Category Archives: schemes

Off The Grid – We move into survivalist land

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Like I said in the beginning there are many types of people that want to be off the grid. The rich do it because they can. Many people do it to save money. Some people, like Thoreau, like the solitude or are paranoid. Then there are the survivalists. I do not agree with their theories or their ideology, but they are a part of the mix and this site is pretty explicit.

http://offgridsurvival.com/preppingfriendsandfamil/

Talking to Friends and Family about Prepping

A number of readers have emailed me lately asking how they can convince their friends and family to start prepping.

To be honest this is a touchy subject, one that can often make even hardcore preppers feel a bit uncomfortable.

For some, the thought of talking to anyone about prepping fills them with feelings of anxiety. Just the thought of others knowing what preps you have is enough to fill anyone with a sense of paranoia . And who can blame them, lately it seems like every time we turn on the news another government agency is warning people about those dangerous preppers.

For those that do try to talk about the subject, trying to get their family and friends on board can be a headache to say the least.

From friends and family members that truly believe the government will save them in a time of crisis, to those that have been brainwashed by the media to believe that preppers are all  tinfoil hat wearing nutjobs, prepping can often be a touchy or even taboo subject to talk about. While we have touched on the subject in the past, I thought it was important to take another look at how we can help those we care about prepare for an uncertain future.

Dealing with those who believe the Government will help them in a time of crisis.

As a reader who recently wrote to me pointed out, 50 years of being programmed to believe that the government can help is hard to undo. We live in a society that is becoming increasingly reliant on the government to help them in every aspect of their lives. In fact over 67 million Americans now rely on government aid to pay for either housing, food, health care or education. That’s 1 in 5 Americans!

Most people simply don’t realize or believe that they are in any kind of danger. Most Americans live under the belief that the government will be there to help them in a time of crisis. So what can you do to change this mindset and protect those that you care about?

Use the Governments own advice.

Even the government advises people to be prepared. They will be the first to admit that during a time of crisis it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be able to respond in under 72 hours.

At the very least your friends and family should be prepared to survive at home without power, water and utilities for a minimum of 72 hours. While most of the governments advice is rather simplistic,  it may help you introduce the subject to those who depend on the government for everything.

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It is a huge site. Go there and read. More Tomorrow.

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BP Never Got The Issue – They believe they did nothing wrong in the first place

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That’s right the OIL SPILL in the Gulf of Mexico was not their fault.  You know what? Between the remediation they have done and a court of law they maybe right. Which is maybe more disgusting. The well was theirs, there is no doubt about that but with the blowpout preventer being bad, the cementing company’s cement job being bad, and the drilling platform operator being bad to dangerous, by the time they get to court (think 20 years if the Exxon Valdez is any gauge) and all three companies may actually end up owing BP money. They sure are trying to put a shiny happy face on it though.

 

Locals call BP’s feel-good Gulf ads ‘propaganda’

Advertising blitz touts recovery of tourism, fishing industries after massive spill

By CAIN BURDEAU
updated 1/8/2012 2:24:03 PM ET

NEW ORLEANS — Nearly 20 months after its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill — and just as Americans focus on New Orleans, host of the college football championship game — BP is pushing a slick nationwide public relations campaign to persuade Americans that the Gulf region has recovered.

BP PLC’s rosy picture of the Gulf, complete with sparkling beaches, booming businesses, smiling fishermen and waters bursting with seafood, seems a bit too rosy to many people who live there. Even if the British oil giant’s campaign helps promote the Gulf as a place where Americans should have no fear to visit and spend their money, some dismiss it as “BP propaganda.”

The PR blitz is part of the company’s multibillion dollar response to the Gulf oil spill that started after the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and leading to the release of more than 200 million gallons (760 million liters) of oil. As engineers struggled to cap the out-of-control well, it turned into the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Now, BP is touting evidence that the Gulf’s ecology has not been severely damaged by the spill and highlighting improving economic signs.

“I’m glad to report that all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy!” BP representative Iris Cross says in one TV spot to an upbeat soundtrack. “And the economy is showing progress, with many areas on the Gulf Coast having their best tourism season in years.”

The campaign, launched just before Christmas, has ramped up for the two-week period around the Sugar Bowl and Bowl Championship Series title game to be played on Monday between Louisiana State University and Alabama.

