though risks are increasing with Spain, the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy, will need a full blown international rescue.
An unfolding two-and-a-half year old crisis has slowed the global economy, and world leaders meeting in Mexico pressed on the euro zone to move towards a fiscal and banking union to fix the crisis that now threatens to overtake Spain.
In Europe, the United States and elsewhere we need to break the walls of ignorance and liberate “We the People” from a selfishly myopic selected few. Is it the purported Too Big to Go to Jail or is it Too Big to Fail? Similar to the ratcheting up of proposed austerity measures through bailouts in the Eurozone.
Lets not forget Jon Corzine White House Economic Adviser, former Governor of New Jersey and CEO of once M.F. Global a sub investment banking company of Jamie Dimon‘s JP Morgan. Corzine lost 1.4 billion dollars of peoples money from their segregated accounts late last year then Dimon lost almost 3 billion recently this year when the credit markets were supposedly stable. Both were met with questioning but nothing resulted from any questioning.
It would be economically prudent to reinstate The Glass Steagall Act here in the U.S., which was put in place by Franklin Delano Roosevelt after the last Great Depression in the early 20th Century to stop banks from insider trading via derivatives but was then reversed by the Clinton Administration in 1999 prior to the 2008 onset of the present recession. Is this irony or another global corporate takeover? This is not a partisan issue, or a national issue but a global issue that traverses any and all political ideologies. There needs to be more transparency on behalf of the international banking community and actual consequences for malfeasant banking practices.
BellwetherPost 