Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Thursday 12.27.2012
Leonard Melman Finds the Fiscal Cliff
a Boon for Precious Metals The Gold Report: Leonard, what are the most pressing issues facing investors today?
Leonard Melman: Let's start with the fiscal cliff. If America falls into this abyss, the combination of tax increases and spending reductions will slow down economic growth. Interestingly, political leaders in Europe are callingfor increasing taxes and decreasing spending in order to solve their problems. I find it amusing that the solution to economic problems being proposed by leaders on the European side of the Atlantic is thought to be the problem on the American side of the Atlantic.
Doug Casey on the Morality of Money
Interviewed by Casey Research Chief Metals & Mining Investment Strategist Louis James Louis: Doug, every time we have a conversation, I ask you about the investment implications of your ideas, and we consider ways to turn the trends you see into profits. The assumption is that's what people want to hear from you, since you're the guru of financial speculation.
But this, your known status as a wealthy man, the fact that you have no children, and other things may lead some people to form an incorrect conclusion about you – that "all you care about is money." So let's talk about money. Is it all you care about? Doug: I think anyone who has read our conversation giving advice to people just starting out in life (or re-starting) knows that the answer is no. Or the conversation we had in which we discussed Scrooge McDuck, one of the great heroes of literature. However, I have to stop before we start and push back: If money were all I cared about, so what? Would that really make me a bad person?
US Treasury warns of 'extraordinary measures'
amid fiscal cliff deadlock Barack Obama cuts short holiday to tackle budget crisis as country faces breaching its $16.4tn debt limit
By Dominic Rushe and Heidi Moore - The Guardian
US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner warned on Wednesday he would have to take "extraordinary measures" to avoid a default on the US's legal obligations as the country is set to breach its $16.4tn (£10.16tn) debt limit.
In a letter to Congress, Geithner said the debt ceiling would be reached on 31 December and that the Treasury could raise $200bn (£124bn) to fund government spending as a stopgap measure. But he warned that the current impasse over the fiscal cliff budget crisis meant it was uncertain how long that money would last.
Treasury unveils plan to buy time under debt ceiling
by Anna Yukhananov, Jason Lange and Pedro Da Costa
(Reuters) - The Treasury on Wednesday announced the first of a series of measures that should push back the day when the government will exceed its legal borrowing authority as imposed by Congress by around two months.
Without any action, Treasury said the government is set to reach its $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on December 31.
The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has become ensnarled in talks to avoid some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to begin in early January. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could cause the government to default on its debt.
Geithner moves to avoid Dec. 31 debt ceiling
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Treasury Department soon will begin making accounting moves so that the United States can put off hitting its debt ceiling at the end of the month, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Geithner said the government would hit the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on Dec. 31 unless he authorized the extraordinary measures.
I am writing to inform you that the statutory debt limit will be reached on December 31, 2012, and to notify you that the Treasury Department will shortly begin taking certain extraordinary measures authorized by law to temporarily postpone the date that the United States would otherwise default on its legal obligations.
These extraordinary measures, which are explained in detail in an appendix to this letter, can create approximately $200 billion in headroom under the debt limit. Under normal circumstances, that amount of headroom would last approximately two months. However, given the significant uncertainty that now exists with regard to unresolved tax and spending policies for 2013, it is not possible to predict the effective duration of these measures. At this time, the extent to which the upcoming tax filing season will be delayed as a result of these unresolved policy questions is also uncertain. If left unresolved, the expiring tax provisions and automatic spending cuts, as well as the attendant delays in filing of tax returns, would have the effect of adding some additional time to the duration of the extraordinary measures. Treasury will provide more guidance regarding the expected duration of these measures when the policy outlook becomes clearer.
Sincerely,
Timothy F. Geithner
US Treasury to take steps
to avoid hitting debt ceiling on Monday
NBCNews.com
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday announced the first of a series of measures to delay hitting the government's $16.4 trillion borrowing limit. Without those steps, the debt ceiling would be hit on Dec. 31.
The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has become ensnarled in talks to avoid some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to begin in early January. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could cause the government to default on its debt.