The company is paying chefs Emeril Lagasse and John Besh to promote Gulf seafood, it’s hired two seafood trucks to hand out fish tacos and seafood-filled jambalaya to the hundreds of thousands of tourists and fans pouring into the city for the football games and it’s spreading its messages at galas, pre-game parties and vacation giveaways.

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More tomorrow.

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The Climate And Mankind Go Down The Drain – If Copenhagen was a bust Durban was a big boooooom

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The world is just now getting over the disinformation campaign led by the rich, the coal companies and the oil companies that argued that global climate change wasn’t happening. The world had a perfect opportunity to clean it all up. China’s chunk of the atmosphere is a pig stye and they have to clean it up. They have people dying. Everyone has gone toxic over the last decade like it doesn’t matter. One of the reasons the world’s economy has stalled out is that it was in the process of moving to more sustainable models but the super rich and the elites dug in their heels and are holding it back. No new jobs. Why cause we don’t wanna. Sounding like three year olds threatening to take their toys and go home. But where is home anyway. They never got around to setting up a paradise on Mars. This article takes a much more tactful approach than mine but:

http://io9.com/5868551/did-the-durban-climate-change-talks-actually-accomplish-anything

Did the Durban climate change talks actually accomplish anything?

The UN’s latest Climate Change Conference recently concluded after two weeks of intense negotiations in Durban, South Africa. There’s going to be a new agreement to address climate change, but does that really mean anything? Let’s break down what happened.

Top image: Chukchi Sea Polar Bears by AP/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

There’s no point in denying it — the Durban talks, otherwise known as COP17, didn’t directly accomplish much at all, if anything. In fact, you could argue the talks represented a net loss for the world’s commitment to fighting climate change, as Canada announced it was withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol, the current UN agreement aimed at cutting climate change, placing it in the unusual position of being lectured by China about its environmental policy.

And if you were hoping for an agreement that would lay down concrete steps to cut carbon emissions or lower global temperatures, then these talks were a dismal failure. Instead, they simply got all the countries there to agree to be part of a future, legally binding agreement that will be defined by 2015 and go into effect in 2020. That might just sound like passing the buck — and yeah, it kind of is — but this does represent some small progress from the Kyoto Protocol.

For one thing, this new agreement has the United States on board, which infamously refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Second, this future treaty will be legally binding for all countries, not just those classified as developed. While major developing powers like China and India ratified the Kyoto Protocol, they were under no real requirement to comply with it.

That should change with this new agreement, although a major contention of the final marathon 60-hour negotiating session was India’s objection that their compliance not be “legally binding.” They eventually settled on an agreement that would have “legal force.” What’s the difference? Your guess is as good as mine, though hopefully that will become clearer by 2015. It was also agreed to set up a fund to help developing countries pay for climate compliance, though there are no actual specifics on where the money would come from or how it would be managed.

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Go there and read. More next week.

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The Durban Climate Conference Was Forged With Magic – As long as they keep running articles like this

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The South Africans keep running these marvelous print pieces. So for now I will put off the rant for another day.

http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/ec5b6c004965c6438ebfae8ee8404785/South-African-magic-rescued-climate-talks—Zuma-20111212

South African magic rescued climate talks – Zuma

Monday 12 December 2011 18:20

A touch of South African magic rescued the faltering climate talks in Durban. This is according to President Jacob Zuma who spoke on a state visit to Benin.

Zuma says the country defused tensions between parties and prevented its collapse. “It was South African magic that actually helped and finally we emerged with the results that surprised everyone that Durban emerged with the process. We, as South Africans, should be very proud.”

An estimated 15 000 delegates attended the conference.

Earlier today, Environmental Affairs Minister has likened COP 17 to the historic Kyoto conference in 1997. The Two-week climate talks were aimed at discussing the future of the planet.

The conference moves to Qatar next year

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Durban Climate Summit A Success – They get a new climate observatory

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See this is what happens when you do open ended searches. I am sure that you thought I would be ranting here about what a dismal conference it was. Or maybe how everything that they agreed to was a drop in the atmospheric bucket considering how much and how many different types of toxins we spew. And I may do that tomorrow, but today South Africa is smiling because nobody was killed and they got a new observatory out of the deal. From Monaco no less.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201112131459.html

SouthAfrica.info (Johannesburg)

South Africa: Climate Change Observatory for the Country

13 December 2011

A unique climate change observatory, the first of its kind in the world, focusing on bringing scientific information from around the globe to the public, is to be built in Cape Town by the International Polar Foundation.

