Weekday NEWS to Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.
Thursday 02.28.2013
Barclays on Gold:Q1 2013 price at $1710/oz;
annual average $1778/oz
Commodity Online
Noting that Gold's correlation with traditional drivers has weakened, Barclays has projected Q1 2013 gold prices at $1710/oz and annual average at $1778/oz in a report.
As alternative yield-bearing assets have outperformed, gold's safe-haven appeal has lessened. Gold's correlation with equity markets was stronger last year, but the negative relationship with US 10y Treasuries has strengthened, the report noted.
Fed Action to Prompt Return to Gold Standard: Grant
Feb. 25 (Bloomberg video) -- James Grant, founder & editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, predicts that the result of recent Federal Reserve action will prompt a return to the gold standard for the United States. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance."
MCX Gold: Investors await Ben Bernanke, Mario Draghi speech
MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Investors in gold futures on India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) are awaiting cues from speeches to be made later in the day by Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi.
MCX Gold April contract opened slightly lower today ahead of appreciation in INR but strength is likely to maintained for the day, according to our analyst.
Comex Gold rises from the ashes;
uptrend possible in MCX Gold
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Ben Bernanke has struck a chord with the markets and a symphony rally in gold was seen yesterday in the US markets as the yellow metal rose from the ashes. The US Federal Reserve Chairman has assuaged the fearsthat the money printing machines would be curtailed of power sooner rather than later. An uptrend is possible in MCX gold as well depending on the fluctuations in currency markets.
"We do not see the potential costs of the increased risk- taking in some financial markets as outweighing the benefits of promoting a stronger economic recovery and more-rapid job creation," Bernanke said in prepared testimony to the US Congress.
Peter Schiff Takes On Credit Suisse Gold Bear
Widely followed investment broker and gold bull Peter Schiff challenges gold bear Tom Kendall of Credit Suisse on CNBC.com's Future's Now. (2/21/13)
Mexico's audit office tells Bank of Mexico
to verify gold held at Bank of England
By: Chris Powell - GoldSeek.com
Mexican financial journalist and agitator for accountability in government Guillermo Barba reports today that the Mexican government audit office has reprimanded the Bank of Mexico for failing to verify its supposed purchase of $4.5 billion of gold vaulted at the Bank of England. The audit office confirms Barba's complaint last year that the Bank of Mexico had purchased only "paper gold" at the Bank of England and had no idea of the number of bars it had supposedly purchased, nor of the purity of the bars.
Mexico's audit office tells Bank of Mexico
to verify gold held at Bank of England
By: Chris Powell - GoldSeek.com
Mexican financial journalist and agitator for accountability in government Guillermo Barba reports today that the Mexican government audit office has reprimanded the Bank of Mexico for failing to verify its supposed purchase of $4.5 billion of gold vaulted at the Bank of England. The audit office confirms Barba's complaint last year that the Bank of Mexico had purchased only "paper gold" at the Bank of England and had no idea of the number of bars it had supposedly purchased, nor of the purity of the bars.
Santelli On The Securitization Of Gold
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Having started trading gold futures over 30 years ago, CNBC's Rick Santelli has seen a few changes over the years. From its true high in Feb 1980 at around $2300 (inflation-adjusted), the biggest shift he and his guest have seen is the evolution of ETFs and the implicit securitization of gold. This took the 'complication' out of trading gold and enabled those who did not wish to hold physical to participate. But Santelli asks the critical question, "didn't it take the whole point away [of investing in gold]?" From the 'old days' when gold and silver were physically heldand passed down and considered wealth to the current incorrect belief system of paper gold, the myth-shattering-Chicagoan exclaims to the precious metal ETF holders, "for the Ayn Rand'ers, if the financial world comes to an end, you're not going to have the gold, you're going to have a piece of paper."
Gold Miners Come Clean on Costs After Six Lost Years
By Liezel Hill - Bloomberg.com
The gold-mining industry, which has underperformed the precious metal for each of the past six years, is pledging to report costs more accurately as part of its efforts to win back investor confidence.
Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) and Goldcorp Inc. (G), the two biggest producers by market value, have begun reporting "all-in sustaining costs" for the first time. The new measure averaged $941 an ounce between the two companies in the fourth quarter. That's 50 percent higher than the $626 average so-called cash cost they disclosed in the preceding three months.
George Soros Prediction 2013 Gold, War, Unemployment
Published on Nov 7, 2012
Will gold break $2,000? US/Israel war with Iran? Unemployment below 7.5%? George Soros gives his forecast for 2013 and shares his price prediction for gold and silver. George is chairman of Soros Fund Management and founded the Quantum Fund with Jim Rogers.
Spendthrift tour Administration launches 100-city tour
promoting spending on eve of sequester Key senator outraged by tour that started in Oregon
to promote federal grants, urges White House
to cancel in face of spending cuts
BY JOHN SOLOMON - WashingtonGuardian.com
Just days from massive spending cuts known as the budget sequester, the Obama administration has launched a 100-city tour that has dispatched officials from multiple federal agencies to help communities tap into new government spending.
The White House's "Connecting Your Community" program launched in Oregon earlier this month, and so outraged a senator influential on spending issues that he wrote President Barack Obama's top budget officials urging it be canceled immediately.
When The Insane Run The Asylum
By Jeff Berwick - Alt-Market.com
"In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche was right. If you sat beside Ben Bernanke in his Washington Nationals box seats while he slurped on his ice cream cone and you had a general conversation with him, he probably wouldn't come across as being insane. "That was a nice home run," he'd say. You'd nod.
But it is people like Bernanke who believe in collectivist systems and top-down economics who are insane.
He believes that an economy should be overseen and manipulated, Soviet Union-style, by a few white men, preferably with beards, in a secretive boardroom. Here begins the real tragedy of the commons.
The U.S.-EU Free Trade Deal: Foundation for a New Global Economic Order
By Dana Gabriel - GlobalResearch.ca
The U.S. and EU have agreed to launch negotiations on what would be the world's largest free trade deal. Such an agreement would be the basis for the creation of an economic NATO and would include trade in goods, services and investment, as well as cover intellectual property rights. There are concerns that the U.S. could use these talks to push the EU to loosen its restrictions on genetically modified crops and foods. In addition, the deal might serve as a backdoor means to implement ACTA which was rejected by the European Parliament last year.
A U.S.-EU Transatlantic trade agreement is seen as a way of countering China's growing power and is the foundation for a new global economic order.
Woodward at war
By MIKE ALLEN and JIM VANDEHEI | Politico.com
Bob Woodward called a senior White House official last week to tell him that in a piece in that weekend's Washington Post, he was going to question President Barack Obama's account of how sequestration came about - and got a major-league brushback. The Obama aide "yelled at me for about a half hour," Woodward told us in an hour-long interview yesterday around the Georgetown dining room table where so many generations of Washington's powerful have spilled their secrets.
WHITE HOUSE TO WOODWARD:
YOU'LL 'REGRET' CHALLENGING US
by John Sexton - Breitbart.com
Bob Woodward has revealed that a "senior" White House official warned he would "regret challenging them" with a story about the origin of sequester. Given how Woodward earned his stripes as a reporter, the White House must have felt the issue was very important indeed.
Woodward revealed an email he received from the White House about his sequester story, which argued that the White House had originally proposed the plan and was moving the goal posts for political reasons. Video of an interview Woodward gave to Politico shows him making the claim. He apparently said the same thing on CNN a few hours later.
BOB WOODWARD: A 'Very Senior' White House Person
Warned Me I'd 'Regret' What I'm Doing
Brett LoGiurato - BusinessInsider.com
Bob Woodward said this evening on CNN that a "very senior person" at the White House warned him in an email that he would "regret doing this," the same day he has continued to slam President Barack Obama over the looming forced cuts known as the sequester.
CNN host Wolf Blitzer said that the network invited a White House official to debate Woodward on-air, but the White House declined.
"I think they're confused," Woodward said of the White House's pushback on his reporting.
Woodward: WH Aide 'Yelled at Me' for Half Hour
by John Sexton - Breitbart.com
In response to White House Tells Bob Woodward: "You Will Regret Doing This" - The Video:
Politico has published a piece to go with the video clip I linked earlier. In it, Woodward adds texture to his statement on CNN. He says a White House aide "yelled at me for about a half hour." The email Woodward received with the line about "regret" came after.
The best news may be that Politico now seems to understand, for the first time, that this is about setting the record straight:
ABC7 WJLA - Brian Coester, Coester VMS
and Jonathan Allen from Politico
Rebecca Cooper discusses the impact of sequestration and prospects for the region's real estate market with Politico's Senior Washington Correspondent Jonathan Allen and Brian Coester, CEO of Coester Value Management Services.
All Of This Whining And Crying About The Sequester
Shows Why America Is Doomed
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
If we can't even cut federal spending by 2.4 percent without much of the country throwing an absolute hissy fit, then what hope does America have? All of this whining and crying about the sequester is absolutely disgraceful. The truth is that even if the sequester goes into effect, the U.S. government will still take in more money than ever before in 2013 and it will still spend more money than ever before in 2013. So it is a bit disingenuous to call what is about to happen "a spending cut", but for the sake of argument let's concede that point. Even if the budget really was being "cut" by 85 billion dollars, that only would only amount to a "cut" of 2.4 percent to federal spending. It would barely make a dent in the federal budget deficit for 2013. The U.S. government would still accumulate about as much new debt in fiscal year 2013 as it did in all the years from the inauguration of George Washington to the inauguration of Ronald Reagan combined. Our debt to GDP ratio would continue to soar. The sequester cuts would essentially only be a minor bump on the road to financial oblivion. But if you listen to Barack Obama and his allies, they would have you believe that we are facing a great national crisis because of these impending cuts. They would have you believe that hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs and that many government agencies will no longer be able to operate effectively. They would have you believe that "granny won't get her lunch" and "roofs blown off by Hurricane Sandy won't get repaired". Well, if all of that is true, then what in the world would our country look like if we actually cut a trillion dollars from the federal budget this year and started living within our means?
Gritty Questions on the Historic Collapse
By: Jim Willie - GoldSeek.com
The typical articles over the last many years have featured a particular theme. In the last few months, the central theme in Jackass articles has been the isolation and demise of the USDollar, how it is happening, why it must happen, and its importance in the restoration of the global financial structure. But this week, a sudden urge has come to address an overwhelming list of critical gritty questions. They crop up with clients, colleagues, and friends. More than a crisis, it is more accurately described as a collapse of a corrupt inequitable monetary system, and a desperate defense by the major Western bankers to preserve their power over nations and their governments, alongside a vile vicious violent attempt by the United States to maintain its privilege as owner of the vast USDollar counterfeit machinery, as controller of vast banking pillars of paper columns, and as commander of a vast military. The current monetary system has a debt foundation, which is collapsing in lockstep with the rapid breakdown in the sovereign bond market. The last four years have seen a long drawn-out unstoppable process, where the collapse cannot be avoided and must happen.
Senate votes to confirm Lew for Treasury
By Ramsey Cox - TheHill.com
In a 71-26 vote, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jack Lew to serve as the next Treasury secretary.
Twenty Republicans voted for Lew, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) broke with Democrats and opposed Lew's nomination.
Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Mark Begich (Alaska) and Mark Udall (Colo.) missed the vote.
Sanders said he voted against Lew because he wouldn't stand up against Wall Street to protect working families.
Bernanke's 'Inflation' Record
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Addressing a question yesterday, from Senator Bob Corker, on his "being the biggest dove since World War II" and the "degrading effects that he's having on society," Bernanke responded proudly that be believed his "inflation record is the best of any Federal Reserve Chairman in the post-war period." Of course that is by his measure. We suggest, he and few of his transitory colleagues look at the chart below for a sense of just what his 'dovishness' looks like to the rest of the food- and energy-consuming world... or perhaps by 'best' he means 'most'.
House GOP puts squeeze on Bernanke
By Peter Schroeder - TheHill.com
House Republicans mounted significant pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday, as they criticized his policies and criticism of the pending sequestration.
Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke had to defend himself from skepticism and accusations for several hours, as GOP lawmakers accused him of encouraging damaging inflation, making it easier to ignore deficits and doing more harm than good to the economy.
Sparks Fly: Bernanke Asked to Cut the 'Ton of Fat'
Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Sean Duffy, a Republican from Wisconsin, confronts Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about cutting the `fat' in the budget.
Is the Bernanke Fed Painting Itself Into a Corner? What Happens When the Fed
Really Does Run Out of Ammunition?
By Michael Sivy, TIME
Stocks dropped sharply last week, with the Dow falling some 200 points, after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its January Open Market Committee meeting. Although the minutes reaffirmed the Fed's easy-money policy, they also showed that some members of the Committee had voiced concerns. The dissenters cautioned that quantitative easing, the current program of massive bond buying, could not be continued indefinitely without serious risks.
Bernanke Says Fed May Decide Not to Sell Securities
By Caroline Salas Gage & Joshua Zumbrun - Bloomberg.com
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank may decide to hold bonds on its $3.1 trillion balance sheet to maturity as part of a review of its strategy for an exit from record monetary easing.
Bernanke told lawmakers in Washington today that he expects to revisit "sometime soon" an exit plan that policy makers outlined in June 2011.
Italian Voters Reject
the European Union's Austerity Measures
By Peter Schwarz - GlobalResearch.ca
Italian voters have unambiguously rejected the politics of the Monti government and the European Union. This has triggered panic and outrage in Europe's capitals and unleashed ferocious tremors on the international finance markets.
Some 55 percent of the electorate voted for parties that spoke out against the EU in their campaigns. The slate headed by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, which was supported by Brussels, Berlin, the Catholic Church and numerous Italian businessmen, only received 10 percent of the vote.
ECB bond plan in jeopardy as Italy's voters reject conditions Italy's electoral earthquake is "a catastrophe for the euro and the European Union", according to Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jean Asselborn.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
The verdict was much the same in chancelleries across the eurozone, especially in those countries already starting to feel the first wave of contagion.
"The result touches us all," said Spain's foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. "It is a jump into the void that bodes well for nobody, neither for Italy, nor for the rest of Europe."
Almost 57pc of the Italian vote went to parties that have vowed to tear up the EU austerity script. Together they control a majority of senate seats.
Argentina Says It Won't Voluntarily Comply With Bond Ruling
By Bob Van Voris & Christie Smythe - Blooomberg.com
Argentina's claim that a U.S. court can't tie its obligation to make defaulted bondholders whole to payments on restructured debt faced skepticism from judges as a lawyer for the country said it won't obey orders to pay as much as $1.3 billion of defaulted sovereign debt.
Jonathan Blackman, the attorney for the South American nation, said today that Argentina would default on its restructured debt if it's forced by a three-judge appeals panel in New York to pay holders of the defaulted debt.
How to Go $16.5 Trillion in Debt
By Rich Galen - PatriotPost.us
A recent poll by the Pew organization showed that while those of us in Our Nation's Capital and the 2,375 people who watch cable chat shows are consumed by the looming sequester, the other 75% of Americans are just shrugging, sighing, and smiling knowingly that the world will go on after Friday.
The underlying issue about the size of the deficit (about $1 trillion for FY 2013) and the national debt (a touch under $16.6 trillion) is the way the government spends our money.
Not its money. Our money.
Case in point.
Obama Is Setting Us Up
By Michael Oberndorf - PatriotPost.us
In the days since the November elections, the pace of Obama's destruction of America has increased significantly. Now that the Marxists have secured the executive branch for another four years -- thanks to massive voter fraud, a cowardly Republican Party, and a couple of million self-righteous fools who refused to vote, apparently preferring a Muslim Marxist over a moderately conservative Mormon -- Obama and his lawless unindicted co-conspirators have thrown caution to the wind. Every day, new outrages are proposed, all aimed at destruction of the Middle Class and America as a free, capitalist, constitutional republic. However, in our efforts to recognize and combat the internal attacks -- the tax increases, the land grabs, the granting of citizenship to illegal invaders, the undermining of private property rights, etc. ad nauseam -- we are failing to notice the external threats that Obama's policies are abetting. The re-militarization of Russia and their much more aggressive and threatening attitude is of great concern, but there are other, much less publicized ones we need to be aware of.
Polluted America
By Paul Craig Roberts
In the United States everything is polluted.
Democracy is polluted with special interests and corrupt politicians.
Accountability is polluted with executive branch exemptions from law and the Constitution and with special legal privileges for corporations, such as the Supreme Court given right to corporations to purchase American elections.
The Constitution is polluted with corrupt legal interpretations from the Bush and Obama regimes that have turned constitutional prohibitions into executive branch rights, transforming law from a shield of the people into a weapon in the hands of government.
How Obama Wins
By Ben Shapiro - PatriotPost.us
President Obama is one of the great political knife-fighters in modern history. He is a failed president -- his economy is bleak, his foreign policy bleaker, his vision for American even bleaker still. But he wins.
He wins by losing.
President Obama has only had two major policy victories during his tenure: the stimulus package and Obamacare. Both are massively unpopular. The stimulus package launched the tea party movement. Obamacare led to the Republican wipeout of 2010.
Chief Talks of Mistakes and Big Loss at J.C. Penney
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD - NYTimes.com
J. C. Penney's chief executive admitted on Wednesday that he had made "big mistakes" in his turnaround effort, as the retailer reported a startling fourth-quarter loss of $2.51 a share, compared with the 24-cent-a-share loss analysts had expected.
In the year since the chief, Ron Johnson, introduced his ambitious new strategy, the company has lost $4.28 billion in sales and its stock is down about 55 percent. In his quest to "be the favorite store for everyone," Mr. Johnson said the retailer had gotten some areas wrong, including marketing and an assessment that customers wanted simple pricing without constant sales.
JC Penney posts 4th straight big quarterly loss
and sales drop on failing plan to woo shoppers
by: ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP - StarTribune.com
NEW YORK - Boy, it just wasn't J.C. Penney's year.
The mid-priced department store chain reported another much larger-than-expected loss in the fiscal fourth quarter on a nearly 30 percent plunge in revenue in the latest sign that shoppers aren't happy with the changes it's made in the past year.
The results mark a full year of massive quarterly losses and revenue declines that miss Wall Street estimates since J.C. Penney Co. began a turnaround strategy that included ditching coupons and most of its sales events in favor of everyday low prices, bringing in hipper designer brands such as Betsy Johnson and remaking outdated stores.
Wal-Mart Struggles to Restock Store Shelves
as U.S. Sales Slump
By Renee Dudley - Bloomberg.com
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), already struggling to woo shoppers constrained by higher taxes, is "getting worse" at keeping shelves stocked, the retailer's U.S. chief told executives, according to minutes of an officers' meeting obtained by Bloomberg News.
"We run out quickly and the new stuff doesn't come in," U.S. Chief Executive Officer Bill Simonsaid, according to the minutes of the Feb. 1 meeting. Simon called "self-inflicted wounds" Wal-Mart's "biggest risk" and said an executive vice president had been appointed to fix the restocking problem, according to the minutes.
Rare superbug emerging in U.S.
elicits advisory warning from CDC
FOXNews.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is alerting clinicians of an emerging untreatable multidrug-resistant organism in the United States.
There are many forms of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), but of the 37 forms reported in the U.S., 15 have been reported in less than a year.
The CDC said the increase in CRE means health care providers need to "act aggressively to prevent the emergence and spread of these unusual CRE organisms."
Here's Exactly How Many College Graduates Live Back at Home
By Jordan Weissmann - TheAtlantic.com
The unemployed college graduate moving back in with his parents has been a stock figure of the past few years, helping to cement the Millennials' reputation as the "Boomerang Generation." But how many young grads are returning to live with their mom and dad (or their aunt or uncle)?
College Education in America:
"Learning to Be Stupid in the Culture of Cash"
By Luciana Bohne - GlobalResearch.ca
….The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote that, in the rapacity that the industrial revolution created, people first surrendered their minds or the capacity to reason, then their hearts or the capacity to empathize, until all that was left of the original human equipment was the senses or their selfish demands for gratification. At that point, humans entered the stage of market commodities and market consumers–one more thing in the commercial landscape. Without minds or hearts, they are instrumentalized to buy whatever deadens their clamoring and frightened senses–official lies, immoral wars, Barbies, and bankrupt educations.
Collapse of Social Programs in America:
Three-Quarters of Progressive Caucus
Not Taking a Stand Against Cuts in Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid
By Norman Solomon - GlobalResearch.ca
For the social compact of the United States, most of the Congressional Progressive Caucus has gone missing.While still on the caucus roster, three-quarters of the 70-member caucus seem lost in political smog. Those 54 members of the Progressive Caucus haven't signed the current letter that makes a vital commitment: "we will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need."
More than 10 days ago, Congressmen Alan Grayson and Mark Takano initiated the forthright letter, circulating it among House colleagues. Addressed to President Obama, the letter has enabled members of Congress to take a historic stand: joining together in a public pledge not to vote for any cuts in Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
Shepherds and Sheep History shows the folly of letting the government
make our mistakes for us.
By Thomas Sowell - NationalReview.com
John Stuart Mill's classic essay "On Liberty" gives reasons why some people should not be taking over other people's decisions about their own lives. But Professor Cass Sunstein of Harvard has given reasons to the contrary. He cites research showing "that people make a lot of mistakes, and that those mistakes can prove extremely damaging."
Professor Sunstein is undoubtedly correct that "people make a lot of mistakes." Most of us can look back over our own lives and see many mistakes, including some that were very damaging.
Not surprising, in our fallen world of bottom lines Apple, Google, Facebook Tell Supreme Court:
Gay Marriage Is Good for Business
BY MARCUS WOHLSEN - Wired.com
The biggest tech companies in the world are standing up for same-sex marriage, but not just as a matter of fairness. Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft are just a few of hundreds of companies that have signed on to a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that federal same-sex marriage restrictions hurt their businesses.
In all, 278 companies joined to support the friend-of-the-court filing, among them some of the country's biggest and most visible. Other tech companies listed as backers of the brief include Adobe, Cisco, eBay, Electronic Arts, Intel, Intuit, Oracle, Twitter and Zynga.
Record-keeping requirement
holding up gun check deal in Congress Bipartisan effort close, but record-keeping requirement
still being negotiated
By ALAN FRAM, AP - WashingtonGuardian.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate aide and a lobbyist say a dispute over whether to require record keeping for private gun sales is holding up a bipartisan compromise over expanding background checks for firearms transactions.
Requiring background checks for virtually all firearm sales is a keystone of President Barack Obama's proposed gun curbs. The checks are currently required only for sales at federally licensed dealers, but not private transactions at gun shows, online or elsewhere.
Two Republican and two Democratic senators have been looking for a compromise.
SCOTUS split-decisions never result in 'good' laws on the books Supreme Court rules out secret surveillance lawsuits
The ruling is the latest to shield the U.S. government's anti-terrorism surveillance programs from court challenge. Critics see a setback for privacy rights.
By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau - LATimes.com
WASHINGTON — No one can sue the government over secret surveillance because, since it's secret, no one can prove his or her calls were intercepted, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, throwing out a constitutional challenge to the government's monitoring of international calls and emails.
The 5-4 decision is the latest of many that have shielded the government's anti-terrorism programs from court challenge, and a striking example of what civil libertarians call the Catch-22 rule that blocks challengers from collecting the evidence they need to proceed.
Supreme Court shields warrantless eavesdropping law from constitutional challenge The five right-wing justices hand Obama a victory by accepting his DOJ's secrecy-based demand for dismissal
By Glenn Greenwald - Guardian.co.uk
The Obama justice department succeeded in convincing the five right-wing Supreme Court justices to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 2008 law, the FISA Amendments Act, which vastly expanded the government's authority to eavesdrop on Americans without warrants. In the case of Clapper v. Amnesty International,Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion, released today, which adopted the argument of the Obama DOJ, while the Court's four less conservative justices (Ginsberg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan) all dissented. This means that the lawsuit is dismissed without any ruling on whether the US government's new eavesdropping powers violate core constitutional rights. The background of this case is vital to understanding why this is so significant.
Big Brother? US linked to new wave of censorship,
surveillance on web
By John R. Quain - FOXNews.com
Even the most open, democratic governments have sought laws and new forms of surveillance that many see as a new wave of censorship -- and that includes the United States.
The U.S. government asked Google for data on its users more than 31,000 times in 2012 alone, for example. And the government rarely obtained a search warrant first, Google recently revealed; in nearly all cases, the company ended up turning over at least some data.
New sophisticated malware targets 23 countries,
including Israel 'Dangerous' MiniDuke, which exploits Adobe Reader PDF files,
is latest virus to invade government computers,
says Kaspersky Labs
By DAVID SHAMAH - TimesOfIsrael.com
Israel is one of 23 countries targeted by a just-born virus that cleverly exploits Adobe Reader PDF files to install a new, highly customized malicious program on computers. Dubbed "MiniDuke" by anti-virus groups Kaspersky Labs, the virus has been used in the past week to attack dozens of servers in government organizations and institutions worldwide.
So far, Kaspersky said Wednesday, MiniDuke has managed to cause significant cyber-damage to government organizations in Ukraine, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, the Czech Republic and Ireland. In addition, a research institute, two think tanks, and a healthcare provider in the United States were also compromised, as was a prominent research foundation in Hungary.
Researchers uncover new global cyber-espionage campaign A new cyber-espionage campaign dubbed MiniDuke
used the recent Adobe Reader zero-day exploit
By Lucian Constantin - Computerworld.com
IDG News Service - Security researchers have identified an ongoing cyber-espionage campaign that compromised 59 computers belonging to government organizations, research institutes, think tanks and private companies from 23 countries in the past 10 days.
The attack campaign was discovered and analyzed by researchers from security firm Kaspersky Lab and the Laboratory of Cryptography and System Security (CrySyS) of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
Tiniest Drone Sees Everything in Slow Motion
Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Meet the Black Hornet. The size of a hummingbird, the world's smallest drone is already in use in the fields of Afghanistan
Expert: Stuxnet part of long-term effort to stop Iran nukes New evidence shows that the virus has been active in Iran's Natanz facility almost since the day it opened in 2007
By DAVID SHAMAH - TimesOfIsrael.com
Stuxnet, the virus that attacked Iran's nuclear program and that may or may not have been developed by Israel and the US, was already doing its destructive work in 2007, two years earlier than previously thought.
And, said one expert on hacking in the Middle East, versions of Stuxnet, which are still plaguing Iran's nuclear program, have apparently been a factor in preventing the Islamic Republic from achieving nuclear capability — one reason why predictions that Iran would soon achieve nuclear capability have not yet panned out.
Here Comes the Parade of Computing Interfaces
That Want to Replace the Touchscreen Over the next six months or so, we're going to see
an explosion of new ways of interacting with computers,
televisions, and mobile devices.
By Alexis Madrigal - TheAtlantic.com
The interfaces are coming! Over the next six months or so, we're going to see an explosion of new ways of interacting with computers, televisions, and mobile devices. Many of them are radical departures from the way things have been done, which is exciting. I'll run several down in this post that are slated to come out this year.
Almost all of them will fail quickly and be forgotten forever. But there's a chance that one of these new technologies will hit a consumer sweetspot and become enshrined in our lives like the remote control or the keyboard.
3-D Printed Car Is as Strong as Steel, Half the Weight,
and Nearing Production
BY ALEXANDER GEORGE - Wired.com
Picture an assembly line not that isn't made up of robotic arms spewing sparks to weld heavy steel, but a warehouse of plastic-spraying printers producing light, cheap and highly efficient automobiles.
If Jim Kor's dream is realized, that's exactly how the next generation of urban runabouts will be produced. His creation is called the Urbee 2 and it could revolutionize parts manufacturing while creating a cottage industry of small-batch automakers intent on challenging the status quo.
NIKE RELEASES FIRST 3D PRINTED FOOTBALL CLEAT The Nike Vapor Laser Talon incorporates
a revolutionary 3D printed plate,
crafted using Selective Laser Sintering technology.
By Emma Hutchings - PSFK.com
Nike introduced its first pair of football cleats to feature a 3D-printed plate. TheNike Vapor Laser Talon weighs just 5.6 ounces and is designed to help athletes maintain optimal traction on football turf.
To develop the cleat, Nike designers worked with elite trainers within Nike SPARQ, as well as long time partner and gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson. The plate is crafted using selective laser sintering (SLS) technology, which uses high-powered lasers to fuse small particles of materials into a 3D shape.
PC desktops almost obsolete 3D DESKTOP COMPUTER LETS USER
REACH INSIDE TO GRAB FILES SpaceTop, unveiled at TED, turns a computer interface into something tangible that can be manipulated with your hands.
By Emma Hutchings - PSFK.com
SpaceTop is a 3D desktop computer developed by MIT grad student Jinha Lee, who recently completed an internship at Microsoft Applied Science. Unveiled at the TED conference in Long Beach, California, Lee's system turns a computer interface into something tangible.
Behind the transparent LED screen, there is a 3D interaction space above the keyboard where users can directly manipulate floating interface elements like files and web pages. Instead of clicking on a document, they can grab it as if it were real to drag and drop it somewhere or open it for viewing.
The Mafia is Moving into Renewable Energy
By James Burgess - OilPrice.com
Traditionally the mafia controls operations in gambling, prostitution, protection, extortion, and loan-sharking, yet recent evidence shows that they might actually be adding renewable energy to that list.
Italian police have recently discovered links between the Sicilian crime families known as the Cosa Nostra, and wind and solar power companies in the area. Law enforcement officers have taken around a dozen crime bosses off to jail, along with corrupt officials and company executives; they have also seized around 30 percent of Sicily's wind farms, and have frozen more than $2 billion worth of assets.
Justice Department says wins $1 billion Dow tax shelter case
Patrick Temple-West, Reuters - ChicagoTribune.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it has won a $1 billion tax shelter case against Dow Chemical Co that involved a Swiss partnership, Wall Street financial giant Goldman Sachs and international law firm King & Spalding.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana rejected two tax shelter transactions entered into by the Dow Chemical Co "that purported to create approximately $1 billion in phony tax deductions," Justice said in a statement.
Green energy not exactly what it's cracked up to be... Cape Cod Community
Considering Removing $10 Million Wind Turbines
by William Bigelow - Breitbart.com
Two wind turbines that were built on Cape Cod are now being considered for removal because local residents are getting sick from their impact on the environment.
In the community of Falmouth, residents are complaining of headaches, dizziness, and sleep deprivation. Falmouth resident Neil Andersen said, "It gets to be jet-engine loud. Every time the blade has a downward motion it gives off a tremendous energy, gives off a pulse. And that pulse, it gets into your tubular organs, chest cavity, mimics a heartbeat, gives you headaches. It's extremely disturbing and it gets to the point where you have to leave."
Cape Cod community considers
taking down wind turbines after illness, noise
By Molly Line - FOXNews.com
Two wind turbines towering above the Cape Cod community of Falmouth, Mass., were intended to produce green energy and savings -- but they've created angst and division, and may now be removed at a high cost as neighbors complain of noise and illness.
"It gets to be jet-engine loud," said Falmouth resident Neil Andersen. He and his wife Betsy live just a quarter mile from one of the turbines. They say the impact on their health has been devastating. They're suffering headaches, dizziness and sleep deprivation and often seek to escape the property where they've lived for more than 20 years.
To Avoid Volatile Gasoline Prices,
Why not use More Natural Gas?
By Barry Stevens - OilPrice.com
This story is old. Unless you're one of the walking dead, then it's no surprise that gasoline prices are back on the rise. Seems like every time when gasoline prices reach a level where alternatives seem to make sense, the price falls to a new threshold where most are left to grin and bear the new sting. Who would ever believe that $3.00 a gallon would make American's breathe easy. Back in February 2011, my piece "Here We Go Again – Up Up and Away With Oil Prices!" warned or our servitude to oil the king of transportation. This has been talked about in the public and private sectors prior to the oil crisis of 1973, some 40 years ago.
In itself, the instability of retail gasoline prices is not the problem. The problem is that there are viable alternatives that lay in wake. We will return to this point later in this discussion.
Environmental Issues that Could De-Rail the Natural Gas Boom
By Chris Faulkner - OilPrice.com
There are two key environmental issues that have the most likelihood of slowing the natural gas boom or, perhaps, redirecting its trajectory: fracking chemicals and fracking water usage.
Fracking chemicals: what the frack?
Inflamed by dramatic scenes like tap water catching on fire, worries over the effect of fracking on the quality of groundwater have been the hottest point of contention and examination. Years of research has shown that these concerns are overblown. Consider, for example, the most exhaustive study of the claims versus the facts published in February by the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin: "Fact-Based Regulation for Environmental Protection in Shale Gas Development." The study included a thorough review of adverse health effects associated with the chemicals most commonly cited as potential pollutants due to fracking, and found no direct evidence of health impacts associated with fracking chemicals in gas and oil workers or people living near fracking activity.
You don't hear about that on the evening news.
Nuclear Expert: "The Melted Core Cracked The Containment Vessel, There Really Is No Containment" At Fukushima Reactors
By George Washington - ZeroHedge.com
Steven Starr - Director of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at the Universityof Missouri/Senior Scientist at Physicians for Social Responsibility - said:
The Japanese basically lied about what happened with the reactors for months. They said they were trying to prevent a meltdown, when in fact they knew within the first couple of days Reactors 1, 2, and 3 at Fukushima Daiichi had melted down, and they actually melted through the steel containment vessels.
So there was a worst case scenario that they were trying to hide, they even knew that at that time enormous amounts of radiation were released over Japan and some of it even went over Tokyo [...]
The melted core cracked the containment vessel, there really is no containment. So as soon as they pump the water in it leaks out again.
Earthquakes and Fumaroles as Unrest Hits Peru's Sabancaya
BY ERIK KLEMETTI - Wired.com
Over the past few days, the Peruvian Geologic Survey (Ingemmet) has noted a sharp increase in seismicity underneath one of the more active volcanoes in the southern part of the country:Sabancaya. Over 500 earthquakes were recorded under the volcano between February 22-23 and with an accompanying increase in fumarole emissions (steam and volcanic gases) from the summit (see above), Ingemmet chose to raise the alert status at Sabancaya to Orange. The fumarolic activity at the summit is especially notable the new steam/gas plume reached over 100 meters over the volcano (although this can also be mitigated by weather conditions) — and closely followed the onset of the new seismicity.
Turkey cornered into Israeli embrace
By Ramzy Baroud - ATimes.com
An Israeli-Turkish rapprochement is unmistakably underway, but unlike the heyday of their political alignment in the 1990s, the revamped relationship is likely to be more guarded and pose a greater challenge to Turkey rather than Israel.
Israeli media last week referenced a report by Turkish newspaper Radikal regarding secret talks between Turkey and Israel that could yield an Israeli apology for its army's raid against the Turkish aid flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, which was on its way to Gaza in May 2010. The assault resulted in the death of nine Turkish activists, including a US citizen.
US Troops to Niger: A New Stage in the Scramble for Africa
By Bill Van Auken - GlobalResearch.ca
President Barack Obama's terse notification to Congress last week that American troops are being deployed to the northwest African nation of Niger confirms that a whole new stage in the imperialist recolonization of Africa is now in progress.
The dispatch of the first 100 troops—with hundreds more reportedly to follow—is bound up with a deal signed last month between Washington and the Niger government allowing the US military to set up a drone base on the country's territory, creating the conditions for spreading the Obama administration's remote-control killing spree throughout the region.
Al Qaeda finds new stronghold
in rugged mountains of Mali as it regroups in Africa
By Joshua Rhett Miller, AP - FOXNews.com
Al Qaeda has established a vast mountain stronghold in Mali's lawless north, launching attacks and then melting into the rugged hills, which they vow will become an Afghanistan-style quagmire for North African governments and Western militaries, according to experts.
Like Tora Bora, the mountain labyrinth in Afghanistan where Al Qaeda evaded Western militaries for years under Usama bin Laden, Mali's Tigharghar Mountain chain allows terrorists to strike within the region and then vanish when pursued, according to a new report by Stratfor, a Texas-based intelligence firm. Caves, tunnels and land mines have made the jagged mountains an impenetrable safe haven for the terrorists, who authorities say were behind last month's attack on an Algerian gas plant and yesterday's car bombing that killed six in Kidal, a key city in northern Mali.
News from Kyrzakhstan
By Pepe Escobar - ATimes.com
The international community was thrown into disarray after US Secretary of State John Kerry inadvertently outed the country of Kyrzakhstan. Analysts from the Arctic to Oceania, scrambling for answers, still have not been able to pinpoint the exact geographical location of the mysterious country.
The CIA says "it's somewhere in Central Asia". In an effort to stay ahead of the game, soon to be confirmed CIA director John Brennan has already assembled a fleet of weaponized drones to collect intel on suspicious terrorist activity in Kyrzakhstan.
Hagel's win a defeat for interventionism
By Jim Lobe - ATimes.com
WASHINGTON - Ending a long and controversial battle, the US Senate Tuesday voted 58-41 to confirm former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama's new secretary of defense.
The confirmation, which followed a more-lopsided 71-27 vote to end a Republican-led filibuster against the decorated Vietnam War veteran, broke mainly along party lines, with four Republican senators joining the 52 Democrats and two independents in the chamber in voting to approve the nomination.
Hagel, Kerry offer softer tone on foreign policy New secretary of defense suggests US 'can't dictate to the world,' while secretary of state calls Iran's government 'elected'
By HAVIV RETTIG GUR - TimesOfIsrael.com
NEW YORK – The two newest members of Obama's cabinet expressed views on Wednesday that will likely be grist for the mill for the administration's foreign policy critics.
Shortly after he was sworn in Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told a group of Pentagon officials that the US "can't dictate to the world, but we must engage the world."
Kerry says U.S. looking to accelerate fall of Syrian regime
By Paul Richter - LATimes.com
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Wednesday that the United States and allies are jointly planning new ways to accelerate the fall of the Syrian regime, amid signs that Washington may begin directly providing non-lethal aid to opposition fighters.
Speaking in Paris one day before a gathering of Syrian opposition officials and world leaders in Rome, Kerry said U.S. officials and allies are discussing ways to convince Syrian President Bashar Assad "that he can't shoot his way out of this. ... We are examining and developing ways to accelerate the political transition that the Syrian people want and deserve."
Dem lawmaker prepares bill to allow Obama
direct arms sales to Syrian rebels
By Guy Taylor-The Washington Times
One of the top Democratic lawmakers on foreign policy is preparing to introduce a bill that would authorize President Obama to begin sending arms directly to rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad — legislation that would open the way for significantly deeper U.S. involvement in Syria's bloody civil war.
Rep. Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, would authorize "the president to provide vetted Syrian opposition members with appropriate lethal military assistance," according to a summary of the legislation obtained by The Washington Times.
The bill would also clear the way for "a program to facilitate destruction of Syrian chemical and biological weapons."
Scathing EU report calls for stepped-up sanctions
on Israel over 'illegal annexation of East Jerusalem'
By Linda Gradstein - NationalPost.com
A non-binding report by the European Union's consuls general in East Jerusalem and Ramallah harshly criticizes Israel for undermining the possibility of an independent Palestinian state by expanding what it calls "settlement" construction. It calls Israel's policy "systematic, deliberate and provocative" and calls for stepped-up European sanctions.
The report focuses on eastern Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in 1967, and which Israel maintains must remain the united capital of Israel.
World powers present Iran with new proposal
that would ease sanctions without closing Fordo Teheran expressed satisfaction with the proposal that would suspend the operations in, but not close, its enrichment facility, as well as, allow Iran to hold stockpiles of enriched uranium.
By Barak Ravid and News Agencies - Haaretz.com
The negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 nations closed on Wednesday with an offer easing the powers' demands of Iran. According to the new proposal, Iran would only be required to suspend its operations in, but not completely shut down, the underground uranium enrichment center in Fordo, as well as, an allowance for Iran to hold stockpiles of 20-percent enriched uranium.
Iran Upbeat after Latest Round of Talks with UN
By Joao Peixe -OilPrice.com
The latest set of talks between the UN powers and Iran over its controversial nuclear program have finished, and once again no solution has been found; even so, Iran have left the table feeling rather upbeat.
Plans have been made to meet again in Istanbul next month, and Ali Akbar Salehi , Iran's foreign minister, is optimistic that an agreement can be made, and stating that he was "very confident" that the outcome will be positive.
North Korea expanding gulag network, satellite images show
By National Post Staff
A newly released analysis of satellite imagery paints a bleak picture of North Korea's growing gulag network.
The North's Labour Camp No. 25, which makes up part of what campaigners call "one of the worst, but least understood and reported, human rights situations in the world," appears to be in the midst of a dramatic expansion.
According to the Committee of Human Rights in North Korea, the camp grew at least 72% since 2003. The number of perimeter guard posts jumped from 20 in 2003 to 43 by 2010.
N. Korea Threatens Nuke Attack on Mainland USA North Korea is threatening the US,
claiming it has long-range missiles with atomic warheads
capable of reaching the American mainland.
By Chana Ya'ar - IsraelNationalNews.com
North Korea is threatening the US with a nuclear attack, claiming it has long-range missiles with atomic warheads capable of reaching the American mainland.
The open threat appeared in an editorial posted this week on the country's Uriminzokkiri state news and propaganda website, which recently posted a video depicting a North Korean dreaming of a nuclear attack on New York City and President Barack Obama in flames.
Gold Jumps Most In 2013 As S&P Limps To Unch For Feb
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Equities dead-cat-bounced today on minimal upside volume (and low average trade size) to get the S&P back to unchanged for the month. Broadly speaking risk-assets stayed well correlated with stocks though bonds and the USD looked somewhat dead trading in a very small range given recent shenanigans. Gold and Silver had their best day of the year so far as the former broke back over $1600 (and has now seen the best 4-day jump in 6 months). It seems Bernanke's relative dovishness is losing its equity appeal (as gap prices continue to rise) but precious metals (post China new year) have rediscovered some central bank balance sheet reality. Homebuilders, buoyed by the craziest seasonal adjustments ever to sales, swung from worst-to-first on the week.