Geithner: US will hit $16.4 trillion debt limit on New Year's Eve
By Peter Schroeder - TheHill.com
The United States will reach its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit on Dec. 31 and undertake "extraordinary measures" to avoid default, the Treasury Department informed congressional leaders in a letter on Wednesday.
The notice about the debt ceiling came packaged with a stark warning from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who said the policy uncertainty stemming from the "fiscal cliff" makes it impossible for him to say with certainty how much time lawmakers have left to raise the borrowing cap.
WHAT WILL BE CONSEQUENCES OF 'GOING OVER THE CLIFF'?
by KERRY PICKET - Breitbart.com
Lawmakers and President Barack Obama are hurrying back to Washington on Thursday in what appears to be another attempt to avoid going off the fiscal cliff. In order to do that, Congress and the White House must agree on how to handle expiring tax provisions and across-the-board spending cuts, among other short-term issues that will impact the federal budget.
According to a recent Gallup poll, roughly half of the country is skeptical that a deal will happen before the January 1 deadline. Democrats continue to argue that allowing tax rates to expire on families making $250,000 combined and individuals making $200,000 or more will improve the economy. Republicans, however, want taxes to remain at current rates and focus more on entitlement spending cuts.
U.S. economy could handle short fall over 'fiscal cliff'
By Christopher S. Rugaber - AP - WashingtonTimes.com
WASHINGTON — The economic threat that's kept many Americans on edge for months is nearing reality — unless the White House and Republicans cut a budget deal by New Year's Day.
Huge tax increases. Deep cuts in domestic and defense programs. The likelihood of sinking stock prices, reduced consumer spending and corporate layoffs. The risk of a recession within months.
RT Capital Account: Headlines + Fedspeak
As expected, UBS settled over accusations of Libor rigging, paying a 1.5 billion dollar fine. In addition to the settlement and guilty plea from UBS's Japanese subsidiary, regulators released details on the communications and internal emails of UBS traders. The messages were filled with colorful language, with traders calling each other nicknames including "Superman" and "Captain Caos," according to the Wall Street Journal. In one example, a UBS trader told a broker I want to "do one humongous deal with you" and "I'll pay you... whatever you want" in order to secure help manipulating rates. Although infuriating, this language is at least more straightforward than the public statements from the sanctioned rate manipulator, the Federal Reserve. Despite Ben Bernanke's suggestions for improving public communication, we still hear a prevalence of "FedSpeak." For example, at the most recent Fed press conference Ben Bernanke said "While in that circumstance the Committee would no longer be increasing policy accommodation, its policy stance would remain highly supportive of growth." We talk to James Savage, Managing Partner of Reputation Leadership Group and the former VP of Public Affairs at the Cleveland Federal Reserve, about what is lost in "FedSpeak."
Obama seeks 60 Senate votes for cliff deal Boehner says House will act if plan can pass Senate
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — As President Barack Obama and members of the Senate head back to Washington, 60 is the most important number.
It will take 60 votes for any scaled-back deal on the fiscal cliff to clear a filibuster in the Senate.
"All eyes are on the Senate in the next 48 hours," said Chris Krueger, senior policy analyst at Guggenheim's Washington Research Group.
Republican Sellout Invites Stagflation
By John Browne, Euro Pacific Capital - RealClearMarkets.com
While it may not be a surprise that the Republicans are preparing to yield on their vow to oppose tax hikes, it should raise investor concerns the world over that an upcoming budget agreement will likely involve a Congressional surrender of its authority to set the federal debt ceiling. In exchange for this, it appears that the Republicans have simply done nothing to halt, or even curb, the dangerous federal spending trajectories or the current drift towards greater state control of the economy. President Obama has politically outmaneuvered the Republicans, even going as far as evoking the Newtown massacre as a reason for quickly concluding a deal. As a result, it is likely that the GOP will bear the blame for any breakdown in fiscal cliff negotiations. They could wear such an outcome as a badge of honor, but nothing indicates that they have the political courage to do so.
The Way for Obama to Beat GOP Fanatics
in Fiscal Cliff Negotiations
By Robert Reich - Truthdig.com
President Obama is cutting his Christmas holiday short, returning to Washington for a last attempt at avoiding the fiscal cliff. But he's running headlong into the Republican strategy of fanaticism.