The announcement, first reported by the SABC on Friday, was made last week at a function attended by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco, who were in Durban for the UN climate change summit (COP 17).

Prince Albert is a patron of the Belgium-based International Polar Foundation (IPF), a non-profit organisation established in 2002 with the aim of “providing a novel interface between science and society”. The IPF’s last major project, completed in 2009, was the construction of a new research station – the world’s first zero-emission research station – in Antarctica.

Interface between science and society

Its next major project is the Polaris Climate Change Observatory, which will be built in the heart of Cape Town’s famous V&A Waterfront, on a jetty that will be specially developed, the IPF says on its website, “to offer visitors of all ages a striking experience as a path to sustainability.

“Featuring permanent and temporary exhibitions, outreach and education activities, spectacular ways of presenting climate facts and figures, highlighting new science and innovations, the Polaris Climate Change Observatory will confirm Cape Town and South Africa as world landmarks for climate action.”

According to the IPF, Cape Town is the perfect location for this “new breed of science centre”, and not only because of the city’s geographical location as a gateway to the Southern Pole.

Scheduled to open in 2014, the first Polaris Climate Change Observatory will bring together “the ingenuity of one of Africa’s premier cities with a revolutionary concept which will change the way visitors understand the world, the changing climate and ways in which humanity can take responsibility and make decisions for the future”.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Is Law Enforcement Finally Going To Get Don Blankenship – I hope so

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This man was a union busting, kill people no matter what, demonic money grubber. Now maybe we can add jailed inmate to that list.

http://npasternack.hubpages.com/hub/The-Fall-of-Massey-Energy-CEO-Don-Blankenship

The Fall of Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship

Do you know who Don Blankenship is? You should.

The era of Don Blankenship has come to an end. Don Blankenship, now former CEO of the sixth largest coal extraction company in the United States was one of the most hated men in the energy industry. Mr. Blankenship was an undoubtedly successful businessman, but also a highly controversial and hated public figure. His time spent at the head of Massey energy saw the company rise from a small coal mining operation to the most powerful energy company in Appalachia. He also rose from an office accountant to the highest paid coal company CEO in the United States.

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That can’t happen soon enough. He is of course is going to try to blame mine management. Just like the old buffoon in Utah.

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http://wvgazette.com/News/201112060212

December 6, 2011
UBB family members want justice, not money

By Kate White

BEAVER — Family members of the 29 miners killed in the worst mining disaster in the United States in nearly 40 years say they want justice more than money.

“You can’t put a dollar amount on my husband. I want to see who is going to be indicted next,” said Gina Jones, 39, of Beckley. “I was there when they found [Hughie Elbert] Stover guilty and I’ll be there for the next.”

Family members gathered Tuesday at MSHA’s training academy to be briefed on the agency’s final report on the disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine in April 2010 that killed 29 miners and severely injured two others. They were also advised that officials have agreed to accept $200 million in fines, victim restitution and mine safety improvements to settle enforcement actions and some criminal matters. However, some individuals may still face criminal prosecution

Hughie Elbert Stover, a former Raleigh County deputy and longtime security director at Upper Big Branch, was found guilty of two felony counts of making a false statement and trying to cover up records in a federal investigation.

“We want those responsible all taken away from their families like what has happened to us,” said Jones, whose husband Edward Dean Jones was killed in the explosion.

Other family members echoed her sentiments.

“It’s just beginning. We’ve only just gotten the information, the future is ahead and this isn’t ending anytime soon,” said Judy Jones Petersen of Charleston. Edward Dean Jones, who had worked in the Performance Coal

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Australia To Help India Walk Away From Nonproliferation – That’s too damn bad

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This piece dithers on a bit before getting to the heart of the matter and offers few solutions. But, that may be because there are not any. Russia has sold uranium to India before and probably will again. I do not know whether China has sold uranium to India or not. I know they would in a heart beat.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/can-we-talk-reversal-on-uranium-sales-to-india-opens-up-a-whole-new-world/story-e6frg7ax-1226212701769

Can we talk? Reversal on uranium sales to India opens up a whole new world

WE should be thankful for small mercies. Before delivering a triumph to Julia Gillard on selling uranium to India, Labor’s national conference this weekend is having a debate on the issue.