Why the Casey Research Brain Trust Is Convinced
That Precious Metals Will Rise Again
By Casey Research
Given the profoundly bearish sentiment that has gripped so many participants in the resource sector, particularly gold investors, we decided to poll the chief editors at Casey Research regarding the current sell-off. We recognize the severity of the situation and want readers to know we're taking it very seriously.
We also want readers to know that the "Casey consensus" is not a single view imposed on all, but the result of a constant conversation we have among ourselves, questioning our own premises, making sure we don't ignore new data if and when it contradicts our expectations. This is why some of the thoughts below will seem less positive than others; we see this sort of open discourse as a good and healthy thing for out business.
Rusty Old Tin Can of Gold
By Adrian Ash - GoldSeek.com
Gold has turned, apparently. Leveraged speculators in the futures market said so...
"To HOARDERS and speculators," says Time magazine, "gold lately has had about as much luster as a rusty tin can."
Rings true here in Feb. 2013. But this clanging bell – entitled The Great Gold Bust, and drowned out as a signal to fill your boots only by the New York Times' infamous Who Needs Gold When We Have Greenspan? of May 1999 – was rung back in Aug. 1976, right at the bottom of a 50% pullback in the 1970s' long bull market in gold.
Sound Money Campaign: "Economists Love To Hate Gold"
GoldSilverWorlds.com
The Sound Money Campaign website (an excellent initiative by the way) just released an interview with Jay Taylor. It is a "must listen" interview as several interesting insights are revealed. Triggered by the seeming propaganda against the metals in the past two weeks, Jay Taylor shares his take on the metals, our money and gold miners.
I think there's no question there is a huge dislike against gold among the establishment because gold competes with paper money. The current fiat currency system is a way of those who control that system to wrestle away from those who create something (miners, manufacturers, inventors, farmers … people who actually do something).
Decentralized digital currency goes mainstream Need Bitcoins? This ATM takes dollars and funds your account New Hampshire entrepreneurs have created a dollar-converting anonymous Bitcoin ATM, which they hope to sell to bars, restaurants, and other retail locations nationwide.
by Declan McCullagh - CNet.com
NASHUA, N.H. -- Zach Harvey has an ambitious plan to accelerate adoption of the Internet's favorite alternative currency: installing in thousands of bars, restaurants, and grocery stores ATMs that will let you buy Bitcoins anonymously.
It's the opposite of a traditional automated teller that dispenses currency. Instead, these Bitcoin ATMs will accept dollar bills -- using the same validation mechanism as vending machines -- and instantly convert the amount to Bitcoins and deposit the result in your account.
Startup attempts to bring Bitcoins
to the real world with a Bitcoin ATM
By: Mark Raby - Geek.com
Bitcoin, the currency that exists exclusively online, is poised to get more of a physical presence, thanks to a small bartop machine that a couple of New Hampshire entrepreneurs have designed. The Bitcoin ATM, as pictured above by CNET, is designed to turn your cold hard cash into Bitcoins, in what could very well become the most seamless way to convert real money to the anonymous currency. Currently, the process of getting Bitcoins is a bit arduous.
Get Your Gold Out of Dodge With Bitcoin
GoldSilverBitCoin.com
From my time working at a walk in precious metals dealer one of the questions that I remember coming up with relative frequency is what do I do with the metals? How do I store it? Should I keep it at home or in a safety deposit box? These questions were, for the most part, easy to answer as you could present the customer with three quick options for their storage and let them decide which would be the best. On the other hand, the question that never came with a quick simple answer was always, "how do I get my gold out of the country?"
The presumably intentional vague regulation put out by U.S Customs reads like this;
Bernanke: Sequester spending cuts will 'harm the recovery'
By Patrice Hill-The Washington Times
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned Congress on Tuesday morning that $85 billion of across-the-board spending cuts due to start Friday will dampen economic growth this year.
In his first public testimony to the newly elected Congress, the Fed chairman urged lawmakers to replace the cuts with spending cuts and revenue increases that will reduce the nation's debt over the long term but have a gentler impact on the U.S. economy as it struggles to recover this year.
Fed Faces Explaining Billion-Dollar Losses in QE Exit Stress
By Craig Torres, Josh Zumbrun
& Caroline Salas Gage - Bloomberg.com
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's efforts to rescue the economy could result in more than a half trillion dollars of paper losses on the central bank's books if interest rates rise abruptly from recent levels.
That sum is the difference between the value of securities in the Fed's portfolio on Dec. 31 and what they may fetch in three years, according to data compiled by MSCI Inc. (MSCI) of New York for Bloomberg News. MSCI applied scenarios devised by the Fed itself for stress-testing the nation's 19 largest banks.
The Fed Must Now Manage Expectations VERY CAREFULLY
If It Doesn't Want to Trigger Another Crash
by Phoenix Capital Research - ZeroHedge.com
The Fed has a HUGE problem on its hands.
Fed officials are well aware that stocks have become totally disconnected from reality. However, they cannot simply come out and discuss ending stimulus efforts outright because it would cause a market collapse. Remember, the single most important role for the Fed post-2008 is to maintain confidence in the system. So they cannot risk any explicit statement that they will be pulling the punchbowl.
Consequently, Fed officials have begun a careful process of managing down expectations regarding future stimulus.
Entitlement reform key to U.S. future
By JON COWAN and JIM KESSLER | Politico.com
As the sequester blame game hits fever pitch this week, Republicans' stance on taxes is simply indefensible, falling hundreds of billions short of even their own prior positions. But as Democrats, we also share a large portion of responsibility for the coming cuts to domestic discretionary spending, as the party has decided in both action and rhetoric that meaningful fixes to the major entitlement programs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are off-limits.
Wall Street Bonuses Climb 8% to $20 Billion, DiNapoli Says
By Freeman Klopott & Laura Marcinek - Bloomberg.com
Wall Street's cash bonus pool rose 8 percent to $20 billion in 2012 as profits surged, according to projections by New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Employees took home an average cash bonus of almost $121,900 last year, DiNapoli, a 59-year-old Democrat, said today in a conference call with reporters. The pool climbed as some firms moved up payments to 2012 to avoid paying higher federal personal income taxes taking effect this year and as profits in the securities industry increased three-fold, he said.
Why the Euro Debt Crisis Never Really Ended Italy's Political Mess: Why the Euro Debt Crisis Never Ended
By Michael Schuman - TIME.com
Over the last few months, Europe seemed to be proving its doubters wrong. Thanks to a timely intervention by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in mid-2012, yields on Spanish and Italian bonds, which had been spiking towards levels that threatened to topple them into costly bailouts, had receded to more tolerable levels and calm was restored to jittery financial markets. The European Union crept towards the greater integration that is the only true route out of the debt crisis by agreeing to form a banking union in December. The leaders of the euro zone and Greece managed to patch up their differences enough to keep the country in the monetary union. Reforms in troubled economies continued, albeit slowly. Spain is steadily repairing its banking sector, laid low by the country's housing bust, with the help of E.U. aid. Yes, it looked like gloating time for the optimists who had insisted that those who predicted a much more dismal outcome of the euro zone's debt crisis – the exit of one or more of members, or the collapse of the monetary union altogether – were gravely mistaken.
Trade protectionism looms next as central banks exhaust QE Officials at the US Federal Reserve may be more worried than they have let on about the treacherous task of extricating America from quantitative easing. This is an unsettling twist, with global implications.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
A new paper for the US Monetary Policy Forum and published by the Fed warns that the institution's capital base could be wiped out "several times" once borrowing costs start to rise in earnest.
A mere whiff of inflation or more likely stagflation would cause a bond market rout, leaving the Fed nursing escalating losses on its $2.9 trillion holdings. This portfolio is rising by $85bn each month under QE3. The longer it goes on, the greater the risk. Exit will become much harder by 2014.
Merkel Advisor Feld: "Euro Crisis Will Return Shortly
And With A Vengeance"
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
For all the groundless, starry-eyed optimism permeating Europe's bureaucratic corridors of the fading oligarchy these days (because this time is not like every other time that, too, was different), there has always existed one sure, never-fail antidote: Germany, which without fail has managed to ground Europe any time its delusion of grandure hit escape velocity. Sure enough, while all the statist soothsayers who threatened with armageddon if the outcome of the Italian elections happened to be precisely the one that transpired, were stuck in backpedal mode, and scrambling to calm nerves that all shall be well after all, one person who refuses to play by the script is Lars Feld, member of panel of economic advisers to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung tomorrow says the euro crisis is to return shortly and "with a vengeance" as capital loss will lead to higher risk premiums for Italy's interest rates.
'Ungovernable' Italy: Debt crisis back on table More market turmoil
as investors deal with 'worst-case' outcome
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Italian voters rejected outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti's austerity prescription, with an inconclusive result to parliamentary elections in Europe's third-largest economy setting the stage for a second day of market turmoil Tuesday.
Yields on Italian government bonds soared and European equities sank, while the euro stabilized after falling to a six-week low versus the dollar.
Will Italy Be The Spark
That Sets Off Financial Armageddon In Europe?
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Is the financial collapse of Italy going to be the final blow that breaks the back of Europe financially? Most people don't realize this, but Italy is actually the third largest debtor in the entire world after the United States and Japan. Italy currently has a debt to GDP ratio of more than 120 percent, and Italy has a bigger national debt than anyone else in Europe does. That is why it is such a big deal that Italian voters have just overwhelmingly rejected austerity. The political parties led by anti-austerity candidates Silvio Berlusconi and Beppe Grillo did far better than anticipated. When you combine their totals, they got more than 50 percent of the vote. Italian voters have seen what austerity has done to Greece and Spain and they want no part of it. Unfortunately for Italian voters, it has been the promise of austerity that has kept the Italian financial system stable in recent months. Now that Italian voters have clearly rejected austerity, investors are fearing that austerity programs all over Europe may start falling apart. This is creating quite a bit of panic in European financial markets right now.
Italy halts austerity plan leaving EU in turmoil Fears that deadlock will lengthen Italy's two-year recession and spill over into rest of the eurozone hit markets across Europe
By Ian Traynor in Brussels, John Hooper in Rome
and Phillip Inman - The Guardian
Three years of German-led austerity and budget cuts aimed at saving the euro and retooling the European economy was left facing one of its biggest challenges as Italian voters' rejection of spending cuts and tax rises opened up a stark new fissure in European politics.
The governing stalemate in Rome and the vote in the general election – by a factor of three to two – against the austerity policies pursued byItaly's humiliated caretaker prime minister, Mario Monti, meant that the spending cuts and tax rises dictated by the eurozone would grind to a halt, risking a re-eruption of the euro crisis after six months of relative stability.
Boeing engineering union to drop pension demand
By Alwyn Scott
SEATTLE | Tue Feb 26, 2013 7:25pm EST
(Reuters) - Boeing's engineering union has decided to drop its demand that its labor contract include a pension for new workers, a move that could hasten a deal as the two sides resume bargaining on Wednesday.
The decision comes after one bargaining unit last week narrowly accepted Boeing's (BA.N) contract offer without the pension for new hires. The other unit narrowly rejected the contract, sending them back to the bargaining table.
Dimon Says Lenders to Have More Capital Than They Can Use
By Dawn Kopecki & Zachary Tracer - Bloomberg.com
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), said lenders are accumulating more capital than they need as regulators push banks to build equity.
"I don't think it's just JPMorgan," Dimon said today at a conference discussing the New York-based company. "I think all banks will have too much capital in two and a half years. And they're not going to know what to do with it."
JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon tells investors:
'the company will be fine' At annual meeting, chief executive tries to show investors and analysts that last year's London Whale trade was an anomaly
By Heidi Moore in New York - Guardian.co.uk
JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has dismissed fears over last year's huge trading loss at the company, insisting to investors: "Whatever it is, the company will be fine."
That's a long way from the fears around JP Morgan just 10 months ago, when metastasizing losses around the risky London Whale trade dented the bank's aura of invincibility compared to its rivals. Dimon, who spoke at JP Morgan's annual investor meeting in front of about 250 investors and research analysts on Tuesday, made a point of treating the incident as an anomaly.
JPMorgan Says Mortgage, Community Units
May Lose 19,000 Jobs
By Dawn Kopecki - Bloomberg.com
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the biggest U.S. bank, plans to reduce headcount by as many as 19,000 people in its mortgage and community banking businesses through 2014 as Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon cuts expenses.
The lender, which employed about 259,000 people at the end of December, will cut 13,000 to 15,000 jobs in its mortgage unit and 3,000 to 4,000 in community banking excluding home lending through 2014, the New York-based company said today in presentations on its website. Firmwide headcount will shrink by about 4,000 people this year, mainly through attrition, said Kristin Lemkau, a company spokeswoman.
Case Shiller Home Prices Rise In December
BY TIM IACONO - FinancialSense.com
Standard & Poor's reported that the Case Shiller 20-City Home Price Index rose in December, up 0.2 percent from November, and the index moved 0.9 percent higher after seasonal adjustments as shown below. [charts]
While seasonality is certainly making the data more difficult to interpret, there is no question that home prices continue to rise at a steady pace, though it's worth pointing out that the slope of the year-over-year curves above was much steeper when moving up from the early-2009 bottom.
Jumbo mortgages are back, but at far from 2007 levels
By Linda Stern
WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 26, 2013 4:45pm EST
(Reuters) - Home sales and prices are rising briskly in those neighborhoods where the well-heeled like to plant their mailboxes: along Chicago's north shore, in the San Francisco Bay area and in the haute Hamptons.
Sales of properties worth between $750,000 and $1 million are up 38.7 percent over a year ago; $1 million-plus property sales are up 25.7 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Is America's Middle Class Caught in a Vise?
By SHAH GILANI, Capital Wave Strategist, Money Morning
This is a chicken and egg kind of discussion about what caused the housing crash.
It's not that there's a right answer (but I am right) or a wrong answer, it's about looking at what happened to determine whether it's going to happen again. It is.
I'm always right.
Really, it's about America's middle class mostly, and the vise they're caught in.
Notice, the title here poses that as a question. Are they caught in a vise?
I say, "Yes!"
But, I'll get to that.
First, it's back to the chicken... or the egg.
An Unaffordable Care Act New GAO report suggests Obamacare
could increase deficit by $6.2 trillion, Sessions says
By Ryan Willard - FreeBeacon.com
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report Tuesday showing that if cost-control measures are not maintained the Affordable Care Act could increase the deficit by $6.2 trillion, or .7 percent of GDP, over the next 75 years.
The report shows President Barack Obama's comments that Obamacare would "not add a dime to the long term debt [are] false," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) said at a Budget Committee hearing.
"The result of this brand new report confirmed everything that Republicans were saying about the bill," Sessions said.
Federal court blocks Fla. law
requiring drug testing for welfare recipients
By Dave Boyer-The Washington Times
A federal appeals court Tuesday agreed to block enforcement of a Florida law that requires people who apply for welfare to submit to drug testing, calling it an unreasonable search.
The U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta unanimously upheld a lower court's injunction, which stops drug testing for applicants of the state's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
Michael Savage: Red China Censoring American Media
Radio talk show host and author Michael Savage is the guest today on the Tuesday edition of the Alex Jones Show. Savage and Alex analyze China's economic takeover of America, the federal attack on the Second Amendment and the ongoing effort to destroy the Constitution, and the ever-encroaching surveillance and police state as the global elite tighten their grip on humanity and the Supreme Court throws out a challenge to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Mr. Savage's latest book is A Time for War.
When They Came For The Milk Drinkers…
By Ron Paul - Alt-Market.org
While I oppose most gun control proposals, there is one group of Americans I do believe should be disarmed: federal agents. The use of force by federal agents to enforce unjust and unconstitutional laws is one of the major, albeit overlooked, threats to liberty. Too often Americans are victimized by government force simply for engaging in commercial transactions disproved of by Congress and the federal bureaucracy.
For example, the offices of Rawesome Foods in Venice, California, have been repeatedly raided by armed federal and state agents, and Rawesome's founder, 65-year old James Stewart, has been imprisoned. What heinous crime justified this action? Rawesome sold unpasteurized (raw) milk and cheese to willing customers – in a state where raw milk is legal! You cannot even drink milk from a cow without a federal permit!
Gun maker Beretta threatens to leave Maryland,
take hundreds of jobs
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Major weapons manufacturer Beretta USA is vowing to close shop and leave Maryland if the state passes new gun-control measures.
The multimillion dollar, centuries-old manufacturer provides hundreds of jobs in the state, the Blaze reports. It was considering an expansion to its existing Prince George County plant — until Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill to ban so-called assault weapons.
Biden meets with retired military for help on gun control
By Jonathan Easley - TheHill.com
Strategy session with retired military officials centers on how to engage public on gun control.
Vice President Biden met with a group of retired military officials at the White House on Tuesday in a strategy session centered on how to effectively engage the public in the administration's push for gun control.
Retired Army Brig. Gen. Stephen Xenakis, a former Army physician, said Biden will look to rally the public behind requiring background checks on private gun sales, limiting the number of bullets a firearm's magazine can hold, and banning future sales of assault-style weapons. If there's enough pressure, the White House hopes Congress may take action on at least some of the proposals.
Feinstein on gun control: Americans must decide
if "personal pleasure is more important than general welfare"
By P.J. Tatler - TheRightScoop.com
Apparently the gun control debate is no longer about the Constitution and the 2nd amendment, it's about your personal pleasure and the general welfare, according to Senator Dianne Feinstein:
I don't really expect to agree with much that Mr. LaPierre says. Of course, he has the right to say it, and I have the right to do this.
Oil, Much as Weapons, is Dangerous in the Wrong Hands
By Claude Salhani - OilPrice.com
The discovery of oil in the Middle East around the 1930s has had a drastic effect on the lives of the people in the region. In most instances this black gold buried under the sands of Arabia has impacted the lives of the people in a rather positive manner. But not always.
The wonders accomplished by some of the oil rich sheikdoms of the Gulf region is nothing short of amazing where they have in a very real sense, made the desert bloom, and then some. Oil, there is no question, has changed forever the way people live and work today. And these changes have for the most part been positive. Look at cities such as Dubai or Doha and the marvels they have achieved; how the governments with the help of oil revenues have managed to raise the level of living for the vast majority of their citizens. And at the same time they have created thousands of well paying jobs for foreign workers.
General Motors is becoming China Motors
General Motors is becoming China Motors. Forget the spin. The evidence is clear and convincing. Did U.S. taxpayers save GM for China? Listen to the candid comments of GM's CEO.
This New Shale Oil Find Is a Global Energy Game Changer The Arckaringa Basin Could Be
the Largest Shale Oil Find of All Time
By DR. KENT MOORS, Global Energy Strategist, Money Morning
Over the past few days, I have released information on what could be the largest shale oil find ever recorded.
It's located in an area of Australia called the Arckaringa Basin and contains as much as 233 billion barrels (or more) of recoverable shale oil.
That's more than all of the estimated oil in Iran, Iraq, Canada, or Venezuela. And it's just 30 billion barrels shy of the estimated reserves in all of Saudi Arabia.
The US still Imports Natural Gas,
so Why the Desire to Export it?
By Kurt Cobb - OilPrice.com
With U.S. natural gas production having risen more than 25 percent from its nadir in 2005, natural gas producers are pushing for an end to limits on U.S. natural gas exports. The growth in supplies comes primarily from previously inaccessible shale deposits deep in the Earth, a development that has convinced many people that the country is now entering a new era of natural gas abundance.
Trouble is, the United States remains an importer of natural gas. Through November 2012 the country imported 12.5 percent of its natural gas consumption for the year, mostly from Canada. That's down from an average of 15.7 percent for the previous 20-year period. But it's not exactly energy independence.
China Wants Nuclear Reactors, and Lots of Them
By Christina Larson - Businessweek.com
Soon after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear meltdown in March 2011, Germany announced it would decommission all its nuclear plants. Switzerland and Italy rejected proposals to build more reactors. Japan shut down its reactors and has yet to restart them. China, on the other hand, plowed ahead with existing projects, even though it suspended new approvals so it could perform more safety checks.
Last November, the government lifted the moratorium and approved four projects. The number of reactors being built is now 29—the most of any country, and 40 percent of the world's total. "China is now one of the most important countries, if not the most important country, in the global nuclear industry," says Antony Froggatt, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, a British think tank.
War of the ants intensifies as Asian species
take on Argentines across U.S.
By OLIVIA WILLIAMS - DailyMail.co.uk
Asian needle ants, an aggressive species with painful stings, is on the march, winning territory from Argentine ants, the U.S.'s most famous invasive species.
The Asian ants are not just a worry for the Argentine ants, but also for humans. They cause itchy bites on people that can cause anaphylactic shock, a severe reaction that can result in death, if the person is allergic.
Wozniak: Web crackdown coming, freedom failing
Apple's co-founder fears that freedom of information is under attack, with the internet controlled and regulated in unnecessary and harmful ways. RT talked to Steve Wozniak on a range of topics, from Wikileaks to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom.
Anti-Israel Hacking Collective Strikes Again Parastoo claims to have hacked contractor
linked to sensitive nuclear data
BY: Adam Kredo - FreeBeacon.com
A major security consulting group that works with the U.S. government has admitted its internal servers were breached in an attack believed to have been carried out by an anti-Israel hacking collective.
The hacker group known as Parastoo claims to have stolen nuclear information, credit card information, and the personal identities of thousands of customers, including individuals associated with the United States military, that work with IHS Inc., a global information and analytics provider which includes IHS's Janes, a publisher of security and defense information.
Singularitarians assume a 'miracle' in progress;
Christians recognize a possible device for the 'Mark' Freescale's Insanely Tiny ARM Chip
Will Put the Internet of Things Inside Your Body
BY TIM MALY - Wired.com
Chipmaker Freescale Semiconductor has created the world's smallest ARM-powered chip, designed to push the world of connected devices into surprising places.
Announced today, the Kinetis KL02 measures just 1.9 by 2 millimeters. It's a full microcontroller unit (MCU), meaning the chip sports a processor, RAM, ROM, clock and I/O control unit — everything a body needs to be a basic tiny computer.
Stuxnet Missing Link Found,
Resolves Some Mysteries Around the Cyberweapon
BY KIM ZETTER - Wired.com
As Iran met in Kazakhstan this week with members of the UN Security Council to discuss its nuclear program, researchers announced that a new variant of the sophisticated cyberweapon known as Stuxnet had been found, which predates other known versions of the malicious code that were reportedly unleashed by the U.S. and Israel several years ago in an attempt to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.
The new variant was designed for a different kind of attack against centrifuges used in Iran's uranium enrichment program than later versions that were released, according to Symantec, the U.S-based computer security firm that reverse-engineered Stuxnet in 2010 and also found the latest variant.
Symantec discovers 2005 US computer virus attack
on Iran nuclear plants Internet security firm finds early 'Stuxnet O.5' version revealing espionage and sabotage virus released under George W Bush
By Charles Arthur - Guardian.co.uk
Researchers at the security company Symantec have discovered an early version of the "Stuxnet" computer virus that was used to attack nuclear reprocessing plants in Iran, in what they say is a "missing link" dating back to 2005.
The discovery means that the US and Israel, who are believed to have jointly developed the software in order to carry out an almost undetectable attack on Iran's nuclear bomb-making ambitions, were working on the scheme long before it came to public notice – and that development of Stuxnet, and its forerunner, began under the presidency of George W Bush, rather than being a scheme hatched during Barack Obama's first term.
Stuxnet virus was deployed against Iran
as early as 2007, researchers say Computer security experts uncover a version of the Stuxnet computer virus that was used to sabotage Iran's nuclear program two years earlier than previously thought.
By Reuters - Haaretz.com
Researchers at Symantec Corp have uncovered a version of the Stuxnetcomputer virus that was used to attack Iran's nuclear program in November 2007, two years earlier than previously thought.
Planning for the cyber weapon, the first publicly known example of a virus being used to attack industrial machinery, began at least as early as 2005, according to an 18-page report that the security software company published on Tuesday.
Electing the Next Pope The race is close, and turnout promises to be high.
BY JOSEPH BOTTUM- WeeklyStandard.com
The next pope will be Christoph Schönborn, cardinal archbishop of Vienna. The principal editor of the modern Catechism of the Catholic Church, Schönborn was among Benedict's favorite students back when the current pope was a theology professor, and he stands as one of the few high clerics to act heroically during the sexual-abuse scandal. What's more, he urged Benedict to push into retirement the flawed Cardinal Sodano (a man whose career has been repeatedly touched by reports of financial impropriety, however much the old-priests' network tried to shield him). Smart, personable, profoundly devout, Schönborn deserves to be pope.
Except, of course, that no one ever deserves that office beyond all human deserts. For that matter, Schönborn's efforts came to naught, and Sodano successfully fended off retirement. He remains dean of the college of cardinals and will lead the conclave that picks the new pope in the middle of March, which, one imagines, rather weakens the 68-year-old Schönborn's chances. "He's simply stepped on too many toes," one Roman cleric explained. Vatican officials will form a third of the conclave: 39 out of 117 members. And while they may respect Schönborn—it was he who, for example, led the effort to elect Benedict in the conclave of 2005—they do not trust him not to reassign them all to missionary work in the Outer Hebrides. Fire them all, God will know his own isn't a line most of the Vatican wants to hear from someone newly elected to St. Peter's throne.
Which means the next pope probably won't be Christoph Schönborn, cardinal archbishop of Vienna.
Senate votes to confirm Hagel
By Jeremy Herb and Ramsey Cox - TheHill.com
The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm former Sen. Chuck Hagel as Pentagon chief in a 58-41 vote, ending one of the most contentious confirmation fights for a Defense secretary in U.S. history.
Only four Republicans backed Hagel, a former GOP senator from Nebraska whose controversial statements on Israel, Iran and other issues made him a lighting rod on the right and led to the first-ever filibuster of a nominee to lead the Pentagon.
'Pentagon knows China will be US enemy No.1 starting in 2017'
Uploaded on Feb 28, 2012
The World Bank has a sobering forecast for the future of China's economy. It's produced a report saying without reform, the globe's second biggest economy will suffer a major slowdown over the next 20 years. With major consequences for the whole world. Let's get more on this from author and international consultant Adrian Salbucci, who joins RT from Buenos Aires in Argentina.
How will Russia and China's Growing Relationship
Affect Global Politics?
By Richard Rousseau - OilPrice.com
Historically, Russia-China relations have been characterized by long periods of mistrust, interspersed with bouts of anger, fear, resentment, and at times even open hostilities. During the Soviet period, Moscow and Beijing were, for the most part, able to present a superficial front of friendship based on a common communist ideology. Yet, despite their past differences—at times irreconcilable—the two countries are now cooperating and could even become 'bedfellows' again, a development that would be perceived as rather alarming by many Western analysts.
'Peaceful solution or Syria will be destroyed' -
UN envoy Brahimi
RT has spoken exclusively to the main mediator in the Syrian conflict, who had some barbed comments for the opposition. The UN peace envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, said their reluctance to make any concessions to the Assad regime is one of the major roadblocks to peace.
Hamas warns Obama against Temple Mount visit Trip to Jerusalem's holiest site would be 'a diplomatic catastrophe,' Islamists declare; mufti sets three conditions for presidential tour
By ELHANAN MILLER - TimesOfIsrael.com
Responding to unconfirmed rumors that US President Barack Obama intends to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during his trip to Israel next month, the Hamas terror group warned the American leader against the idea on Tuesday, calling it "a diplomatic catastrophe," and local Muslim leaders set stiff conditions for a presidential tour there.
A statement issued by Hamas called Obama's potential visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located at the southern perimeter of the Mount, "an imminent danger which the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem have never faced."
'Obama to tell Netanyahu US gearing up for Iran strike' During upcoming visit, president will convey message that window for American military operation opens in June,
TV report says
By YIFA YAAKOV - TimesOfIsrael.com
When he visits Israel next month, US President Barack Obama will tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a "window of opportunity" for a military strike on Iran will open in June, according to an Israeli TV report Monday evening.
Obama will come bearing the message that if diplomatic efforts and sanctions don't bear fruit, Israel should "sit tight" and let Washington take the stage, even if that means remaining on the sidelines during a US military operation, Channel 10 reported. Netanyahu will be asked to refrain from any military action and keep a low profile, avoiding even the mention of a strike, the report said, citing unnamed officials.
Iran's 'Plan B' for a nuclear bomb Iran is developing a second path to a nuclear weapons capability by operating a plant that could produce plutonium, satellite images show for the first time.
By James Kirkup, David Blair, Holly Watt
and Claire Newell - Telegraph.co.uk
The Telegraph can disclose details of activity at a heavily-guarded Iranian facility from which international inspectors have been barred for 18 months.
The images, taken earlier this month, show that Iran has activated the Arak heavy-water production plant.
Heavy water is needed to operate a nuclear reactor that can produce plutonium, which could then be used to make a bomb.
Iran pursuing nuclear bomb through plutonium production,
new satellite images reveal British Daily Telegraph releases satellite footage indicating that a heavy-water factory is in operation at nuclear plant near Arak, an element in the production of plutonium, an alternative to uranium used to build nuclear bombs.
By Anshel Pfeffer - Haaretz.com
The British Daily Telegraph published satellite footage Wednesday morning indicating that a heavy-water factory is in operation at the nuclear plant near Arak. Heavy water is an element in the production of plutonium which can be used to build nuclear bombs.
Until now, the Iranians were known to be enriching uranium as part of its attempts to achieve military nuclear capabilities.
For third time in 2 years, 'Iran fails to launch satellite' Report of latest setback comes a day after Israel successfully tests Arrow 3 missile interceptor
By ASHER ZEIGER and TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF
For the third time in two years, Iran failed in an attempt to launch a satellite into space, western intelligence sources said Tuesday.
Iran was attempting to launch a home-produced satellite with photographic capabilities, but the rocket carrying it failed to perform as expected, and all contact with both the rocket and the satellite were lost after launch, according to the sources, quoted by Israel's Channel 2.
What Drives the Price of Gold and Silver?
BY KEITH WEINER - FinancialSense.com
If there is a credible rumor that the Fed is planning to further extend its "Quantitative Easing", how would you expect the monetary metals to react? Typically, the gold price would rise and the silver price would rise even more. The question is why.
Traders read the headlines and they know how the price "should" react to such news, and they begin buying. For a while, the prophecy fulfills itself. But then what happens next? It may take an hour or a month, but sooner or later some of the new buyers begin to sell. What can be bought on speculation using leverage must eventually be sold. Traders who buy gold and silver futures think of their "profits" measured in dollars. They cannot profit from the rising gold price until they sell. So, sooner or later, they must sell. Alternatively, if the price goes down, they must sell because they are incurring losses at a multiple of the price drop due to their use of leverage.
When It Comes to Gold, Stick to the Facts
By Frank Holmes, Guest Writer, Money Morning
Gold dipped below $1,600 last week, falling to a six-month low, much to the chagrin of gold investors.
I find the timing of the correction peculiar, given the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting taking place over the weekend. There's been a growing debate over Japan's move to devalue its currency to stimulate growth, with reaction from the G-7 leaders stating that "domestic economic policies must not be used to target currencies," reports Reuters.
While the G-7 tried to legitimize the currency debasement with this statement, in reality, investors seem to be able to see through to the real motivations.
Massive Changes Coming to Gold and Developed World
BY JULIAN PHILLIPS - FinancialSense.com
In the last five years, we have seen the start of the decline of the developed world and the real impact of the economic rise of China on that world. What lies ahead? James Wolfensohn, the ex-president of the World Bank gave a short lecture in which he forecasts what the world's cash flows would be like in 2030:
World's biggest gold storage company dumps US citizens
by SIMON BLACK - SovereignMan.com
ViaMat, a Swiss logistics company that has been safeguarding precious metals since 1945, is literally the gold standard in secure storage.
They have vaults from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Dubai, and they count among their clients some of the largest mining companies in the world. They know what they're doing.
And now they're dumping US citizens.
With Unchecked U.S. Spending,
It's Time to Hedge Against Inflation
By Jeff Uscher, Contributing Writer, Money Morning
Uncontrolled government spending could force the Fed to monetize the government's debt, creating runaway inflation, former Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin warned in a report.
If these circumstances were to occur, the Fed would be unable to do much, if anything, to control inflation, Mishkin said in the report, presented at a conference at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
In that case, Mishkin and his co-authors, David Greenlaw, James Hamilton and Peter Hooper, argue that the result could be "a flight from the dollar," according to a summary of the report by noted Fed-watcher Steven K. Beckner writing for MNI.
Hyperinflation: Why It's Coming
and How to Survive It and Prosper (Third Edition -2013)
By Barry Stuppler - GoldSeek.com
I have just completed a 40-page booklet with the same title, which I am proud to say was the completion of a 3-year research project. I believe it is the best study of Hyperinflation, Gold Standard and Gold confiscation that I have ever seen and it's available to read and download at www.coinmag.com.
This study describes the steps leading up to hyperinflation in the US, from leaving the gold standard domestically in 1933 and internationally in 1971 through the recent and ongoing creation of trillions of fiat dollars through "stimulus" and "quantitative easing" programs.
Why we need the sequester The sequester is bad news. Everyone knows it.
Except that it might not be.
By Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake - WashingtonPost.com
We're not debating the relative merits of the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday if Congress does nothing (and rest assured they will do nothing.) Partisans agree on almost nothing, but the idea of a non-discriminate, across-the-board cut is almost universally acknowledged as something short of a good idea.
Instead, we are disputing the concept that the total failure of our politicians to even sit down and negotiate in hopes of averting what was once-considered a doomsday scenario is such a bad thing. In short: just because the sequester is a manufactured crisis doesn't mean it can't have the same effect as a non-manufactured crisis in waking up the body politic to the "have cake/eat it too" mentality that dominates not just Washington but the public at large.
SEQUESTER SOLUTION: REDUCE ALL FEDERAL PAY BY 2%
by REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ) - Breitbart.com
In the last month, we have been subjected to propaganda from the White House warning the American public that practically everything the federal government does will be shut down because of the impending 2.4% sequestration cuts.
President Obama has threatened the cuts will lead to: "long lines" at the airport, shutting down national parks and veterans centers, stopping vaccinations, increased deaths from AIDS, and sending pre-school children out in the street by closing their schools. The President all but said our military will overnight become second rate and the world could erupt in (even more) civil wars and chaos.
America's Sequestered Recovery
By Laura Tyson - Project-Syndicate.org
BERKELEY – The United States is confronting another round of cuts in federal government spending, this time threatening to trim at least 0.5 percentage points from GDP growth and to precipitate a loss of at least one million jobs. Automatic across-the-board spending cuts, the so-called "sequester," would reduce spending by $85 billion, with defense programs cut by about 8% and domestic programs by about 5% this year – and with additional cuts of comparable dollar amounts every year until 2021.
Make Obama decide how to deal with sequester
By Marc A. Thiessen - WashingtonPost.com
Barack Obama wants to blame Republicans for the looming across-the-board spending cuts that will take effect this week. Well, here is a simple sequester solution for the GOP: Let Obama decide how to make the cuts.
The problem with the sequester is not the amount of cuts it requires. Cuts of $85 billion this year is about 2 percent of our $3.5 trillion federal budget, or about nine days of federal spending. Even after the sequester, we will still spend about $15 billion more this year than we did in last year. The sequester does not actually "cut" spending — it simply slows its growth.
White House raises terror threat,
warns illegals could flood borders after sequester cuts
By Dave Boyer-The Washington Times
Upping the ante in the spending showdown with Congress, the Obama administration warned Monday that looming automatic budget cuts will expose the nation to a greater risk of terrorist attack and a new influx of illegal immigrants.
"I don't think we can maintain the same level of security," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "If you have 5,000 fewer border patrol agents, you have 5,000 fewer border patrol agents."
Selective Service registration
would be abolished under new bill
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
A Democrat and a Republican have joined forces on Capitol Hill to bring forth a bill that would abolish the Selective Service System and the registration requirement on all U.S. males between ages 18 and 25.
Reps. Peter A. DeFazio, Oregon Democrat, and Mike Coffman, Colorado Republican, say the requirement is a waste of taxpayer money, The Associated Press reports. The Pentagon prefers to keep an all-volunteer force, AP says.
The Suicide of American Power
BY JR NYQUIST - FinancialSense.com
With automatic spending cuts on the horizon, America's armed forces are slated to feel the pinch. On Friday the Washington Times reported a statement by Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh to the effect that a service-wide cutback in flying hours would begin on May 1. According to a congressional aide quoted in the article, even if normal funding is assumed through July, only about 40 to 50 percent of American combat aircraft will be "capable of meeting wartime requirements."
Bubble Trouble:
Is There an End to Endless Quantitative Easing?
BY DETLEV S SCHLICHTER - FinancialSense.com
The publication, earlier this week, of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committeeminutes of January 29-30 seemed to have a similar effect on equity markets as a call from room service to a Las Vegas hotel suite, informing the partying high-rollers that the hotel might be running out of Cristal Champagne. Around the world, stocks sold off, and so did gold.
Is there a tipping point for government debt?
And is the United States about to hit it?
Posted by Neil Irwin - WashingtonPost.com
How much debt can America handle? The question is one of the most fundamental the nation faces, and the answer should determine how the United States handles the delicate task of reducing budget deficits without walloping economic growth.
A new paper argues that the number that should make us nervous is 80. That is, that 80 percent public debt to GDP ratio is the point at which a nation becomes vulnerable to tipping points on debt. The idea is that once a nation has debt above that level, it becomes vulnerable to the kind of self-reinforcing vicious cycles that have put nations into a bad position in the past. High debt levels lead investors to view the country's bonds as less desirable, so they demand higher interest rates. Higher interest rates make the country's debt burden more onerous, and so investors sell off bonds all the more. When that cycle takes hold in a truly vicious way, the only endings are high inflation or a default.
Bernanke Takes Center Stage This Week
BY SHERAZ MIAN - FinancialSense.com
Fed inspired jitters pulled the market down last week, ending the market's 7-week long positive run. But investors appeared to regain their composure by the week's end and will be looking for further clarity this week from Bernanke's testimony in the Senate (on Tuesday) and the House (on Wednesday). We don't have much on the economic calendar today, but a number of key economic reports this week will shed light on the health of the consumer and factory sectors.
Bernanke's Date With Deflationary Destiny If the market makes critical levels in the 10-year Treasury and US bond futures contract support, and fundamentals continue to deteriorate, we could see a significant rally.
By Vince Foster, Minyanville.com
At the December 12, 2012 FOMC meeting, the committee increased the previously announced QE III to include US Treasuries amounting to total stimulus of approximately $85 billion per month. At the same time they introduced economic "thresholds" targeting a 6.5% unemployment rate while not exceeding a 2.5% inflation rate. At the time I viewed this simultaneous raising of the inflation rate from 2.0% to 2.5% in order to bring down unemployment as a de facto nominal GDP target which was something Chairman Bernanke had said would be "reckless" at the previous April FOMC press conference.
Why Transatlantic Trade Winds Are Blowing
Interviewee: Jeffrey J. Schott - CFR.org
President Barack Obama in his State of the Union addressthrew his support behind a broad free-trade deal with the twenty-seven-member EU. While such an accord has eluded U.S. and European policymakers for more than twenty years, experts like the Peterson Institute's Jeffrey Schott believe that both sides have greater incentives to follow through on negotiations this time around. "What's different now is the economic conditions in the world economy, the recession in Europe, the stalling of multilateral trade negotiations in Geneva, and the desire to promote stronger economic growth and employment in both the United States and Europe," says Schott. For instance, the current high commodity prices could help both sides rationalize farm policies that would otherwise threaten a new deal, he says. As for the global trade round, Schott says a transatlantic deal could lend momentum to multilateral talks.
Euro debt crisis looms again
as Italians defy EU austerity demands The eurozone's debt crisis strategy was in chaos on Monday night after anti-austerity parties appeared on track to win a majority of seats in the Italian parliament, vastly complicating efforts to forge a government able to carry through EU-imposed reforms.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
In an earthquake result, the Five Star protest movement of comedian Beppe Grillo looked likely to emerge as the biggest single party in the lower house. The scourge of bankers and corrupt elites, Mr Grillo has campaigned for a return to the lira and a restructuring of Italy's €1.9 trillion (£1.64 trillion) public debt.
The conservative bloc of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi looked poised to win the senate, coming back from the political grave with vows to rip up the EU's austerity plans and push through tax cuts to pull Italy out of deep slump.
Italian Bicameralism
Could Send the World Economy Into Meltdown
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
Today's Italian election looks very likely to send international financial markets into turmoil. That's in part because of how Italians voted but largely reflects the country's institutional structural.
Italy, like the United States, is a bicameral system in which both the upper and lower houses have meaningful power. Unlike the United States, it's also a parliamentary system. But unlike most parliamentary systems, the prime minister and Cabinet need to have the confidence ofboth houses of parliament to govern. The way Italian election law works, the plurality winning party gets a big bonus in the lower house, assuring it a working majority. (See here for details.) But in the upper house, this is done regionally. The party that wins a plurality in any given region gets 55 percent of that region's upper house seats. The current election has four major parties running national campaigns (Bersani's left, Berlusconi's right, Monti's respectable center, and Grillo's populist center) plus the regional Northern League party. So depending on tactical voting considerations and the geographic distribution of votes, the actual outcome in the upper house can swing wildly based on very small shifts in underlying preferences.