It's a long-established principle of game theory (see Thomas Schelling's classic 1956 essay in the American Economic Review) that a fanatic who restricts his freedom to avert a disaster puts maximum pressure on his opponent to give ground.
The Most Overlooked Statistic in Economics Is Poised
for an Epic Comeback: Household Formation The most important graph of 2012? We asked around for some suggestions last week. We got 34 responses. This was mine. It answers the question: What share of each recovery since 1970 came from selling houses and cars?
By Derek Thompson - TheAtlantic.com
The message is that home and car sales power recoveries. This recovery is different from all others because we just. Aren't. Selling. Enough. Houses.
That might be changing. With home prices rising, construction hours-worked recovering, and multi-family homes making a sustained comeback, 2013 could be the year our economy breaks out of "new normal" growth and gets back to "normal normal" growth.
CNBC's Boldest Predictions
Covering a range of topics — from auto sales and health care to the New York Jets and the price of gasoline — CNBC's anchors, reporters, editors and contributors make calls on what 2013 will bring. Click ahead for predictions to help you plan ahead for the year to come.
Obamacare Could Double Health Care Premiums: Aetna CEO
By: Justin Menza - CNBC.com
To provide all Americans with health insurance, premiums will have to rise to pay for it, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Wednesday.
"If we're going to insure all Americans, which is a worthy and appropriate cause, then somebody has to pay for it," Bertolini said of the expected premium increases under Obamacare.
Obamacare Tax Hikes May Just Be Getting Started
CNBC.com
New taxes are coming Jan. 1 to help finance President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Most people may not notice.
But they will pay attention if Congress decides to start taxing employer-sponsored health insurance, one option in play if lawmakers can ever agree on a budget deal to reduce federal deficits.
The tax hikes already on the books, taking effect in 2013, fall mainly on people who make lots of money and on the health care industry. But about half of Americans benefit from the tax-free status of employer health insurance.
In 2013, Millions Of Americans Face Obamacare Tax Hikes
By Sally Pipes, Contributor - Forbes.com
As part of the negotiations over the fiscal cliff, Congress and President Obama are battling over whether to raise marginal tax rates at the very top of the income ladder.
Regardless of how these talks turn out, millions of Americans are already facing tax hikes thanks to Obamacare.
Obamacare's authors chose to offset about half of the trillion-dollar cost of the law through higher taxes. Since the Supreme Court upheld the law's individual mandate and allowed states to opt out of its Medicaid expansion, though, the cost estimate has swelled to $1.76 trillion between 2012 and 2021.
PUBLIC TURNS GLOOMY, FEARFUL AS 2013 APPROACHES
by MIKE FLYNN - Breitbart.com
The holidays are traditionally a time where we renew our optimism about the future. Gatherings with friends and family, festive meals and sparkling decorations are all powerful elixirs to the wear-and-tear of daily life. A new ABC/WaPo poll, however, shows that this year the holiday spirit is powerless to boost the public's mood. Almost half of Americans, in fact, are fearful about their own lives in the new year.
44% of Americans report they are fearful about what the new year holds in store for their lives. It's the highest recording ever in the poll. At the start of the decade, just 16% of Americans were fearful about the coming year, while 80% were hopeful. This year just 53%, barely a majority, are hopeful about their personal lives in the new year.
President Obama's Legacy: $20 Trillion in Debt for 2016 Victor
By Paul Gregory, Forbes.com
The fiscal-cliff negotiations have deteriorated into an embarrassing travesty of competing press conferences, off-the-record remarks, closed meetings, and sound bites. The Republican side is frustrated and flabbergasted by the absence of a concrete proposal from the President that can be scored by the Congressional Budget Office and then "marked up" by Congress according to standard procedures. Vague offers of so and so many trillions of revenue increases and spending cuts spread over a decade are just words, not real proposals.
Keiser Report: Crazyflation (E383 ft. Peter Schiff)
In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert look at the the central bank revolution that will end in disaster with Japan leading the way after voters have demanded even more aggression with the nation's monetary policy. They also look at Moody's ratings getting no respect because nobody has done better than flipping a coin for 50 years in a slow burning prison. In the second half, Max Keiser talks to Peter Schiff about bonds, dollars and governments buying their own debt.