That will be a change because so far we’ve heard little more than applause for the Prime Minister’s announcement three weeks ago that she would seek to change party policy to allow sales to a country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

She says it is time to modernise the party platform. Those who agree present the change as little more than tidying up a diplomatic anomaly.

There is a case for a change in policy, including the contribution nuclear power can make to reducing India’s carbon emissions, the practical reality that other countries are willing to sell uranium to India and that we already sell to countries like China and Russia.

But there is more to it than that.

“I am horrified that the media have not explained the enormity of this proposal,” says Ron Walker, a former diplomat.

As a head of the nuclear division in the Department of Foreign Affairs in the 1990s and chairman of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1993, his views are worth considering.

No anti-nuke activist, he subscribes to the policy first adopted by the Fraser government: that we should use our position as a major uranium supplier to demand strict safeguards against nuclear non-proliferation.

Leaving aside its surreptitious development of the nuclear bomb, India has been presented as the model nuclear citizen. Unlike China, Russia and Pakistan, it has not exported its nuclear weapons technology and expertise, at least on any significant scale.

Therefore, so the argument goes, India deserves to be made the exception to the rule that we do not sell uranium to countries that do not sign the NPT.

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He writes plenty more. Go read it. More next week.

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Rossi”s Cold Fusion Process Backed Up – Is the University of Illinois professor legit

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This article claims that Professor George Miley’s work backs up everything that Rossi is doing in cold fusion in Italy. I still have huge doubts. At least Miley’s work is open to the public. Go and see both reports.

http://www.fcnp.com/commentary/national/10516-the-peak-oil-crisis-transitioning-to-cold-fusion.html

The Peak Oil Crisis: Transitioning to Cold Fusion Print E-mail
By Tom Whipple
Wednesday, November 16 2011 02:45:44 PM

dot dot dot as they say

Now so much energy coming from such a small and inexpensive device, in violation of what are thought to be the principles of physics, seems too good to be true. As this phenomenon had not been independently repeated and verified by other laboratories, many pronounced it a fraud, a few the greatest breakthrough of the age, and the rest of us remained agnostic while awaiting further developments.

They were not long in coming. Last week it was learned that George Miley, a Professor Emeritus of nuclear engineering at the University of Illinois who has been conducting experiments similar to those in Italy for many years, has been observing anomalous amounts of heat emanating from test equipment similar to that being used in Bologna. Miley has been experimenting with palladium-zirconium alloys, but says his experiments are producing so much heat that could only be coming from fusion of atomic nuclei. Unlike the Italian experiments which are aimed at developing a proprietary commercial product, the Illinois experiments are being conducting under the auspices of a state university with details of the experiments being made known as soon as possible. At a university the aim of scientific research is to win a Nobel Prize, or at least academic prestige, not to make money.

While a second report does not adequately confirm that heat-producing, low-energy nuclear reactions are a real phenomenon, it is does seem to reduce the likelihood of fraud on the part of a single man or organization. Furthermore it increases the possibility that we could be witnessing the early stages of what could be one of the greatest scientific discoveries in human history – production of unlimited amounts of cheap, pollution-free energy.

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http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/10/dr-george-miley-replicates-patterson.html

October 22, 2011

Dr. George Miley Replicates Patterson, Names Rossi

Ecat site – Long-time cold fusion researcher Dr. George Miley, affiliate professor at the University of Illinois, has recently released a report documenting his successful replication of the work of cold fusion pioneer James Patterson. Dr. Miley feels that the work of Mr. Patterson and Andrea Rossi have many similarities and has offered a theory that is felt to cover both. Dr. Miley recently spoke at the World Green Energy Synopsium in Philadelphia, PA from October 19-21, 2011. A Microsoft Power Point presentation was released on October 3 documenting his work and experimental results. I have included a slide show of this presentation below. Please note that such presentations usually serve as a guide to an accompanying lecture, of which I do not have access to at the present time. I will post it if and when it becomes available

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More tomorrow.