Italian Elections and Euro Crash Roil Markets
By Minyanville Staff
Equities followed through from Friday's gap fill and positive initial exit polls from the Italian Senate election continued to drive them higher as the market opened. However, once more ballots were tallied, it was clear that the favorite, Bersani, was going to lose his majority in the Italian Senate to ousted Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. This was met negatively by the market since it was the austerity measures that interim Prime Minister Monti had enacted that enabled European support to drive Italian equities from its lows. By the US market close, it appeared that Berlusconi would gain the majority of seats in both the lower and upper houses of Italian parliament, though questions over a hung parliament remain.
Herald Tribune to become International N.Y. Times
Reuters - ChicagoTribune.com
The New York Times Co. said on Monday that it was changing the name of the International Herald Tribune to the International New York Times, ending a 40-year-old brand that was the hometown paper for Americans living abroad.
The move to re-brand the IHT is not unexpected. The New York Times has stepped up efforts to strengthen its global recognition, and it is shedding most of its properties, including the Boston Globe.
John Kerry and the Blurring of the Foreign and Domestic
by Stewart M. Patrick - CFR.org
John Kerry's first major address as secretary of state, delivered Wednesday at the University of Virginia, was light on specifics and priorities. But it offered a useful glimpse into his mindset as the country's newest chief diplomat. Two themes permeated the speech: the eroding boundary between what is "foreign" and "domestic" in our global era and the risks to U.S. national security of shortchanging investments in diplomacy and development assistance.
The Political Importance of Elizabeth Warren
By Simon Johnson - Project-Syndicate.org
WASHINGTON, DC – Financial reform in the United States and worldwide hangs in the balance. The problems that brought us the terrible crisis of 2007-08 have not been fixed. Some underlying weaknesses are actually worse than they were a decade ago, including the problem of "too big to fail" global megabanks.
Europe is backtracking on financial reform issues; its policymakers are too preoccupied with holding the eurozone together. In the US, there will be no new legislation under the current Congress – and probably not for a long while to come. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 may turn out to be a framework for effective regulation, or it might become another set of empty promises. So far, implementation has been slow.
Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 Why should you care and what's at stake?
By Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce - ChicagoTribune.com
Last week Senator Durbin and two Republican colleagues introduced the Marketplace Fairness Act, picking up the debate over how to collect sales tax that is owed on purchases made over the Internet. The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce endorses this legislation and hopes for its swift passage.
Why should you care and what's at stake? You may have noticed that sometimes when you purchase items online – depending on the website – you aren't charged sales tax. Under state law you still owe the tax, but unlike the purchases you make in a store, the business selling you these goods online doesn't have to collect the tax from you. Instead, when you complete your state taxes, you are expected to self-report and pay what you owe for purchases over the past year. It is this disparity that the Chamber believes needs to end. It's time for a conclusive and nationwide approach to collecting sales tax for goods purchased over the Internet.
Credit Card News:
A New Type Of Fraud, Rising Number Of Delinquencies FTC: Cramming Fraud Targets Consumer's Credit Cards
By Bill Hardekopf - Forbes.com
There is a new consumer alert from the FTC about a kind of fraud called cramming. Small charges $10, $20, $30 secretly inserted onto your credit card bill. Small charges that add up to millions of dollars. It hits consumers straight in the wallet–a $30 charge here, $40 there, buried so deep in your credit card bills, you might never even notice it. Tens of thousands of Americans were hit with what the FTC calls fake fees, charged by vague financial services, like Debt 2 Wealth, draining more than $24 million in all. They steal little amounts at a time hoping consumers just don't notice. Many of the consumers had recently applied for a payday loan or cash advance when they spotted the charge on the bill and called the toll free number next to it to complain. They entered an infuriating maze of call centers around the globe. The FTC says 20 million people a year fall victim to it. And until now, most of the charges were buried in phone bills.
50 Signs That The U.S. Health Care System
Is A Gigantic Money Making Scam That Is About To Collapse
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
The U.S. health care system is a giant money making scam that is designed to drain as much money as possible out of all of us before we die. In the United States today, the health care industry is completely dominated by government bureaucrats, health insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations. The pharmaceutical corporations spend billions of dollars to convince all of us to become dependent on their legal drugs, the health insurance companies make billions of dollars by providing as little health care as possible, and they both spend millions of dollars to make sure that our politicians in Washington D.C. keep the gravy train rolling. Meanwhile, large numbers of doctors are going broke and patients are not getting the care that they need. At this point, our health care system is a complete and total disaster.
Lawyers share the blame for high malpractice insurance America's Overpaid Doctors Time's long investigation of American health care prices missed one thing: We pay our doctors way too much.
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
Steven Brill's 24,000-word magnum opus in Time on health care billing practices in the United States is remarkably easy to summarize: American health care costs a lot because the prices Americans pay for health care services are very high. And hospitals charge those high prices for the same reason any other business would—because they can.
What If ObamaCare, Too Big To Fail Banks
and the State Are All the Wrong Sized Unit? The State has monopolized all authority, giving it essentially unlimited power to make things worse.
Charles Hugh Smith - OfTwoMinds.com
….Correspondent Mark G. stated the resulting hypothesis very succinctly: "We are exiting the era when large economic entities were the dominant form of human social organization."
If the Central State and the global corporation are losing integrity and control, it is not due to bad policy or mismanagement; more profoundly, they are the wrong unit size to address the emerging era's problems.
The State is too large to address most problems (actively making problems worse via Central Planning), and too small to address global challenges. The global corporation is too large to address the 90% of human life that isn't terribly profitable, and too small to resolve the implosion of the debt-dependent Status Quo.
Pet Food Stamps are now a Thing?!
By Heather Ginsberg - Townhall.com
So who's ready for more government handouts? The way this program is going, it wouldn't be a surprise to us if there was a new version of Food Stamps on the way. The number of people in America on Food Stamps is now at an all-time high, but it's not enough for this new nonprofit that is trying to make sure the entire family is in on the program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may be a federal program administered by the states, but many in New York feel as though it is not enough.
With Rail Interest, Who Needs Keystone XL?
By Daniel J. Graeber - OilPrice.com
The amount of crude oil delivered by rail in the United States set a record last year by an overwhelming margin. The U.S. Energy Department said it expects domestic crude oil production by 2014 to reach 7.8 million bpd, a 20 percent increase from today's figures. That's enough oil production to seemingly strain U.S. oil pipeline capacity. The Association of American Railroads states that nearly a quarter of a million carloads of crude oil traveled on the U.S. rail system in 2012. Last week, pipeline company Kinder Morgan said it was planning to build a rail system to carry crude oil from as far away as western Canada to the Houston market. Given ongoing concerns over pipeline integrity, projects like Keystone XL could fall by the wayside given the increased interest in rail.
Sinopec to Buy Chesapeake Shale Stake
for More Than Two-Thirds Below Value Chesapeake Deal Values Oklahoma Oilfield Below Estimate
By Joe Carroll & Benjamin Haas - Bloomberg.com
China Petrochemical Corp., the second-largest energy producer in the most-populous nation, agreed to buy a stake in a U.S. oilfield from Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) for less than one-third of its estimated value.
Sinopec, as the Beijing-based explorer is known, will pay $1.02 billion in cash for a 50 percent interest in 850,000 acres Chesapeake controls in the Mississippi Lime formation, the companies announced in separate statements yesterday. The price equates to $2,400 an acre, less than the $7,000 to $8,000 at which Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake valued the asset in a July presentation.
One of America's First Nuclear Plants Leaking Radioactive Waste
By John Daly - OilPrice.com
Hanford, Washington, was, along with Oak Ridge, Tennessee, one of the two Manhattan Project nuclear plants that provided fissile material for the bombs dropped on Japan that ended World War Two.
The past is coming back to haunt the site, as last week Washington governor Jay Inslee characterized news about a major leak of highly toxic sludge from a single-wall storage tank at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as a "perfect radioactive storm."
Judge Napolitano Applauds States' Efforts
To Protect Gun Owners From 'Ridiculous' New Federal Bans
2/19/13 - Appearing on Fox's America Live this afternoon, Judge Andrew Napolitano applauded several states' proposals to protect firearms made and kept within their states' borders from any potential federal weapons bans. However, the outspoken libertarian conceded that despite how "ridiculous" federal law has become, the states will likely fail in their effort to shield themselves from the feds…
Back To the Stone Age?
New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Bans Working From Home
by Jenna Goudreau - Forbes.com
New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has decreed there will be no more working from home for Yahoo staff. A company memo leaked to the press on Friday announced that Yahoo employees would no longer be permitted to work remotely. The decision seems to be based on a desire for increased productivity and a more connected company culture. It reads in part:
To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.
Will The New 'Copyright Alert System' Actually Stop People
From Downloading Music and Movies Illegally?
By Kashmir Hill, Forbes Staff
Starting this week, those downloading movies, TV shows and music illegally in the U.S. are going to start getting called out for committing Internet fouls. Copyright holders RIAA and MPAA in partnership with five major Internet service providers are launching the "Copyright Alert System" a.k.a. "Six Strikes" a.k.a. "The Copyright Surveillance Machine." What does it mean?
If you get your Internet through AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable or Verizon and you're one of the millions who prefer downloading Game of Thrones, Dexter, and the Big Bang Theory for free through illicit channels, you may get a letter from your ISP letting you know that your copyright transgression has been spotted by the copyright holders' ref. The "ref" is Reuters-owned firm Mark Monitor, which has 100 employees and a suite of automated tools for watching Torrent sites to catch the IP addresses sharing and downloading content.
Researcher unearths two new Java zero-day bugs Vulnerabilities affect up-to-date Java 7 browser plug-in,
says Security Explorations
By Gregg Keizer -Computerworld.com
Computerworld - A Polish security firm known for rooting out Java vulnerabilities has reported two new bugs in the browser plug-in to Oracle, Security Explorations said today.
On its bug-reporting status page, Security Explorations noted that it had submitted details of the flaws, including proof-of-concept exploit code, to Oracle.
"We had yet another look into Oracle's Java SE 7 software that was released by the company on Feb. 19," said Adam Gowdiak, in an email reply to questions today. "As a result, we have discovered two new security issues, which when combined together, can be successfully used to gain a complete Java security sandbox bypass in the environment of Java SE 7 Update 15 (1.7.0_15-b03)."
CFR on New World Order News Release: The Battle of Bretton Woods [book] In The Battle of Bretton Woods, Benn Steil Shows How the U.S. Established a New World Order in 1944
February 25, 2013—As World War II drew to a close, representatives from forty-four nations convened in the New Hampshire town of Bretton Woods to design a stable global monetary system. Leading the discussions were John Maynard Keynes, the great economist who was there to find a place for the fading British Empire, and Harry Dexter White, a senior U.S. Treasury official. By the end of the conference, White had outmaneuvered Keynes to establish a global financial framework with the U.S. dollar firmly at its core. How did a little-known American bureaucrat sideline one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century, and how did this determine the course of the postwar world?
Difficult path to papal conclave as Rome prepares for new era As Catholic cardinals prepare to elect a new pope, the conclave may be overshadowed by a host of contentious issues
By Lizzy Davies, The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
When Pope Benedict XVI tendered the first papal resignation in almost 600 years, the more hopeful of his flock said it would help the Roman Catholic church make a break with its recent past and usher in a new era of missionary vibrancy untainted by intrigue and scandal.
The headlines of the past fortnight, however, have shown quite how unlikely that is. Not only has anger built over the role of several compromised cardinals in the choosing of a papal successor, but increasingly lurid claims have emerged about why Benedict chose to stand down in the first place.
Rebels Stand Alone
By Chris Hedges - Truthdig.com
I was in the Swiss village of Begnins outside Geneva shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. I spent three days there with Axel von dem Bussche, a former Wehrmachtmajor, holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for extreme battlefield bravery, three times wounded in World War II, and the last surviving member of the inner circle of German army officers who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
I was reminded of my visit with von dem Bussche, whom I was interviewing for The Dallas Morning News, by the 70th anniversary of the execution of five Munich University students and their philosophy professor who were members of the White Rose resistance movement in Nazi Germany. The BBC last week interviewed the 99-year-old Liselotte Furst-Ramdohr, who hid leaflets for the group in her closet and helped make stencils used to paint slogans on walls.
Steve Quayle Operation Highjump
"As Above | So Below" The Untold UFO War in Antarctica with Greg Evensen
2.24.2013 on The Hagmann Report
Greg and Steve discuss the Gobi Desert Hole; Solomon Islands, Antarctica and the Inner Earth: Nazi's and their great grandchildren's treaty with The Aliens(Hyperboreans)
Be Careful: Russia is Back to Stay in the Middle East
By Felix Imonti - OilPrice.com
Russia is back. President Vladimir Putin wants the world to acknowledge that Russia remains a global power. He is making his stand in Syria.
The Soviet Union acquired the Tardus Naval Port in Syria in 1971 without any real purpose for it. With their ships welcomed in Algeria, Cuba or Vietnam, Tardus was too insignificant to be developed. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lacked the funds to spend on the base and no reason to invest init.
Iran Announces Discovery of Huge Uranium Deposits
By Cecilia Jamasmie - OilPrice.com
A significant discovery of new uranium deposits equivalent to three times its estimated uranium reserves, announced Iran this weekend, only days before the nation was scheduled to resume talks with Western powers in Kazakhstan over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
In a statement, the country's Atomic Energy Organization said it had designated 16 sites for new nuclear power plants, and that new uranium discoveries over the past year and a half had almost tripled the country's estimated reserves of uranium from 1,527 tons to 4,400 tons.
Testing Time for Gold
BY CHRIS PUPLAVA - FinancialSense.com
Gold has gone nowhere since peaking near $2,000 an ounce back in 2011 and with the recent slide this month many gold investors are questioning their resolve. I'd like to look at gold from multiple points of view and identify some lines in the sand which will hopefully allow investors to make some informed decisions.
Fed Threatens to Take the Punch Bowl Away
Gold Capitulation
By: Adam Hamilton - GoldSeek.com
Gold got crushed this week in what can only be described as a capitulation. Cascading selling took on a life of its own as the yellow metal knifed through multiple key support lines. Newsflow exacerbated gold's free fall, as extreme fear tainted everything with a heavy pall of bearishness. Gold bears were euphoric, coming out in droves to pronounce doom on the metal. But capitulations are actually very bullish events.
Capitulation is one of the ugliest words in the markets, it means surrender. Most of us are taught from a very young age to never give up, never stop striving. So traders are loath to admit they succumbed to a capitulation. Rather than acknowledging they gave into their own fears to sell low at the worst possible time, they try and rationalize their failing. They have to believe the capitulation marks the start of selling.
Gold Goes Where The Money Is – From West To East
GoldSilverWorlds.com
James Steel once wrote: "Gold goes where the money is; it came to the United States between World Wars I and II, and it was transferred to Europe in the post-war period. It then went to Japan and to the Middle East in the 1970s and 1980s and currently it is going to China and also to India."
This is one of the most basic principles about gold. It seems that not many people know about this, at least in the West. In contrast, the East truly understand this dynamic. It is no coincidence that the West considers gold as a Fear Trade while the East looks at it as a Love Trade
The US sequester:
your essential guide to the looming spending cuts The sequester is scheduled to kick in on March 1, with $85bn in cuts set to hit a variety of programs. We give you the lowdown
By Heidi Moore - Guardian.co.uk
Just when you thought it was safe to read the news from Washington again, another "manufactured crisis" – in the words of the president – is on our doorstep.
So far, politicians have only been arguing publicly about who should take the blame without actually speaking to each other. President Obama appeared at a press conference this week, when Congress was not in session, standing in front of a group of first responders in uniform to repeat critical lines about his congressional adversaries, criticizing the "manufactured crisis" and a "meat cleaver approach to politics." Boehner, in return, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal attributing the sequester to "the president's own failed leadership."
Fed's Bullard-Policy to stay easy despite exit chatter
By Jason Lange and Pedro da Costa
Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:05am EST
(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve will keep its monetary policy stance loose for a long while despite increasing signs of concern among policymakers about the potential costs of asset buying, a top Fed official said on Friday.
"Fed policy is very easy and it's going to stay easy for a long time," James Bullard, St. Louis Fed president, said in an interview with CNBC television.
Minutes released from the U.S. central bank's policy meeting last month showed a number of officials think the Fed might have to slow or stop buying bonds before seeing the pickup in hiring which the program is designed to deliver. Bond buying is one of the key elements in the Fed's monetary stimulus.
Power Grab at the Fed
by MIKE WHITNEY - CounterPunch.org
Are you ready for a good laugh?
The head of the New York Fed wants Congress to grant the Central Bank extraordinary new powers to deal with future financial system emergencies like the bank run that followed Lehman Brothers collapse in September 2008. Here's the story from the New York Times:
"[William] Dudley's concern is about a little-noticed piece of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that actually reduced the central bank's authority in one crucial area: its ability to provide emergency funding to strapped financial firms.
Keiser Report: Death by Financial Hypoxia (E410)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert compare the real financial suicide machine that is the global financial markets to the hypothetical euthanasia coaster that would kill its passengers after an allegedly fun and euphoric ride induces GLOC - G-force induced Loss Of Consciousness. In the financial markets this is achieved by churning clients so rapidly or front running them at faster than the speed of light. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to professor and economist, Constantin Gurdgiev, about the liquidation of IBRC, the bank formerly known as Anglo Irish and how it is that the bank came to collapse in the first place.
Don't Blink, or You'll Miss Another Bailout
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON - NYTimes.com
MANY people became rightfully upset about bailouts given to big banks during the mortgage crisis. But it turns out that they are still going on, if more quietly, through the back door.
The existence of one such secret deal, struck in July between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Bank of America, came to light just last week in court filings.
That the New York Fed would shower favors on a big financial institution may not surprise. It has long shielded large banks from assertive regulation and increased capital requirements.
The Big Dogs On Wall Street Are Starting To Get Very Nervous
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomiccollapseBlog.com
Why are some of the biggest names in the corporate world unloading stock like there is no tomorrow, and why are some of the most prominent investors on Wall Street loudly warning about the possibility of a market crash? Should we be alarmed that the big dogs on Wall Street are starting to get very nervous? In aprevious article, I got very excited about a report that indicated that corporate insiders were selling nine times more of their own shares than they were buying. Well, according to a brand new Bloomberg article, insider sales of stock have outnumbered insider purchases of stock by a ratio of twelve to one over the past three months. That is highly unusual. And right now some of the most respected investors in the financial world are ringing the alarm bells. Dennis Gartman says that it is time to "rush to the sidelines", Seth Klarman is warning about "the un-abating risks of collapse", and Doug Kass is proclaiming that "we're headed for a sharp fall". So does all of this mean that a market crash is definitely on the way? No, but when you combine all of this with the weak economic data constantly coming out of the U.S. and Europe, it certainly does not paint a pretty picture.
Why A China Crash May Be Imminent
by JAMES GRUBER - AsiaConf.com
Those silly enough to believe that China's economy has "recovered" should at least been given some pause by this week's events. For China surprised the market with moves to reduce liquidity in the banking system and curb the property market. Clearly, the government is worried about the re-appearance of bubbles due to excessive credit growth. And they should be worried because it's obvious that the bubbles which caused China's slowdown never went away. In fact, they've gotten worse from government stimulus designed to prevent a hard economic landing. These government actions have made the chances of an imminent China crash more likely.
Another Disappointing European Economic Forecast
By Douglas A. McIntyre - 247WallSt.com
The European Commission suggests — in a late forecast compared to those of many other economists — that the eurozone economy will shrink in 2013, and the EU economy will tick up by only the slightest. The news is proof once again that Europe has not found any concrete and successful means to escape the gravity of the last recession and the austerity budgets that have hurt employment and gross domestic product among almost all member nations.
Part 1: Economic Development for the Middle East,
or Trigger for WWIII? SI/EIR diplomatic seminar
Copenhagen, January 22, 2013. Schiller Institute and Executive Intelligence Review diplomatic seminar:
A New Paradigm for the Survival of Civilization:
Massive Economic Development for the Middle East
Instead of the Trigger for WWIII
Part 1: The Middle East is the New Balkans: We Need a Paradigm Shift to Avoid World War in the Age of Thermonuclear Weapons
Tom Gillesberg, EIR Copenhagen bureau chief, and chairman of The Schiller Institute in Denmark
Bizarre bills fill nation's statehouses
By KEVIN ROBILLARD | Politico.com
If Washington's lawmakers want outside-the-box ideas for today's complex problems, they might want to start looking at the states.
The laboratories of Democracy are hard at work finding solutions — sometimes to problems you might not have even known you had, such as human-animal hybrids.
Think such a law is unnecessary? Mississippi Rep. William Tracy Arnold, a Republican elected to the 3rd District by the people of Alcorn and Prentiss counties, disagrees.
• In 2010, the top hedge fund manager earned as much in one HOUR as the average (median) family earned in 47 YEARS.
• The top 25 hedge fund managers in 2010 earned as much as 658,000 entry level teachers.
• In 1970 the top 100 CEOs made $40 for every dollar earned by the average worker. By 2006, the CEOs received$1,723 for every worker dollar.
As the administration and Congress argue over cuts in social programs, inequality in America grows more extreme each day. Even the great financial crash didn't derail this trend. The richest 400 Americans, for example, increased their wealth by 54 percent between 2005 and 2010, while the median middle-class family saw its wealth decline by 35 percent. None of this is accidental.
The States with the Strongest and Weakest Unions
By Michael B. Sauter, Alexander E.M. Hess, Samuel Weigley - 247WallSt.com
Last year, the number of union members in the U.S. fell by more than 400,000, or 2.7%. This decline was just a drop in the bucket compared to the long-term collapse of organized labor over the past several decades. In the past few years, states like Wisconsin and Michigan have passed legislation like "right-to-work" laws and even banned collective bargaining, further undermining public and private unions.
IMMIGRATION REFORM AND THE AMERICAN WORKER
Posted by James Surowiecki - NewYorker.com
If anything is going to wreck the current bipartisan push for comprehensive immigration reform, it's the fact that many Americans are convinced that more immigration will be bad for American workers and for the U.S. economy. The spectre of masses of immigrants taking American jobs and driving down wages is a powerful one, especially at a time of stagnant incomes and still-high unemployment. That's why, in a new work-trends survey released earlier this month, by the John Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, four in ten of those surveyed said that high unemployment is caused by "illegal immigrants taking jobs away from Americans." Intuitive as this may seem (more workers means fewer job opportunities and lower wages), actual evidence that immigration drives down wages is hard to find. On the contrary, a host of studies have found that immigration has actually boosted wages for native-born American workers as a whole, and that while immigration has had a negative impact on the wages of one group—men without a high-school education—that impact has been surprisingly small. Taken as a whole, in fact, the numbers clearly suggest that immigration reform would be a genuine boon to the U.S. economy.
Behind-the-scenes deal
pushes immigration reform closer to reality The US Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO came up with a framework for solving one of the thorniest issues in immigration reform. The agreement shows momentum is growing.
By David Grant - CSMonitor.com
WASHINGTON
A compromise agreement announced Thursday between the nation's largest labor union and the top advocate for American business underscores the enormous momentum now behind immigration reform.
The agreement touches on what was seen to be potentially one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the immigration reform debate – namely, how the country should handle the flow of low-skilled, temporary foreign workers.
COULD HIGH-TECH ID CARDS TRIP UP IMMIGRATION REFORM?
By Christopher Santarelli - TheBlaze.com
Privacy advocates are voicing concerns about a lesser-known point in the much-publicized bipartisan "Gang of Eight" immigration reform proposal introduced last month.
Key senators are exploring an immigration reform bill that would in part force every citizen and non-citizen U.S. worker to carry a high-tech identity card that would use fingerprints or other personal markers to prove a person's legal ability to work, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Watch An Angry Town Hall
Make Immigration Reform More Difficult
By GREGORY FERENSTEIN - TechCrunch.com
The bipartisan lovefest over immigration reform is officially over. As Senator John McCain returned home to gin up public support for a compromise on comprehensive immigration reform, he was heckled by constituents, angry at a proposal to give undocumented workers a path to citizenship. "The only thing that will stop them is a gun," one attendee said at the Arizona town hall….
As we reported late last year, the technology industry can't expect to get more visas for high-skilled immigrants unless the issue of low-skilled immigration is solved as well.
Immigration Reform Could Lead
to Biometric ID Cards for Everyone
By Margaret Hartmann - NYMag.com
Immigration reform is already a contentious issue, and now lawmakers drafting the legislation are considering a measure that could rile privacy advocates and anyone who's watched a few dystopian sci-fi films. Senators in the "Gang of Eight" have made vague references to shifting to employment verification documents that are harder to forge, since the current E-Verify system can be foiled fairly easily with stolen names and Social Security numbers. According to The Wall Street Journal, several members of the Senate group are in favor of introducing a "biometric" ID card, which would use fingerprints, a scan of veins in the top of a person's hand, or another unique biological trait, and could possibly become mandatory for all American workers.
End of coal era in USA Obama Administration Moves Forward
on Climate Change Without Congress Forthcoming regulation likely means no new coal-fired power plants will be built in the United States
By REBEKAH METZLER - USNews.com
President Barack Obama is tired of waiting for Congress to move on legislation to reduce carbon emissions, and his administration is poised to move forward on actions to do just that—including a move that will effectively eliminate the possibility of any new coal plant opening in the United States, experts say.
"We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence," Obama said during his State of the Union address. "Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science—and act before it's too late."
The Rise and Fall of Nikola Tesla and his Tower
Smithsonian
By the end of his brilliant and tortured life, the Serbian physicist, engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla was penniless and living in a small New York City hotel room. He spent days in a park surrounded by the creatures that mattered most to him—pigeons—and his sleepless nights working over mathematical equations and scientific problems in his head. That habit would confound scientists and scholars for decades after he died, in 1943. His inventions were designed and perfected in his imagination.
Tesla believed his mind to be without equal, and he wasn't above chiding his contemporaries, such as Thomas Edison, who once hired him. "If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack," Tesla once wrote, "he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. I was a sorry witness of such doing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety percent of his labor."
Milton Friedman - The Social Security Myth
Using Social Security as his prime example, Professor Friedman explodes the myth that the major expansions in government resulted from popular demand. In a speech delivered more than 30 years ago, he directly relates this dynamic to today's health care debate
Higher Payroll Taxes Undercut Consumer Spending
By 24/7 Wall St. - DailyFinance.com
The Wall Street Journal has pulled together the wisdom of businesses, business trade groups and economists and come to conclusion that higher payroll taxes and gasoline prices have undercut the recovery in consumer spending.
The Journal reports:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday joined a parade of retailers, restaurants and consumer-goods companies worried about the economic impact of the recently restored federal payroll tax that has left Americans with less money to spend.
The world's largest retailer, Burger King Worldwide Inc., Kraft Foods Group Inc. and others are lowering forecasts and adjusting sales and marketing strategies, expecting consumers with smaller paychecks to dine out less and trade down to less expensive purchases.
Half of Detroit property owners don't pay taxes News analysis finds $246.5M in taxes went unpaid last year
By Christine MacDonald and Mike Wilkinson - DetroitNews.com
Detroit — Nearly half of the owners of Detroit's 305,000 properties failed to pay their tax bills last year, exacerbating a punishing cycle of declining revenues and diminished services for a city in a financial crisis, according to a Detroit News analysis of government records.
The News reviewed more than 200,000 pages of tax documents and found that 47 percent of the city's taxable parcels are delinquent on their 2011 bills. Some $246.5 million in taxes and fees went uncollected, about half of which was due Detroit and the rest to other entities, including Wayne County, Detroit Public Schools and the library.
Lawmakers probe possible cronyism
surrounding $500 million in IRS contracts Questions arise over whether contracts where steered
because of personal relationship
By HENRY C. JACKSON, AP - WashingtonGuardian.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether a personal relationship between an Internal Revenue Service employee and the owner of a computer company produced a series of government contracts worth about $500 million.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press from the committee's chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to acting Treasury Secretary Neal S. Wolin, Issa writes that he recently has learned about a personal relationship between an IRS employee and Braulio Castillo, the owner of Signet Computers Inc. Signet Computers' website lists company addresses in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Repeating the Housing Crash
By NANCY PFOTENHAUER - USNews.com
A young professional that my firm occasionally contracts recently graduated from law school and is preparing to take the February Bar Exam. During our discussions he shared a terrifying revelation with which small government advocates like me are all too familiar. In a class discussion on discrimination and "human rights," fellow classmates were suggesting solutions to systemic discriminatory practices. The solutions proffered shocked the student, not only because they were contrary to his political beliefs, but also because they were devoid of economic truth. The student's terror became even more real when he realized the singular truth that all proponents of limited government come to know: These people will be working for the federal government one day and running my life. God help us all.
Land Grabs and Buffalo Visions Enviros team up with the feds
to drive out ranchers and create a vast eco-theme park.
By BRADLEY ANDERSON - Spectator.org
Three days before George W. Bush took office in January 2001, President Bill Clinton, with the stroke of a pen, created eight new national monuments that amounted to more than a million acres of land. One of these was the half-million acre Missouri Breaks National Monument in northeastern Montana. Now it appears that groundwork is being laid for more of the same here in Big Sky Country, perhaps during the waning days of President Obama's second term.
National monuments were originally intended to be, well, monuments — small places of historical or geological significance such as Devil's Tower in Wyoming, Jewel Cave in South Dakota, or the Statue of Liberty. But that didn't stop President Clinton and his advisors in the environmentalist community from thinking big, and they did.
Medicare's drug problem Medicare, Congress waste $334 million
by overpaying for infusion drugs Medicare is losing out on major discounts by paying for infusion drugs at 2003 prices - because Congress wanted it that way
BY PHILLIP SWARTS - WashingtonGuardian.com
Because Congress locked some drug costs at 2003 prices, Medicare has wasted $334 million dollars over the last six years by failing to buy medication at the best possible discount, according to a new investigation that reinforces just how prevalent waste and abuse are inside the government's main health program for senior citizens.
Investigators at the Health and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General said that Medicare Plan B purchased the drugs at an outdated average wholesale price, or AWP, as opposed to the manufacturing price the government is supposed to receive.
Firearms-makers to politicians on gun rights:
You balk, we walk Firearms companies ranging from gun shops to machinists are joining forces to oppose new gun control laws. Some are threatening to move away from states that crack down on guns, others are refusing to sell gear to police that can't be sold to citizens.
By Patrik Jonsson - CSMonitor.com
ATLANTA - A growing number of firearm firms in the US are vowing to reverse-boycott local and state governments that enact any new infringements on the Second Amendment.
Vowing to close what they're calling "the police loophole," at least 50 US companies, ranging from gun machinists to gun shops, are now saying publicly they'll refuse to sell weapons and gear to police in places where governments have banned the use of the same gear by civilians.
States set sights on Colorado firearms business;
gun-control bills scorned
By Valerie Richardson-The Washington Times
DENVER — In one sign of the price states may pay for restricting gun rights, more than a dozen states are jostling to land a Colorado firearms company that has vowed to leave the state if the governor signs into law tough gun-control legislation.
Elected officials from Alabama, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia have written letters to Magpul Industries inviting the company to make their states its relocation destination. Meanwhile, individuals from at least 10 states have launched social media campaigns on Facebook to lure the Erie, Colo.-based company.
Letter From A Gun Owner:
Wounded Knee Creek and Gun Control,
Why We Need the 2nd Amendment
Mr. Conservative.com
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY TO THINK ABOUT…….December 29, 2012 marked the 122nd Anniversary of the murder of 297 Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. These 297 people, in their winter camp, were murdered by federal agents and members of the 7th Cavalry who had come to confiscate their firearms "for their own safety and protection". The slaughter began after the majority of the Sioux had peacefully turned in their firearms. The Calvary began shooting, and managed to wipe out the entire camp. 200 of the 297 victims were women and children. About 40 members of the 7th Cavalry were killed, but over half of them were victims of fratricide from the Hotchkiss guns of their overzealous comrades-in-arms. Twenty members of the 7th Cavalry's death squad, were deemed "National Heroes" and were awarded the Medal of Honor for their acts of [cowardice] heroism.
TEXAS MOVES TO BLOCK POLICE
FROM ENFORCING NEW FEDERAL GUN LAWS
by WARNER TODD HUSTON - Breitbart.com
If passed, a bill introduced in the Texas State legislature would prevent state and local police officers from enforcing any new federal gun control laws.
The Firearm Protection Act, sponsored by Republican Representative Steve Toth (The Woodlands, Dist. 15), would stop Texas law enforcement officials from confiscating so-called assault weapons or large capacity ammunition magazines.
DOJ Memo: Outlaw and Confiscate All Guns
by Kurt Nimmo - PrisonPlanet.com
The National Rifle Association has obtained a Department of Justice memo calling for national gun registration and confiscation. The nine page "cursory summary" on current gun control initiatives was not officially released by the Obama administration.
The DOJ memo states the administration "believes that a gun ban will not work without mandatory gun confiscation" and thinks universal background checks "won't work without requiring national gun registration." Obama has yet to publicly support national registration or firearms confiscation, although the memo reveals his administration is moving in that direction.
OREGON DRAFTS INVASIVE GUN CONTROL LAW
by MARY CHASTAIN - Breitbart.com
Oregon is the latest state to draft legislation that putsmajor restrictions on the 2nd Amendment. House Bill 3200's summary states the "crime of unlawful possession or transfer of assault weapon or large capacity magazine" is punishable "by maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, $250,000 fine, or both."
The entire first part of the bill tries to define an assault weapon. The definition will hinge upon one or more of the items in a list of cosmetic additions. Some examples include, "a shroud attached to the barrel, or that partially or completely encircles the barrel, allowing the bearer to hold the firearm with the non trigger hand without being burned, but excluding a slide that encloses the barrel." Somehow that cosmetic addition makes a gun an assault weapon.
The Guns of Chicago And the safe sidewalks of New York.
By Heather Mac Donald - WeeklyStandard.com
President Barack Obama recently went to Chicago to promote his poverty and gun violence initiatives and actually spoke a good deal of truth. "There's no more important ingredient for success, nothing that would be more important for us reducing violence than strong, stable families, which means we should do more to promote marriage and encourage fatherhood," he said. Reiterating a line from his State of the Union speech, he observed: "What makes you a man is not the ability to make a child; it's the courage to raise one." And though he paid the obligatory tribute to single mothers, he added with remarkable candor: "I wish I had had a father who was around and involved."
The Quantified Man:
How an Obsolete Tech Guy Rebuilt Himself for the Future
BY KLINT FINLEY - Wired.com
Tesco — the company that runs a chain of grocery stores across Great Britain — uses digital armbands to track the performance of its warehouse staff.
A former Tesco employee told The Independent newspaper that the armbands provide a score of 100 if a task is completed within a given time frame, but a score of 200 if it's completed twice that fast. "The guys who made the scores were sweating buckets and throwing stuff around the place," he told the paper.
Senators in Immigration Talks Mull Federal IDs for All Workers
By DANNY YADRON - WSJ.com
Key senators are exploring an immigration bill that would force every U.S. worker—citizen or not—to carry a high-tech identity card that could use fingerprints or other personal markers to prove a person's legal eligibility to work.
The idea, signaled only in vaguely worded language from senators crafting a bipartisan immigration bill, has privacy advocates and others concerned that the law would create a national identity card that, in time, could track Americans at airports, hospitals and through other facets of their lives.
moving towards Singularity - melding of man/machine/AI Temporary Tattoos Could Make Electronic Telepathy,
Telekinesis Possible
by Charles Q. Choi - TXChnologist.com
Temporary electronic tattoos could soon help people fly drones with only thought and talk seemingly telepathically without speech over smartphones, researchers say.
Commanding machines using the brain is no longer the stuff of science fiction. In recent years, brain implants have enabled people to control robotics using only their minds, raising the prospect that one day patients could overcome disabilities using bionic limbs or mechanical exoskeletons.
Cornell's 3D printed ears Bioengineers print ears that look and act like the real thing
Cornell.edu
Cornell bioengineers and physicians have created an artificial ear that looks and acts like a natural ear, giving new hope to thousands of children born with a congenital deformity called microtia.
In a study published online Feb. 20 in PLOS One, Cornell biomedical engineers and Weill Cornell Medical College physicians described how 3-D printing and injectable gels made of living cells can fashion ears that are practically identical to a human ear. Over a three-month period, these flexible ears grew cartilage to replace the collagen that was used to mold them.
Chinese hackers have hit every Washington network,
intel says
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Chinese hackers have hit nearly every Washington institution, according to unnamed intelligence officials.
"The dark secret is there is no such thing as a secure unclassified network," one said in a Newser report. "Law firms, think tanks, newspapers. If there's something of interest, you should assume you've been penetrated."
One FBI official had this to add, according to Newser: "I've yet to come across a network that hasn't been breached."
If There's War With China, It's all Evan Osnos' Fault China, Cyberespionage and Cyberwarfare
by PETER LEE - CounterPunch.org
Evan Osnos is the China columnist for the New Yorker.
My impression is that he usually covers the social issues/human rights/dissident beat.
However, yesterday, riffing off the news about organized Chinese hacking of US government and private websites, he veered off into counter-proliferation black ops:
The fact is that the United States government has already shown signs of an energetic capacity for cyber war, as in the case of Stuxnet, the software worm that the U.S., working with Israel, is believed to have used to disrupt Iran's uranium-enrichment program. Coincidentally, I happened to ask some North Korea experts last week if Pyongyang's latest round of nuclear tests might make it a prime target for a Stuxnet-style intervention. "The only time I heard anything along such lines recently was suspicion that the April launch failure may have resulted from cyber attack—but that was in the realm of conspiracy theory," John Delury, of Yonsei University, in Seoul, told me.
Fighting Chinese Cyberespionage: Obama's Next Move
By JASON HEALEY - USNews.com
Finally the Obama administration has come into the open in their calls against other nations' stealing of trade secrets, especially through cyberespionage. The just-released "Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of US Trade Secrets" is the next in a promised string of new cyber policies and actions from a newly invigorated White House. Like the previously released cyberexecutive order, this new strategy is a good next step, much in line with my recent recommendations, but will need energy and follow through on the details. Bolder solutions will eventually be needed as the problems are as old as cyberspace.
Private US firms take major role vs. cyberattacks Private sector steps up as attacks increase
By ANNE FLAHERTY, AP - WashingtonGuardian.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Kevin Mandia, a retired military cybercrime investigator, decided to expose China as a primary threat to U.S. computer networks, he didn't have to consult with American diplomats in Beijing or declassify tactics to safely reveal government secrets.
He pulled together a 76-page report based on seven years of his company's work and produced the most detailed public account yet of how, he says, the Chinese government has been rummaging through the networks of major U.S. companies.
Army Ready for All Cyber-Attackers
The IDF is ready to take on all cyber-challenges, and would survive any hacking attack directed at it, said the army's top computer officer
By David Lev - IsraelNationalNews.com
The IDF is ready to take on all cyber-challenges, and would survive any hacking attack directed at it, said the army's top computer officer Sunday. Although it is impossible to be prepared for every possibility – since new types of attacks are being created all the time – the IDF is "reasonably ready" to meet and defeat an attack by hackers.
According to experts, Israeli systems are attacked thousands of times a day, and hackers from all over the world – including Iran, Turkey, and Arabcountries – are constantly trying to hack into government and defense web sites. Occasionally they succeed, as they did earlier in February, when a Syrian hacker group managed to hack its way into the mail server for Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, and read confidential messages to staff.
Killer robots must be stopped, say campaigners 'Autonomous weapons', which could be ready within a decade, pose grave risk to international law, claim activists
By Tracy McVeigh - The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
A new global campaign to persuade nations to ban "killer robots" before they reach the production stage is to be launched in the UK by a group of academics, pressure groups and Nobel peace prize laureates.
Robot warfare and autonomous weapons, the next step from unmanneddrones, are already being worked on by scientists and will be available within the decade, said Dr Noel Sharkey, a leading robotics and artificial intelligence expert and professor at Sheffield University. He believes that development of the weapons is taking place in an effectively unregulated environment, with little attention being paid to moral implications and international law.
Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs:
I had gag order on drone program
By JAKE MILLER / CBS NEWS
Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, discussing the Obama administration's transparency regarding the controversial drone program, said on MSNBC on Sunday that he was effectively under a gag order on the program while working for the Obama administration. Gibbs said his bosses barred him from acknowledging its existence or discussing it in any way while he was press secretary.
"When I went through the process of the press secretary, one of the first things they told me was: 'You are not even to acknowledge the drone program. you are not even to discuss that it exists,'" Gibbs said, explaining why he could not be more candid with reporters on the issue.
7 Obscure, Remote and Super-Geeky Military Bases
BY ROBERT BECKHUSEN - Wired.com
The military doesn't always pick prime real estate for its bases. Often it prefers strange, far-flung and obscure parts of the world — particularly when it comes to its geekiest endeavors. Some are out-of-the-way test sites for the latest military and space technology. Others are far-flung spots of particular interest to scientists, in areas few could survive unshielded from the elements. Some are obscure because the Pentagon doesn't like to advertise what they do.
Others face a predicament. Some bases built during the Cold War have found their original reason for existing suddenly disappear. But instead of closing them down, the Pentagon has found new reasons to justify their existence. Others now exist only on life support. There are also the bases built as a consequence of Cold War nuclear paranoia, now acting as a shelter for paranoia over terrorism and global pandemics.
What If?