Charity Begins With Wealth Creation
By John Stossel - PatriotPost.us
Charity -- helping people who have trouble helping themselves -- is a good thing two times over. It's good for the beneficiary and good for the donor, too. Stephen Post's fine book, "The Hidden Gifts of Helping," reveals that 76 percent of Americans say that helping others is what makes them most happy. Giving money makes us feel good, and helping face-to-face is even better. People say it makes them feel physically healthier. They sleep better.
Private charity is unquestioningly better than government efforts to help people. Government squanders money. Charities sometime squander money, too, but they usually don't.
Fighting Poverty By Giving Poor People Money
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
There's more to life than just this, but I've come to think that directly transfering cash money to people in need is the most underrated tool around for fighting poverty. So I was incredibly excited to read Dana Goldstein's profile of GiveDirectly last week and this morning I sent them some money for Christmas.
They take advantage of the fact that Kenya has a widely used mobile phone-based payment and banking system to take money from those who want to give and deposit funds directly in the accounts of impoverished families. About ten percent of the money goes to overhead (electronic payments processing alone is three percent) and ninety percent of funds reach the recipients. Obviously there's a risk that some of the money will be "wasted" on booze or tobacco but in practice that looks like much less wastage than the guaranteed waste involved in a high-overhead prescriptive charity. Dylan Matthews explained that one further advantage of the cash transfer approach is that "many households who receive such transfers save the money, which increases investment and growth in the community over the long run."
Government Dependents Outnumber
Those With Private Sector Jobs In 11 U.S. States
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
America is rapidly becoming a nation of takers. An increasing number of Americans expect the government to take care of them from the cradle to the grave, and they expect the government to dig into the pockets of others in order to pay for it all. This philosophy can be very seductive, but what happens when the number of takers eventually outnumbers the number of producers? In 11 different U.S. states, the number of government dependents exceeds the number of private sector workers. This list of states includes some of the biggest states in the country: California, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Maine, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, New Mexico and Hawaii. It is interesting to note that seven of those states were won by Barack Obama on election night. In California, there are 139 "takers" for every 100 private sector workers. That is crazy! The American people have become absolutely addicted to government money, and it gets worse with each passing year. If you can believe it, entitlements accounted for 62 percent of all federal spending in fiscal year 2012. It would be one thing if we could afford all of this spending, but unfortunately we simply cannot. We aredrowning in debt, and we are stealing more than a hundred million more dollars from future generations with each passing hour. No bank robber in history can match that kind of theft.
Social Security Ran $47.8B Deficit in FY 2012;
Disabled Workers Hit New Record in December: 8,827,795
By Terence P. Jeffrey - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - The Social Security program ran a $47.8 billion deficit in fiscal 2012 as the program brought in $725.429 billion in cash and paid $773.247 for benefits and overhead expenses, according toofficial data published by Social Security Administration.
The Social Security Administration also released new data revealing that the number of workers collecting disability benefits hit a record 8,827,795 in December--up from 8,805,353 in November.
Unions dream big for Obama's 2nd term Michigan speech lifted hopes
By Dave Boyer-The Washington Times
When President Obama spoke out forcefully against Michigan's right-to-work law, it was a rare example of the president putting on public display his support of organized labor.
"What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money," Mr. Obama told union workers, reciting labor's talking points as faithfully as if his speech had been written by the United Auto Workers.
Approaching the Twilight of the Labor Movement
by DAVID MACARAY - CounterPunch.org
Private sector union membership in the U.S. stands at about 7-percent, meaning that 93-percent of all private sector jobs in this country are non-union, which makes those accusations of unions of being "too powerful" even more ridiculous and hysterical than they already were. (Not to resort to one of those tiresome Nazi analogies, but didn't Hitler use the Big Lie to great effect?)
Yet, even with these depressingly low membership numbers, if America's non-union workers rooted for unions to succeed, and aspired to join a union themselves, it would mean, at least in theory, that the labor movement was alive and well and had a decent chance of succeeding.
Illinois governor backs insurance 'co-ops' under healthcare law
By Sam Baker - TheHill.com
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) is embracing a new type of insurance plan under President Obama's signature healthcare law.