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Mild Radiation Blankets Europe – But nobody knows where it is coming from

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NO, there is no danger per se. This isotope decays in 8 days, but the detections have been coming in since Oct. 19th and so the source must be ongoing. The most troubling thing besides everyone’s complacency is the inability to pin point the source.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2060469/Radiation-Europe-UN-nuclear-agency-mystified-soaring-levels.html

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Riddle of the radiation sweeping across Europe: UN nuclear agency mystified by soaring levels

  • IAEA say Fukushima blast not to blame
  • No increase reported in U.K despite changes in Europe

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 5:52 PM on 12th November 2011

Very low levels of radioactive iodine-131 have been detected throughout Europe, but the particles are not believed to pose a public health risk, the U.N.nuclear agency said on Friday. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based U.N. watchdog, said it did not believe the radioactive particles were from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant after its emergency in March.

The Czech Republic’s nuclear security watchdog said it had tipped off the IAEA after detecting the radiation it thought was coming from abroad but not from a nuclear power plant. It suggested it may come from production of radiopharmaceuticals.
 

Germany’s Environment Ministry said slightly higher levels of radioactive iodine had been measured in the north of the country, ruling out that it came from a nuclear power plant.

Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Sweden also reported traces at very low levels that did not pose a health risk.

Experts said the origin of the radiation – which has been spreading for about two weeks – remained a mystery but could come from many possible sources ranging from medical laboratories or hospitals to nuclear submarines.

Iodine-131, linked to cancer if found in high doses, can contaminate products such as milk and vegetables.

Paddy Regan, a professor of nuclear physics at Britain’s University of Surrey, said the suggestion that it may have leaked from a radiopharmaceuticals maker ‘sounds very sensible and totally reasonable.

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I skipped the parts about it coming from a nebula, a nuclear submarine and patient’s excrement because they are ludicrous. You can go there and read the rest but the most likely source repeated a couple of times is some pharmaceutical company. Wonder why they can’t find it. Hmmm.
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More tomorrow.

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Corporate Colonialism – They are carving up Africa again

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When are the poor countries of the world going to catch a break. First they are conquered by the countries of Europe. Then they are handed over to corrupt and inept “local” leadership. Finally they are bought and paid for by the new corporate elites. This is just to0 nasty for words. But this is humans finest hour.

Africa: The New Land Grab in Africa – An Alarming Scramble for the Continent Is On

Agazit Abate

3 November 2011

Multinational corporations are buying enormous tracts of land in Africa to the detriment of local communities. Agazit Abate warns that the land grab puts countries on the path to increased food insecurity, environmental degradation, increased reliance on aid and marginalisation of farming and pastoralist communities.

The recent phenomenon of land grab, as outlined in the extensive research of the Oakland Institute, has resulted in the sale of enormous portions of land throughout Africa. In 2009 alone, nearly 60 million hectares of land were purchased or leased throughout the continent for the production and export of food, cut flowers and agrofuel crops.

Land grab was in part spurred by the food and financial crisis of 2008 when international bodies, corporations, investment funds, wealthy individuals, and governments began to re-focus their attention on agriculture and food as a profitable commodity. As outlined in the reports, the consequences of land grab include increased food insecurity, environmental degradation, community repression and displacement, and increased reliance on aid.

MEET THE INVESTORS

While media coverage has focused on the role of countries like India and China in land deals, the Oakland Institute’s investigation reveals the role of Western firms, wealthy US and European individuals, and investment funds with ties to major banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Investors include alternative investment firms like the London-based Emergent that works to attract speculators, and various universities like Harvard, Spelman and Vanderbilt.

Several Texas-based interests are associated with a major 600,000 hectares South Sudan deal which involves Kinyeti Development LLC, an Austin, Texas-based ‘global business development partnership and holding company’ managed by Howard Eugene Douglas, a former United States Ambassador at Large and Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. A key player in the largest land deal in Tanzania is Iowa agribusiness entrepreneur and Republican Party stalwart, Bruce Rastetter.

US companies are often below the radar, using subsidiaries registered in other countries, like Petrotech-ffn Agro Mali which is a subsidiary of Petrotech-ffn USA. Many European countries are also involved, often with support provided by their governments and embassies in African countries. For instance, Swedish and German firms have interests in the production of biofuels in Tanzanian. Addax Bioenergy from Switzerland and Quifel International Holdings (QIH) from Portugal are major investors in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone Agriculture (SLA) is actually a subsidiary of the UK based Crad-1 (CAPARO Renewable Agriculture Developments Ltd.), associated with the Tony Blair African Governance Initiative.

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I just wanted to post the villains. For the rest of the analysis, go there and read that. More tomorrow.

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