By Paul Craig Roberts
"What If?" histories are a good read. They are entertaining, and they provoke thought and encourage the imagination. How different the world would be if different judgments, decisions, and circumstances had prevailed at history's turning points. Certainly English history would have been different if King Harold's soldiers had obeyed his order not to pursue the defeated fleeing Normans down the hill. This broke the impenetrable Saxon shield wall and exposed King Harold to Norman calvary.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Hastings
Would there ever have been a Soviet Union if the Czar had stayed out of World War I?
Would there have been a World War II if British, French, and American politicians had listened to John Maynard Keynes' warning that the Treaty of Versailles would result in a second world war? Germany had been promised a different outcome–no reparations and no territorial loss–in exchange for an armistice. As Keynes realized, the betrayal of the peace led to another great war.
Conversations with History: Robert S. McNamara
Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense and former President of the World Bank reminisces with host Harry Kreisler about public service, the War in Vietnam, znc the dangers of the superpower confrontation during the Cold War.
Series: Conversations with History
Welcome To The New Cold War
by JAMES GRUBER - AsiaConf.com
Make no mistake: America and China are on a collision course and the battleground is Asia. The China-Japan dispute has little to do with a small group of islands in the South China Sea. It's about a new world power, China, wanting to assert its authority in Asia. And it's about the U.S being threatened by China's increasing power and wanting to contain it. That's what makes the current dispute so dangerous. Even if the fight dies down, the battle for dominance in Asia between the U.S. and China will continue.
For investors, the implications from this are not only the potential for increased trade disputes between the U.S and China. But also, the likelihood of rising friction between Asian countries themselves. In fact, we're already seeing it as these countries are being forced to side with either America or China. Intra-Asian trade will be impacted too. Welcome to the new Cold War.
Davos 2013 - The Global Financial Context
Published on Feb 10, 2013
The Global Financial Context
What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the global financial context?
Dimensions to be addressed:
- Limits of monetary policy
- Eurozone options
- Real world impact of Basel III and Solvency II
- Future of shadow banking
Higgs Boson calculations add up to new Armageddon scenario A Fermilab theoretical physicist suggests that qualities of the "God particle" show an "alternate" universe could easily "spread out and destroy us."
by Dara Kerr - CNet.com
Anyone who thinks the end is nigh with a giant asteroid colliding into Earth may have a new apocalypse scenario to worry about.
It all boils down to the Higgs Boson particle, aka the "God particle."
Calculations that came with the likely discovery of the Higgs Boson last July also show that the particle's mass qualities could spell out the end of the universe said Fermilab theoretical physicist Joseph Lykken yesterday, according to NBC's Cosmic Log.
A Liberal Evangelical Resigns From AARP Not everyone on the left is in denial
about the nation's fiscal crisis.
By MARK TOOLEY - Spectator.org
Unlike many figures of the Evangelical and Religious Left, Ron Sider of Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA) has sustained an integrity that many conservatives have grudgingly admired. Unlike many of his activist cohorts, he has not prevaricated on Christian teachings about sex, marriage, or abortion. And unlike many of his fellow religionists on the left, Sider has maintained a rigorous concern for the global persecution of Christians when others prefer silence over criticism of Islamist or communist regimes.
Now Sider, as he nears retirement from 40 years as ESA founder and head, has again distinguished himself by dissenting from the Religious Left on the untouchable sacredness of the federal welfare and entitlement state. Sider has very publicly resigned from the Association of Retired People (AARP) to protest its refusal to compromise on entitlement reform.
Pope's Possible Successor Promotes Marxist for Sainthood
By Cliff Kincaid - USASurvival.org
Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan, reported to be in the running to replace Pope Benedict XVI as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, is usually described as a "conservative" because he has strongly criticized President Obama's attacks on religious liberty and federal intrusions into church affairs. But Dolan is also the leader of the campaign to promote Marxist Dorothy Day for Sainthood.
One report asks, "Could Timothy Dolan Become The First American Pope?" Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB,) is considered the voice of U.S. Catholicism.
Benedict and the Rabbi A Christian pope on the Hebrew Bible.
BY MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK - WeeklyStandard.com
After Pope Benedict XVI's surprising announcement that he would resign from the papacy, leading adherents of diverse faiths immediately began to evaluate his legacy. Catholic theologians have emphasized the enduring import of the thought of the man who spent most of his life as the theologian Joseph Ratzinger. Jewish leaders, meanwhile, have by and large celebrated the pope's statements against anti-Semitism, promotion of interfaith amity, and the further improvement of Vatican-Israel relations. Yet there is one fascinating aspect of Benedict's legacy that neither side has noted, in which philosophy and interfaith engagement are joined: that he began and ended his papacy by celebrating the Hebraic, traditional Jewish understanding of love and marriage.
Mahony abuse files dominate papal conclave's dirty laundry
as pressure mounts to keep him home
By Associated Press, WashingtonPost.com
VATICAN CITY — Popular pressure is mounting in the U.S. and Italy to keep California Cardinal Roger Mahony away from the conclave to elect the next pope because of his role shielding sexually abusive priests, a movement targeting one of the most prominent of a handful of compromised cardinals scheduled to vote next month.
Amid the outcry, Mahony has made clear he is coming, and no one can force him to recuse himself. A Vatican historian also said Wednesday that there is no precedent for a cardinal staying home because of personal scandal. But the growing grass-roots campaign is an indication that ordinary Catholics are increasingly demanding a greater say in who is fit to elect their pope, and casts an ugly shadow over the upcoming papal election.
Is the Next Pope Really the Last Pope?
By Julie Cabral Lucas - HamptonRoads.com
The world stood by and waited anxiously for the Mayan predictions of 2012 to be fulfilled and the world to come to a cataclysmic end and yet, we are all still here. We have had many predictions about the Pope to include the misleading notion that he will be THE anti-christ. Now that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning there is even more dooms day talk since he has been predicted to be the last. Of course this prediction is not mentioned at all in the Protestant or Catholic bible.
I find it interesting that so many believers are now fixated on the prophecies of a 12 th Century Irish Archbishop referred to as St. Malachy. This prophecy predicts that this next Pope will be the last Pope and he will be "Peter the Roman". There seems to be a contender for the Peter post, his name is Cardinal Peter Turkson from Africa. He is well loved but he has a great deal of well loved competition. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Why Hagel's Position On Israel is So Disconcerting
By QUIN HILLYER - Spectator.org
From two different angles, at two different sites, for two different audiences, I have separate columns today examining the implications of the Hagel nomination. Here's the first, which is more about Israel, and its importance, than about Hagel. Here's a taste:
The current Senate blockade against Hagel revolves largely around Hagel's history of oddly antagonistic stances against Israel and/or oddly friendly stances toward Iran and Iranian-linked terrorist fronts. Worse, some of Hagel's statements seem to go beyond criticism of Israel and border on slanders of Jews in general. On Tuesday, yet another report emerged indicating questionable judgment on Hagel's part, including assertions that Israel was bordering on become an "apartheid" state.
HAGEL 2009: SEND U.S. TROOPS TO IMPOSE PEACE
ON ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS
by JOEL B. POLLAK - Breitbart.com
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), President Barack Obama's nominee for Secretary of Defense, co-authored a 2009 report that called for U.S. troops to lead a peacekeeping force that would patrol the future borders between Israel and a Palestinian state.
The report, referenced Saturday by Israel National News, also suggested that peace could be imposed from outside by the U.S., describing arguments to the contrary as "invalid."
The report, co-authored by Hagel with Carter administration Secretary of State Zbigniew Brzezinski, and former George H.W. Bush adviser Brent Scowcroft, among others, was produced in an effort to influence Obama administration policy in the president's first term. It called upon the new president to make resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a top priority "early in his presidency" and to override "certain domestic constituencies."
Riots break out in Jerusalem,
West Bank over Palestinian prisoners
(JTA) -- Palestinian protesters reportedly fired flares and hurled stones at Israeli troops in the Old City in Jerusalem amid violent protests in the West Bank.
Several dozen Palestinians began hurling rocks at troops stationed outside the Mugrabi Gate after Friday prayers, Ynet reported on Feb. 22.
When the troops pursued the men into the Temple Mount compound, other men fired flares at them. None of the Israeli soldiers was injured.
IDF Ready in 'Volatile' Golan The IDF is prepared for a new reality in the Golan, retired general says. Region currently 'volatile'.
By Maayana Miskin - Israel National News
The IDF is prepared for a new realityin the Golan as Syria continues to descend into chaos, Brigadier-General (ret.) Kobi Marom told Arutz Sheva.
"The IDF has prepared for the new reality that will be in the Golan," he said. "There are fears of an escalation, and serious concern that if there is violence [in the region] the target will not be Assad."
Israel unveils Obama logo Obama's visit to Israel gets a logo
By DONOVAN SLACK - Politico.com
It's official: Visitors to the Facebook page of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have chosen a logo for President Obama's visit to Israel next month.
The winner, above, got 2,600 "likes" beating out two others (below), which garnered 786 and 521, respectively.
Netayahu's office is promising a big social media push around the visit. So far, there has been much more publicity about the trip in Israel than there has been in the United States. The Israeli government last month even released a tentative schedule for the president, something the White House has declined to talk about at all.
The Religious Face of the New World Order:
From the Vatican to the White House
to the United Religions Initiative "The question is not whether there will be a New World Order. The question is who will control it, and for what ends."
By Lee Penn - USASurvival.org
Introduction by Cliff Kincaid Executive Summary: When the Pope agrees with Mikhail Gorbachev, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Henry Kissinger, the new President of the European Union, and the German Chancellor on the need for global governance and a new world order, we can know that the world has indeed experienced a "harmonic convergence" and entered a new age. With the publication of Caritas in Veritate, the encyclical on Catholic social teaching released in July 2009 by Benedict XVI, this dark convergence has happened.
In his latest encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI favors creating a "true world political authority" that would have the power to redistribute wealth and energy, direct economic development, regulate migration and technology, and set environmental regulations. This regime would be "universally recognized" and would have "the effective power" to carry out its vast mandate. Benedict believes that the United Nations can be reformed to be the basis for a "world political authority."
Carney cites 'Friends of Hamas'
By DYLAN BYERS | Politico.com
White House press secretary Jay Carney cited 'Friends of Hamas' -- the nonexistent group which therefore did not provide funding to Chuck Hagel — during today's press briefing.
Asked by CNN's Jessica Yellin whether Hagel would be withdrawing from his nomination for defense secretary, Carney replied, "Absolutely not. Any suggestion to the otherwise, to the contrary, might have been found in the minutes of the meetings of the Friends of Hamas."
Chuck Hagel, Friend of Hamas?
How the Right-Wing Press Got It Way Wrong Reporter Dan Friedman on how he became the unwitting purveyor of some nasty Chuck Hagel gossip—and why Breitbart.com should be ashamed for running with the story.
By David Freedlander - TheDailyBeast.com
It began with a casual, half-in-jest email, the kind that reporters send to sources thousands of times a day on Capitol Hill when they want a little more clarity in answer to a question.
It ended with a cringe-worthy moment of embarrassment for the feedback loop of the Republican Party and the right-wing press that emboldens them.
REPUBLICANS SET TO CAVE ON HAGEL
by BREITBART NEWS
With Republicans sympathetic to Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel preparing to cave, Hagel's confirmation to head the Pentagon seems all but assured. According to Reuters on Thursday afternoon, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has now stated that he will support Hagel's nomination, just a week after joining the Republican effort to block Hagel's nomination until he disclosed information about speeches and finances. Hagel has not turned over such information. The White House continues to stonewall all requests. But Shelby is caving anyway. "He's probably as good as we're going to get," said Shelby.
Joining Shelby, reportedly, is Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), who said on KFAB radio in Omaha, "I will be voting no on the floor," but reportedly added that she would vote for cloture, which would bring Hagel to a vote.
HAGEL DECLINED TO SIGN SCHUMER LETTER IN 2007
ASKING ARAB ALLIES TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL
by JOEL B. POLLAK - Breitbart.com
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel declined to sign a letter circulated by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2007 calling upon then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press Arab allies of the U.S. to recognize Israel's right to exist "and not use such recognition as a bargaining chip for future Israeli concessions."
Seventy-nine Senators eventually signed the letter, which was sponsored by Schumer and by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
The Schumer-Graham letter "concerning the Responsibilities of Friendly Arab States" has not, apparently, been cited yet in the debate over Hagel's potential confirmation as Secretary of Defense. The letter also calls upon Arab allies to "take meaningful steps" to assist the Palestinian Authority, to stop supporting terror groups, to end the Arab states' boycott of Israel, and to push Hamas to recognize Israel and past peace agreements.
Israel Okays Drilling for Oil on Golan Heights Israel has given the green light
to drill for oil on the Golan Heights.
By Chana Ya'ar - Israel National News
Israel has given the green light to drill for oil on the Golan Heights.
A license to explore for the liquidblack gold was authorized for the U.S.-Israeli energy company Genie, headed by former Cabinet minister Effie Eitam.
Former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney is an adviser to the project, according to the Globes business news service, which said media mogul Rupert Murdoch is among the shareholders.
A New Energy Age
Irwin M. Stelzer - WeeklyStandard.com
"The tectonic plates are shifting" is a much over-used expression. But when it comes to the international energy industry, the expression is apt.
Here in America, where policymakers have spent decades worrying about over-dependence on oil from unstable or hostile regimes, a new technology—fracking—is producing such an abundance of supplies of crude oil that refineries are having difficulty processing all of the crude being produced, and talk of exports can be heard from Wyoming to Houston. As for natural gas, this writer remembers when supplies were so short that burning gas for decorative illumination was forbidden in some states and frowned on in others. Now the same technology that is making America the next Saudi Arabia (to borrow the jargon of overwrought analysts) is also adding decades of supplies of natural gas to its available resource base, driving down the price and making it possible for us to become a major exporter of natural gas. Unless, of course, the government accedes to the wishes of DuPont and other large users of natural gas and refuses to allow exports, no matter their potential for reducing our trade deficit.
Russia calls for international intervention in Mali
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Russia's foreign ministry said the international community must ramp up its efforts and stop the tide of violence from rising in Mali.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for a more coordinated global response, along with U.N. Special Envoy to Mali, Romano Prodi, during a meeting in Moscow on Friday, the United International Press reports.
Iran move to speed up nuclear program troubles West
By Fredrik Dahl
VIENNA | Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:48pm EST
(Reuters) - Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, a defiant step that will worry Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran next week.
In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the central town of Natanz. They were not yet operating.
U.N. finds troubling upgrades
at Iran's Natanz uranium-enrichment site
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has just released a report that shows Iran has installed advanced technology at Natanz, its main site for uranium enrichment.
And the upgrades could be used to develop atomic weaponry, the International Atomic Energy Agency said, according to a report by The Associated Press.
But Iran has twisted that finding to its advantage. It's claiming the U.N. finding actually proves its uranium-enrichment program is for peaceful, not warlike, purposes.
Gold Manipulation:
The Logical Outcome Of Mainstream Economics Part 1
by Martin Sibileau - ZeroHedge.com
This is the first of three articles I will post on the suppression of gold. What drives me to write about the topic? I am tired of seeing endless proof of suppression (i.e. the typical take downs in the price at either 8:20am ET or at 10am-11am ET, with impressive predictability) and at the same time, it is unfair that anyone who voices this suppression be called a conspiracy theorist. Therefore, these three letters will give a rigorous theoretical support to the claim.
The first letter will show that, under mainstream economic theory, the suppression of the gold market is not a conspiracy theory, but a logical necessity, a logical outcome. From the publication of this letter onwards, the onus to prove the contrary will fall upon mainstream economists. The conspiracy theory will actually be the opposite: To claim that suppressing gold is not necessary.
Gold Pullback Explained
Reports of the death of the gold bull market have been greatly exaggerated. In the global currency war the biggest loser wins. However, the real winner will be gold. The race to debase means no fiat currency is safe. Savers are assured of being collateral damage unless they protect their purchasing power with a monetary asset central banks cannot print.
Gold's Regular Morning Mugging
A broad daylight crime-in-progress?
BY ADAM TAGGART - FinancialSense.com
Not everyone is a morning person. And few people like Mondays.
But if you're a precious metals investor, mornings – especially Mondays – are brutal.
The Evidence
The precious metals are routinely sold off at or soon after the 8:20am EST morning open of the New York NYMEX exchange.
Below are the daily gold price charts (source: Kitco) for each Monday (or Tuesday, if Monday was a holiday) since early this year. The current day's gold price is noted by the bright green line. The morning takedown is highlighted by the orange oval.
Gold's dive is done, now it's equities' turn
By L.A. Little - MarketWatch.com
Before addressing the current equity-market situation, let's first wrap up thegold market dive call. from last week. The dive happened, the extension occurred and profits should be taken. Could it go farther? Sure, it always can, but the ABCD projections are realized and the setup did exactly what it should have done.
In fact, it's time to buy it for a bounce, if anything, if you are an aggressive trader. It extended quickly and furiously off a high-probability trade where one could have their money exposed for a very short period of time. Good reward-to-risk; high probability and risk exposure minimized — that is the great trade as describe in my latest book
Beyond Meredith Whitney —
More Negative Muni Trends Expected in 2013
247WallSt.com - DailyFinance.com
Meredith Whitney was applauded for her call about the impending doom of the banking sector ahead of the recession, but she has been criticized ever since her call for billions and billions at risk of default in the municipal bond segment. Maybe her call was too bold, but the world of local government finances in the United States faces some of the same problems that the federal government faces. Today Moody's has issued a report that remains negative on the finances of the local U.S. government sector.
Moody's new report is called "Outlook for U.S. Local Governments Remains Negative in 2013; and it says that the outlook for the U.S. local government sector continues to be negative due to revenue constraints and persistent expenditure demands. Moody's also warned that the weak economic recovery remains a source of many of the ongoing pressures.
Forrest Gump at Treasury Jack Lew doesn't seem to know much
about how or why he got paid.
Opinion - WSJ.com
Senate Democrats are in a hurry to confirm Jack Lew as Secretary of the Treasury before anyone notices his biography. Otherwise, liberal lawmakers might be embarrassed voting for a man who represents everything they've been campaigning against.
Investor in Cayman Islands tax haven? Check. Recipient of a bonus and corporate jet rides underwritten by taxpayers at a bailed-out bank? Check. Executive at a university that accepted student-loan "kickbacks" for steering kids toward a favored bank? Check. Excessive compensation with minimal disclosure? Check.
The Fed is Now the Fifth Largest Country in the World
By Graham Summers - ZeroHedge.com
With QE 3 and QE 4 firmly in place and the Fed's balance sheet over $3 trillion, Idecided to go back and count the recap the Fed/Feds' interventions since the Great Crisis began in 2007.
Is the World on the Brink of a Currency War?
By Michael Sivy - Time.com
The latest hot topic among economic talking heads is the coming currency war. According to conventional wisdom, there's a risk that major countries will – simultaneously – try to revive their sluggish economies by pushing down the value of their currencies. That strategy could backfire, according to this line of thought, stifling international trade, tipping economies back into recession, and possibly causing Depression-style hyperinflation to boot. Get ready to sell apples on the nearest street corner and buy your morning coffee with a wheelbarrow full of paper money. It all sounds very unpleasant.
But the dogs of war are unlikely to slip their leash. In a classic currency war, a country prints money, holds interest rates down, or intervenes in foreign exchange markets in order to depress the value of its own currency. That makes the country's exports cheaper and more attractive for foreign buyers. In theory, this can enable an economy to grow faster than would be possible on the basis of domestic demand alone. Only trouble is, if every country pursues a similar strategy, they all devalue their currencies at the same time and no country gains an advantage over its trading partners.
Visualizing The Currency Wars
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
After the spectacular moves of late 2008, currency market volatility slowly reverted to more normal ranges, with a few exceptions over the course of 2009-2011. However, as Saxo Bank notes, since the start of the year, firebrand rhetoric is forcing currencies lower. The yen has fallen a stunning 17% against the US dollar and over 20% versus the Euro in the three months since Japan's newly elected prime minister Shinzo Abe took charge. This has reignited the global currency wars. But who are the winners and losers? Follow the three step process outlined in the infographic below and have your say at the #FXdebates. As you can see,currency debasement has given rise to a rally in equity markets (for now), but major economies, both advanced and emerging, have been slow to recover.
Insolvency, U.S.A. There are fiscal cliffs at every level of government,
and it doesn't help that states and many municipalities
cannot legally go bankrupt.
By JACKSON ADAMS - Spectator.org
Last week marked this season's first pow-wow between Illinois' union and legislative leaders regarding what has become known as a pension "funding crisis." It surprised nobody (least of all Illinois' Democratic House Speaker, who failed to attend) that this summit produced nothing new. Meanwhile, the pension driven deficit "widens by $17 million a day," according to Bloomberg. The situation has become so dire, that the state has postponed a $500 million bond offer in hopes that some kind of solution will ameliorate the consequences of the latest S&P downgrade to A-.
Head southwest, and last week also marked the deadline for the latest hearing in the San Bernardino bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy rules have so far protected the city from its obligations to the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPers) until it has come up with a sustainable plan to pay off all its debts.
Keiser Report: Mystery Meat - Shut Up & Eat! (E409)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss where you go when you can't even afford mystery meat? They also wonder whether Germany's gold has already been sent out to slaughter while the men running the money abattoirs continue sending us photos of the intact gold. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to HBOS whistleblower, Paul R. Moore, about the absurdity of naming the FSA twice and why eating dodgy securities is not a victimless crime.
Stanley Druckenmiller: "We Have An Entitlement Problem" And One Day The Fed's Hamster Wheel Will Stop
By Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Two and a half years ago, George Soros' former partner Stanley Druckenmiller closed shop when he shut down his iconic Duquesne Management, after generating 30% average annual returns since 1986. Some time later he raised many red flags by being one of the first "establishment" types to expose the Fed's take over of the market when he said in a rare May 2011 interview that "It's not a free market. It's not a clean market.... The market isn't saying anything about the future. It's saying there's a phony buyer of $19 billion of Treasurys a week." This was in the context of the constantly declining interest rates on an ever exploding US debt load. And while back then total debt was a "manageable" $14.3 trillion, as of today it is some $2.3 trillion higher moments ago printing at a fresh record high of $16.6 trillion, not surprisingly the phony buyer is still here only now he is buying not $19 billion by over $20 billion in total debt each week. But just like it was the relentless rise in the US debt that forced him out of his privacy in the public scene back then, so it was also the US debt that was also the topic of his rare CNBC appearance today (where he fiercely poked at all those other TV chatterbox pundits when he said "money managers should manage money and not go on shows like this") in the aftermath of his recent WSJ Op-Ed.There, he once again said what everyone knows but is scared to admit: "we have an entitlement problem."
Druckenmiller's definition of the problem:
Extortionist in Chief
By Cal Thomas - PatriotPost.us
At the end of 1995 and stretching into January 1996, the federal government "shut down" because of an impasse between President Bill Clinton and House Republicans led by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The issue was increased taxes vs. less spending. Sound familiar? The government re-opened when a bipartisan agreement was reached to balance the budget by 2003. It wasn't for reasons that included, but were not limited to, two wars. Now the national debt is racing toward an unsustainable $17 trillion.
This time around it isn't about closing government. It's about "sequestration," which President Obama, the Democrats and their big media toadies are styling as economic Armageddon.
The Coming Atlantic Century
By Anne-Marie Slaughter - Project-Syndicate.org
PRINCETON – The United States is rising; Europe is stabilizing; and both are moving closer together. That was the principal message earlier this month at the annual Munich Security Conference (MSC), a high-powered gathering of defense ministers, foreign ministers, senior military officials, parliamentarians, journalists, and national-security experts of every variety.
The participants come primarily from Europe and the US; indeed, when the conference began in 1963, it was focused entirely on NATO members. This year, however, senior government officials from Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Singapore, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia also joined, an important sign of the times.
President Obama Wants America to Be Like Germany—
What Does That Really Mean? Want a smarter workforce? A stronger manufacturing sector? Germany seems to offer a blueprint for Obama's middle-out economic agenda -- if we take away the right lessons
By Steven Hill - TheAtlantic.com
Americans have experienced a strong case of Germany Envy throughout the recession and slow recovery. In 2010, when the president pledged to double export growth in five years, policymakers looked to Germany for tips. In his latest State of the Union, the president plugged Germany, not only as a manufacturing powerhouse, but also as a standard for vocational training for young people.
The new liberal vision of a competitive economy built around a resurgent manufacturing sector and an educated middle class seems to ape what Germany does best. But how much do we really understand what makes the German economy a world-class leader?
The Road to Asian Unity
By Jaswant Singh - Project-Syndicate.org
NEW DELHI – Asia's lack of institutions to ameliorate regional tensions is often lamented. But greater Asian unity may be arising by the backdoor, in the form of new and impressive infrastructure links.
Today's efforts to expand regional infrastructure projects are all the more remarkable for linking even countries locked in diplomatic, and sometimes open, conflict. New bus routes between India and Pakistan may not make headlines, but they deliver a degree of normalcy to relations riddled with mistrust. Elsewhere, rail links between China and Vietnam, road developments connecting India and Bangladesh, and new ports, harbors, and pipelines in Myanmar and Pakistan are forging a new form of economic unity alongside the region's manufacturing supply chains.
SECRET FED BAILOUT LET BANK OF AMERICA
OFF THE HOOK FOR BILLIONS
by WYNTON HALL - Breitbart.com
A secret bailout deal struck between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Bank of America may have let the big bank off the hook for billions of dollars in legal claims in exchange for a mere $43 million settlement.
According to the New York Times, court filings reveal that the New York Federal Reserve released Bank of America "from all legal claims arising from losses in some mortgage-backed securities the Fed received when the government bailed out the American International Group in 2008."
Times financial writer Gretchen Morgenson called the Fed's actions "remarkable" and "bewildering."
Financial Crisis and the "Revolving Door" 02 12 13
By NYC Bar Association The Financial Crisis and the "Revolving Door"
Tuesday, February 12, 2013 6:30 pm-8:00 pm Event Description:
A New York Times headline reads: "Revolving Door at S.E.C. Is Hurdle to Crisis Cleanup"; another headline: "Revolving Door Not a Problem, Study Finds." This free public program will go behind the headlines to ask:
What are the ethical rules of the road for regulators and prosecutors moving into the private sector? For private-sector personnel going into government?
Has the flow of people and expertise between government and the private sector -- the so-called "revolving door" -- limited government's response to the financial crisis, or improved it?
Do the rules of the road need reform? Moderator: Scott Cohn, Senior Correspondent, CNBC. Panelists: Susan Antilla, Columnist, Bloomberg View; Rachel Barkow, Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy, New York University School of Law; Matthew Biben, Senior Legal Adviser and General Counsel for Consumer and Community Banking, JPMorgan Chase; Joseph Brenner, Chief Counsel, Enforcement Division, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Martin Grant, Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Thomas Perrelli, Partner, Jenner & Block LLP, former Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice.
Experts split on Detroit's fiscal recovery options
By COREY WILLIAMS, AP - SFGate.com
DETROIT (AP) — In less than a month, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will decide whether the state will take over Detroit's broken finances and send in someone to oversee the city's fiscal recovery.
Regardless of Snyder's decision, the question may not be who can save Detroit, but how can Detroit be saved.
The city's options are limited, with experts split on what may be best: long-term, methodical restructuring with help from the state or cutting the city's losses now through municipal bankruptcy.
Skid row A state takeover of Detroit,
once America's third-largest city, looks likely
from print edition - Economist.com
THE city of Detroit has been in financial difficulty for so long that it has become almost an article of faith on the streets that, somehow, it will manage. But on February 19th it became highly unlikely that it will be allowed to muddle on for much longer. A state review team concluded that there was a local-government financial emergency in Detroit and no way of resolving the situation.
The governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, has 30 days to respond, but most people think he will take far less time than this to appoint an emergency manager. A looser power-sharing agreement between the city and the state has already been tried over the past year and has, clearly, failed. The authority of elected officials, including the mayor and the city council, will be suspended and the manager will assume control of public contracts, city assets, staff, pay and benefits. Reports suggest that Mr Snyder already has a shortlist of candidates for the job.
Graham: A National I.D. Card
'Is the Public's Way of Contributing'
BY JEFFREY H. ANDERSON - WeeklyStandard.com
Having profoundly failed to enforce federal immigration law for the past several decades, the federal government is now angling to use the immigration debate as a means to accentuate its own power. The Wall Street Journal reports that Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), among others, supports a national biometric I.D. card, calling it "the public's way of contributing to solving the problem" of illegal immigration.
The Journal writes that "at least five of the eight senators writing the [immigration] bill"— Graham, Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), John McCain (R., Ariz.), Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), and Jeff Flake (R., Ariz.) — "have backed biometric ID cards in the past." What's more, Graham, Schumer, and McCain "have said they support requiring the cards under the new law."
A Higher Minimum Wage—but Not for Interns in Congress Senators know that even unpaid entry-level work can be valuable. That's why they make some of their employees work for nothing.
By DWIGHT LEE - WSJ.com
President Obama called in his State of the Union for an increase in the minimum wage to $9 an hour by 2015, from $7.25, notwithstanding the evidence that it will increase unemployment among young, entry-level workers. This push by Mr. Obama and his congressional allies is especially difficult to understand because they clearly appreciate how valuable it is for young people to gain workplace experience and make connections that can lead to career opportunities.
Internships at the White House, on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in Washington introduce thousands of young people to working in government and to the discipline and industry needed to function in any workplace. Yet these unpaid positions are almost by definition reserved for the offspring of the well-to-do who are least in need of such an advantage.
Latest Front in the Gun Debate Is Mandatory Insurance
By MICHAEL COOPER and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH - NYTimes.com
In a society sharply divided over efforts to curb violence and the right to bear arms, both sides of the gun debate seem to agree on at least one thing: a bigger role for the insurance industry to play in a heavily armed society.
But just what that role should be, and whether insurers will choose to accept it, are still very much in dispute.
Lawmakers in at least half a dozen states, including California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, have proposed legislation this year that would require gun owners to buy liability insurance — much as car owners are required to buy auto insurance. Doing so would give a financial incentive for safe behavior, they hope, as people with less dangerous weapons or safety locks could qualify for lower rates.
ObamaCare's 'Baby Elephant' John Kasich says Valerie Jarrett promised,
and other Medicaid tales.
Opinion - WSJ.com
On Wednesday Florida Republican Rick Scott became the latest GOP Governor to volunteer to shoulder some responsibility for ObamaCare, which has liberal sages gloating about a resistance-is-futile shift in the GOP. The media don't want to discuss the substance, only the politics, so allow us to report how the flippers are justifying their flips.
• Take the money or run. The Governors now expanding Medicaid are candid about their flight from their own fiscal principles: They want to take political credit for taking "free" money from Uncle Sugar and for appeasing the state hospitals lobbying for federal cash. The Health and Human Services Department will pay 100% of the cost of new beneficiaries, later 90%.
What Will Be Different When IT Transforms Health Care?
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
Jonathan Cohn's story about the potentially transformative impact of information technologyon the health care sector is a must-read. I wrote recently about how nurse-practitioners are just as good as doctors for many routine care scenarios, at least in the places where they're allowed to practice. So imagine the potential extra capacity that could be unlocked by equipping nurse-practitioners with Watson-style supercomputers to do basic diagnostics. You could even go further down the training hierarchy than that, and open a world of much more plentiful diagnostic and basic treatment.
New Federal Rule Requires Insurers
to Offer Mental Health Coverage
By ROBERT PEAR - NYTimes.com
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration issued a final rule on Wednesday defining "essential health benefits" that must be offered by most health insurance plans next year, and it said that 32 million people would gain access to coverage of mental health care as a result.
The federal rule requires insurers to cover treatment of mental illnesses, behavioral disorders, drug addictionand alcohol abuse, and other conditions.
Three Radical New Brain-Mapping Tools
Scientists Want Obama to Deliver
BY GREG MILLER - Wired.com
The Obama administration wants to make a huge investment in mapping the human brain, according to The New York Times. How can they get the most bang for their buck? We have details on three future technologies that are being eyed by the scientists behind the bold proposal.
The U.S. already has one big brain-mapping effort under way, the Human Connectome Project, which aims to map the connections between regions of the human brain. The new project would go beyond this static depiction and map the activity of individual neurons in real time.
Wireless Technology Is Ushering In a New Era of Computing
By Adam J. Crawford, CASEY RESEARCH - FinancialSense.com
A transformation is happening in the world of telecommunications: a technology improvement known as "LTE" now allows for the transfer of data to mobile devices at speeds equivalent to home Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) Internet connections. This has created a transitional market in mobile phones and tablets that is projected to rapidly accelerate in the coming years.
What Is LTE?
Originally, copper wires strung from pole to pole established the connection between telephones. Today, wireless networks usually establish that connection, using towers and antennas to relay sound and data by radio waves.
"60 Minutes" investigates cyber-warfare
Published on Mar 5, 2012
Charlie Rose and Erica Hill speak with Steve Kroft about a cyber attack that crippled the Iranian nuclear program for a time.
Stuxnet: Computer worm opens new era of warfare
Published on Mar 4, 2012
Computer virus's evident success in damaging Iran's nuclear facility has officials asking if our own infrastructure is safe. Steve Kroft reports.
DIY Drone-Proofing: Militants Use Carpet,
Grass Mats, Mud to Hide From Robots
BY SPENCER ACKERMAN - Wired.com
What's the simplest way to evade a $4.5 million armed, flying robot? Get some grass mats. Or smear your car with mud.
After hundreds of strikes over four drone-intensive years, al-Qaida is starting to pass around notes on cheap countermeasures militants can take to evade detection by the robots' sensors. The longer the militants can delay the CIA or the U.S. military from obtaining a positive identification, the thinking goes, the less likely a strike becomes. Step one: Disguise your car.
China's cyber-hacking Getting Ugly If China wants respect abroad, it must rein in its hackers
from print edition - The Economist
FOREIGN governments and companies have long suspected that the Chinese hackers besieging their networks have links to the country's armed forces. On February 19th Mandiant, an American security company, offered evidence that this is indeed so. A report, the fruit of six years of investigations, tracks individual members of one Chinese hacker group, with aliases such as Ugly Gorilla and SuperHard, to a nondescript district in residential Shanghai that is home to Unit 61398 of the People's Liberation Army. China has condemned the Mandiant report. On February 20th America announced plans to combat the theft of trade secrets.
China Weaponizes Cyberspace
By Arnold Ahlert - PatriotPost.us
A dire threat of the 21st century — and the unwillingness of the Obama administration to confront it.
A damning, 60-page report released by American computer security firm Mandiant reveals that a 12-story building on the outskirts of Shanghai is most likely the epicenter of ongoing cyber attacks perpetrated against a number of American corporations and government agencies, as well as entities such as power grids, gas lines and water works. The building, located in a run-down section of the city, is the headquarters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Unit 61398. A 2010 report by Mandiant questioned whether the Chinese government was directly involved in such hacking. No longer. "The details we have analyzed during hundreds of investigations convince us that the groups conducting these activities are based primarily in China and that the Chinese Government is aware of them," the report states
Chinese cyber-attacks: A hacking hub?
As suspicion mounts over the Chinese government's involvement in cyber-attacks, our correspondents discuss the latest allegations made by Mandiant, an American information-security firm
White House warns of cyber threat
from 'aggressive' China and Russia US outlines new strategy to deal with theft of trade secrets and says pair remain 'capable collectors of sensitive information'
By Paul Harris in New York - Guardian.co.uk
The Obama administration has singled out China and Russia as "aggressive" players in the world of cyber-espionage and warned that they will continue to try and steal US industrial and technological secrets.
In a report outlining plans to deal with the theft of American trade secrets that comes in the wake of revelations about Chinese hacking in the US, the White House warned that both countries would remain active in trying to illegally obtain sensitive information.
POLL: MAJORITY OF U.S. CITIZENS
SAY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD BE DEPORTED
Breitbart.com
(Reuters) - More than half of U.S. citizens believe that most or all of the country's 11 million illegal immigrants should be deported, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday that highlights the difficulties facing lawmakers trying to reform the U.S. immigration system.
The online survey shows resistance to easing immigration laws despite the biggest push for reform in Congress since 2007.
Thirty percent of those polled think that most illegal immigrants, with some exceptions, should be deported, while 23 percent believe all illegal immigrants should be deported.
Connecting Entitlement Reform to Immigration Reform
By Robert Reich - Truthdig.com
I was born in 1946, just when the boomer wave began. Bill Clinton was born that year, too. So was George W. Bush, as was Laura Bush. And Ken Starr (remember him?) And then, the next year, Hillary Rodham was born. And soon Newt Gingrich (known as "Newty" as a boy). And Cher (Every time I begin feeling old I remind myself she's not that much younger.)
Why did so many of us begin coming into the world in 1946? Demographers have given this question a great deal of attention.
Obama and Rubio: neither accepts God's authority
By Alan Keyes - RenewAmerica.com
February 18, 2013
On Tuesday of this week, we should have commemorated the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. I spent the day working onan article, since posted on my blog, reflecting on the profound acknowledgment of God's authority Lincoln bequeathed to the nation in the words of his Second Inaugural Address. I refer, of course, to the famous passage in which Lincoln spoke on the supposition
"...that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come,...and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came.... Yet if God wills that it continue...as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"
MORMONISM UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The real problem with Mormonism
By Stephen Stone - RenewAmerica.com
The single most disconcerting problem with the Mormon church is not its extreme authoritarianism — the worst of any modern institution; or any of its unscriptural traditions, particularly those that defy its own professed canon.
The problem is not even the subtle, but genuine threat posed by the church's un-American, overly-defensive, anti-social tendencies, for which Mormonism might validly be considered a "menace" to civilized institutions — just as it was viewed over a century ago, when polygamy was the most distinguishing feature of the church; when a wagon train of more than a hundred non-Mormon men, women, and children passing through Utah was mercilessly massacred by the locals, led by church leaders; or when the church behaved as a monolithic voting bloc that undercut representative democracy wherever it settled, precipitating a history of early conflict with outsiders.
Let Us Return to Prayer How will Benedict XVI be remembered?
By LISA FABRIZIO - Spectator.org
When I first heard that Pope Benedict XVI had announced his plans to resign, I made a pledge to avoid all media for the duration. I knew all too well what to expect: juvenile headlines, inaccurate reporting and most dreadful of all, the interviews with what I call "ethnic" Catholics: those who do not follow the precepts of the Church and rarely go to Mass, yet feel eminently qualified to be interviewed by the New York Times merely because they were born into the Faith.
But I also knew that as a faithful Catholic and a writer, it was my regrettable duty to open the newspapers and turn on the TV to see if anything had changed since the last Papal Interregnum. And predictably, nothing had, although there seems to be a different mood among those once again tasked to cover an entity they know little or nothing about and whose mission and methods they so truly despise.
Pope Benedict Approves German
to Head Troubled Vatican Bank
The Vatican was drawn into a new controversy over its bank on Friday. It has appointed a new president over the secretive institution, a man who is also chairman of a company that makes Germany warships.
Ernst von Freyberg was appointed by a commission of cardinals, he was given "full consent" by Pope Benedict XVI.
Pope Benedict retired after inquiry
into 'Vatican gay officials', says paper
Pope's staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking 'Vatileaks' affair and discovery of 'blackmailed gay clergy'
By John Hooper in Rome - Guardian.co.uk
A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report said – were being blackmailed by outsiders.
The pope's spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.
The paper said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going to resign – the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called "Vatileaks" affair.
Exclusive: A Seat for the Pope at King David's Tomb Israel seems to have sold Jerusalem to the Vatican.
OP/ED - Israel National News
An historic agreement has been drafted between Israel and the Vatican. The Israeli authorities have granted the Pope an official seat in the room where the Last Supper is believed to have taken place, on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and where David and Solomon, Jewish kings of Judea, are considered by some researchers, to also be buried.
It is the culmination of a long campaign by the Catholic Church to regain religious stewardship over the place where Jesus is supposed to have broken bread and drunk wine with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion.
Jordanian minister accuses Israel
of planning to erect the third Temple Islamic endowments minister says Israel
wants to partition the Temple Mount
By ELHANAN MILLER January 3, 2013, - TimesOfIsrael
Jordanian minister accused Israel on Wednesday of planning to partition the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount plaza surrounding it in order to erect the third Temple.
Islamic Endowments Minister Abdul Salam Abadi told a visiting clerical delegation from Australia that he received instructions from the "Hashemite leadership" to safeguard the Arab and Islamic identity of Jerusalem, Jordanian media reported.
The Coming Third Jewish Temple It Will Be Built In Time
For The Fulfillment Of Daniel's 70th Week
NowTheEndBegins.com
In the 9th chapter of the book of Daniel, we read a prophecy about the coming end times. The
NewTestament calls it the Great Tribulation, the Old Testament calls it the 'time of Jacob's trouble', but they both are speaking of the same event. This event is a 7-year period, preceded by the Rapture, which kicks off the start of the 7 years of tribulation.
The Next 2 Jewish Temples in Jerusalem -
Prophecy Today Video Update
Dr. Jimmy DeYoung discusses the two future Jewish Temples, which, according to Bible prophecy, will one day stand on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Tribulation Temple - which will be desecrated by the Antichrist, and the Millennial Temple, or "Messiah's Temple," which is described in painstaking detail in Ezekiel's vision, as recorded in Ezekiel 40-46. This Temple will be built by the Messiah - Jesus Christ - Himself, according to the ancient Jewish prophet Zechariah, and will be different from either of the two previous Temples, the Tabernacle, and even the Tribulation Temple.
Muslims Claim Netanyahu Plans to Build 'False' Holy Temple Netanyahu's latest building plan for Jerusalem is none other than for the Third Temple, claims Al Aqsa Foundation.