The State Journal-Register reported that Quinn praised a new healthcare "co-op," which announced last week it would seek a license to operate in Illinois.
Co-ops are new, nonprofit health plans authorized by the Affordable Care Act. They're privately run, must be owned by their members and must reinvest all of their profits into improving quality or lowering premiums.
US lambasts China for breaches of trade rules Washington has issued a blistering attack on China for persistent breaches of world trade rules and abuse of industrial secrets, accusing Beijing of failing to abide by treaty obligations.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
China is still flouting World Trade Organisation rules 11 years after it first joined, misusing the complaints machinery for tit-for-tat retaliation, said US Trade Repesentative Ron Kirk.
"China's trade policies and practices in several specific areas cause particular concern for the United States," said Mr Kirk in his year-end report to Congress.
Six die in US storms as states brace
for further woe and travel chaos High winds, tornadoes and icy conditions ground more than 300 flights and leave tens of thousands of families without power
Associated Press in Oklahoma City - Guardian.co.uk
The death toll rose to six Wednesday from winter storms in the US midsection that pushed toward the north-east. More than 600 flights were cancelled in the storm's path.
Two passengers in a car on a sleet-slickened Arkansas highway died when the vehicle crossed the center line and struck an SUV.
The Left Bullies the NRA
By Ben Shapiro - PatriotPost.us
On Christmas Eve, seven people were shot in the city of Chicago. The media made little mention of the shootings, since they're now routine in Chicago -- the city has seen some 500 shootings in 2012 alone. The vast majority of the shooters are black, and the vast majority of the victims are black. Many of the victims are under the age of 18: Anton Sanders, 15, shot on Jan. 20; Deshun Winfert, 15, shot on Feb. 5; Damion Rolle, 14, shot on Feb. 21; George Howard and Albert Guyton, both 15, shot on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28; the list goes on. A few are under age 10. You've never heard of any of them.
But when an evil white person with a history of mental instability shoots up a school, killing 20 children, most of whom were white, the media is suddenly concerned with gun control.
OBAMA CLAUS GIVES YOU 90 MORE DAYS
TO COLLECT YOUR $50,000 REPARATIONS CHECK
by LEE STRANAHAN - Breitart.com
Circle March 25, 2013 on your calendar. That's the last day you can submit your claim form from this official U.S. government website to collect fifty thousand tax-free American dollars, courtesy of the Obama administration in its current multi-billion giveaway scheme.
No, you don't need a potted plant and you don't even to be black or even Hispanic; as long as you are a woman (or related to one) and you fill out the forms correctly, you can collect the money because nobody will verify your information.
3-D Printing Sparks Innovation Among Small Companies
By: Heesun Wee - CNBC.com
As costs continue to fall, 3-D printing is becoming more accessible to small businesses. This nascent trend in turn is sparking creativity and innovation among entrepreneurs who couldn't afford the once very expensive technology.
Some in the fast-evolving industry are even calling it a game changer for manufacturers and beyond.
3-D printing allows users to download designs from the Internet and transform the printouts—layer by layer—into three-dimensional physical objects. The applications are seemingly endless. Small firms are creating custom objects and spare parts for everything from toys to artificial limbs—all at a fraction of the cost of traditional manufacturing.
2013 Predictions | Interview with Gerald Celente
Abby Martin talks to Publisher of the 'Trends Journal' and founder of the Trends Research Institute, Gerald Celente, about the trends that are forecasted for 2013.
Republican Dick Armey 'stages armed coup'
at Tea Party organisation Washington Post reports that the former head of Tea Party-backer FreedomWorks feared group was being hijacked
By Dominic Rushe in New York - The Guardian
A former top Republican, his wife, and an armed aide reportedly staged a coup in the Washington office of one of the Tea Party's biggest backers amid fears that the organisation was being hijacked by fellow conservatives, it emerged Wednesday. The news comes amid growing signs of disarray in the once powerful grassroots movement.
Dick Armey, former head of the Tea Party-affiliated FreedomWorks, was ousted in September with an $8m payoff. At the time he told Associated Press "my differences with FreedomWorks are a matter of principle" and that other board members had urged him not to leave until after the 6 November election.