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - Israel National News
First Publish: 11/28/2012
Al Aqsa officials warn that the "new Likud" is planning to build a "false" Third Holy Temple and divide the Muslim compound.
Muslim paranoia of Jews on the Temple Mount had reached panic stages even before this week's Likud primaries that placed JewishLeadership faction leader Moshe Feiglin in a ranking that assures his election to the Knesset in January.
Peres: 'Lebanon Must Decide Whether It Wants Peace or Fire' Israeli President Shimon Peres added his voice to the renewed calls for the European Union to designate Hizbullah a terror organization.
By Arutz Sheva staff - Israel National News
Israeli President Shimon Peres on Thursday added his voice to the renewed calls for the European Union to designate Hizbullah a terror organization.
Earlier this month, Bulgaria announced that Hizbullah was responsible for the July bombing in Burgas, which killed five Israeli tourists and their local driver, bringing fresh calls for Hizbullah to be added to the EU terror blacklist.
'Joint Israel-West Bank' reality is an apartheid state If Obama intends to ignore the looming 'apartheid cliff' on his visit, he'd be better off staying home, adds Alon Liel, who also served as Israel's envoy to Pretoria
By RAPHAEL AHREN - TimesOFIsrael.com
As long as there is no Palestinian state and Israel rules over the West Bank, Israel is a de facto apartheid state, a former top Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday, using a highly contentious term usually employed only by radical anti-Israel activists.
Alon Liel, a former Foreign Ministry director-general and ex-ambassador to South Africa, also called on President Barack Obama to stay home if he didn't intend to warn Israelis about the dangers of an approaching "apartheid cliff."
Human World Leaders
are Setting the Stage for Bible Prophecy
Reports of geo-political happenings from around the world that remind us that human governmental leaders are making decisions today that are moving us in the direction of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy tomorrow. God's Word is clear that not only did God create human government, he is also able to direct the decisions of world leaders to accomplish His will.
Sharon opposed findings of Sabra, Shatilla probe Declassified protocols show then-defense minister saying report finds Israel responsibile, makes massacre seem like genocide.
By JPOST.COM STAF
Ariel Sharon, the defense minister who oversaw Israel's 1982 operation in Lebanon to oust the PLO, was vehemently opposed to the adoption of findings from a report into a massacre at the two Palestinian refugee camps by Israel's Lebanese allies, newly declassified documents show.
Members of the Christian Phalangist militia entered the camps of Sabra and Shatilla in Beirut on September 16, 1982, carrying out an assault that led to the slaughter of between 762 and 3,500 people. Nearly all of the dead were women, children and elderly men.
Sharon warned Begin Israel 'could be accused of genocide' Archives release protocols of cabinet meetings on the findings on the '82 Sabra and Shatila massacre
By AARON KALMAN - TimesOFIsrael.com
Rejecting the recommendations of an investigative report into the Sabra and Shatila massacre, defense minister Ariel Sharon told prime minister Menachem Begin in February 1983 that Israel "could be accused of genocide" were the report to be accepted. Six months earlier, Israeli forces in Lebanon had let members of the Christian Phalange fighters into the Palestinian refugee camps, where they killed hundreds of people.
Thirty years later, on Thursday, the state archives released protocolsfrom the six cabinet meetings that dealt with the massacre and the possible implications of the ensuing investigation, led by Judge Yitzhak Kahan. Though some of the material is still classified, dozens of pages were uploaded and made visible to the public.
New Chinese Leader to Make Moscow His First Visit
By JANE PERLEZ - NYTimes.com
BEIJING — The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, has selected Moscow as his first foreign visit as president, to be followed immediately by a trip to South Africa for a summit of the group of leading emerging-market countries.
Mr. Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao, also chose Moscow as his first overseas stop after assuming office, but this time, Mr. Xi's journey to Russia has a special significance, analysts say, coming as China tries to answer the Obama administration's pivot to Asia. That American policy is viewed with suspicion in Beijing and is broadly interpreted unfavorably by the Chinese government as containment of China.
World Powers to Make 'Significant New Iran Offer' World powers will make Iran an offer with "significant new elements" in a bid to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program.
By Arutz Sheva staff - Israel National News
World powers will make Iran an offer with "significant new elements" in a bid to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program at talks next week in Kazakhstan, a western diplomat said Wednesday, according to AFP.
The next round of talks with Iran under the '5+1' format -- UN Security Council members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany -- will be held on February 26 in Almaty after a long gap.
Oh My Gas...& Oil! Europe hit hardest by Iran sanctions?
The world's leading figures in the oil and gas Industries have gathered in London, for International Petroleum week. Some experts suggest tensions in the Middle East are inflating prices, but there are also concerns that EU sanctions on Iran could be increasing costs for consumers.
Blindly Down the Strategic Valley We're past the point of deterring Iran and North Korea from developing nuclear weaponry. So what now?
By GEORGE H. WITTMAN - Spectator.org
There is a tendency in American political and journalistic circles to believe there is some way to deter Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. This is a totally false perception, as the Iranians are already committed to the creation of a nuclear weapon arsenal. For what other reason would they have continued to invest in its extremely expensive and technologically difficult program? They certainly do not need additional energy sources, and couldn't care less about hydrocarbon pollution. This matter already has been closed.
The only real issue left is to determine how to counter the possible use of a Persian nuclear weapon. Sanctions are irrelevant in a nuclear confrontation. If a country such as Iran decides to use a nuclear weapon, the only deterrent is to create the expectation of an immediate and devastating counterstrike. The Mullahs knows full well that if they allow a first strike on themselves, any further conflict through a retaliatory strike by them would be limited by the damage originally caused by their opponent. Iran must strike first — and hard — if at all.
Syria Claims It Shot Down Israeli Drone Syria claims in unconfirmed report that its forces downed an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near the border with Lebanon.
By Chana Ya'ar - Israel National News
Syria claims its forces have downed an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) near the border with Lebanon.
A report broadcast Wednesday on Syria's state-run Mayadeen TVclaimed government forces shot down the drone over the village of Deir al Ashayer, about 15 miles west of Damascus and not far from where an alleged Israeli strike on a chemical weapons processing plant took place last month.
Power struggle, not nuclear deal, priority for Iranian elite
By Marcus George
DUBAI | Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:14am EST
(Reuters) - Preoccupied with an intensifying domestic power struggle, Iran is unlikely to agree with world powers next week on ways out of a nuclear dispute: Surviving a turbulent period of pre-electoral infighting will be the priority for its faction-ridden elite.
Despite eye-catching suggestions among Iranian policymakers that a more imaginative approach is needed to engagement with its Western adversaries, Iran's electoral calendar may pre-ordain several more months of stasis in the nuclear negotiations set to resume in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Tuesday.
IAEA Report: Iran Installing New Nuclear Equipment Iran has begun installing next-generation equipment at one of its main nuclear plants, new IAEA report finds.
By Elad Benari - Israel National News
Iran has begun installing next-generation equipment at one of its main nuclear plants, a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report said Thursday.
"On 6 February 2013, the Agency observed that Iran had started the installation of IR-2m centrifuges" at the Natanz plant, the report said, according to AFP.
UN Hope for Success with New Offer
in Latest Round of Talks with Iran
By Joao Peixe - OilPrice.com
Talks between the five nations of the United Nations Security Council (and Germany) and Iran are set to begin again next week in Kazakhstan; the last round of talks which took place in Moscow in June 2012 failed to yield results.
It is hoped that this time new offers made to Iran will encourage cooperation and result in a resolution of the dispute over its nuclear program.
The French Foreign Minister said that they "will make an updated offer that will contain new substantive elements," in the effort to encourage "a real exchange, leading to concrete results."
Iran move to speed up nuclear program troubles West
By Fredrik Dahl
VIENNA | Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:48pm EST
(Reuters) - Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges at its main uranium enrichment plant, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Thursday, a defiant step that will worry Western powers ahead of a resumption of talks with Tehran next week.
In a confidential report, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been put in place at the facility near the central town of Natanz. They were not yet operating.
Israel: Iran closer than ever to nuclear bomb
France24.com
AFP - Iran is "closer than ever" to the ability to build a nuclear bomb, Israel said on Thursday, as a new UN report said Tehran has begun installing next-generation equipment at one of its main nuclear plants.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's report said Iran started installing new and advanced centrifuges at Natanz, which would enable it to speed up the enrichment of uranium.
North Korea: Preparing for War
By Jen Alic - OilPrice.com
The latest in the North Korea drama is the release of a video portraying US President Barack Obama and American troops going up in flames. But it's not just cheap and cheesy rhetoric by a new leader who wants to be taken seriously: North Korea is preparing for a war because the US has been preparing for an offensive.
Earlier this month, we were regaled with a similar video, this time portraying a US city being attacked by North Korean missiles. Before that, in December, North Korea launched a satellite, and its official news agency declared a "Nationwide preparation for an all-out great war for national reunification."
Gold versus Industrial Metals
By: Steve Saville, The Speculative Investor - GoldSeek.com
The financial markets have begun 2013 in remarkably similar fashion to how they began 2010, 2011 and 2012. In each of these preceding three years the average market participant became optimistic about global economic growth during the first quarter, leading to weakness in gold relative to the industrial metals. Here we go again.
As illustrated by the following chart of the gold/GYX ratio (GYX being a proxy for industrial metals such as copper, zinc, nickel, lead and aluminium), gold declined relative to the industrial metals complex during the early part of each of the last three years. Up until now, 2013 has followed the same pattern. The price action is prompting many analysts to recommend increased exposure to the industrial metals relative to gold, but note that the gold/GYX ratio made its low for the year during February-April of 2010, 2011 and 2012. This suggests that economic optimism was beginning to give way to economic realism by April in each of these prior years.
Gold "Headed for Sell Off" Despite Stronger US Coin Sales
From Ben Traynor - GoldSeek.com
WHOLESALE prices for gold bullion hovered above $1610 an ounce during Tuesday morning's London session, having ticked higher in Asian trading following losses yesterday, as stock markets also gained, with the US set to reopen following a holiday yesterday.
Gold is still down around 3% on the month however following last week's drop.
"[Last week's] bearish close should lead to a sell-off to below the $1600 level unfolding in the weeks to come," reckons Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at Commerzbank.
Eric Sprott: Price of Gold and Silver
are Being Suppressed & No Gold in the Treasury
Money manager Eric Sprott contends, "Physical demand for gold is out of line with supply. How can all these new people come into this market when there has been no increase in supply . . . for the last 12 years?" Sprott's analysis shows central banks are selling to make up for the shortfall and opines, "I would hate to think what happens when we all find out there is no gold in the Treasury."
Money Is A Form Of Social Control And Most Americans Are Debt Slaves
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Is America really "the land of the free"? Most people think of money as simply a medium of exchange that makes economic transactions more convenient, but the truth is that it is much more than that. Money is also a form of social control. Just think about it. What did you do this morning? Well, if you are like most Americans, you either got up and went to work (to make money) or to school (to learn the skills that you will need to make money). We spend a great deal of our lives pursuing the almighty dollar, and there are literally millions of laws, rules and regulations about how we earn our money, about how we spend our money and about how much of our money the government gets to take from us. Not that money is a bad thing in itself. Without money, it would be really hard to have a modern society. Unfortunately, our money is based on debt, and debt levels in the United States have exploded to absolutely unprecedented levels in recent years. The borrower is the servant of the lender, and if you are like most Americans, nearly every major purchase that you make in your life is going to involve debt.
The Reflation Party Is Ending
As China Withdraws Market Liquidity
For First Time In Eight Months
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Since institutional memories are short, it is time to remind readers that it was the threat, and subsequent reality, of China overheating in the spring and summer of 2011 (when record high food prices sent the entire North African region in a state of coordinated revolt and gradually moved far east), when even the Great firewall of China could not block news of frequent break outs of localized violence from hungry and angry mobs, that halted and broke the spine of the great reflation trade then (and yes, 2013 has so far been a carbon copy replica of 2011 as we summarized in "It's Deja Vu, All Over Again: This Time Is... Completely The Same").
Fears at Fed of rate payouts to banks
[Google title for free article access]
By Robin Harding in Washington and Tom Braithwaite in New York
US Federal Reserve officials fear a backlash from paying billions of dollars to commercial banks when the time comes to raise interest rates.
The growth of the Fed's balance sheet means it could pay $50bn-$75bn a year in interest on bank reserves at the same time as it makes losses and has to stop sending money to the Treasury.
It's War
By: CAPTAINHOOK - GoldSeek.com
It appears ever since the world's top money managers, crony capitalists, and corrupt politicians were in Davos again for the annual World Economic Forum increasing numbers are catching on to the fact the 'big risk' moving forward is likely to be 'currency wars', which unfortunately most common people will not understand. They don't understand the term 'currency wars' is plutocratic double speak for 'currency debasement wars', more often referred to as money printing. (i.e. which is price inflationary and the authorities chief mechanism for wealth confiscation.) Such jargon is considered boorish by the 'high and mighty' who continue to perpetuate our Ponzi finance fraud, loosely considered an economy by those who continue to benefit from it, the ranks of which growing more scarce by the day. (i.e. Keynesian Economics does not work.)
South Korea Starts Currency War Rumblings;
Has Japan In Its Sights
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
While the rest of the developed (read trade deficit) world's foray into the currency wars was completely predictable and expected, there was one country that had so far kept very silent on the topic of Japan's attempts to crush its currency: its main export competitor, South Korea. Recall that for this Asian nation exports are everything, and as Yonhap reminds us, "exports of goods and services amounted to 538.5 trillion won (US$506 billion) in the January-September period, or 57.3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The reading was higher than 56.2 percent tallied for all of 2011 and the highest since the central bank began compiling related data in 1970, and South Korea's exports accounted for 13.2 percent of its GDP." The reason for South Korea's relative silence is that, as we showed yesterday, in the global race to debase launched with the end of the Bretton Woods, it was the undisputed leader, outdoing even the US.
South Korea Starts Currency War Rumblings;
Has Japan In Its Sights
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
While the rest of the developed (read trade deficit) world's foray into the currency wars was completely predictable and expected, there was one country that had so far kept very silent on the topic of Japan's attempts to crush its currency: its main export competitor, South Korea. Recall that for this Asian nation exports are everything, and as Yonhap reminds us, "exports of goods and services amounted to 538.5 trillion won (US$506 billion) in the January-September period, or 57.3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The reading was higher than 56.2 percent tallied for all of 2011 and the highest since the central bank began compiling related data in 1970, and South Korea's exports accounted for 13.2 percent of its GDP." The reason for South Korea's relative silence is that, as we showed yesterday, in the global race to debase launched with the end of the Bretton Woods, it was the undisputed leader, outdoing even the US.
Obama presses for stopgap sequester fix
By Zachary A. Goldfarb - WashingtonPost.com
President Obama injected fresh urgency Tuesday morning into discussions over how to avoid deep, automatic cuts to domestic and defense spending that are set to take effect in 10 days.
Speaking at the White House, surrounded by firefighters and other emergency personnel, Obama urged Congress to pass a short-term measure that would delay the cuts, known as the sequester, for a period of time until Congress can pass a permanent fix.
Obama, the puppet master President Barack Obama is a master at limiting, shaping and manipulating media coverage of himself and his White House.
By JIM VANDEHEI and MIKE ALLEN | Politico.com
Not for the reason that conservatives suspect: namely, that a liberal press willingly and eagerly allows itself to get manipulated. Instead, the mastery mostly flows from a White House that has taken old tricks for shaping coverage (staged leaks, friendly interviews) and put them on steroids using new ones (social media, content creation, precision targeting). And it's an equal opportunity strategy: Media across the ideological spectrum are left scrambling for access.
Fed's Lockhart sees bond buying through year end
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa
ATLANTA | Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:44pm EST
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will likely need to keep buying bonds until the end of this year given the still-feeble state of the U.S. labor market, a top Fed official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart, who is seen as a bellwether centrist at the central bank, said in an interview that the economy should benefit from the partial resolution of the so-called "fiscal cliff" budget stand-off earlier this year.
The Pound Gets Pounded
By: Peter Schiff - GoldSeek.com
As the global currency war intensifies, the majority of attention has been paid to the 17% fall of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar over the past few months. The implosion has given cover to the sad performance of another once mighty currency: the British pound sterling. But in many ways the travails of the pound is far more instructive to those pondering the fate of the U.S. currency.
Japan has a unique economic and demographic profile which makes it a poor stalking horse. Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Bank of Japan have clearly and forcefully committed Japan to a policy of inflation at any cost. Even in a world of serial money printers their plans stand out as exceptional. Britain, on the other hand, is charting a more conventional course to the same destination.
What Would Ben Franklin Say About An America In Decline?
By John Tamny, Forbes.com
Writing about the successful American Revolution in his masterful 1998 book, A History of the American People, historian Paul Johnson opined that the British weren't incompetent as much as the Founders were brilliant. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Monroe, and Franklin were in the eyes of Johnson the greatest collection of minds in one place in the history of mankind.
At present the creation of our Founding Fathers limps along with high unemployment, gargantuan budget deficits, and a lack of confidence that is, well, un-American. So with these United States seemingly in trouble, it's always worthwhile to consider the difficult times we're in through the eyes of the Founders themselves. Wildly successful entrepreneur Tom Blair has done just that with his highly insightful and enjoyablePoorer Richard's America – What Would Ben Say?
Bushonomics Is Back The GOP's latest rebranding effort
is a return to the gospel of George W. Bush.
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
You can judge a political party's self-confidence in part by how it treats its past leaders. Democrats spent all of the George W. Bush years waxing nostalgic about the good old days of the Clinton administration. Barack Obama's election, by contrast, triggered mass amnesia in conservative circles about the name, identity, and partisan affiliation of his predecessor. To hear Republicans tell it, American politics ended in January 2001, only to suddenly shake back to life in February 2009 with a Kenyan socialist in the White House and the sound economy Ronald Reagan built lying in shambles.
But last night Florida Sen. Marco Rubio made clear in words what those of us who've been watching Republican deeds have long suspected: The party deeply yearns not for new ideas but for George W. Bush's ideas. Bushonomics is back.
Abolish The Income Tax: You Won't Believe Who Is Getting Away With Paying Zero Taxes While The Middle Class Gets Hammered
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
The federal income tax is a bad joke and it needs to be abolished. All over the nation, hard working American families are being absolutely crushed by oppressive levels of taxation, and our politicians are constantlycoming up with new ways to extract money from all of us every single year. Meanwhile, many ultra-wealthy Americans and many of the most profitable corporations in the country pay little to nothing in taxes. In fact, as you will see below, there are dozens of very prominent corporations that make billions of dollars in profits and yet don't pay a dime in taxes. Tax avoidance has become a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. Those that have the resources to "play the game" use shell companies, offshore tax havens and the thousands of loopholes in our tax code to minimize their tax burdens as much as possible. Meanwhile, the rest of us get absolutely hammered.
Obama warns Congress over spending cuts:
'People will lose their jobs' President takes tough line against Republicans he says are jeopardising US economic stability by refusing to compromise
By Dominic Rushe in New York - Guardian.co.uk
Barack Obama warned Tuesday that looming spending cuts are a "meat-cleaver" approach to America's debt woes that will damage the economy and safety of the nation.
"This is not an abstraction. People will lose their jobs," Obama said in a tough speech that criticised Republicans who he claimed have blocked efforts to avert roughly $85bn in federal spending cuts scheduled to begin March 1. Analysts believe compromise on the so-called sequestration is becoming less likely each day.
US business hits out at 'Obamacare' costs
[Google title for free article access]
By Barney Jopson in New York and Alan Rappeport in Washington - FT.com
US retailers and restaurants chains that employ millions of low-wage workers are considering cutting working hours or paying fines rather than enrolling employees in health insurance plans under Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law.
Employers are concerned that the law increases the cost of insuring employees on existing plans, partly by broadening the range of benefits. It also requires companies to insure some employees not previously covered.
The Unsung, But Massive Obamacare Sales Tax Increase
That Is On the Way
By Lindsay Boyd - Forbes.com
Today, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) President Karen Ignagni issued a press release in support of bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1370, S.1880) co-sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Jim Matheson (D-UT) to repeal the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health insurance tax. While much of the dialogue on healthcare reform centers on the federal mandate of health coverage for all Americans – which many conservatives call the largest tax increase in U.S history – less attention is being given to the massive sales tax increase on the purchase of health insurance also implicit within the legislation that will dramatically escalate costs for employers and consumers.
Will Local Taxation Drive Gasoline
Above $5.00 Per Gallon As A Norm?
by Jon C. Ogg - 247WallSt.com
The news flow on the price of gasoline is rather concerning. 24/7 Wall St. just took a look at the states that have the highest gasoline prices in America. After personally paying about $99 at the pump this weekend, I wanted to see which cities were bilking their citizens the most. As expected, major metros in California led the list even though Hawaii beat California on the list of states.
Obama: 'Energy Is Going to Be a Little More Expensive'
by WYNTON HALL - Breitbart.com
During a Friday Google+ hangout session, President Barack Obama conceded that his policies to address climate change will raise energy costs, a fact that could prove uncomfortable for Democrats in areas reliant on fossil fuel power plants:
I have to tell you that there are some Democrats, for example, who represent states or districts that are heavily reliant on old power plants and are more heavily manufacturing based. And the truth is that if you produce power using old power plants, you're going to be emitting more carbon, but, to upgrade those plants means energy is going to be a little more expensive, at least on the front end.
Keiser Report: When Truth is Found to be Lies (E408)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the four horsemen of the bondpoclypse riding into town bringing with them the reversal of multi-decades long trends and as pipe swipers steal toilets and as supermarkets hit the limits of cost-cutting, the population confronts the high cost of backsliding trends. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to former energy regulator, Chris Cook, about how we move from dollar diplomacy to gas diplomacy and a world where energy as the modern water hole where you don't have to kill each other and a gas backed currency becomes a new global reserve currency in a post-dollar world.
Housing: The long climb back
[Google title for free article access]
Investors made a killing after the US bubble burst, but for average Americans the recovery is likely to be gradual
By Shahien Nasiripour and Robin Harding in Washington - FT.com
To the Green brothers, everyone seemed to be getting rich off the great Florida housing boom of the last decade except them. Their fledgling construction company couldn't compete with cash-rich rivals who had been building houses in Cape Coral, a city carved out of a mangrove swamp on the gulf coast.
By 2008, the Greens were in trouble. "Our margins were razor-thin and we were constantly being outbid on jobs," says Bill Green, a bearded former construction worker with a degree in real estate from Florida State University.
How the Fed is creating another
speculative market for housing:
Fed balance sheet now over $3 trillion and low interest rates
are causing speculation in non-traditional markets.
DoctorHousingBubble.com
The Federal Reserve has made it mission number one to create a low interest rate environment. The PR campaign claimed that this was to help average indebted homeowners but in reality, it had more to do with providing incredible banking leverage and also to support our massive national debt. The Fed's balance sheet recently crossed the $3 trillion mark. In essence, the Fed became the bad bank without any open vote or congressional debate. That much is obvious but what isn't certain is where things go from here. The ability of inflation to erode purchasing power is a real problem. Since the recession ended it is clear that profits in the financial sector have soared. Yet household incomes remain stagnant. This is important to understand and Professor Robert Shiller has talked about being cautious about the unbridled optimism now being seen in the housing market. The housing market for the last few years has been supported by massive amounts of investor money. Is the Fed simply creating a different kind of speculative fervor this time around?
After 148 years, Mississippi finally ratifies 13th Amendment, which banned slavery
By STEPHANIE CONDON - CBSNews.com
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery, was ratified in 1865. Lawmakers in Mississippi, however, only got around to officially ratifying the amendment last month -- 148 years later -- thanks to the movie "Lincoln."
The state's historical oversight came to light after Mississippi resident Ranjan Batra saw the Steven Spielberg-directed film last November, the Clarion-Ledgerreports.
Biden: 'Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun.'
By Daniel Strauss - TheHill.com
Vice President Biden defended a proposed assault weapons ban on Tuesday during an online town hall.
Biden, responding to a question about what a possible ban would mean for citizens who want to defend themselves, argued that someone can still properly defend themselves without owning an automatic weapon.
"If you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shotgun," Biden said during the town hall, which was hosted by Parents magazine. "You don't need an AR-15. It's harder to aim, it's harder to use and, in fact, you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun."
Gun owners get a discount at Va. pizza shop
CBS/AP
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA.A Virginia Beach pizza shop owner is showing his support for firearm rights by giving gun owners a 15 percent discount.
The discount is given to anyone who brings a gun or concealed handgun permit to All Around Pizzas and Deli.
Guns and Pensions
By Thomas Sowell - PatriotPost.us
A nation's choice between spending on military defense and spending on civilian goods has often been posed as "guns versus butter." But understanding the choices of many nations' political leaders might be helped by examining the contrast between their runaway spending on pensions while skimping on military defense.
Huge pensions for retired government workers can be found from small municipalities to national governments on both sides of the Atlantic. There is a reason. For elected officials, pensions are virtually the ideal thing to spend money on, politically speaking. Many kinds of spending of the taxpayers' money win votes from the recipients. But raising taxes to pay for this spending loses votes from the taxpayers. Pensions offer a way out of this dilemma for politicians.
MORE STATES TELL FEDERAL GOV: DON'T TOUCH OUR GUNS
by AWR HAWKINS - Breitbart.com
Since early January, states around the country have been pushing back against attempts at gun banning by proposing legislation that preempts any new federal gun control acts.
Although the proposals are at different stages in each state, it's encouraging to see that what started in Wyoming in early January and then spread to Texas and Oklahoma has now come to include Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, and Washington.
Sheriff Says We're Going to See 2nd American Revolution
Alex welcomes Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke who recently urged the citizens he serves to consider learning firearm safety because of "a duty to protect yourself and your family."
Every round they buy is one less for American public FEDS BUY TWO BILLION ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION
by WILLIAM BIGELOW - Breitbart.com
Something strange is going on. Federal non-military agencies have bought two billion rounds of ammunition in the last 10 months. The Obama Administration says that federal law enforcement agents need the ammunition for "mandatory quarterly firearms qualifications and other training sessions."
Radio show host Mark Levin is suspicious. He commented:
To provide some perspective, experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, the [Department of Homeland Security] is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war. A 24-year Iraq war! I'm going to tell you what I think is going on. I don't think domestic insurrection. Law enforcement and national security agencies, they play out multiple scenarios. … I'll tell you what I think they're simulating: the collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that's what happens when an economy collapses. I suspect that just in case our fiscal situation, our monetary situation, collapses, and following it the civil society collapses, that is the rule of law, they want to be prepared. I know why the government's arming up: It's not because there's going to be an insurrection; it's because our society is unraveling.
Ohio Plans Drones to Hunt Lost Kids as They Bring Jobs
By Mark Niquette - Bloomberg.com
Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller says he understands why some people in northeastern Ohio may be wary about having his department's drone overhead.
"If I have a barbecue in my backyard, I certainly don't need somebody droning over me to see what's going on," Miller said by telephone from the county of about 173,000. "But if my grandson's missing, or my granddaughter, I would like to think there's technology available that can help us search more quickly to locate them."
Profiting From Human Misery
By Chris Hedges - Truthdig.com
Marela, an undocumented immigrant in her 40s, stood outside the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, N.J., on a chilly afternoon last week. She was there with a group of protesters who appear at the facility's gates every year on Ash Wednesday to decry the nation's immigration policy and conditions inside the center. She was there, she said, because of her friend Evelyn Obey.
Obey, 40, a Guatemalan and the single mother of a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old, was picked up in an immigration raid as she and nine other undocumented workers walked out of an office building they cleaned in Newark, N.J. Her two children instantly lost their only parent. She languished in detention. Another family took in the children, who never saw their mother again. Obey died in jail in 2010 from, according to the sign Villar had hung on her neck, "pulmonary thromboembolism, chronic bronchiolitis and emphysema and remote cardiac Ischemic Damage.' "
Zero Hour at the Vatican:
A Bitter Struggle for Control of the Catholic Church With Pope Benedict XVI's resignation drawing closer, the struggle for power in the Vatican has gotten underway in earnest. The church badly needs to reform itself, but with Ratzinger lurking in the shadows, will it be able to?
By SPIEGEL Staff - Spiegel.de
Naked and goaded viciously by hornets and wasps, his blood sucked by loathsome worms. Such was the fate of a pope in Dante's "Divine Comedy" who "by his cowardice made the great refusal."
Benedict XVI, in short, knew what could happen to one who rebelled against a centuries-old tradition in a church in which suffering is far from foreign. But he also knew that it wasn't just a matter of his own suffering -- it was a matter of the exhaustion, weakness and sickness of the church at large.
The Best Choice for Pope? A Nun
By E.J. Dionne, Jr. - Truthdig.com
WASHINGTON—In giving up the papacy, Pope Benedict XVI was brave and bold. He did the unexpected for the good of the Catholic Church. And when it selects a new pope next month, the College of Cardinals should be equally brave and bold. It is time to elect a nun as the next pontiff.
Now, I know this hope of mine is the longest of long shots. I have great faith in the Holy Spirit to move papal conclaves, but I would concede that I may be running ahead of the Spirit on this one. Women, after all, are not yet able to become priests, and it is unlikely that traditionalists in the church will suddenly upend the all-male, celibate priesthood, let alone name a woman as the bishop of Rome.
3-D Printing Pioneer Wants Government
to Restrict Gunpowder, Not Printable Guns
BY ROBERT BECKHUSEN - Wired.com
Just as gun control has made a comeback among politicians after a spate of deadly mass shootings, the rapid advances in 3-D printed guns have threatened to undermine those controls before they even get started. According to a leading 3-D printing researcher, the only way to prevent printed guns from shooting a new loophole in the law may be to control the gunpowder you need to fire them.
"Perhaps the only way forward, if we choose to try and control this, is to control the gunpowder — the explosives — and not the actual device," Hod Lipson, a Cornell University professor of engineering and an early pioneer of 3-D printing, tells Danger Room. The reason, Lipson says, is that it would be the remaining "controlled substance" in a field that's otherwise uncontrollable, regardless of the shape or size of the firearm that you're using — or printing. It is the "unifying material everybody would need, and it would be a good target for regulation if people choose to regulate it."
How Big Business is Stymying Makers' High-Res,
Colorful Innovations
BY JOSEPH FLAHERTY - Wired.com
If you're waiting for desktop additive-manufacturing technology to move closer to professional-level results, be prepared to wait for a very long time.
The past year was a breakout for desktop 3-D printing. MakerBot released two new models, Formlabs debuted the first prosumer 3-D printer to use high-accuracy stereolithography, and a slew of innovative, printed projects lifted awareness and desirability of additive manufacturing for the general public.
Lethal liability insurance for gun owners? U.S. Insurers Resist Push to Make Gun Owners Get Coverage
By Elizabeth Bunn - Bloomberg.com
U.S. insurers are resisting a push by state legislators to mandate that gun owners buy coverage tied to the weapons' risk, saying such laws may encourage irresponsible behavior.
Requiring the policies would be impractical and could fail to limit gun violence, the American Insurance Association, a property-casualty trade group, said in an e-mailed statement.
The Rise of the Robots
By Robert Skidelsky - Project-Syndicate.org
LONDON – What impact will automation – the so-called "rise of the robots" – have on wages and employment over the coming decades? Nowadays, this question crops up whenever unemployment rises.
In the early nineteenth century, David Ricardo considered the possibility that machines would replace labor; Karl Marx followed him. Around the same time, the Luddites smashed the textile machinery that they saw as taking their jobs.
Stop Worrying, And Start Learning To Love Robots A Cheerful Welcome To The Robots, Our Future Work Overlords
By Scott Winship, Forbes.com
A surprising number of people seem to be freaking out about an imminent takeover by robots. It's true that only at the fringe is anyone suggesting a Matrix-style dystopia where the machines rise up and enslave us. But the commonly-expressed conviction that technological innovation will immiserate broad segments of society is only somewhat less irrational.
A number of major news outlets and commentators have raised the specter of a doom-like "rise of the robots." These alarmist speculations allege that technology will leave behind a large portion of the U.S. labor force. One recent piece goes so far to insist that taking on the robots "now poses the central economic dilemma of the Obama era." The central economic dilemma? Does not compute.
Elite Chinese unit accused of waging cyber war against US
By Brendan Sasso - TheHill.com
An elite military unit of Chinese hackers is likely behind a wave of attacks on U.S. government and business computer systems, according to a report released on Tuesday by the American security firm Mandiant.
Analysts traced a series of attacks to a 12-story building in the Pudong district of Shanghai. They concluded that the building, which likely holds hundreds or even thousands of employees, is almost certainly the headquarters of China's secretive cyber war division, the People's Liberation Army Unit 61398.
CyberHackers - Chinese People's
Liberation Army's secretive "Unit 61398 Secretive Chinese Army Unit Blamed for Costly Cyberattacks
By Alex Fitzpatrick - Mashable.com
A shadowy Chinese army unit is to blame for many of the most effective cyberattacks against the United States, argues a leading cybersecurity firm in a new report.
Security firm Mandiant outed the unit Tuesday in a report issued after tracking individual members of a top Chinese hacking group, which it identifies as "APT1," for six years. Mandiant concluded the group is working with assistance from the Chinese government and is likely People's Liberation Army Unit 61398, a unit dedicated to cyberwar and corporate espionage on the behalf of the Chinese government.
The Cyber-Hacking of America Is Going to Cost Us Big Time
By WILLIAM PATALON III, Executive Editor, MoneyMorning.com
We've been warning for some time now that cybersecurity would emerge as one of the top issues to track.
Indeed, in column we published on February 1st , we even predicted that the cyber-hacking of America- especially from China, Russia and Iran - would turn into one of the top stories of 2013.
And that's precisely how it's turning out.
W.H. cyber policy will be slow in wake of Chinese hackers
By TONY ROMM | Politico.com
President Barack Obama's high-profile cybersecurity order last week faces a brutal reality with news of the latest case of Chinese cyber espionage: The U.S. government has work to do to keep up with the attackers.
The federal government is slow, the regulations are voluntary and cyber defenses at this point aren't yet up to snuff. Substantive changes may move at a snail's pace in comparison with the rate at which new, sophisticated attacks are coming to light.
Chinese Army Directing Cyber Espionage
Against Western Businesses
By David M. Ewalt, Forbes Staff - Forbes.com
The Chinese government directly sponsors and supports an army unit responsible for systematic cyber espionage and data theft around the world, according to a new report from computer security firm Mandiant.
The report, released on Tuesday morning and first revealed in this New York Times Story, reveals the existence of Chinese People's Liberation Army Unit 61398, a secret agency situated on Datong Road in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. Mandiant estimates that the unit may be staffed by thousands of people, and says it may be responsible for a majority of attacks against American corporate and government computer networks.
Chinese Military Group Linked to Hacks
of More Than 100 Companies
BY KIM ZETTER - Wired.com
A large and complex hacker group connected to China's military has been linked to hacks involving more than 100 companies in the U.S. and the theft of several hundreds of terabytes of data, according to a comprehensive report released Tuesday that unabashedly blames China for some of the largest hacks detected in recent years.
The group, known as the Comment Crew and APT1, operates out of a 12-story office tower in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, and is said to be part of Unit 61398, a unit of the People's Liberation Army that has a staff of hundreds and perhaps thousands of hackers who have systematically stolen valuable data from U.S. firms since at least 2006 using the resources of state-owned enterprises, such as China Telecom, to conduct the attacks, according to Mandiant, the computer security firm that released the detailed 76-page report.
Apple, Macs hit by hackers who targeted Facebook
By Jim Finkle and Joseph Menn
BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO | Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:50pm EST
(Reuters) - Apple Inc was recently attacked by hackers who infected Macintosh computers of some employees, the company said Tuesday in an unprecedented disclosure describing the widest known cyber attacks targeting Apple computers used by corporations.
Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers.
Apple hit by malware attack The company said it has found no evidence
that the attackers stole any data
By Agam Shah - Computerworld.com
IDG News Service - Apple on Tuesday said it was a victim of a malware attack when a small number of systems inside the company were compromised.
The malware attack was tied to a vulnerability in a Java plug-in for browsers, Apple said in a statement sent via email.
"There is no evidence that any data left Apple. We are working closely with law enforcement to find the source of the malware," the statement reads.
Apple isolated the infected systems from its network.
U.S. said to be target of massive cyber-espionage campaign
By Ellen Nakashima - WashingtonPost.com
A new intelligence assessment has concluded that the United States is the target of a massive, sustained cyber-espionage campaign that is threatening the country's economic competitiveness, according to individuals familiar with the report.
The National Intelligence Estimate identifies China as the country most aggressively seeking to penetrate the computer systems of American businesses and institutions to gain access to data that could be used for economic gain.
Singularity Might Be Impossible
And Other News You Need to Know
By Stan Schroeder - Mashable.com
Welcome to this morning's edition of "First To Know," a series in which we keep you in the know on what's happening in the digital world.
Today, we're looking at three particularly interesting stories. Dr. Miguel Nicolelis says the brain cannot be recreated with silicon, and that our consciousness is a result of unpredictable, non-linear interactions amongst billions of cells. This would mean the Singularity just isn't going to happen.
MIT Wants Tomorrow's Soldiers to Talk Through Their Shirts
BY SPENCER ACKERMAN - Wired.com
If a group of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have their way, the soldier of the future mumbling into his jacket won't be a crazy person. He'll be using microscopic fibers woven into his uniform to communicate with his battle buddies and clear up some of the fog of war.
Can you spot the gold threads in the Army Combat Uniform shown above? They're not included for style — but they do provide a kind of demonstration. MIT and the Army wanted to prove that they could fabricate a uniform that included a kind of fiber optic-like thread developed through a joint effort that should allow soldiers' threads to detect light, heat and sound.
UhOh… it's coming baaaaack! Bad news: The asteroid that just missed Earth
is coming back. And...
By Andrew Malcolm - Investors.com
In terms of a family car vacation, the ancient asteroid that flew by Earth Friday may have seemed far away -- 17,200 miles.
In astronomical terms, however, Asteroid 2012 AD 14 was actually very close, much closer, for example, than the Moon's 239,000 miles. And computer projections of that asteroid's Earth-like orbit into the future currently forecast an upcoming earthly encounter of the explosive kind. More on that disastrous possibility in a minute.
The Latin American Exception
By Greg Grandin, TomDispatch - Truthdig.com
The map tells the story. To illustrate a damning new report, "Globalizing Torture: CIA Secret Detentions and Extraordinary Rendition," just publishedby the Open Society Institute, theWashington Post put together an equally damning graphic: it's soaked in red, as if with blood, showing that in the years after 9/11, the CIA turned just about the whole world into a gulag archipelago.
Back in the early twentieth century, a similar red-hued map was used to indicate the global reach of the British Empire, on which, it was said, the sun never set. It seems that, between 9/11 and the day George W. Bush left the White House, CIA-brokered torture never saw a sunset either.
US has lost war in Afghanistan War on Everything But Islamic Terror If only Iran began developing the world's biggest chocolate bar, then the bombing raids would begin as soon as the chocolate enrichment process reached the caramel-nougat line.
By: Daniel Greenfield - JewishPress.com
Over a decade after thousands of New Yorkers were murdered by Muslim terrorists, the city's mayor is declaring victory in the War on Salt. Next up he plans to wage a spring offensive on Styrofoam cups. After that, who knows?
We live in surreal times. In the Middle Ages, cats and rats were put on trial. In this modern age, we began by waging wars on poverty and drugs, both of which we lost, and have now retreated to fighting wars on food ingredients, the bags we carry them in and the containers out of which we eat and drink them.
The World's North Korean Test
By Christopher R. Hill - Project-Syndicate.org
DENVER – The most recent North Korean nuclear test is the most dangerous of the three to date. How the international community responds, in both word and deed, will say much about the world we live in. And, whether the Chinese like it or not, how they respond will speak volumes about what kind of role China will play in global governance.
While details are not yet fully known, the test suggests substantial progress on the part of North Korea's scientists in increasing the yield of their weaponry. The October 2006 test suggested the possibility of a faulty design, while there were questions about whether the 2009 effort was even nuclear in nature.
North Korea threatens South with "final destruction"
By Tom Miles
GENEVA | Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:27am EST
(Reuters) - North Korea threatened South Korea with "final destruction" during a debate at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday, saying it could take further steps after a nuclear test last week.
"As the saying goes, a new-born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Korea's erratic behavior would only herald its final destruction," North Korean diplomat Jon Yong Ryong told the meeting.
The Iran-North Korea Connection If the Mullahs can simply buy a usable and tested bomb design from North Korea, they could transform their status into a nuclear weapons state overnight.
By: Taylor Dinerman - JewishPress.com
Before the North Koreans successfully launched a (non-functioning) satellite into orbit on December 12, 2012 there were reports, notably by space expert and NBC News consultant, James Oberg, that Iranian missile experts had been spotted in North Korea. If true, this would be perfectly consistent with the longstanding and close relationship that North Korea has had with the Islamic Republic of Iran. On February 11, the Pyongyang government exploded what it describes as a 'miniaturized' nuclear weapon. This test has dramatically raised tension levels in Northeast Asia. This underground test also raises difficult questions about Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Gold at N.Y. Fed is intact,
some purer than thought, audit finds
By Andrew Tangel - LATimes.com
NEW YORK -- The U.S. government's gold in New York is safe in a vault underneath Manhattan, and some of the precious metal there is purer than previously thought.
That's according to a first-ever audit conducted last year by the Treasury Department of U.S. gold on deposit at Federal Reserve banks in New York and elsewhere.
As part of the audit, the Treasury tested a sample of the government's 34,021 gold bars in the New York Fed's vault five stories below Manhattan's financial district, according to the inspector general's office. Auditors drilled tiny holes into the bars to remove samples that were tested for fineness in a process called assaying.
British Royal Mint makes 1st gold sovereigns in India in century
Feb 18 (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Mint has started to manufacture gold sovereign coins in India for the first time in almost 100 years, it said on Monday.
Indian residents have been unable to buy commemorative sovereigns since 1918, when the Royal Mint operated a branch in the country, producing 1.3 million coins in a single year.
Currency Wars… They've Only Just Started
Author: Bill Holter - MilesFranklin.com
The G-20 met this past week and issued statements warning against "currency wars." But what is it that they are really saying? In reality they are warning against trade wars because we know what these ultimately lead to… real wars. But what is the alternative for countries like Japan? They have levered their economy to the hilt at the behest of U.S. and IMF rocket science economists and their market share has shrunk. If they don't knock the legs out from under their currency they will watch deflation set in further and bury their economy and financial system.
Dodd-Frank offshoot cited as too secretive
By Susan Crabtree-The Washington Times
After the 2008 economic crisis, President Obama pledged to hold banks and financial institutions more accountable and shine a light on the government agencies that regulate them, but watchdogs say a new panel created to head off another market meltdown is shrouding itself in secrecy.
Created by the so-called Dodd-Frank Act, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) is tasked with identifying threats to U.S. markets and imposing market discipline. The little-known panel, headed by the Treasury secretary and composed of leaders from the major U.S. financial regulatory agencies, decides whether certain sectors need more regulation and directs the Federal Reserve and the Securities and Exchange Commission to take action.
Jim Rickards: Currency War 3 Has Just Begun Last two ran for 15 to 20 years
FnancialSense.com
Jim Rickards, Pentagon advisor, investment banker and author of the famous book, Currency Wars, speaks with Jim Puplava on the Financial Sense Newshour to discuss the new age of global financial warfare and its potential outcome on savers and investors around the world.
Ron Paul: Currency Devaluation Is `Dangerous'
- Bloomberg 2/8/2013
Former Congressman Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, talks about governments' strategy of devaluing their currency to gain an advantage in trade. The yen jumped the most in almost two years against the dollar after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said the pace of its recent slide has been to rapid. Paul speaks with Sara Eisen on Bloomberg Television's "Lunch Money."
Draghi dismisses talk of currency war, but watching euro
By Robin Emmott
BRUSSELS | Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:10pm EST
(Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi sought to take the heat out of a debate about currency wars on Monday but said the ECB would still have to assess the economic impact of the euro's strength.
The euro hit a 15-month high against the dollar earlier this month, complicating the ECB's policy-making tasks by weighing on growth and feeding expectations that it may have to take fresh policy action, which some ECB members oppose.
The Japanese Yen Is Still 80% Over-Valued
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
In the 40 years or so since the end of the Bretton Woods system, we have seen competitive devaluations occur again and again. However as SocGen notes, it appears Japan just keeps coming out on the losing side. Based on Real Effective Exchange Rates (REER), Japan's currency is 80% stronger now than in 1971 while the US (and South Korea interestingly) are about 40% weaker.
Yen resumes fall after G20, U.S. holiday thins trade
By Richard Hubbard
LONDON | Mon Feb 18, 2013 11:54am EST
(Reuters) - The yen resumed falling on Monday afterJapan signaled it would push ahead with expansionist monetary policies having escaped criticism from the world's 20 biggest economies at the weekend.
Industrial metals also dipped and European shares were soft on lingering worries about the economic outlook, especially for the euro zone. While the risk of an inconclusive outcome in Italy's forthcoming election added to investor concerns.
G20 currency truce shortlived
as Japan mulls foreign bond buys Japan's premier has left the door open for outright purchases of foreign bonds to weaken the yen, a move that would risk a serious clash with the US and Europe and a fresh escalation in global currency tensions.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard - Telegraph.co.uk
Shinzo Abe told Japanese politicians that intervention on the markets is among the options being discussed. "There are views calling for foreign bond purchases," he said, pointedly refusing to rule out such action.
The comments come despite a G20 statement over the weekend committing all major powers to "refrain from competitive devaluation".
21 Signs That U.S. Public Schools
Have Become Training Centers For Sexual Deviancy
By Michael Snyder - EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Why do men and women have a such a hard time relating to each other in a meaningful way in America today? Could our oversexed culture have anything to do with it? In the United States today, we are constantly being bombarded with sexual messages. Just think about it. Did you watch the Super Bowl a few weeks ago? Most of the commercials were about sex on some level, and the "halftime show" featuring Beyonce might as well have been a strip club act. It was utterly shameful. But in America today, all of this is considered to be "normal". We literally worship sex, and we can never get enough of it. And of course the results of such a society are predictable. There are 20 million new sexually-transmitted infections in the U.S. each year, we have the highest teen pregnancy rate on the planet, and it is estimated that one out of every four girls in the U.S. is sexually abused before they become adults. This culture of sex is pushed on our children from a very early age, and at this point it would be quite accurate to say that U.S. public schools have become training centers for sexual deviancy. A lot of people focus on "sex education" as the problem, but the truth is that it goes much deeper than that. Sex education only lasts for a few weeks at most. The much bigger problem is the fact that an obsession with sex literally permeates our schools.
Bye, bye, Facebook: Americans abandoning in droves, says poll
By Paul Bedard - WashingtonExaminer.com
The Facebook craze that gave us Farmville and notes from "friends" about their breakfast and just about everything else may finally be ending.
A new Pew Research Center poll finds that a huge group of users, 61 percent, are taking breaks from Facebook up to "several weeks" long, and that virtually all age groups are decreasing their time on the social media site that recently flopped in its initial public offering of publicly traded stock. Most devastating: 38 percent of users aged 18-29, the focus of advertisers on the site, plan to slash their time on Facebook this year.
Homes of gun owners subject to search Misstep in gun bill could defeat the effort One of the major gun-control efforts in Olympia this session calls for the sheriff to inspect the homes of assault-weapon owners. The bill's backers say that was a mistake.
By Danny Westneat - The Seattle Times
Forget police drones flying over your house. How about police coming inside, once a year, to have a look around?
As Orwellian as that sounds, it isn't hypothetical. The notion of police home inspections was introduced in a bill last week in Olympia.
That it's part of one of the major gun-control efforts pains me. It seemed in recent weeks lawmakers might be headed toward somecommon-sense regulation of gun sales. But then last week they went too far. By mistake, they claim. But still too far.
Americans Prepare for Civil Unrest with Record Ammo Sales
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes joins Alex to consider the long train of abuses we now face, and that the founders also faced in the lead up to 1776. Could history repeat, and will globalists back off from their attack against humanity? Meanwhile, the gun control agenda is also moving forward, with multiple states introducing legislation to confiscate firearms and ban semi-automatic weapons, clips and ammo. The close approach of the DA-14 asteroid causes a stir, as Russia recovers from an impact that injured hundreds and caused significant damage while the world examines its role in planning for the worst. Your calls and comments are welcome.
Monsanto Keeps on Moving Toward a Lock
on the World's Food System
By John Funiciello - BlackCommentator.com
Arguments are scheduled to begin next week before the U.S. Supreme Court about whether an Indiana farmer is right when he claims that the seeds he planted should not be considered under the control of Monsanto, the giant transnational chemical and seed monopoly, through its patenting of the seeds.
Some are calling it a "David versus Goliath" contest but the farmer, Vernon H. Bowman, of southeastern Indiana, told The Guardian that he sees it as a question of right and wrong.
In that, he is up against the power of Corporate America and the various parts of that power are arrayed against Bowman.
Bill Gates Dodges Questions on Why
He Owns 500,000 Shares of Monsanto
By Anthony Gucciardi - NaturalSociety.com
Bill Gates is primarily known as the multi-billionaire who created Microsoft, the company behind the most popular computer operating system known as Windows. With this massive wealth, he has retired from leading Microsoft and now instead focuses his money and time on furthering genetically modified technology, geoengineering, experimental vaccinations, and preaching about how Monsanto is the answer to world hunger.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Gates owns 500,000 shares worth 23 million US dollars (or more) of Monsanto stock. The very same company that has been caught running slave rings in Argentina in which workers were forced to work 14+ hours a day while withholding payment, has used their massive finances to fund organizations that literally fake FDA quotes to support GMOs, and of course peddling through GMOs that have been linked to numerous health concern.
Crude Oil Pipelines Planned for the Future
By James Hamilton - OilPrice.com
The EIA last week released a nice summary of planned additional U.S. pipeline capacity.
The reversal of the Seaway Pipeline began last May to carry 150,000 b/d of crude oil from Cushing, Oklahoma to refineries near Houston. Last month the capacity was increased to 400,000 b/d, and a second pipe twinning the first is expected to bring the total capacity up to 850,000 b/d by 2014:Q1. At the same time, TransCanada expects the Gulf Coast portion of its Keystone Project to be completed by the end of this year with the capacity to transport an additional 700,000 b/d. Six other projects are planned or under construction that would bypass Cushing and could carry an additional 355,000 bbl/d from west Texas directly to the Gulf Coast by the end of this year, with 478,000 b/d added to that in 2014. Yet additional new projects will help transport new production from eastern Texas to the Gulf.
Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline
Uploaded on Jan 19, 2012
President Obama has denied the application to build the 1,700 mile Keystone pipeline from Canada to Texas. It would have cost $7 billion dollars and would have carried oil from tar sands through America's heartland: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma--to be refined in the Lone Star state.
3 Reasons to Build the Keystone XL Pipeline
Few energy projects have inspired the level of vitriol surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline, that would run 1,700 miles from Alberta, Canada through the United States to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil sands of Alberta are estimated to hold 170 billion barrels of petroleum, the largest reservoir of black gold outside of Saudi Arabia.
Because the pipeline crosses an international boundary, President Barack Obama has the final say over whether to give the project a green light.
Early campaigning for 2016, perhaps? Hillary Clinton to join speaking circuit
By Alexandra Jaffe - TheHill.com
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hit the paid speaking circuit this year, to be represented by the Harry Walker Agency, according to a notice on the company's site.
"We are proud to share the exciting news that Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has joined the Harry Walker Agency exclusively for her speaking engagements," the site reads.
Elizabeth Warren's First Senate Banking Committee Hearing
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 1st Senate Banking hearing: 'Why aren't more bank execs in jail?'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren certainly isn't acting like the new kid, quietly trying to get a read on how things are done in her new town.
Instead, the consumer advocate, vanquisher of former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, and former Harvard Law School professor drew some attention today a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing today with questions like, "Why aren't more bank executives in jail?"
Lawmakers welcome Obama's 'new emphasis' on Middle East
By Julian Pecquet - TheHill.com
Lawmakers are applauding what they see as President Obama's "new emphasis" on the Middle East in his second term after Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed this week that he would be headed there ahead of the president's trip in March.
The twin visits are a tacit acknowledgment that the troubled region's problems — the civil war in Syria, Iran's nuclear ambitions and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process — continue to dominate U.S. foreign policy. Lawmakers say the timing, coming after elections in both the United States and Israel, is ripe for Obama and his top diplomat to visit both Israel and her neighbors and set the tone for the next four years.
Peres to give Obama Medal of Distinction President will honor his American counterpart
for standing with Israel 'in times of crisis'
By RAPHAEL AHREN - TimesOFIsrael.com
It is doubtful US President Barack Obama will rack up many tangible policy achievements during his upcoming Middle East trip. But if worse comes to worst, he won't go home entirely empty-handed: President Shimon Peres on Monday announced that he will present his American counterpart with the Presidential Medal of Distinction during his March stay in Israel.
"It will be the first time in history that a serving president of the United States of America will receive an award of this kind from the president of the State of Israel," the President's Residence announced in a press release Monday afternoon — which makes sense, given the fact that the award was only created last year.
Hagel Doesn't Recall, Disavows 2007 Israel Comment Graham: 'I'll just take him at his word,
unless something new comes along'
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel said he does not recall making and disavowed a reported 2007 comment about U.S. State Department being controlled by Israel in a letter to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.).
"I got a letter back from Sen. Hagel, in response to my question, Did you say that and do you believe that," Graham said in an interview with "Fox News Sunday." "The letter says he did not recall saying that, he disavows that statement."
Rome—Where Religion and Politics Meet Throughout its history, the Church has always
competed with the State for power.
By Ron Fraser - theTrumpet.com
Having grabbed the attention of the whole world by his shock resignation from papal office, the subsequent actions of Josef Ratzinger give an inkling as to his future influence within the Vatican and in global politics.
On Saturday, Ratzinger summoned Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to an unscheduled private audience. With the Italian elections looming within days, the pope has already gone public on endorsing Monti's candidature for election as Italy's Prime Minister.
Muslims attack Coptic Christians, church in Egypt
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Muslims in Egypt set fire to a Christian church in Fayoum Province over the weekend, the second such assault against the village's Coptic Christian population in just more than a month.
Attackers also tore down the church's cross and threw stones at the Christians, according to a report in Morning Star News.
Four people, including the priest, were injured, the report said.
Jordan and Israel Secret Talks,
to Import Natural Gas from Israel's Tamar Field
By Global Research News
There have been secret talked to import natural gas from Israel's Tamar field to Jordan according to recent reports.
The gas would be delivered through the Israeli gas pipeline that serves Israel Chemicals' Dead Sea Works plant in Sodom. Extending the pipeline to reach Jordan would not require a large investment, Haaretz reported.
The negotiations are a sign of how desperate the kingdom is; it is considering a move as politically sensitive as sourcing gas from Israel.
The Nightmare of Sequestration Hits Home The always-popular Air Power Over Hampton Roads air show, featuring the USAF Thunderbirds, has just been called off, as the Pentagon hunkers down in preparation for "the sequester."
By James Fallows - TheAtlantic.com
More from local ABC affiliate WVEC, plus AVweb. The WVEC story contains this detail:
City of Hampton spokeswoman Robin McCormick called the decision a disappointment.
"It's an extremely popular event for thousands of families. However, we understand the Air Force's fiscal realities. With sequestration looming and uncertain budgets, of course they have to focus on military readiness over an air show," she told WVEC.com.
Obama pressured to drop new hero medal
for drone and cyber warriors below rank of Bronze Star
By Kristina Wong-The Washington Times
A petition is urging the White House to lower the ranking of a new medal for drone pilots and cyberwarfare specialists that has drawn criticism for its ranking above the Bronze Star.
"Under no circumstance should a medal that is designed to honor a pilot, that is controlling a drone via remote control, thousands of miles away from the theater of operation, rank above a medal that involves a soldier being in the line of fire on the ground," the petition posted on the White House website states.
CIA's covert drone program may shift further onto Pentagon Such a move would allow more public disclosure of targeted killings overseas, which have been criticized in part for their secrecy.
By Ken Dilanian, Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Facing growing pressure to lift the veil of secrecy around targeted killings overseas, the Obama administration is considering shifting more of the CIA's covert drone program to the Pentagon, which operates under legal guidelines that could allow for more public disclosure in some cases.
John Brennan, whom President Obama has nominated to run the CIA, favors moving the bulk of drone killing operations to the military, current and former U.S. officials say. As White House counter-terrorism advisor for the last four years, Brennan has overseen the steady increase in targeted killings of suspected militants and Al Qaeda operatives.
Nancy Pelosi says drone strikes on Americans can stay secret
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the White House doesn't necessarily have to confess to killing American citizens by unarmed drones.
It all depends on the situation, she said in reply to a Huffington Post reporter who asked if President Obama's administration should acknowledge when it targets a U.S. citizen in a drone strike, the Washington Examiner reported.
* * * * *
Talk privately using Silent Circle https://silentcircle.com
Very honored to meet crypto expert and legend Phil Zimmermann. He created PGP, Pretty Good Privacy, most widely used email encryption software in the world. But now he's making it easier to use with Silent Circle. This system lets you talk around the globe completely securely using email, voice call, videoconference, or text messaging on mobile phones. Here get a good look at the system and talk about why many people around the world need this.
Bear Bombers Over Guam Russian nuclear bombers circle Guam
BY: Bill Gertz - FreeBeacon.com
Two Russian nuclear-armed bombers circled the western Pacific island of Guam this week in the latest sign of Moscow's growing strategic assertiveness toward the United States.
The Russian Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers were equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and were followed by U.S. jets as they circumnavigated Guam on Feb. 12 local time—hours before President Barack Obama's state of the union address.
Ukraine and Russia Make Moves
to Dissolve Natural Gas Relationship
By Dave Summers - OilPrice.com
You know it is winter when Russia and Ukraine publically row about supplies of natural gas. On Tuesday last week Ukraine completed the signing of an agreement with Turkmenistan for the supply of natural gas. In the past the purchases have been for up to 36 billion cu m per year, although this was historically through Russian intermediaries. That deal ended in 2006, and Turkmenistan has been able to find a customer in China that now provides an alternate sale that does not leave it dependent on whatever price Russia was willing to provide.
Russian military expert: "If Nagorno Karabakh conflict
is not solved in 2013, war will be inevitable" Vladimir Yevseyev: "If Russia joins the war on the part of Armenia, Turkey will take similar step on the part of Azerbaijan"
APA - m.APA.az
Moscow. Farid Akbarov – APA. "The reports that Russia has put on an alert its forces in Armenia and will participate in the war against Azerbaijan are groundless. I think that Russia will keep its mediation mission towards the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, because its alternative can only be war," Director of the Russian Center for Socio-Political Studies, military expert Vladimir Yevseyev said in his interview to APA.
Expert said if war starts between Azerbaijan and Armenia, it will be waged along the entire Azerbaijan-Armenia border.
Russian parliament member says meteor
was actually a U.S. weapons test
Posted by Max Fisher - WashingtonPost.com
No sooner do we write about the conspiracy theories flourishing on Russian social mediaabout the meteor, which sailed over central Russia on Friday, than an actual member of the Russian government weighs in with his own. Or so the Moscow-sponsored outlet Voice of Russia says. Here's its report:
Russia's controversial Liberal leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has blamed Americans for today's meteorite scare, local media report.
"Those were not meteorites, it was Americans testing their new weapons," Mr. Zhirinovsky confessed to journalists.
US tested new weapon, no meteor in Chelyabinsk –
Russian LibDem leader
RT
The firebrand Russian Liberal Democrat leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky claims that no meteor fell in the Urals on Friday, but rather the US was testing a new weapon.
"You're like some primitive tribe. What meteorite?" he said, arguing that space is a "universe that has its own laws."
Zhirinovsky, more known for clownish political outrage rather than his actual political platform, added: "When something falls – it's man-made. People are warmongers and provocateurs."
Destroying a Nation State:
US-Saudi Funded Terrorists Sowing Chaos in Pakistan Baluchistan, Target of Western geopolitical interests, Terror wave coincides with Gwadar Port handover to China. The Hidden Agenda is the Breakup of Pakistan
By Tony Cartalucci - GlobalResearch.ca
Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province, bordering both US-occupied Afghanistan as well as Iran, was the site of a grisly market bombing that has killed over 80 people.According to reports, the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed responsibility for the attack. Billed as a "Sunni extremist group," it instead fits the pattern of global terrorism sponsored by the US, Israel, and their Arab partners Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The terrorist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group was in fact created,according to the BBC, to counter Iran's Islamic Revolution in the 1980′s, and is still active today. Considering the openly admitted US-Israeli-Saudi plot to use Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups across the Middle East to counter Iran's influence, it begs the question whether these same interests are funding terrorism in Pakistan to not only counter Iranian-sympathetic Pakistani communities, but to undermine and destabilize Pakistan itself.
China flexes its muscle, takes control of key Pakistani port
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
China has taken control of a Pakistan seaport located on the southwest coast, an economically strategic move that will benefit Beijing.
A signing ceremony transferring control of Gwadar port to a Chinese company took place Monday in Islamabad, according to the Associated Press.
E.U. foreign ministers reject arming Syrian rebels
By Edward Cody and Liz Sly - WashingtonPost.com
PARIS — Rejecting a push by Britain, European governments on Monday decided against providing weapons to Syrian rebel forces, expressing fears that more arms would lead only to more bloodshed in a conflict that has already taken nearly 70,000 lives.
The decision, by European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, illustrates the difficulty that Europe and the United States have had in dealing with the two-year-old Syrian civil war, despite their unanimous condemnation of President Bashar al-Assad and his ruthless battle to remain in power.
The real reason behind Benghazigate Was Obama gun-walking arms to jihadists?
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.-The Washington Times
President Obama's once seemingly unstoppable march toward re-election hit what he might call "bumps in the road" in Benghazi, Libya, late on Sept. 11, 2012. It might be more accurate to describe the effect of the well-planned and -executed, military-style attack on a diplomatic facility there as the political equivalent of a devastating improvised explosive device on the myth of the unassailability of the Obama record as commander in chief.
Thanks to intrepid investigative reporting — notably by Bret Baier and Catherine Herridge at Fox News, Aaron Klein at WND.com and Clare Lopez at RadicalIslam.org — and information developed by congressional investigators, the mystery is beginning to unravel with regard to what happened that night and the reason for the subsequent, clumsy official cover-up now known as Benghazigate.
Benghazi Research: Obama Arming al-Qaeda –
Reason for Libya Cover Up?
We Think It's Even Bigger (New Maps of CIA Annex Included)
Posted on October 25, 2012 by sundance - TheConservativeTreeHouse.com
Pat Dollard has a great read regarding the Libyan arms and possible White House perceived discovery risk attaching the same concept of Fast and Furious to Libyan arms. It is something many here have also discussed. However, we think there is more to it, actually much more. Many Treepers have helped to flesh out the Benghazi mission agenda and the possible CIA activity. Pat Dollard and The Washington Times have set the stage. The TreeHouse goes deeper, much deeper. First, The Dollard outline:
Benghazi, Libya, deteriorating into security nightmare
By Ashish Kumar Sen-The Washington Times
Security in Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city where four Americans were killed Sept. 11 in a terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate, has decayed to the point where Westerners are fleeing, assassinations and kidnappings are rife and residents worry that U.S. drone strikes on jihadist targets are imminent.
"The situation has obviously deteriorated. It is a systematic deterioration," said longtime Benghazi resident Jalal Elgallal, who was spokesman of the now-defunct National Transitional Council.
Israel supplying advanced weaponry to Turkey Military deal, the fulfillment of an order that was halted after the Mavi Marmara incident, is first of its kind since 2010
By MICHAL SHMULOVICH - TimesOfIsrael.com
Israel is providing advanced electronic warfare systems for aircraft to Turkey, a fulfillment of an earlier order that was put on hold in the wake of the infamous Mavi Marmara incident in 2010. It is the first instance of a military equipment exchange between Jerusalem and Ankara since then.
Turkey's Today's Zaman reported the sale, which will significantly beef up Ankara's intelligence capabilities, and the aircraft upgrade was confirmed by senior Israeli sources Monday. A source said the deal was approved due to US pressure and Israel's desire to restore its damaged relationship with Turkey, amid escalating tension between Ankara and Tehran over the Syrian conflict, according to the Hebrew daily Haaretz.
New Media Scoop to Wage War on Iran:
"Specialized Magnets", Alleged "Fast-Track"
to Atomic Weapons Capability
by Peter Hart - GlobalResearch.CA
In the run up to the Iraq War, the New York Times (9/8/02) famously reported on an Iraqi scheme to procure special aluminum tubes that could only have one purpose: Iraq's secret nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein was attempting to "buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes," and the "diameter, thickness and other technical specifications of the aluminum tubes had persuaded American intelligence experts that they were meant for Iraq's nuclear program." The claims were false–Iraq, as it turned out, had no nuclear program–but still hugely influential.
Yesterday, on the front page of the Washington Post (2/14/13), reporter Joby Warrick has the scoop on what Iran is evidently up to:
Iran recently sought to acquire tens of thousands of highly specialized magnets used in centrifuge machines, according to experts and diplomats, a sign that the country may be planning a major expansion of its nuclear program that could shorten the path to an atomic weapons capability.
Iran to unveil combat, reconnaissance drones soon: Defense Ministry
Baku-APA. Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi says the country will unveil a variety of combat and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) soon, stressing the new drones will play an instrumental role in upgrading Iran's defense power, APA reports quoting Press.tv.
"…Drones are needed by the country's marine sector and the maritime sector will be equipped with this technology in the near future," Vahidi said on Monday.
Iran unveiled its first indigenous long-range drone, Karrar, in August 2010. The aircraft is capable of carrying a military payload of rockets to carry out bombing missions against ground targets, flying long distances at a high speed, and gathering information.
DPRK Test Nuclear Weapon Destined for Iran
By Gregory R. Copley - OilPrice.com
All intelligence indicators received and processed by GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs show that the nuclear weapon tested by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK: North Korea) on February 12, 2013, was paid for, and intended for, the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was, in essence, a test of an Iranian nuclear weapon, and involved scientific as well as financial involvement by the Iranian Government. Moreover, the weapon was not — as some media reporting has averred — a "step toward" a North Korean or Iranian nuclear weapons capability: it was in fact a demonstration of a common DPRK and Iranian operationally-ready nuclear weapon.
'Iranian nuke chief was in N. Korea for atomic test' Apparently successful detonation indicates both countries on the cusp of ability to assemble atomic warhead, Sunday Times reports
By TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF - TimesOfIsrael.com
The man whom Western intelligence agencies say may very well be the head of Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program was present as an observer last week when North Korea carried out a critical nuclear test, The British Sunday Times reported.
According to the report Sunday, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi very rarely leaves Iranian soil due to fear that Israel's Mossad will make an attempt on his life, following an alleged pattern of previous assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.
For Israel's Netanyahu,
N. Korea nuclear test offers lesson on Iran Israeli PM seizes on recent North Korean nuclear test to warn international community of alleged Iranian nuclear threat
Reuters/AFP - Ahram Online
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed on Monday to North Korea's latest nuclear test as proof the world must keep up pressure on Iran to prevent it acquiring atomic weapons.
In a speech to a gathering of international Jewish leaders, Netanyahu said sanctions alone could not stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb. He held out the prospect of military action as a last resort.
How gold will benefit from a currency war
By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Talk of a so-called currency war has been heating up, and it might finally light a fire under gold, too.
Efforts by countries such as Japan to boost growth with massive stimulus programs — which in turn have devalued their currencies, an aid to exports — can benefit prices for gold. These have started to alter the precious metal's relationship with the foreign-exchange market and expand its role as a safe-haven asset.
Gold Leaps Into Backwardation!
By Dr. Keith Weiner - ZeroHedge.com
Since late January, the February gold contract has been in backwardation. This means that one could make a profit by simultaneously selling a gold bar and buying a February contract. One would still have one's gold plus a little extra. I coined the term "temporary backwardation", to describe this curious and very recent phenomenon. In our "new normal", most gold and silver contracts go into backwardation as they get close to expiry.
…..Caveat Venditor: Tacit warning to the sellers that, unless they expressly disclaim any responsibility, they will be held liable if the sold items are found defective in any way or vary from the specifications. Latin for, let the seller beware.
How Cramer Is Playing Gold
By: Lee Brodie - CNBC.com
At these levels, should you buy any more gold?
That seems to be a driving question on Wall Street.
Gold finished down more than 1.6 percent at $1,609.50 on Friday, extending a week-long down trend when several bearish factors, including a rising dollar, pushed gold briefly below $1,600.
However, Cramer feels that every investor should own some gold.
He thinks the precious metal is an important hedge. That is, catalysts that typically send the stock market tumbling send gold higher.
Keiser Report: Sterlageddon (E407)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss ending the currency war with a gold standard. They also look at how, since going off the gold standard in 1971, productivity gains have all gone to the one percent who create and push the paper and credit. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Jan Skoyles of the Real Asset Company about gold monetisation, renminbi internationalisation and the very harsh laws against sterling devaluation.
Currency wars are fiat wars
By George Smith - GoldSeek.com
The financial press is tossing the term "currency war" around with more abandon than partiers circulating punch at a New Year's bash. Most commentators tell us we're having such a war right now, though at least one denies it. James Rickards has published a book on the subject that's become a hot seller. So what exactly is a currency war and why are nations engaging in it?
Wikipedia offers an explanation that reminds me of a man traversing a rickety bridge over a deep canyon. The first few planks feel secure, leading him onward to the middle, where the bridge sags and sways in the canyon's updrafts. We read that a… Currency war, also known as competitive devaluation, is a condition in international affairs where countries compete against each other to achieve a relatively low exchange rate for their own currency.
Greenspan: Ignore The Economy,
"Only The Stock Market Matters"
By Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Starting at around 1:50, Greenspan states the odds of sequester occurring are very high - in fact, the playdough-faced ex-Chair-head notes, "I find it very difficult to find a scenario in which [the sequester] doesn't happen" But when asked how this will affect the economy, Awkward Alan is unusually clearly spoken - "the issue is how does it affect the stock market."
While not so many of our leaders have taken the path to direct truthiness, Greenspan somewhat shocks a Botox'd and babbling Bartiromo when he admits"the stock market is the key player in the game of economic growth."
G-20 moving against 'competitive devaluation' Finance ministers strengthen earlier statement
to avoid currency war
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch.com
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Saturday pledged to monitor negative currency spillovers to other countries caused by monetary policies implemented for domestic purposes.
"We will refrain from competitive devaluation," the G-20 said at its meeting in Moscow.
The G-20 fell short of any direct action related specifically to Japan, which has drawn criticism for policy moves that have caused the yen to lose 17.5% against the dollar in five months.
Yen Weakens as G-20 Refrains From Censuring Japan;
Silver Gains
By Adam Haigh and Candice Zachariahs - Businessweek.com
The yen weakened and Japanese stock futures rose after the Group of 20 refrained from censuring Japanese policies that have made it the worst-performing major currency in the past six months. Australian stocks and silver rose.
The yen fell to 93.86 per dollar at 8:01 a.m. in Tokyo. Japanese stock index futures rose 1.3 percent from the close in Osaka on Feb. 15. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index and New Zealand's NZX 50 Index gained 0.3 percent. Financial markets in China and Taiwan reopen today after lunar new year holidays. U.S. markets are closed for the Presidents's Day holiday. Silver gained 0.1 percent to $29.8275 an ounce.
Soros Said to Make $1B Since November on Yen Bet
By Katherine Burton - Businessweek.com
George Soros made almost $1 billion since November from bets that the yen would tumble, according to a person close to the billionaire's $24 billion family office.
The Japanese wager helped the firm return about 10 percent last year and 5 percent so far this year, said the person, who asked not to be named because the firm is private. The yen has weakened 17 percent versus the dollar since about the start of the fourth quarter, the worst performance over a similar period since 1985.
Retail Apocalypse: Why Are Major Retail Chains
All Over America Collapsing?
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
If the economy is improving, then why are many of the largest retail chains in America closing hundreds of stores? When I was growing up, Sears, J.C. Penney, Best Buy and RadioShack were all considered to be unstoppable retail powerhouses. But now it is being projected that all of them will close hundreds of stores before the end of 2013. Even Wal-Mart is running into problems. A recent internal Wal-Mart memo that was leaked to Bloombergdescribed February sales as a "total disaster". So why is this happening? Why are major retail chains all over America collapsing? Is the "retail apocalypse" upon us? Well, the truth is that this is just another sign that the U.S. economy is falling apart right in front of our eyes. Incomes are declining, taxes are going up, government dependence is at an all-time high, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the percentage of the U.S. labor force that is employed has been steadily falling since 2006. The top 10% of all income earners in the U.S. are still doing very well, but most U.S. consumers are either flat broke or are drowning in debt. The large disposable incomes that the big retail chains have depended upon in the past simply are not there anymore. So retail chains all over the United States are now closing up unprofitable stores. This is especially true in low income areas.
Fed's Pianalto floats reducing asset buying this year
By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK | Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:14am EST
(Reuters) - It would be wise to reduce the Federal Reserve's level of asset purchases before year end if the economy continues to improve, a top U.S. central bank policymaker said on Friday.
Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said she does in fact expect the world's biggest economy to improve in 2013, with economic growth of better than 2.5 percent and a drop in the unemployment rate to 7.5 percent.
Central bankers take on activist role to quell global economies
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Central bankers have taken a decided step toward activism, moving away from a role to tamper inflation and toward one that takes into consideration the fiscal soundness of the wider, global economy.
A Bloomberg report dubs them the "whatever-it-takes" bankers who aren't afraid to take aggressive steps to promote economic sustainability.
TPG-Backed Saxo Bank Says Euro Doomed
as Currency Woes Resurface
By Mahmoud Kassem - Bloombeg.com
Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro's recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn't supported it with a fiscal union.
"The whole thing is doomed," Christensen said yesterday in an interview at the bank's Dubai office. "Right now we're in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn't at all."
Stan Fischer saved Israel's economy. Can he save America's?
Posted by Dylan Matthews - WashingtonPost.com
Every August, central bankers from across the globe, who collectively pull the levers of the world economy, descend on Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. They enjoy a symposium of big economic ideas and strenuous afternoon hikes. At one of their dinners a few years ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke looked around at some fellow titans of finance.
"Do you know what everyone at this table has in common?" he mused. "They all had Stan Fischer as their thesis adviser."
Keiser Report: Horsemeat Burger vs Dutch Sandwich (E406)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the honkey infestation causing an inflationary vortex and the Dutch sandwich being the financial equivalent of a horsemeat burger. And how the FSAs - the Financial Services Authority and the Food Standards Agency - operate with a similar cover up mentality. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to anthropologist, David Graeber, author of Debt: The First 5000 Years, about the dollar, a war backed currency, being displaced by gold and about who killed Aaron Swartz and why.
Online sales tax proposal rears head in Congress —
for third time
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Congressional legislators are pushing — once again — a federal online sales tax. The House brought forth on Thursday the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bill that supposedly reconciles the differences among the three introduced — and that failed — in Congress in 2012.
The measure gives states the power to mandate that out-of-state retailers that sell products online collect a sales tax.
Facebook Gets a Multibillion-Dollar Tax Break
By Peter Coy - Businessweek.com
It hasn't drawn much attention, but Facebook's first annual earnings report contains an accounting gem: a multibillion-dollar tax deduction for the cost of executive stock options and share awards.
Even though Facebook (FB) reported $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from U.S. operations in 2012, it will probably pay zero federal and state taxes—and even receive a federal tax refund of about $429 million—according to a Feb. 14 statement from Citizens for Tax Justice.
Facebook Paid No Income Taxes in 2012
By: Cadie Thompson - CNBC.com
Facebook didn't pay any federal or state income taxes last year and will receive a hefty tax refund, according to a recent report.
How did the social network manage to swing such a nice tax break?
Well, according to the Citizen for Tax Justice report the company benefited from the tax deductability of executive stock options, which reduced all of its income taxes by $1.03 billion in 2012.
Obama's EEOC: We'll Sue You If You Don't Hire Criminals
By Jim Meyers - NewsMax.com
The Obama administration's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it should be a federal crime to refuse to hire ex-convicts — and threatens to sue businesses that don't employ criminals.
In April the EEOC unveiled its "Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records," which declares that "criminal record exclusions have a disparate impact based on race and national origin."
Turning Rust Belt Into 'Tech Belt' in the Name of Jobs Youngstown's Story:
Rust Belt Turns to 'Tech Belt' in the Name of Jobs
By: Heesun Wee - CNBC.com
Michael Garvey was working as a clerk at the New York Stock Exchange more than 25 years ago, when he got a call from his parents back in Ohio.
Globalization was hammering the Rust Belt including their family business, then called Trumbull Bronze. Garvey's grandfather founded the company in 1918 to produce bronze castings for the U.S. steel industry. Unable to turn his back on his family legacy, he returned to Ohio, as the company's customer base of steel mills deteriorated. Faced with a fork in the road, the company reshaped their business strategy to focus on the measurement and validation of parts. That meant a wider customer base beyond heavy industry.
Fiscal trouble ahead for most future retirees
By Michael A. Fletcher - WashingtonPost.com
For the first time since the New Deal, a majority of Americans are headed toward a retirement in which they will be financially worse off than their parents, jeopardizing a long era of improved living standards for the nation's elderly, according to a growing consensus of new research.
The Great Recession and the weak recovery darkened the retirement picture for significant numbers of Americans. And the full extent of the damage is only now being grasped by experts and policymakers.
Thousands rally in Washington to protest Keystone pipeline
By TALIA BUFORD | Politico.com
Tens of thousands of people converged on the National Mall on Sunday to urge President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline, a project they say will cause irreparable damage to the climate.
The rally, which was organized by the Sierra Club, 350.org and the Hip Hop Caucus, was billed as the largest climate rally in American history. Organizers estimated that about 35,000 people participated in the rally. The U.S. Park Police does not give crowd estimates.
Canadian ambassador slams press coverage
of Keystone XL pipeline battle
By Ben Geman - TheHill.com
Gary Doer, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., believes the press is doing a lousy job covering the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline that Canadian officials are urging the Obama administration to approve.
"Twenty people protesting do get more attention in the media than the 65 percent of Americans that prefer to get their oil from Canada rather than Venezuela or the Middle East," Doer said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Platts Energy Week TV.
McCain: Hagel confirmation imminent
By MANU RAJU - Politico.com
Arizona Sen. John McCain says it's time to let Chuck Hagel take the top job at the Pentagon, even though he called the defense secretary nominee "the most unimpressive that I've ever seen."
"No, I don't believe he's qualified, but I don't believe we should hold up his confirmation any further," the Republican senator said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I think it's a reasonable amount of time to have questions answered — not two days' worth."
Sen. Graham: Hagel disavowed remark
on Israel controlling State department
By Erik Wasson - TheHill.com
Sen Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told "Fox News Sunday" that he has accepted a new denial from Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) regarding offensive statements the nominee for Defense secretary allegedly made about Israel.
Hagel was said to have told a Rutgers University audience in 2007 that the State Department was controlled by Israel.
Graham said he received a new letter from the embattled nominee in which Hagel said he "did not recall" the statement and disavowed those remarks.
America Shamed Again: A colonized people
By Paul Craig Roberts
Americans have been shamed many times by their elected representatives who cravenly bow to vested interests and betray the American people. But no previous disgraceful behavior can match the public shame brought to Americans by the behavior of the Senate Republicans in the confirmation hearing of Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense.
Forty Senate Republicans made it clear that not only do they refuse to put their service to America ahead of their service to Israel, but also that they will not even put their service to America on a par with their service to Israel. To every American's shame, the Republicans demonstrated for all the world to see that they are wholly owned subsidiaries of the Israel Lobby. (The Israel Lobby is not their only master. They are also owned by other powerful interest groups, such as Wall Street and the Military/Security Complex.)
Warning To America - Lt. Gen. W.G. (Jerry) Boykin
[Obamacare lays groundwork for commissioning of officers in times of national crisis, to work directly for the President as an armed constabulary force (citizen army) that will control the population in America (every wonder why DHS bought all those bullets?)]
DHS Purchases 21.6 Million More Rounds of Ammunition
Paul Joseph Watson - Infowars.com
February 7, 2013
The Department of Homeland Security is set to purchase a further 21.6 million rounds of ammunition to add to the 1.6 billion bullets it has already obtained over the course of the last 10 months alone, figures which have stoked concerns that the federal agency is preparing for civil unrest.
A solicitation posted yesterday on the Fed Bid website details how the bullets are required for the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico.
As 'Obamacare' health exchange deadline passes,
26 states opt in with feds
By Tom Howell Jr.-The Washington Times
The backbone of President Obama's health care law is taking shape, with 26 states choosing to let the federal government run the online insurance markets mandated by his signature reforms instead of keeping the job in-house or partnering with the feds.
The Department of Health and Human Services had encouraged states to run their own markets, or "exchanges," that help the uninsured find coverage. Only 17 states and the District of Columbia took on the task, while seven states decided to split the duty with the Obama administration, according to a breakdown by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Proof RFID Microchip Is In Obama Health Care
If you take the RFID Microchip they can TRACK your every move, Control your MONEY, Control your FOOD and possible even KILL you if you don't obey!
The HR 3962 Bill is an exact copy of the HR 3200 bill in the acceptance of just a few word removed concerning the RFID Microchip but the ability to Chip Every Citizen of the United States is still in the bill.
HR 3962 Bill - Goes into effect March 23, 2013
Read Pages 1501 thru 1510
RFID Chip Implant Found In The Health Care Bill Article
SEE FOR YOURSELF, IT'S IN THE HBC.
Posted March 29, 2010 from friends at RESISTNET
There is an old adage that seeing is believing, the only alternative is to convince yourself that your lying eyes are wrong. Would you upon seeing something for yourself by way of documented proof believe your own eyes and accept it as the truth, even if it was hard for you to accept?
There will always be those who will remain in denial even though they know better, they will not accept it because they can not bring themselves to admit it to themselves. For those described here this will be a wasted effort.
Playing 'chicken' on Capitol Hill Administration leaks details of budget cuts
to pressure lawmakers on sequester It's Washington's biggest game of chicken, as federal agencies show cards on stark budget cuts in hopes of persuading Congress to forestall them
BY JOHN SOLOMON - WashingtonGuardian.com
The Blue Angels flight acrobats grounded. Fewer Navy patrols in the Middle East. A thousand fewer Secret Service agents and investigators. Widespread furloughs.
In painstaking and relentless detail, the Obama administration is leaking out stark plans for government cutbacks if the automatic spending cuts known as the budget sequester takes effect March 1, hoping to pressure Republicans to reach a compromise by showing the consequences in their home districts.
It's a giant game of political chicken, and the administration makes no apologies.
Gun Rights: Are There Any Peaceful Solutions Left?