FreedomWorks tea party group nearly falls apart
in fight between old and new guard
By Amy Gardner - WashingtonPost.com
The day after Labor Day, just as campaign season was entering its final frenzy, FreedomWorks, the Washington-based tea party organization, went into free fall.
Richard K. Armey, the group's chairman and a former House majority leader, walked into the group's Capitol Hill offices with his wife, Susan, and an aide holstering a handgun at his waist. The aim was to seize control of the group and expel Armey's enemies: The gun-wielding assistant escorted FreedomWorks' top two employees off the premises, while Armey suspended several others who broke down in sobs at the news.
THE TEA PARTY HAS NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT
by JOEL B. POLLAK - Breitbart.com
If the Tea Party has been weakened by the November election, why are the mainstream media expending so much effort attacking it?
The latest attempt is today's front-page article by the New York Times, which alleges that the Tea Party is turning to "narrower" issues and suggests, none too subtly, that Congress should stop paying attention to it.
As proof, the Times offers the fact that Republican leaders "have embraced raising tax revenues in budget negotiations, repudiating a central tenet of the Tea Party." It ignores the fact that Republican leaders could not muster the votes in the House to pass those proposals.
Sam Donaldson Tells Tea Partiers
'It's Not Your Country Anymore - It's Our Country'
SAM DONALDSON: The minorities re-elected president Obama, but I'm going with Katty. It's the Tea Party and thinking of the Tea Party and people like that that are driving the Republicans out of contention as a national party. You cannot win nationally if you don't know something about the way the country's changed, and the Tea Party seems to think the country can go back 25 or 30 years. The greatest slogan that I hated during this last campaign was "We want to take back our country." Guys, it's not your country anymore – it's our country and you're part of it, but that thinking is going to defeat Republicans nationally if they don't get rid of it.
'Brighter than a full moon':
The biggest star of 2013...
could be the comet of the century A comet discovered by two Russian astronomers will be visible from Earth next year. Get ready for a once-in-a lifetime light show
By David Whitehouse - Independent.co.uk
At the moment it is a faint object, visible only in sophisticated telescopes as a point of light moving slowly against the background stars. It doesn't seem much – a frozen chunk of rock and ice – one of many moving in the depths of space. But this one is being tracked with eager anticipation by astronomers from around the world, and in a year everyone could know its name.
Comet Ison could draw millions out into the dark to witness what could be the brightest comet seen in many generations – brighter even than the full Moon.
Americans Living an Illusion, 2012 Misses, 2013 Predictions
On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin talks to Publisher of the 'Trends Journal' and founder of the Trends Research Institute, Gerald Celente, about the trends that are forecasted for 2013. Abby then speaks to Breaking the Set Producer, Manuel Rapalo, about the biggest stories missed by the corporate media in 2012 including the NDAA, Bradley Manning, and the growing surveillance state. BTS wraps up the show with a look back at philosopher Plato's the 'Allegory of the Cave' and its application to today's society.
'Chemical weapons were used on Homs':
Syria's military police defector tells of nerve gas attack General becomes one of the most senior officers to join the rebels
By ALISTAIR DAWBER - Independent.co.uk
The head of Syria's military police defected to the opposition, accusing the Assad regime of systematic "murder" and claiming that reports of chemical weapons being used against rebels in the restive city of Homs were true.
Maj-Gen Abdul-Aziz Jassim al-Shallal became one of the highest ranking Syrian military officers to throw their support behind the rebels, accusing forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad of turning their weapons on innocent civilians in the now 22-month-long civil war.
Mohamed Morsi signs Egypt's new constitution into law Egypt's president make divisive new charter legally binding shortly after referendum result showing more than 60% support
By Peter Beaumont - Guardian.co.uk
Egypt's controversial new constitution has been signed into law by President Mohammed Morsi, a day after he announced it had been approved by a large majority in a referendum that his opponents claim was marked by widespread irregularities.
Critics say the new constitution, which was hurriedly drafted by Morsi'sMuslim Brotherhood and its Salafist allies, is undemocratic and too Islamist, and that it could allow clerics to intervene in the lawmaking process and leave minority groups without proper legal protection.