By Brandon Smith - Alt-Market.com
Throughout history, citizen disarmament generally leads to one of two inevitable outcomes: Government tyranny and genocide, or, revolution and civil war. Anti-gun statists would, of course, argue that countries like the UK and Australia have not suffered such a result. My response would be – just give them time. You may believe that gun control efforts are part and parcel of a totalitarian agenda (as they usually are), or, you may believe that gun registration and confiscation are a natural extension of the government's concern for our "safety and well-being". Either way, the temptation of power that comes after a populous is made defenseless is almost always too great for any political entity to dismiss. One way or another, for one reason or another, they WILL take advantage of the fact that the people have no leverage to determine their own cultural future beyond a twisted system of law and governance which is, in the end, easily corrupted.
Pope will have security,
immunity by remaining in the Vatican
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY | Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:59pm EST
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.
"His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenseless. He wouldn't have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else," said one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Leaked papers reveal a broken Vatican Pope Benedict XVI's leaked documents
show fractured Vatican full of rivalries
By Jason Horowitz - WashingtonPost.com
VATICAN CITY — Guests at the going-away party for Carlo Maria Viganò couldn't understand why the archbishop looked so forlorn. Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Viganò ambassador to the United States, a plum post where he would settle into a stately mansion on Massachusetts Avenue, across the street from the vice president's residence.
"He went through the ordeal making it very clear he was unhappy with it," said one former ambassador to the Vatican, who attended the Vatican Gardens ceremony in the late summer of 2011. "And we just couldn't figure out, us outsiders and non-Italians, what was going on."
The pope's ex-butler, still a mystery
By Jason Horowitz - WashingtonPost.com
VATICAN CITY — In the early 1990s, college friends of Carlo Fusco, a law student in Rome, introduced him to Paolo Gabriele, an amiable Roman with dark hair and chubby cheeks. The two young men recognized one another as kindred Catholic spirits and chatted in pizzerias and coffee bars. After college, Fusco lost track of Gabriele but happily ran into him years later at a night mass at Santa Maria in Via Lata, a 17th-century church built atop the warren of rooms where tradition holds the apostle Paul lived under house arrest. ("Verbum Dei non est alligatum — The word of God is not chained" is etched on a column in the crypt.)
Hardcore Chinese Hacker Sells Facebook 'Likes' on the Side
BY RYAN TATE - Wired
An intriguing story surfaced this week about a mysterious hacker named Zhang Changhe, who is apparently working for the Chinese army coordinating a botnet of zombie computers infested with malware, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
But that's only part of the story. Zhang, according to Bloomberg and other accounts, seems to also have been running a service through which unscrupulous businesses could pay to increase the number of "likes" on their Facebook pages, as well as their number of followers on Twitter and votes on other social networks. The site was promoted on the forum BlackHatWorld.
SEC developing new fraud detection technology
By Dina ElBoghdady - WashingtonPost.com
The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to launch computer software this year to spot accounting anomalies, including potential fraud, in the financial statements that companies file with the agency.
The software would scan a firm's financial disclosures, assess risk factors and generate a score based on a model developed by the agency, Craig Lewis, the SEC's chief economist, said in a recent speech. The score would be used to identify outliers within a peer group.
Congress Starts to Take the Internet Seriously
By Brendan Greeley - Businessweek.com
One day last October, more than 100 congressional staffers crammed into a room on the second floor of the Rayburn House Office Building to listen to four lawyers discuss smartphone and tablet patent litigation. The chief of staff for the House Judiciary Committee came a few minutes late and couldn't get a seat. This is a typical scene these days at the periodic lunchtime lectures put on by the Congressional Internet Caucus, a bipartisan collection of 125 House and Senate members who are, in the words of their mission statement, "working to promote the promise and potential of the Internet." Third on the list of the caucus's goals: "Promoting the education of Members of Congress and their staff."
Creepy Side of Search Emerges on Facebook
BY RYAN TATE - Wired.com
Facebook highlighted special privacy restrictions on its new Graph Search social discovery engine that filter young teens from some search results delivered to adults. The restrictions, pointed to after concerns about pedophiles, differ from other aspects of Graph Search, which generally has no special privacy controls beyond those already in place for the rest of Facebook.
The social network's safety team talked about the restrictions in a Facebook post, which said, "for certain searches that could help to identify a young person by age or by their location, results will only show to that person's Friends, or Friends of Friends who are also between the age of 13-17."
Drones are taking to the skies in the U.S. Federal authorities step up efforts to license surveillance aircraft for law enforcement and other uses, amid growing privacy concerns.
By Brian Bennett and Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — While a national debate has erupted over the Obama administration's lethal drone strikes overseas, federal authorities have stepped up efforts to license surveillance drones for law enforcement and other uses in U.S. airspace, spurring growing concern about violations of privacy.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it had issued 1,428 permits to domestic drone operators since 2007, far more than were previously known. Some 327 permits are still listed as active.
FAA to create 6 drone test sites in US
Major step toward opening American skies to unmanned aerial vehicles
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major step toward opening U.S. skies to thousands of unmanned drones, federal officials Thursday solicited proposals to create six drone test sites around the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration also posted online a draft plan for protecting people's privacy from the eyes in the sky. The plan would require each test site to follow federal and state laws and make a privacy policy publicly available.
States join battle over drone flights
By Megan R. Wilson - TheHill.com
The nascent drone industry is coming under threat from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures who are weighing restrictions on their use in the United States.
Eighteen states have considered bills that would limit the use of unmanned aerial systems, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and more are likely to follow suit.
In Washington, meanwhile, lawmakers are pushing for new civil liberties and privacy protections to ease fears about invasive surveillance from the skies.
Darpa Wants Teeny-Tiny Fluids
to Cool Down Next-Gen Microchips
BY ROBERT BECKHUSEN - Wired.com
The Pentagon's mad scientists have concocted a plan to keep the miniature, stacked brains of tomorrow's advanced computers cool enough to power next-gen technological advances. It involves the world's smallest bath.
Advanced new microchips are now stacking up like pancakes. This new turn toward stacked chips promises huge improvements in computing power for everything from advanced cameras to new smartphones. But the Pentagon is concerned about these new stacks of chips being too powerful — that is, they risk melting down because they get too hot.
Welcome To The New Cold War
By James Gruber - ZeroHedge.com
Make no mistake: America and China are on a collision course and the battleground is Asia. The China-Japan dispute has little to do with a small group of islands in the South China Sea. It's about a new world power, China, wanting to assert its authority in Asia. And it's about the U.S being threatened by China's increasing power and wanting to contain it. That's what makes the current dispute so dangerous. Even if the fight dies down, the battle for dominance in Asia between the U.S. and China will continue.
For investors, the implications from this are not only the potential for increased trade disputes between the U.S and China. But also, the likelihood of rising friction between Asian countries themselves. In fact, we're already seeing it as these countries are being forced to side with either America or China. Intra-Asian trade will be impacted too. Welcome to the new Cold War.
Building a Chinese Rechtsstaat
By Andrew Sheng - Project-Syndicate.org
HONG KONG – A consensus is rapidly emerging within China that the rule of law is the single most important precondition for inclusive, sustainable, and long-term peace and prosperity. So it is worth considering how the rule of law differs from China's current institutional arrangements.
The rule of law has been defined in a variety of ways, but most authorities agree on certain key characteristics. As Kenneth W. Dam of the University of Chicago formulates it in his book The Law-Growth Nexus, the rule of law excludes secret law and legal impunity, while protecting individuals from legal discrimination and enforcing rules that favor them to their benefit.
China without North Korea
By Steve Tsang - Project-Syndicate.org
NOTTINGHAM – North Korea's third nuclear test is a game changer not only for the United States and Japan, but also for the regime's last ally, China. The official Chinese reaction to North Korea's latest provocation was stern: China is "strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed" to the test, and it is calling for the resumption of international talks. But China's stance lacks meaningful bite, because its leaders fail to recognize that they no longer need to succumb to their unruly neighbor's blackmail.
In carrying out the test, the North Koreans have once again compromised China's national interests. The international community is again firmly focused on China's relationship with its rogue ally, and expects that, as an emerging superpower seeking to reassure the world of its peaceful rise, China will play a constructive role. However limited China's influence may be, the North Korean regime can sustain itself only with Chinese backing.
Gold Council Sees Central Bank Bullion Buying at 48-Year High
By Nicholas Larkin - Bloomberg.com
Central banks added the most gold to reserves in almost a half century last year as prices averaged a record, the World Gold Council said.
The banks bought 145 metric tons in the fourth quarter, an eighth successive quarter of net buying, the London-based industry group said today in a report. They added 534.6 tons to reserves last year, 17 percent more than in 2011 and the most since 1964, it estimates.
Gold – Safety Blanket or Quilting Essential?
BY ADRIAN ASH - FinancialSense.com
The patchwork quilt of diversification looks awful smart. It's more than pretty with gold in it, too...
Investment experts keep telling us two things.
One, you must diversify your savings. Nothing works for ever. Two, your annual returns are set to be miserable, because there's no return to the out-sized gains of the 1980s and '90s. The last 10 years prove that.
What, Me Worry? CBO warns of fiscal doom,
and our president reacts like Alfred E. Neumann.
By DOUG BANDOW - Spectator.org
President Barack Obama won his budget pound of flesh in the "fiscal cliff" showdown. Taxes on the "rich" are going up. But that hasn't solved Washington's deficit crisis. Nor would approval of the new taxes that he proposed help avoid the impending budget sequester.
The Congressional Budget Office once had the reputation of a bland government bureaucracy, churning out detailed reports that only a policy nerd would read. Today CBO reports have taken over the literary genre of horror stories. The first movie can't be far behind.
Why Democrats Should Fear Budget Sequester Cuts
by Joshua Green - Businessweek.com
While both parties are beginning to position themselves for the showdown over the $1.2 trillion in automatic "sequestration" cuts that take effect on March 1, Democrats are generally seen as having the advantage. The programs they're most concerned about (Medicare, Medicaid, nutrition assistance) are, for the most part, spared the budget axe. The same is not true for Republicans. Sequestration makes deep cuts to the military budget, a source of intensifying concern for conservatives, who have already begun fighting amongst themselves over how to respond. The emerging viewamong Washington insiders is that the sequester will probably not be averted before March 1, but that Republicans will probably make concessions as the cuts begin to bite.
Fed policy has put "pedal to the metal" in 2013: Bullard
By Alister Bull
STARKVILLE, Mississippi | Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:01pm EST
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve has ramped up its monetary stimulus "considerably" this year compared with 2012, thanks to two significant changes, a senior Fed official said on Thursday.
James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, said the switch to outright open-ended bond purchases, plus adopting thresholds to guide expectations on when the Fed would begin raising interest rates, had made policy more effective.
The Missing $20 Trillion How to stop companies and people dodging tax,
in Delaware as well as Grand Cayman
The Economist
CIVILISATION works only if those who enjoy its benefits are also prepared to pay their share of the costs. People and companies that avoid tax are therefore unpopular at the best of times, so it is not surprising that when governments and individuals everywhere are scrimping to pay their bills, attacks are mounting on tax havens and those that use them.
In Europe the anger has focused on big firms. Amazon and Starbucks have faced consumer boycotts for using clever accounting tricks to book profits in tax havens while reducing their bills in the countries where they do business. David Cameron has put tackling corporate tax-avoidance at the top of the G8 agenda. America has taken aim at tax-dodging individuals and the banks that help them. Congress has passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which forces foreign financial firms to disclose their American clients. Any whiff of offshore funds has become a political liability. During last year's presidential campaign Mitt Romney was excoriated by Democrats for his holdings in the Cayman Islands. Now Jack Lew, Barack Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, is under fire for once having an interest in a Cayman fund.
No End in Sight for Global "Currency Wars"
BY GARY DORSCH - FinancialSense.com
With frigid temperatures expected to hover between 15-degree and 23-degree Fahrenheit this weekend in Moscow, it's a wonder why the world's most powerful finance chiefs and central bankers would schedule their Feb 15-16th meeting in Vladimir Putin's backyard. Instead, a better venue for the Group-of-20 would've been the Cayman Islands. The Islands are warm year-round, with average highs holding steady in the 80's. January and February are the coolest months with lows averaging in the lower 70's. However, Russia holds the presidency of the G-20 this year, - so finance chiefs will have to endure the frozen tundra.
Virtual currencies in cyberspace… moving to mainstream? With Amazon minting currency, Fed at risk In future, good money could drive out the bad
By Matthew Lynn
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Central banks are not exactly short of things to worry about right now.
The euro may well be on the road to a chaotic collapse, taking some of the world's biggest banks with it. A currency war may break out between Japan, the U.S. and Europe. Printing money has run out of steam, but there is still little sign of the global economy returning to the kind of growth rates it saw before the credit crunch.
Euro-Area Economy Shrinks Most Since Depths of Recession
By Marcus Bensasson - FinancialSense.com
The euro-area recession deepened more than economists forecast with the worst performance in almost four years as the region's three biggest economies suffered slumping output.
Gross domestic product fell 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, the European Union's statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That's the most since the first quarter of 2009 in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and exceeded the 0.4 percent median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey.
U.S. and EU Plan to Create 'an Economic NATO' America looks to Europe to stimulate its economy.
By Richard Palmer - theTrumpet.com
America will attempt to negotiate a free trade deal with the European Union, U.S. President Barack Obama announced during his State of the Union address on February 12. The next day, EU leaders published a joint statement with Mr. Obama announcing that the two blocs "will each initiate the internal procedures necessary to launch negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership."
Before negotiations can begin, the United States needs to notify Congress, and the EU needs approval from its member states. Each plans to have this completed by the end of June.
Could a $9 Minimum Wage Reduce Illegal Immigration?
By Peter Coy - BusinessWeek.com
President Obama didn't draw the connection in his State of the Union address, but his plan to raise the minimum wage might help him with his plan to curb illegal immigration.
If companies pay more for low-skilled work, they'll have an easier time finding native-born workers and legal immigrants to fill the jobs. That will decrease the demand for illegal workers.
PAUL RYAN: OBAMA 'DELUSIONAL' ON DEBT
by WILLIAM BIGELOW - Breitbart.com
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) told his colleagues Wednesday that Barack Obama and the Democratic Senate are "deluding" themselves regarding the national deficit.
Ryan said, "It seems as if they think the heavy lifting on debt reduction, deficit reduction is behind us, we have just a little bit left and then we're done. I really worry that our partners in government, here — two-thirds of it, the Senate and the White House — are deluding themselves in thinking this thing is taken care of."
President Obama's Minimum Wage Delusion A study in liberal "good" intentions.
By RON ROSS - Spectator.org
Once again Democratic politicians want to increase the dosage of a popular but extremely toxic form of public policy snake oil. In his State of the Union message Tuesday President Obama proclaimed, "Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on earth no one who works full time should have to live in poverty, and raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour. We should be able to get that done." Pat Quinn, the governor of Illinois, last week proposed raising his state's minimum wage from the current $8.25 an hour to $10 an hour.
A spokesman for Governor Quinn said, "The governor feels very strongly that nobody should work 40 hours a week and live in poverty. It's obvious the governor feels such an increase will be good for the economy and good for workers who drive our economic growth. So many people are struggling to make ends meet earning the basic minimum wage—and these ends never get met." If that's what the governor thinks, he couldn't be more confused.
$9 WAGE AS POVERTY CURE? $9 wage alone doesn't get workers out of poverty Obama will have to do more than raise the minimum wage
to lift people out of poverty.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
President Obama wants to raise the minimum wage to help working Americans escape poverty. But just hiking the hourly rate by $1.75 to $9 won't accomplish that.
A full-time job paying $9 an hour works out to about $18,000 a year. The poverty line is roughly $23,300 for a four-person household.
Shiller On Housing: Back? On Track? Or Still Cracked?
By Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Following on from our earlier discussion of the boomerang foreclosure problem, we thought a recent interview between Goldman and Bob Shiller well worth considering - given his relative independence and honesty.
Excerpted from a Goldman Sachs interview with Bob Shiller:
What's been driving the improvement in the US housing market over the past six to nine months?
Part of the improvement is just the benefit of the summer season. Summer and early fall have traditionally been periods of increasing home prices. Another factor is the ongoing decline in foreclosures. Foreclosed properties tend to sell at low prices and as the foreclosure rate declines, we might expect to see aggregate home prices increase. I also think that price increases that were likely caused by the decline in foreclosures may have been mistakenly taken by the public as a note of optimism, leading them to react to the thought that home prices might be rising again. Inventories of homes for sale are also low, in part because sellers have been holding off on putting their houses on the market in the hopes of further price increases or because millions of mortgages are still under water so many homeowners feel "stuck" in their homes until/unless prices rise more strongly and they can pay off their mortgage with the proceeds of their sale.
"Boomerang Foreclosures" Are Back
As Bernanke's Second Housing Bubble Begins To Pop
By Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Something curious happened in California in January: the foreclosure process virtually ground to a halt. Specifically, as RealtyTrac describes it, "the downward foreclosure trend in California accelerated into hyper speed in January, decisively shifting the balance of power when it comes to the nation's foreclosure activity", shifting it in favor of homeowners and effectively preventing banks from sending out Notices of Default (NOD) repossessing homes whose owners no longer pay their mortgages. This was the result of the Homeowners Bill of Rights, or legislation which "extends many of the principles in the national mortgage settlement — including a prohibition on so-called dual tracking and requiring a single point of contact for borrowers facing foreclosure — to all mortgage servicers operating in California. In addition the new law imposes fines of up to $7,500 per loan for filing of multiple unverified foreclosure documents." The outcome of this law as it propagates through the market can be seen in the chart below: in January 2013, California foreclosure starts are now down to levels not seen since 2005!
Welcome to Subprime U Student loans: Welcome to subprime university
By Lauren Silva Laughlin, Fortune.CNN.com
FORTUNE -- Make no mistake: the student loan market is a disaster. TheWall Street Journal recently reported that a third of borrowers in the $900 billion market are subprime, and about a third of those subprime borrowers aren't paying bills on time. Lending standards are not rigid. College education prices are inflating. And, at the very least, young college students facing a poor job market are offered seemingly endless amounts of cash with little initial recourse.
Heinz Confirms It Will Be Acquired By Buffett
In $28 Billion Transaction At $72.50/Share
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Just released by Heinz. Luckily, the brand new US Secretary of State has a full conflict of interest release.
H.J. Heinz Company Enters Into Agreement to Be Acquired by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital
H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) ("Heinz") today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an investment consortium comprised of Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital.
Medicine for the Rich
Is About to Get Cheap Enough for Regular People
BY DANIELA HERNANDEZ - Wired.com
After years of exotic and very expensive machines sequencing DNA, the genomics industry finally looks poised for its cell phone moment.
Soon, the business of genetics could look a lot like the commodity-driven mobile industry, with providers selling hardware on the cheap and relying on software, apps and diagnostics to drive revenue. And, as with the app-filled smartphones we keep close to us 24/7, genomics could finally become a much more intimate part of our lives.
EU horsemeat affair prompts DNA testing
BY NIKOLAJ NIELSEN - EUObserver.com
BRUSSELS - The European Commission is urging member states to intensify DNA tests on meat products to see how much horsemeat there is in EU "beef."
"The tests will be on DNA in meat products in all member states," health commissioner Tonio Borg told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday (13 February).
He said EU countries should intensify tests in an initial 30-day period starting in March as part of a bigger, three-month-long programme.
Hidden Inflation Everywhere,
From Watered-Down Bourbon To Horse-Meat Chili
By Wolf Richter - ZeroHedge.com
We've had an endless series of products whose ingredients have been cheapened in order to maintain the price. Consumers won't be able to taste the difference, the theory goes. So, as the horse-meat lasagna scandal in Europe is spiraling beautifully out of control, we're now getting hit where it hurts: Maker's Mark is watering down its bourbon.
Unlike the horse-meat folks, Maker's Mark announced it. They even had an official reason. "Fact is, demand for our bourbon is exceeding our ability to make it, which means we're running very low on supply," said the missive that COO Rob Samuels sent to his customers. They'd add water to the remaining batch—it would lower alcohol content from 45% to 42%—so that there'd be enough for everybody
Asteroid 2012 DA14 to Safely Pass Earth
The flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14 on Feb. 15, 2013, will be the closest known approach to Earth for an object its size.
Everything You Need to Know About
This Friday's Close Shave by Asteroid 2012 DA14
By Phil Plait - Slate.com
On Friday, Feb. 15, the Earth is going to get a veryclose shave by an asteroid*. Called 2012 DA14, this 50 meter (160 foot) rock will pass just over 27,000 kilometers (17,000 miles) from the Earth's surface. This is closer than our geosynchronous satellites, so this really is a close pass!
But, to be very clear: This asteroid poses no threat to us right now, nor in the foreseeable future. Friday's miss is just that: a miss. And, in fact, this is a good thing, since any time an asteroid gets close (but misses), we learn a lot, including how to find them, how to track them, and even how to talk about them to the public.
New dogma from the Vatican, heralded by the comet of century? WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES: SOMETIMES IT IS SIMPLE ENERGY IN THE AIR AND SOMETIMES PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE
SpiritDaily.com
It keeps rolling on: the implications, the signs, the symbols.
There was the lightning.
This is something that has always carried a spiritual connotation. Satan was seen (by Jesus) as falling like a bolt (Luke 10:18), and the meteorological phenomenon always has seemed a bit spooky -- the backdrop for countless suspense movies, for hauntings, a time during which the spiritual seems energized.
On February 11, 2013, it struck St. Peter's Basilica, twice.
It was just hours (around six p.m. Rome local time) after news broke that Benedict XVI was nearly immediately leaving the papacy.
The world was, yes, "thunderstruck."
Pope Says He Will Be 'Hidden to the World' in Retirement
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO - NYTimes.com
VATICAN CITY — Saying he would soon be "hidden to the world," Pope Benedict XVI took his leave of parish priests and clergy members of the Diocese of Rome on Thursday as he offered personal, and incisive, recollections of the Second Vatican Council, the gathering of bishops 50 years ago that set the Roman Catholic Church's course for the future.
Benedict, who announced his resignation on Monday in a move that stunned the Roman Catholic world, also indicated that he would not hold a public role once his resignation became official on Feb. 28. Benedict is the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years.
Why, Despite the Boom in Oil Production,
are Gasoline Prices Still High?
By Joe Romm - OilPrice.com
On Monday, USA Today reported that the price of gasoline hit $3.60 a gallon for the first time since October — an early start in comparison to the usual price rise seen in the spring. The increase occurred despite world oil production climbing to 88.8 million barrels per day in 2012, about 2 million barrels higher than two years ago according to the Washington Post's Brad Plumer. And about half of that increased production is due to an oil boom in the United States that's driven imported oil to its lowest level since 1987.
Lessons From North Dakota's Oilfields Building the right climate for energy development
can produce remarkable results.
By JOHN HOEVEN - Spectator.org
Delayed energy projects and regulatory hurdles to domestic oil production not only cost the United States economy billions of dollars and millions of jobs, but they also stand in the way of an elusive goal: true American energy security.
I believe, however, that our nation is within striking range of that goal and, with the right approach, can achieve it within five to seven years. We have the resources and technology to produce more energy than we consume and break our long-standing dependence on foreign sources of oil. All we need is the will.
Panama Canal to become Major LNG Thoroughfare?
By John Daly - OiPrice.com
One of the most beloved terms of wargamers is "sea lines of communication," or SLOCs.
For the past several years the Pentagon has been preoccupied in planning for possible conflict over the Persian Gulf SLOC and, further east, the Malacca Strait SLOC.
But in the Western Hemisphere, the preeminent SLOC remains the Panama Canal.
The State of Obama The State of the Union speech was about just one thing:
the Obama project.
By Daniel Henninger - WSJ.com
Here's what has to be understood. It's all about him.
A State of the Union speech normally is about relating a president's public policies to conditions in the country. AnObama State of the Union speech is about one thing: the Obama project.
It would be unfair to say that everything and everyone else in a complex world are irrelevant. But let's be clear about the priorities: Congress, the Cabinet of courtiers, the press, the people and indeed the national problems described in that State of the Union speech—it's all brick and mortar in the future Obama monument.
Who Tells Us What To Think?
Does The Mainstream Media = The Matrix?
By Michael Snyder - ThEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Do you believe that you really think for yourself? Did you come up with your attitudes, opinions and beliefs on your own, or are they continually being shaped and molded by someone else? Could it be possible that you and everyone around you is actually hooked into a real life version of "the matrix" that is constantly defining your reality for you? Sadly, the truth is that almost all of us have willingly hooked ourselves into a colossal media system that literally tells us what to think. In the United States today, the average American watches 153 hours of television a month. We also spend huge amounts of time watching movies, surfing the Internet, reading books and magazines, playing video games and listening to music. Many Americans are so addicted to being "connected" that they will actually become physically uncomfortable if they are at home and there is total silence. Unfortunately, as I pointed out in a previous article, somewhere around 90 percent of the "information" that we are allowing to be endlessly pumped into our heads is owned by just 6 gigantic media corporations. So could it be possible that the thousands of hours of "news and entertainment" that you are allowing these gigantic corporations to fill your head with each year is having an effect on you? Does the mainstream media have more control over you than you ever dreamed possible? If you want to continue on in blissful ignorance, stop reading now, but if you want to take "the red pill", keep on reading because the further down the rabbit hole you go, the stranger that things get.
Surge of sheriff groups
opposed to Obama gun control rises to 11
By Paul Bedard - WashingtonExaminer.com
In less than four weeks since President Obama proposed sweeping new gun control laws and a ban on assault-style weapons, the backlash from law enforcement groups that strongly support the Second Amendment has surged and now there are 11 state sheriffs associations opposed to the president.
The Illinois and Montana Sheriffs Associations became the last to join the growing crowd of police opposed to Obama, arguing this week that the president and state legislatures should instead be focused on mental health, not gun hardware.
Missouri Democrats Call for Gun Confiscation The denial is over: Government is coming for the guns.
By Kurt Nimo - InfoWars.com
Democrats around the country are in a race to destroy the Second Amendment and the latest outrage is going down in Missouri.
Democrats Rory Ellinger and Jill Schupp have introduced House Bill 545, a law that with the stroke of a pen will turn thousands of law-abiding Missourians into class C felons. It will ban the possession, sale, transfer or manufacture of semi-automatic rifles and magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds.
NRA CEO: Obama gun control effort a "charade"
By Brian Montopoli - CBSNews.com
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre told the Wayne Convention and Sport Show of the National Wild Turkey Federation in Nashville today that President Obama's State of the Union address exposed the "charade" that the president's gun control efforts were tied to protecting children.
"It's not about keeping kids safe in schools...They only care about their decades-long, decades-old gun control agenda," said LaPierre.
• NRA CEO: "It's not paranoia to buy a gun. It's survival"
• Boehner: Congress has a "responsibility" to act on gun violence
REPORT: HAGEL SAID STATE DEPARTMENT CONTROLLED BY ISRAEL
By Paul Mirengoff - PowerlineBlog.com
In a March 2007 speech at Rutgers University, Chuck Hagel said that the U.S. Department of State was an adjunct of the Israeli foreign minister's office, according to a contemporaneous report of the event. The contemporaneous report consists of notes by Republican political consultant and Hagel supporter George Ajjan, who wrote about the speech on his website the following day.
As a Hagel supporter — then (Hagel was testing the waters for a presidential run) and now (Ajjan says he still would support Hagel for president) — Ajjan had no reason to give a false report on what Hagel said. Moreover, Ajjan stands by his report. "If I wrote it, then that's what happened at the time," he says.
Senate Republicans block Hagel nomination
for Defense secretary
By Jeremy Herb and Ramsey Cox - TheHill.com
Senate Republicans in a 58-40 vote Thursday blocked former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) nomination as Defense secretary from proceeding to a final up-or-down vote.
Four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mike Johanns (Neb.)— joined 55 Democrats and Independents in supporting the nomination. Sixty votes were needed to cut off debate, leaving Democrats one vote short.
WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS:
OBAMA DID NOTHING ON BENGHAZI
By John Hinderaker - PowerlineBlog.com
The White House admitted today that President Obama made no phone calls–none, zero–on the evening of September 11, 2012, during the seven or eight hours when Americans were being murdered in Benghazi. He didn't talk to Leon Panetta, or any military personnel, or Hillary Clinton. What was he doing that night? We may never know; perhaps writing the speech that he gave at a campaign event the next day in Las Vegas.
Information on Benghazi has to be pried out of the administration with a crowbar; Lindsay Graham got the White House to identify the calls that Obama made that night–none–by holding up Chuck Hagel's confirmation. Graham says he will put a hold on John Brennan, too, until he gets more facts on Benghazi from the stonewalling White House. Good for him.
Advertising Growth Shows That for Many, Tablets Are the PC
BY MICHAEL V. COPELAND - Wired.com
When tablets first came out, and by that we mean the iPad, the sleek machines were primarily used for reading, watching video and playing games. Consuming stuff, in other words. Those activities are still a big part of how tablets earn their place in our lives, but a recent study suggests that more and more, tablets are being used more actively, to research and buy all kinds of stuff – formerly the province of the personal computer.
By the end 2013 tablets will account for 20 percent of Google's paid search ad clicks in the U.S., up from 6 percent in January 2012 according to research by Marin Software, a San Francisco-based company that helps large advertisers manage their online advertising.
Obama Presses Cybersecurity Effort
[Google title for free article pass]
By SIOBHAN GORMAN - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—The Obama administration pressed ahead Wednesday with its campaign to bolster cybersecurity measures through an executive order while setting the stage for a new battle in Congress over how to ensure computer safeguards at companies that run the electric grid and other key infrastructure.
Republicans who last year derailed a White House-backed cybersecurity bill were quick to criticize the executive order, which President Barack Obama unveiled in his State of the Union address, and vowed aggressive oversight of the programs it establishes.
Congress Starts to Take the Internet Seriously
By Brendan Greeley, BusinessWeek.com
One day last October, more than 100 congressional staffers crammed into a room on the second floor of the Rayburn House Office Building to listen to four lawyers discuss smartphone and tablet patent litigation. The chief of staff for the House Judiciary Committee came a few minutes late and couldn't get a seat. This is a typical scene these days at the periodic lunchtime lectures put on by the Congressional Internet Caucus, a bipartisan collection of 125 House and Senate members who are, in the words of their mission statement, "working to promote the promise and potential of the Internet." Third on the list of the caucus's goals: "Promoting the education of Members of Congress and their staff."
A Chinese Hacker's Identity Unmasked
By Dune Lawrence and Michael Riley - BusinessWeek.com
Joe Stewart's day starts at 6:30 a.m. in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with a peanut butter sandwich, a sugar-free Red Bull, and 50,000 or so pieces of malware waiting in his e-mail in-box. Stewart, 42, is the director of malware research at Dell SecureWorks, a unit of Dell (DELL), and he spends his days hunting for Internet spies. Malware is the blanket term for malicious software that lets hackers take over your computer; clients and fellow researchers constantly send Stewart suspicious specimens harvested from networks under attack. His job is to sort through the toxic haul and isolate anything he hasn't seen before: He looks for things like software that can let hackers break into databases, control security cameras, and monitor e-mail.
China, technology and the U.S. middle class
By Chrystia Freeland
NEW YORK | Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:21pm EST
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech this week confirmed it: The pre-eminent political and economic challenge in the industrialized democracies is how to make capitalism work for the middle class.
There is nothing mysterious about that. The most important fact about the United States in this century is that middle-class incomes are stagnating. The financial crisis has revealed an equally stark structural problem in much of Europe.
Obama executive order redefines critical infrastructure More companies could get designated as part of the sector under this week's presidential cybersecurity order
By Jaikumar Vijayan - Computerworld.com
Computerworld - President Barack Obama's cybersecurity executive order, signed on Tuesday, could significantly expand the list of companies categorized as part of U.S. critical infrastructure sector, security experts said Wednesday.
The executive order requires federal agencies and critical infrastructure owners and operators to work cooperatively to minimize cyber risks and strengthen resilience to attacks. It also calls for the creation of new consensus security standards and best practices that critical infrastructure companies will be urged, but not mandated, to follow.
Droning on about drones
By Michael Kugelman - DAWN.com
The buzz of drones is building to a crescendo.
I'm not referring to the drones themselves (though the tribal belt's skies do often seem choked with the pilotless Predators; six strikes occurred over just nine days last month).
Rather, I'm referring to public debate. With Congress holding confirmation hearings for CIA director-nominee John Brennan — an architect of the Obama administration's drones policy — discussion on op-ed pages, over airwaves, and across the social mediasphere has escalated to a fever pitch.
California County Inching Toward Drone Deployment?
BY DAVID KRAVETS - Wired.com
OAKLAND, California — Will Alameda County become California's first local government to deploy a drone?
If the decision were up to dozens of angry residents and several civil rights groups, the answer would be a resounding "No." They urged the Bay Area county's leaders, in a public hearing sometimes filled with acrimony Thursday, to squash a plan by the Alameda County Sheriff's Department to deploy up to two small, lightweight drones.
Dorner, Drones and the NDAA
By Kurt Nimo - InfoWars.com
Following the incineration of cop killer suspect Chris Dorner by the San Bernardino police, a lobbyist group dedicated to inserting drones in police work used the event to push the wares of their clients.
"Had a [drone] been able to be used in that environment, who knows what could have happened," said Peter Bale, chairman of the board for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
At Least We're Not Measles:
Rationalizing Drone Attacks Hits New Low
By Matt Taibbi - RollingStone.com
Read an absolutely amazing article today. Entitled "Droning on about Drones," it was published in the online version of Dawn, Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper, and written by one Michael Kugelman, identified as the Senior Program Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
In this piece, the author's thesis is that all this fuss about America's drone policy is overdone and perhaps a little hysterical. Yes, he admits, there are some figures that suggest that as many as 900 civilians have been killed in drone strikes between 2004 and 2013. But, he notes, that only averages out to about 100 civilians a year. Apparently, we need to put that number in perspective:
South Korea unveils missile it says can hit North's leaders
(Reuters) - South Korea unveiled a cruise missile on Thursday that it said can hit the office of North Korea's leaders, trying to address concerns that it is technologically behind its unpredictable rival which this week conducted its third nuclear test.
South Korean officials declined to say the exact range of the missile but said it could hit targets anywhere in North Korea.
The Defence Ministry released video footage of the missiles being launched from destroyers and submarines striking mock targets. The weapon was previewed in April last year and officials said deployment was now complete.
Rethinking the US-China-Taiwan triangle
By Brantly Womack - ATimes.com
Taiwan's future is with China, not against China. However, no new image of the triangular relationship of Washington, Beijing, and Taipei has replaced the security triangle formed in the Cold War era.
Taiwan will neither be remolded into a uniform part of the People's Republic of China nor will it achieve global recognition as a sovereign state, and yet discussion of its options is often reduced to the extremes of either reunification or independence.
Iraq back at the brink
By Ramzy Baroud - ATimes.com
Soon after the joint US-British bombing campaign "Operation Desert Fox" devastated parts of Iraq in December 1998 , I was complaining to a friend in the lobby of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad.
I was disappointed with the fact that our busy schedule in Iraq - mostly visiting hospitals packed with injured or victims of depleted uranium - left me no time to purchase a few Arabic books for my little daughter back in the states. As I got ready to embark on the long bus journey back to Jordan, an Iraqi man with a thick moustache and a carefully designed beard approached me.
Pope's Culture Club Masks Conclave
Packed With Benedict's Clones
By Thomas Penny - Bloomberg.com
When he appointed a group of five cardinals from the developing world in November, PopeBenedict XVI called his church one of "all peoples."
"She speaks in the various cultures of the different continents," he told an ecclesiastical council in Rome.
Yet while the Catholic Church has been gaining followers in faster-growing markets for years, it's been less quick to practice what it preaches when it comes to senior management. The leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, who will step down after eight years on Feb. 28, helped create an electorate for his successor dominated by Europeans and North Americans.
POPE ENJOYS SWANSONG; INFLUENCE STILL A QUESTION
By NICOLE WINFIELD - AP.org
VATICAN CITY (AP) — New questions arose about how much influence Pope Benedict XVI will exert over his successor Thursday after the Vatican confirmed that Benedict's closest adviser would continue to serve him as a private secretary while running the new pope's household.
For a second day of his emotional farewell tour, Benedict sent a pointed message to his successor and to the cardinals who will elect him about the direction the Catholic Church must take once he is no longer pope. While these remarks have been clearly labeled as Benedict's swansong before retiring, his influence after retirement remains the subject of intense debate.
Peru Archaeologists Discover 5,000-Year-Old Temple in Lima
By Alex Emery - Bloomberg.com
Peruvian archaeologists discovered a temple in Lima that may predate Stonehenge and be the oldest known in the Americas.
The rectangular stone building in the El Paraiso archaeological complex in the north of the capital may date to 3000 B.C., Deputy Culture Minister Rafael Varon said in an e- mailed statement yesterday. The temple was found inside a complex of 10 buildings that were first explored in 1965.
Alien Contact - The Message (You have to see it for yourself)
Fascinating search into the Alien agenda and messages sent to earth from other worlds… Ancient alien artifacts, Giant Ufo's Crop circles and a secret message to our reality.. you have to see this to believe it... Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction
Dedicated to Revelations
of the mayans 2012 and beyond coming Disclosure
Hundreds of military and government agency witnesses have come forward with testimony confirming this extraterrestrial presence.
If extraterrestrials influenced human history, can evidence of their existence be found in hidden tunnels and caverns around the world?
Could a cave in Ecuador contain metallic books inscribed with secrets of alien technology? Was an ancient underground city in Turkey built with alien help... or as a refuge from an alien attack?
Rumors of the U.S. military working alongside aliens in a secret base inside a mesa in New Mexico continue to swirl, Native American legends mention strange inner-Earth beings, and recent archaeological discoveries in the Yucatan may point to an extraterrestrial reality behind. Source: History Channel
Take this next article seriously… not sci-fi.
The Singularitarians assume Singularity is unavoidable and imminent, and supposedly unstoppable - but they underestimate God Almighty and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem the earth, rid it of evil, and restore Man and this planet earth to it's original glory, as in the beginning. Believers need to be better informed regarding the plan to merge humans with machines, which supposedly will eventually REPLACE humans with super intelligence with hybrid or non-human bodies, thwarting the plan of God to redeem Man. Involves transhumanism, technocentric ideology and social movement, as in the days of Noah. Little wonder, the Lords asks, will He find faith on earth when He returns? It was down to eight the last time God destroyed the world with the deluge; next time it will be with fire.
Anonymous - The Singularity Project 2013 (Project Mayhem Has Begun) Message Concerning the Future
This event is known as the Singularity. In the year 2045, when hyper-intelligent artificial intelligence arises, armed with advanced nanotechnology, the vastly complex, systemic problems associated with aging in humans will be resolved. Alternatively, we will be able to transfer the human mind to sturdier vessels, such as computers and robots. This is a serious proposition, and many people who are alive in your time will wind up being functionally immortal… more online
[unwise statement for a smart cookie (see Clarke quote, below), but the Vatican may soon chime in to virtually agree, with alien 'roots' of man disclosure, and launch the one-world-religion that is coming as the 'apostate' church, to wreak havoc and persecution on both unbelievers and true believers who cling to Jesus Christ]
"It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God - but to create him." ~Arthur C. Clarke
by Προμηθεύς [Koen De Paus]
The ideology of transhumanism and the concept of a singularity have been highjacked by people like Ray Kurzweil. Don't get me wrong, Ray is a really smart guy, a true modern day Thomas Edison, but he has brought about a huge influx of immortality fanboys. One might even call it a cult following, people who just mindlessly preach that we will all be immortal at 7am on the 1st of july in 2045. It is a fact that since Kurzweil's popularization of his views on mankind's future, many fake singularitarians have joined the transhuman movement. Fake because they join for the wrong reasons. They have no idea what transhumanism is about and are often not even aware that this philosophy exists while it is the underlying root of "real" singularitarianism. Kurzweil's focus on technology instead of ideals has created a sort of rabid life extension fanbase that doesn't really care about what transhumanism stands for.
Petrogold: Are Russia And China Hoarding Gold
Because They Plan To Kill The Petrodollar?
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Will oil soon be traded in a currency that is thousands of years old? What would a "gold for oil" system mean for the petrodollar and the U.S. economy? Are Russia and China hoarding massive amounts of gold because they plan to kill the petrodollar? Since the 1970s, the U.S. dollar has been the currency that the international community has used to trade oil around the globe. This has created an overwhelming demand for U.S. dollars and U.S. debt. But what happens when the rest of the globe starts rejecting the increasingly unstable U.S. dollar and figures out that gold can be used as a currency in international trade? The truth is that it doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure that out. Demand for the U.S. dollar and U.S. debt would fall off the map and there would be a rush into gold unlike anything we have ever seen before. So are Russia and China accumulating unprecedented amounts of gold right now because they eventually plan to cut the legs out from under the petrodollar and they want to gobble up huge stockpiles of gold before the cat is out of the bag? Of course they will never admit this publicly, but there are rumblings out there that this is exactly what is happening.
Gold and the US Dollar
By Bob Kirtley - OilPrice.com
The printing of more paper money usually has the effect of debasing or diluting the strength of that particular currency. The lowering of interest rates also renders a currency less attractive to investors as better returns might be available elsewhere. The demise of the US Dollar can be attributed, in part, to both of the above reasons. However, when this debasement is plotted against other currencies as per the US Dollar Index we can see that it is having some difficulty when it comes to heading lower as the chart below depicts.
[read the comments… :-] Economic Bubbles About to Burst
By Dean Henderson
Insider stock selling by billionaires – including Warren Buffett and John Paulsen – this week indicate something big is about to happen, something that may make the 2008 credit crisis seem rather benign. Last week the governments of Russia and Germany called in their gold being "held" by the New York Federal Reserve.
A couple of years ago the IMF announced that it would begin liquidating its gold holdings- the world's 3rd largest stash after the US and Germany. Buyers included the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Do you think the IMF would be selling gold at a market bottom? Bubble #1 about to burst – Gold.
Bond Bubble Expectations
by James Hall - BATR.org
Bonds are loans that have the expectation of payback with interest. Government bonds are viewed as the safest financial instrument since the primary fiscal obligation of the state is to honor the terms of their own notes. However, in the fevered climate of currency wars among central banksters, the security factor of capital repayment is rapidly coming into question. As interest rates rise, the economic value of the bond diminishes. This inverted normal relationship is the essential dynamic of lending money with the purchase of Treasury Bonds. So what is all the talk about a bond bubble and likelihood that it will destroy your underwriting capital?
House GOP prepares stopgap spending bill to avoid shutdown
By Erik Wasson - TheHill.com
House appropriators are finalizing a stopgap spending bill to prevent a government shutdown after March 27, and the bill could see a vote before the end of February.
House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Thursday that he is crafting a continuing resolution at the current level of spending, thereby separating the issue of a government shutdown from the question of how to deal with automatic sequestration cuts.
End the Fed Why the Government has no Interest in Fixing the Economy
by ROB URIE - CounterPunch.org
The Federal Reserve is supporting and maintaining a system of finance capitalism that by the 'rules' of capitalism should have disappeared in 2008. Wall Street, with its outposts now circling the globe, claims its 'due' under the premise its system of savage capitalism—permanent displacement of labor, evisceration of restrictions on activities businesses can and cannot engage in, planet-wide shifting of business costs from capital to unaffiliated citizenries, effective takeover of governments and the systematic 'harvesting' of constituent value from institutions built in social contexts from social resources, now asks that the rules it has put forth not be applied to it. And the Federal Reserve is the central entity keeping this system alive and intact as a permanent ward of its victims: we, the people.
Warm Up the Monetary Helicopters The case for helicopter money
[Google title for free pass] I fail to see any moral force to the idea that fiat money should only promote private spending
By Martin Wolf, Financial Times
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." This comment of Mark Twain applies with great force to policy on money and banking. Some are sure that the troubled western economies suffer from a surfeit of money. Meanwhile, orthodox policy makers believe that the right way to revive economies is by forcing private spending back up. Almost everybody agrees that monetary financing of governments is lethal. These beliefs are all false.
When arguing that monetary policy is already too loose, critics point to exceptionally low interest rates and the expansion of central bank balance sheets. Yet Milton Friedman himself, doyen of postwar monetary economists, argued that the quantity of money alone matters.
Eight states join lawsuit challenging Dodd-Frank Lawsuit: System to dismantle
a big failing bank is unconstitutional
By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch.com
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Attorneys-general from eight states have joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of regulations setting up a system to dismantle a big failing bank so its collapse doesn't cause collateral Lehman-like damage to the economy.
The attorneys-general are joining onto a lawsuit filed in federal court in June 2012 by the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas and two conservative action groups that are challenging key parts of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Beware a derivatives snowball… MetLife profit falls on derivative losses;
operating profit beats
(Reuters) - MetLife Inc (MET.N), the largest U.S. life insurer, reported a 90 percent fall in quarterly profit on derivative losses linked to its credit spreads but its operating profit beat estimates.
MetLife, like its peers, is heavily exposed to the persistently low interest rate environment. But the company has long had a substantial derivatives program designed to smooth out that risk.
Keiser Report: Debt Junkie Nation (E405)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the money printing cargo cults leading to a post-industrial nation of debt addicts, who have forgotten what real wealth is. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Sandeep Jaitly about debt, inflation, currency kamikazes and Austrian economics.
Countries are using devaluation to gain an advantage -
and Britain is one of the worst offenders
With his ultra-orthodox monetary views, Jens Weidmann, president of the German Bundesbank, may not be everyone's cup of tea. But when it comes to exchange rates, he talks a lot of sense.
By Jeremy Warner - Telegraph.co.uk
There's been much belly aching in euroland of late, particularly among French policymakers, about the supposed strength of the euro and the damage this may be doing to the competitiveness of the region's exports.
Only a few months back it was the reverse complaint, with many of them worrying about whether the euro would survive at all. Better a strong euro than a dead one, you might think, but apparently not. Today's concern is that the euro is too strong, and that rival economies are engaged in unfair currency competition, or "currency wars" as the phenomenon has become known.
G7 vows to avoid currency wars The Group of Seven leading economies have pledged not to engage in currency wars in an attempt to avert a potentially dangerous round of devaluations by central banks.
By Louise Armitstead - Telegraph.co.uk
Finance ministers and central bank governors yesterday issued a joint statement promising that their fiscal and monetary policies would "not target exchange rates" and that it would be up to the market to determine currencies' levels.
Amid escalating tension over currency policy, the G7 said: "We reaffirm that our fiscal and monetary policies have been and will remain oriented towards meeting our respective domestic objectives using domestic instruments, and that we will not target exchange rates."
Globalist solution to taxation… Smart Taxation
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram - Project-Syndicate.org
ROME – An effective tax policy that ensures adequate domestic revenue is a crucial determinant of a country's ability to pursue development policies. But tax revenues in most developing countries are low, impeding progress toward more balanced, inclusive, and sustainable economic development that can improve public health and raise standards of living.
Although non-tax revenue may contribute significantly to some countries' total GDP, the average tax/GDP ratios in low-income and lower-middle-income countries are roughly 15% and 19%, respectively – significantly lower than the OECD average of more than 35%. To finance development projects, poor and lower-middle-income countries must devise and implement tax strategies to increase domestic revenue.
Economic Collapse and the False Dichotomy
of Mainstream vs. Doomers
BY DANIEL AMERMAN CFA - FinancialSense.com
Perhaps the single greatest danger facing investors over the long term is to be investing for the wrong paradigm. That may sound a little theoretical, but we have a very clear and quite dangerous real-world example going on in front of us right now, which is the false dichotomy between the "Mainstream" and the "Gloom & Doomers".
Retail sales growth slows as higher taxes kick in
By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON | Wed Feb 13, 2013 4:27pm EST
(Reuters) - Retail sales barely rose in January as tax increases and higher gasoline prices restrained spending, setting up the economy for only modest growth in the first quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales edged up 0.1 percent after a 0.5 percent rise in December.
The small increase suggested the expiration of a 2 percent payroll tax cut on January 1 and higher tax rates for wealthier Americans were hurting the economy.
Higher ticket prices to follow; less competition AMR creditors approve American-US Air merger
(Reuters) - The unsecured creditors committee of bankrupt American Airlines parent AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK) has approved an $11 billion merger with US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N), sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
The deal will be announced Thursday, the sources said, assuming the boards of both companies approve it Wednesday night.
Is It Fair For People On Food Stamps To Buy Prime Rib
And Lobster While Working Families Barely Survive?
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Should we all quit working and jump on board the Obama gravy train? Of course I am being facetious, but when you are barely surviving does there come a point when it just becomes easier to give up and totally rely on the government? Today, the federal government runs nearly 80 different means-tested welfare programs, and many state and local governments have their own welfare programs on top of that. If you become an expert on those programs and you learn how to game the system, can you live more comfortably than someone that lives honestly and works as hard as they can and yet still makes less than 10 dollars an hour? Now, right from the outset of this article, let me make it abundantly clear that I do not believe that most people are abusing the system. As I have written about over and over, the number of Americans living in poverty is rapidly increasing because there are not enough jobs. There are not enough jobs because we are shipping millions of them out of the country to the other side of the globe, and we are also losing millions of jobs to technology. There have always been those that need our help, and because of the foolish decisions that we have made as a nation, the ranks of the poor will continue to expand. But it is also true that there are some people out there that are very brazenly abusing the system. For example, is it really fair for people on food stamps to buy prime rib and lobster while many working families barely survive? People like that are taking advantage of their fellow Americans, and they are making it harder for the people that really need the help to be able to get it.
Why Women Make Better Business Leaders
Recent research from the Harvard Business Review and others suggests something that most of us already know--firms without women in high-level leadership positions are missing out on some meaningful growth opportunities.
Unpaid Internships Are a Rich-Girl Problem—
and Also a Real Problem Pop culture has portrayed wage-free internships in fashion and art as the territory of spoiled young women—which makes it easier to ignore their real injustice.
by Phoebe Maltz Bovy - TheAtlantic.com
Fashion-industry blog Fashionista reported earlier this month that Occupy Wall Street's "Intern Labor Rights division" had made plans to protest unpaid internships in the industry at New York Fashion Week.
Illustrating the story was a photo of former reality-TV-star-portraying-an-intern Lauren Conrad, cheerily steaming some clothes in Teen Vogue.
Four Key Questions for Health-Care Law
[Google title for free article pass] Even by Washington standards, implementing "Obamacare" is extraordinarily complex. David Wessel takes a look at the "four major hanging chads."
By David Wessel - WSJ.com - $
Thanks to the Supreme Court and Barack Obama's re-election, the Affordable Care Act—"Obamacare" to foes and a few of its friends—isn't going away. The issue now is how it will work.
Even by Washington standards, implementing this law is extraordinarily complex. The federal government last year issued 70,000 pages of guidance, including 130 pages on the look of websites for new marketplaces where many will shop for insurance.
Obama's Minimum-Wage Gamble There's no clear path to a minimum-wage hike in today's Congress. So why did the president surprise members of his own party and bring it up in the State of the Union?
By Garance Franke-Ruta - TheAtlantic.com
In 2008, the Obama-Biden transition effort promised, as part of the new president's poverty agenda, that "Obama will ... raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011" and "index it to inflation."
That didn't happen, and when Obama in his 2013 State of the Union address once again brought up the question of raising the minimum wage -- though to a slightly lower amount -- it took some members of his party by surprise. A minimum-wage hike is a perennial progressive Democratic favorite, but it wasn't on the radar to emerge as a top priority for the president and his party in the year ahead.
Growth isn't enough to help the middle class
By Jim Tankersley - WashingtonPost.com
There are two kinds of middle-class Americans struggling today. There are the people who can't find work or can't work as many hours as they'd like. And there are full-time workers who can't seem to get ahead.
In Tuesday's State of the Union and its response, there wasn't much for either group — at least when it comes to their biggest problem.
Both speeches talked about the need for faster economic growth. There was a time that would have been enough. But not today.
Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in France
By Catherine Lagrange and Marion Douet
LYON/PARIS | Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:29pm EST
(Reuters) - A French court on Monday declared U.S. biotech giant Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides.
In the first such case heard in court in France, grain grower Paul Francois, 47, says he suffered neurological problems including memory loss, headaches and stammering after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weedkiller in 2004.
Keystone pipeline protesters arrested at White House
By Zack Colman - TheHill.com
With chants of "Hey, Obama, we don't want no climate drama" urging them on, about 50 activists were arrested outside the White House on Wednesday while protesting the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.
Among those taken into custody were actress Daryl Hannah and civil-rights activist and former politician Julian Bond.
WTI-Brent Spread to Grow as Oil Inventories
at Cushing Increase Seaway Pipeline or Garden Hose
By Dian L. Chu - OilPrice.com
This is hilarious if prices weren`t so damn high, but despite a robust export market for finished products, crude oil is backing up all the way to Cushing, Oklahoma, and is only going to get worse in 2013.
Now that Enterprise Products Partners LLP has let the cat out of the bag that less than a month after expanding the Seaway pipeline capacity to 400,000 barrels per day, The Jones Creek terminal has storage capacity of 2.6 million barrels, and it is basically maxed out in available storage.
How bad would capacity constraints be without a booming export market?
The End Game for Oil & Gas Juniors:
Interview with Chris Cooper
By James Stafford - OilPrice.com
The oil and gas game can be a tricky one for junior companies, but if played right the pay-off can be massive. At a time when juniors are risking a lot in volatile venues in the Middle East and Africa, Canada's Aroway Energy (ARW) is planting its feet firmly in homeland soil and in conventional plays.
Why? Because for the smaller juniors this is not a long-term game??? and blowing all your capital to drill a single unconventional well in a risky frontier won't pay off. Canada still has plenty to offer for juniors, even though you have to kiss plenty of frogs to find the prince. The end game, after all, is merger and acquisition.
In an exclusive interview with Oilprice.com, Aroway CEO Chris Cooper discusses:
• How to make or break a junior oil and gas company
• Why rail is becoming more attractive than pipeline transit
• Why most juniors won't make it big in risky frontiers
• Why Keystone XL will get the green light
• Why oil and gas prices will increase
• Why the smaller juniors will stick to the conventional plays
• How the asset market is heating up … and what is ideal
• Why having control of infrastructure is key to success
• Where Canada's oil and gas industry will be in a decade
• What every junior's goal should be
Super Majors Need to Step Up Their Oil Game
By Jen Alic - OilPrice.com
The oil super majors haven't done anything terribly impressive in the past five years—a period that has seen the juniors shine in places like Iraqi Kurdistan, and even in Texas.
This is what happened in the late 1990s to create the super majors we have today:
• BP Plc (NYSE: BP)took over Amoco and Arco
• Exxon (NYSE: XOM)acquired Mobil
• Total SA acquired Fina and Elf
• Conoco (NYSE: COP)and Phillips merged
• Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Texaco merged
* * * * *
Welcome to the Malware-Industrial Complex The U.S. government is developing new computer weapons and driving a black market in "zero-day" bugs. The result could be a more dangerous Web for everyone.
By Tom Simonite - MIT TechnologyReview.com
Every summer, computer security experts get together in Las Vegas for Black Hat and DEFCON, conferences that have earned notoriety for presentations demonstrating critical security holes discovered in widely used software. But while the conferences continue to draw big crowds, regular attendees say the bugs unveiled haven't been quite so dramatic in recent years.
One reason is that a freshly discovered weakness in a popular piece of software, known in the trade as a "zero-day" vulnerability because the software makers have had no time to develop a fix, can be cashed in for much more than a reputation boost and some free drinks at the bar. Information about such flaws can command prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from defense contractors, security agencies and governments.
US cybersecurity plan aimed at keeping China
out of America's networks
AP - FOXNews.com
President Barack Obama signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at helping protect the computer networks of crucial American industries from cyberattacks and prodded Congress to enact legislation that would go even further.
Senior administration officials said Obama's order calls for the development of voluntary standards to protect the computer systems that run critical sectors of the economy like the banking, power and transportation industries. It also directs U.S. defense and intelligence agencies to share classified threat data with those companies.
Obama cybersecurity order welcomed
as step forward by internet activists Plans outlined in president's state of the union, while broad, are hailed by activists as being 'about best we could hope for'
By Amanda Holpuch - Guardian.co.uk
President Barack Obama introduced a cybersecurity executive order in his state of the union address that offered a broad outline of how the government plans to deal with cyber threats.
The eight-page document outlines a process that allows government agencies to work with private industry to combat cyber threats, while seemingly addressing concerns of citizen privacy. Past legislative attempts at cybersecurity have been criticized by groups who believe bills like Cispa violate privacy by allowing information-sharing between private industry and the government.
NASA Join with the ESA in Search for Dark Energy
By Brian Westenhaus - OilPrice.com
The matter we see around us such as houses and trees, people and pets, and all the stars and galaxies make up only a few percent of everything in our cosmos. If you could fill a bucket with the mass and the energy content of our universe, the visible matter would fill only a small fraction. A larger amount, about 24 percent, would consist of dark matter, an invisible substance that does not reflect or emit any detectable light, but exerts a gravitational tug on other matter.
The majority of a universe kind of bucket, about 73 percent, is thought to be filled with dark energy, something even more mysterious than dark matter. Whereas dark matter can be detected as it pulls using gravity, dark energy is thought to be a repulsive force pushing matter apart. Scientists think dark energy may be responsible for stretching our universe apart at ever increasing speeds, a bewildering but factual observation that earned a Nobel Prize in 2011.
Print and fire: 3D printing could muzzle new gun laws
By Perry Chiaramonte - FOXNews
Gun owners who can't buy high capacity ammo magazines because of new laws have another option: Print them.
Gun control measures passed or proposed in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre have targeted magazines that can feed 30 rounds or more into the firing chambers of AR-15s and other semi-automatic guns. New York has banned magazines holding more than seven rounds, and a federal bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
Handgun permits to be exempted
from records requests under Virginia House vote
By David Sherfinski-The Washington Times
The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would exempt concealed handgun permits from public record requests, a response to a New York newspaper's recent publication of an interactive map of concealed-carry permit holders' names and addresses.
"When a New York newspaper published an interactive map of concealed carry permit-holders on their website, people across the country were rightly shocked," said Sen. Mark Obenshain, Harrisonburg Republican and the bill's sponsor. "That New York newspaper map treated law-abiding gun owners like criminals and, what's worse, it put people in danger."
Economics of Obama's Liberal Agenda The Economics Behind Obama's
Unapologetically Liberal Second-Term Agenda A higher minimum wage and universal pre-K might sound like hackneyed progressive goals. But they're supported by broad economic research -- and common sense.
By Heather Boushey, TheAtlantic.com
Last night, President Obama laid out his vision "to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a rising, thriving middle class." At first blush, talking about a thriving middle class may seem like an old, hackneyed idea. We often hear politicians talk about how they believe that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules should be able to live the middle class dream.
But the argument that Obama made last night was not the traditional one. It was rather, an ambitious and strikingly brainy argument. It built on a growing body of economic evidence showing how a strong middle class and less income inequality aren't just nice-sounding goals, but also the keystone for long-term economic growth in a developed economy.
The Real State of the Union
BY DAVID KOTOK - FinancialSense.com
"The gap between small and large business surveys is unprecedented and is worrisome because the small business sector tends to drive domestic job growth." BCA research, Daily Insights, February 12, 2013. For details see: bcaresearch.com.
BCA updated their series that compares the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey with the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey. For two decades the surveys tracked each other closely. NFIB asks if this is a "good time to expand." ISM compiles a "new order" index. Now, these two series have a wider divergence than at any time in modern history. ISM is in a declining trend. NFIB is low-level and flat. Neither series is encouraging.
Obama embraces the audacity of freedom
By E.J. Dionne Jr. - WashingtonPost.com
President Obama is a freer man than he has been at any point in his presidency. He is free from the need to save an economy close to collapse, from illusions that Republicans in Congress would work with him readily, from the threat of a rising tea party movement and from the need to win reelection.
This sense of freedom gave his State of the Union address an energy, an ease and a specificity that were lacking in earlier speeches written with an eye toward immediate political needs. It was his most Democratic State of the Union, unapologetic in channeling the love Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson had for placing long lists of initiatives on the nation's agenda. Obama sees his second term not as a time of consolidation but as an occasion for decisively changing the direction of our politics.
Obama's Agenda Seen as Dead in the Water by Republicans
By James Rowley & Roxana Tiron - Bloomberg.com
President Barack Obama last night called for a higher minimum wage and stricter gun laws, proposed making preschool available to all 4-year-olds, and asked Congress to rewrite U.S. immigration law.
Today Republicans in Congress made clear that little of it will happen.
House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and rank-and-file Republicans opposed many of the details Obama set out in his second-term agenda in his State of the Union address to Congress. They signaled that the political fights of the past aren't over yet.
Obama's agenda is simple — take more of your money
By Charles Hurt - WashingtonTimes.com
The state of our union, President Obama now tells us with "renewed" confidence, is "stronger."
Stronger than what, exactly? The deepest bowels of a recession?
"There is much progress to report," he says, dreamily.
Tell that to the millions of Americans who are still unemployed.
Tell that to the broken taxpayers who have shouldered the burdens of all his bailouts and government schemes-gone-bust.
FAA official: No armed drones in U.S.
By Ben Wolfgang-The Washington Times
MCLEAN, Va. — A top official with the Federal Aviation Administration reassured the public on Wednesday that, despite the fear and paranoia of some, no armed drones will be permitted to fly in U.S. airspace.
"We currently have rules in the books that deal with releasing anything from an aircraft, period. Those rules are in place and that would prohibit weapons from being installed on a civil aircraft," said Jim Williams, head of the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office, in an address to the drone industry's leading trade group meeting this week in Northern Virginia.
Chinese Troop Movements Signal War?
NTDTV.org
Tanks, one by one, moving along a main road in China's coastal Fujian province. Driving up speculations that the Chinese military may be warming up for war.
Local residents took these pictures between February 3 to February 6. At times, the line of tanks and artillery blocked traffic for several miles.
And it wasn't just in Fujian province. These military vehicles were spotted further up the coast, in neighboring Zhejiang province. According to dissident website, molihua.org, these tanks in Hubei province are being transported from a military base to the coast.
Egypt floods Gaza tunnels to cut Palestinian lifeline
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA | Wed Feb 13, 2013 12:15pm EST
(Reuters) - Egyptian forces have flooded smuggling tunnels under the border with the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip in a campaign to shut them down, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said.
The network of tunnels is a vital lifeline for Gaza, bringing in an estimated 30 percent of all goods that reach the enclave and circumventing a blockade imposed by Israel for more than seven years.
Frustrated Turkey still wants EU entry, but maybe not euro
By Mohammed Abbas
LONDON | Wed Feb 13, 2013 2:14pm EST
(Reuters) - Turkey is committed to joining the European Union despite mounting frustration over decades of talks on the issue, but has little appetite for adopting the euro currency, a senior Turkish official said on Wednesday.
In a speech in London, Turkey's chief negotiator on EU accession said it was time the EU made up its mind on whether Turkey can join the 27-member bloc, and said it should be allowed in even if some countries object.
Pyongyang conducts 3rd nuclear test Seoul says strength same as in 2009,
North claims bombs were 'miniaturized'
Korea JoongAng Daily
North Korea conducted its third nuclear weapons test yesterday, about two months after it successfully launched a long-range ballistic rocket that sparked international condemnation and tougher sanctions.
The official Korean Central News Agency released a report saying, "Our national space science sector has successfully carried out a third underground nuclear test at the northern underground nuclear test site on Feb. 12.
North Korea and Iran – partners
in nuclear and missile programs
DEBKAfile
There is full awareness in Washington and Jerusalem that the North Korean nuclear test conducted Tuesday, Feb. 12, brings Iran that much closer to conducting a test of its own. A completed bomb or warhead are not necessary for an underground nuclear test; a device which an aircraft or missile can carry is enough.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's boast this week that Iran will soon place a satellite in orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers - and Tehran's claim on Feb. 4 to have sent a monkey into space – highlight Iran's role in the division of labor Pyongyang and Tehran have achieved in years of collaboration: the former focusing on a nuclear armament and the latter on long-range missile technology to deliver it.
Keeping Calm on North Korea
By Gareth Evans - Project-Syndicate.org
CANBERRA – North Korea's latest nuclear test is bad news, both for Northeast Asia and for a world that needs to reduce its reliance on nuclear weapons. But international overreaction – with responses that raise rather than lower the temperature, and push the region closer to a nuclear arms race – would make bad news even worse.
"Keep Calm and Carry On" – as the British government famously urged its citizens in 1939 – is advice that often lends itself to parody. But it is what needs to happen now.
U.S. gold bars and coins
find new home overseas on Asian demand
By Frank Tang - Reuters.com
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Booming demand for gold as a store of wealth among Asian investors is driving physical gold bars and coins out of the United States and into Asia. A growing number of gold vaults for affluent Asians and new precious metals investment products, particularly exchange-traded funds, have led to an exodus of gold owned privately from the United States into emerging economic powers such as China.
The Case for Silver Outpacing Gold
Miguel Perez-Santalla | SlverSeek.com
A LOT OF TALK on the web right now says silver is significantly undervalued versus gold.
Many of these pundits and talking heads like to point to the historical relationship between gold and silver prices, sometimes known as the "ratio". People even comment as to this connection as far back as thousands of years ago. Let's take a quick look at this.
Silver, thousands of years ago, was originally thought of greater value than gold, both because it was relatively scarce in great civilizations such as the Egyptians, and because it was easier to work into useful materials. Both silver and gold have been used abundantly for ornamentation and as a thing of beauty in homes, temples and palaces. Then of course as jewelry their beauty was very much esteemed.
Physical Silver The Investment Of The Decade
GoldSilverWorlds.com
We just attended a webinar organized by Eric Sprott and his respected partners John Embry and Rick Rule. These are well-known names within the precious metals community, partly because of their huge success but also because of their physical trusts (ETF's) which guarantee full backing of the precious metals.
In the introduction, Eric Sprott made the point that the crisis is not over, although media and officials pretend so. There are many events that point to the fact the crisis is not solved. Think about the large Italian bank Monte Paschi which was bailed out because of their derivatives bets, the Dutch SNS Bank which was bailed out a weekend ago, the currency devaluations in Venezuela and Japan, etc. Linking this to gold, Eric Sprott said: "The people in Venezuela that held gold instead of cash or money in the bank did not suffer the devaluation, neither did the people in Japan."
Lew Tells Senate U.S. Must Avoid
Self-Inflicted Sequester Wounds
By Meera Louis & Ian Katz - Bloomberg.com
U.S. Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew says the U.S. must avoid the automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect next month, saying they would impose "self-inflicted wounds" on economic expansion.
Lew was commenting in written testimony prepared for tomorrow's hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, which is considering his nomination to succeed Timothy F. Geithner as head of the Treasury Department. The prepared testimony was obtained by Bloomberg News.
Union leaders denounce sequestration at DC rally:
'They want to see us bleed'
By Kevin Bogardus - TheHill.com
Union members took to the streets of Washington on Tuesday to denounce the automatic spending cuts from sequestration that are set to force furloughs across the federal government.
Leaders of the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) rallied workers on Capitol Hill who will likely see lost pay if the sequester takes effect.
Don't Be Fooled By DJIA Hitting Record Highs The Dow at 14,000: not as good as gold
By Seth Lipsky, New York Post
What an illuminating week for Wall Street — the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been bobbling just above and below the record high 14,000 mark, even as the country comes to grip with the reports that its economy has actually been slumping, with GDP shrinking 0.1 percent in the last quarter of 2012.
The Obama administration is trying to put a bright face on things — but the rest of us feel like we're smoking more now and enjoying it less.
Who Will Win The Currency Wars?
by James Gruber - ZeroHedge.com
As debate about potential currency wars heats up, commentators including myself have called out the likely losers, the Japanese yen and South Korean won being high on most lists. Much less discussed has been which countries will win from the currency wars. After all, the currency market is a zero-sum game - as one currency declines, another must go up. In this issue, I'm going to suggest that Singapore and to a lesser extent, Thailand and Malaysia, will be relative winners. And I'm also going to explain why some supposed currency safe havens - including Australia, China, Canada, Switzerland and Norway - are unlikely to perform as well.
Will Currency Wars End With A Return To The Gold Standard?
By Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Gold continues to flow from the west to east. Reuters reports that U.S. Commerce Department data showed U.S. exports of nonmonetary gold, which excludes central bank transactions, climbed by 43% to $4 billion in December from the prior month.
That's the highest total and the largest month-on-month jump in U.S. private gold exports since September 2011, when gold rallied to a record nominal high over $1,920/oz. Hong Kong accounted for nearly half of the $4 billion.
G7 pledges no currency war Add to ...
MICHAEL BABAD - The Globe and Mail
G7 promises no currency action
Finance officials from the Group of 7 pledged today not to engage in a currency war, responding to mounting pressure amid volatility in the currency markets and fears of deliberate devaluation.
The G7 finance minister and central bank chiefs said their actions on the monetary and fiscal policy fronts will be aimed at bolstering their economies, not driving down the value of their currencies.
There Is No World Currency War
By Larry Kudlow - RealClearMarkets.com
All this chatter about a so-called global currency war is utter nonsense. All that is happening is the Japanese are wisely taking steps to increase liquidity and depreciate their vastly overpriced yen. They are doing this in order to avoid deeper and deeper deflation. That deflation will sink the Japanese economy for years to come if remedial actions are not taken.
Among all the big economies, none needs quantitative easing more than Japan's. All the Japanese have done so far is make cheap loans to banks, but with no concerted QE. But QEis coming this spring, when Prime Minster Abe appoints a new Bank of Japan head man.
Group of Seven Roils Currency Markets
With Split on Yen Concerns
By Simon Kennedy & Gonzalo Vina - Bloomberg.com
Group of Seven policy makers roiled the currency markets they sought to calm amid conflicting messages on how much of an economic threat is posed by the weakening yen.
The yen whipsawed as the G-7 appeared at first to signal joint acceptance of the Japanese currency's recent decline, only to see its members offer contradictory interpretations of the group's stance. One G-7 official said there is concern about excessive moves in the yen, while the U.K. said the group wasn't singling out an individual country or exchange rate.
The Very Best War in the World How so-called "currency wars" could boost the global economy.
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
Two years ago, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega delighted headline writers around the world by warning that quantitative easing and other stimulative monetary policy measuresrisked unleashing "currency wars" upon the world. Shinzo Abe's election in Japan and François Hollande's worries about the risks of an overvalued euro to the French economy have restarted the drumbeats of currency war. Mantega himself is issuing more dire warnings; Societe Generale foreign exchange strategists are warning that "it's hard to see what concrete steps can be taken" to halt them; and in the Weekly Standard Irwin Stelzer warns that "Lenin would be cheering the currency wars" as a step on the road to destroying capitalism.
Is the euro zone crisis really over?
By: Clif Droke - GoldSeek.com
Many investors are wondering what has been behind the relentless rally in stock prices. Look no further than corporate profits.
Consider that in the third quarter of 2013, corporate earnings were $1.75 trillion, up 18.6% from a year ago. That took after-tax profits to their greatest percentage of GDP in history. For the most recent quarter, earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 4.7 percent, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season. See earnings chart shown below.
Art Cashin Previews The February 15
Close Encounter Of A Meteor Kind
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
While UBS' Art Cashin sees the 'uptrend' in stocks as largely in tact, though warns of the start of what appears to be a stalling formation, there is another 'bigger' potential crash on his mind. Having survived the Mayan apocalypse, and a Papal resignation, our home planet is due for a record setting space encounter on Friday (Feb. 15) of this week... which means it is now too late to even send Bruce Willis (or better yet, Bob Pisani) into space for an Armageddon sequel. We are told to keep calm and carry on - Bernanke-like "there is nothing to worry about", but no known asteroid has traveled this close to earth in recorded history. Let's hope the slide rule guys have it nailed - or the grand central planner.
Bonds: So Much More Dangerous Than You Think
By Morgan Housel - The Motley Fool
You may not have noticed it, but bonds haven't done well lately. Since last July, the iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Fund has lost 2% of its value, while a version that invests in bonds with longer maturities has lost more than 7% (both include interest payments). With the yield on 10-year Treasuries rising from 1.5% last summer to about 2% today, many are realizing for the first time that it's possible to lose money investing in bonds.
But here's what's unnerving: Shown in historical context, the rise in yields since last summer is so irrelevant that it's hardly visible (far right corner):
TARP: The bailout success story that wasn't Wall Street's bailout sinkhole keeps sinking
By David Weidner, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — About those bank bailouts ...
Remember the Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known as TARP? When we last heard from the Treasury Department, on Jan. 23, TARP was being wound down. It was, in the estimation of Timothy Geithner & Co., a success: 93% of the $418 billion disbursed had been collected including $70 billion last year.
But hold the Champagne. It ain't over till it's over.
The idea that TARP is somehow a wash because a few banks repaid the bailouts with interest is misleading. The reality is that bailed-out firms essentially wrote off their losses on taxes. As of Dec. 30, TARP was still owed $67.3 billion, including $27 billion in realized losses — which is to say, that money is gone and is never coming back.
Underwater Homes Remain a Dark Spot in the Recovery
By Steve Yoder, Fiscal Times
When Sally Herigstad and her husband wanted to buy a house recently in their Seattle suburb, they ran into some unfriendly numbers. They owe the bank about $360,000 on their existing home, but a sale would bring in only the low to mid-$300's: they'd have to close the deal with a big check. So the couple went ahead and bought the house they wanted--and then rented the first. Still, Sally finds being a landlord a hassle. "If I could sell it and get my money out, I'd do it today," she says of the first home.
Underwater Homes Remain a Dark Spot in the Recovery
By Steve Yoder, Fiscal Times
When Sally Herigstad and her husband wanted to buy a house recently in their Seattle suburb, they ran into some unfriendly numbers. They owe the bank about $360,000 on their existing home, but a sale would bring in only the low to mid-$300's: they'd have to close the deal with a big check. So the couple went ahead and bought the house they wanted--and then rented the first. Still, Sally finds being a landlord a hassle. "If I could sell it and get my money out, I'd do it today," she says of the first home.
FHA MAY NEED BAILOUT
by WILLIAM BIGELOW - Breitbart.com
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) may have to borrowmoney from the U.S. Treasury in order to survive, which would be unprecedented. The FHA was created in 1934 and has always been solvent, but it guaranteed too many loans during the recession that fell apart. As a result, the FHA is $16 billion in the red.
The FHA insures lenders in case they incur losses on their loans. The situation is not as dire as the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle, which cost $137 billion to bail out. Although the FHA requires mortgage seekers to prove they can meet the monthly mortgage fee, there is still a problem: down payments only have to reach 3.5%. This low rate caused lenders to flock to the FHA when private markets dried up. In addition, the FHA, from 2007 to 2009, let home sellers offer "gifts" of down payments to prospective buyers.
Your New Landlord Works on Wall Street Hedge funds are snatching up rental homes at an alarming rate
BY DAVID DAYEN - NewRepublic.com
Housing analysts have been giddy for the past year about the comeback of their industry, whose collapse led to the Great Recession. Sure, 2012 was actually the third-worst year for housing ever—but it still beat 2010 and 2011. New and existing home sales, housing starts, and prices jumped in 2012, and experts expect an even stronger recovery for 2013.
It's clear why people are so excited: Housing typically leads economic recoveries. As more people build equity in their homes, they feel more free to spend disposable income and increase economic activity, a phenomenon known as the "wealth effect." So a bullish outlook for housing would seemingly augur a long-awaited recovery to Main Street. But the more you look into it, the clearer it becomes that it's not being driven by the typical American families who lost their homes in the economic crash. In fact, it's being fueled by the banks and hedge funds whose speculation caused that crash in the first place.
Let us Prey
By Cal Thomas - PatriotPost.us
Our politics have become so polarized and corrupted that a president of the United States cannot even attend an event devoted to drawing people closer to God and bridge partisan and cultural divides without being lectured about his policies.
Last Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., Dr. Ben Carson, director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and a 2008 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, broke with a 61-year-old tradition and publicly disagreed with some of the president's policies, such as "Obamacare," taxation and the national debt. Disclosure: I have attended this event since 1971 and host a dinner the night before for members of the media.
U.S. states worry about weakening sales tax collections
by Lisa Lambert
(Reuters) - Only about a third of U.S. states were on target for their sales tax collections in January, part of a trend that has some officials worried, an economic newsletter, The Liscio Report, said on Tuesday.
All but five states collect sales taxes, and for those that do, the surcharges on purchases can provide a solid revenue source.
Americans Simply Don't Like Electric Cars The electric car mistake
By Charles Lane, Washington Post
The Obama administration's electric-car fantasy finally may have died on the road between Newark, Del., and Milford, Conn.
The New York Times's John M. Broder reported Friday that the Tesla Model S electric car he was test-driving repeatedly ran out of juice, partly because cold weather reduces the battery's range by about 10 percent.
As U.S. gasoline prices soar, hedge fund oil bets near record
By Cezary Podkul and David Sheppard
NEW YORK | Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:15pm EST
(Reuters) - U.S. motorists searching for someone to blame for the highest gasoline prices ever at this time of year have an easy target: hedge funds who have been quietly amassing winning bets on hundreds of millions of barrels of oil.
At a filling station in Midtown New York last week, several people were prepared to blame traders on Wall Street as they paid more than $4 per gallon to fill up their cars.
Crashing the Broadband Party
By Bret Swanson, Contributor - Forbes.com
Last month, Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a challenge. By 2015, he urged, each state should boast at least one "Gigabit City," where residents enjoy broadband links transmitting data at a gigabit per second — "100 times faster than today's average connection" of 10 megabits per second.
It's not an unworthy goal. Yet, would you believe most of the nation's homes already enjoy gigabit data connections?
Phone subsidies cost Americans $2.2 billion a year,
much of it wasted
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Taxpayers spent an estimated $2.2 billion to give phones to those with low incomes in 2012 — but some shouldn't have received them. According to one report, a large number of program participants may have received phones even though they didn't meet income limits.
The government's Lifeline telephone provision program started in 1984 but has grown substantially, from $819 million in payouts in 2008 to more than $2 billion in 2012, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Federal Communications Commission tightened eligibility rules and proof of income requirements in 2012, and in the subsequent months, service carriers have reported a large number of program dropouts.
Spammers Target Taxpayers Expecting Tax Refunds
By Kelly Phillips Erb, Contributor - Forbes.com
Ugh.
Now that tax season is in full swing, the spammers and schemers are out in force. I received four emails today alone purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service, all of which were spam. Most of them were rehashed emails (of the "canceled by your banking institution" variety, asking for new banking information). One, however, was new to me this season: "Income Tax Refund NOT ACCEPTED."
Here's what it looks like:
Google Moves to Destroy Online Anonymity …
Unintentionally Helping Authoritarian Governments
By Global Research News and Washington's Blog
….But governments – especially authoritarian governments – hate anonymity.
A soon-to-be-released book by Google executive Eric Schmidt - called "The New Digital Age" – describes the desire of authoritarian governments to destroy anonymity. The Wall Street Journalprovides an excerpt:
Some governments will consider it too risky to have thousands of anonymous, untraceable and unverified citizens — "hidden people"; they'll want to know who is associated with each online account, and will require verification at a state level, in order to exert control over the virtual world.
Last December, China started requiring all web users to register using their real names.
But the U.S. is quickly moving in the same direction. As Gene Howington reported last year:
Do you have a right to anonymous political free speech?
According to the Supreme Court, you do. According to the Department of Homeland Security, you don't. They've hired General Dynamics to track U.S. citizens exercising this critical civil right.
Eric Schmidt Confirms Identity Verification
Impacts Google Rankings
by Michelle Stinson Ross - SearchEngineJournal.com
Sneak peeks into the soon to be released book, "The New Digital Age", by Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt, confirm what many industry writers have been passionately clattering away about for months now. Google+ is an identity verification network. As the network continues to grow, content associated with a verified identity will rise to the top of Google search rankings.
GALLUP: AMERICANS DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA POLICY
ON NEARLY EVERY ISSUE
by TONY LEE - Breitbart.com
President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday to a nation that disapproves of the way he is handling nearly every issue, including gun control and the federal deficit.
According to a Gallup poll, 42% of Americans approve of Obama's gun policies while 54% disapprove.
On taxes, 41% approve and 57% disapprove. On the economy, 39% approve and 60% disapprove. On "the situation in the Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians," 36% approve and 55% disapprove.
Sebelius: Healthcare 'getting stronger'
By Elise Viebeck - TheHill.com
Innovations in care delivery and President Obama's signature health law are transforming American medicine for the better, the top U.S. health official said Tuesday.
In wide-ranging remarks to a medical conference in Washington, D.C., Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius thanked physicians for tolerating the challenges of a changing U.S. healthcare system.
Obama seen likely to urge Congress
to pass cybersecurity laws in State of the Union address
Nonetheless, the President is likely to issue an executive order Wednesday to implement for voluntary cybersecurity standards
By Jaikumar Vijayan - Computerworld.com
Computerworld - President Obama could use tonight's State of the Union address to continue a push for new cybersecurity legislation, even as he's widely expected to issue an executive order Wednesday to impose rules aimed at protecting critical infrastructure targets, security experts say.
The long-expected executive order stems from what the White House has long said is the need for immediate action to protect critical assets against cyber threats because of Congress' continued failure to pass legislation.
Courting Disaster A new idea to limit drone strikes could actually legitimize them
BY JEFFREY ROSEN - NewRepublic.com
On Sunday, Robert Gates, the former Pentagon chief for Presidents Obama and Bush, endorsed an idea that has been floated by Democratic lawmakers in the wake of John O. Brennan's confirmation hearings to be CIA Director: a drone court that would review the White House's targeted killings of American citizens linked to al Qaida. The administration has signaled its openness to the idea of a congressionally created drone court, which would be modeled on the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that reviews requests for warrants authorizing the surveillance of suspected spies or terrorists. But although senators at the Brennan hearings were rightly concerned about targeted killings operating without any judicial or congressional oversight, the proposed drone court would raise as many constitutional and legal questions as it resolved. And it would give a congressional and judicial stamp of approval to a program whose effectiveness, morality, and constitutionality are open to serious questions. Rather than rushing to create a drone court, Congress would do better to hold hearings about whether targeted drone killings are, in fact, morally, constitutionally, and pragmatically defensible in the first place.
American Catholicism is at crossroads
By Marc Fisher - WashingtonPost.com
As the church suddenly faces an unexpected transition, American Catholicism is shrinking in size and splitting into two often harshly opposing camps — growing more polarized in faith, just as the nation has divided itself politically and socially.
The sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the U.S. church, along with its hard-line stands on celibate priests, homosexuality and ordaining women, have pushed many Americans away from the church, which is still the nation's largest single denomination.
Panel votes to approve Hagel
By Jeremy Herb - TheHill.com
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 14-11 Tuesday to approve former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination as Defense secretary after a lengthy meeting that featured sharp exchanges about compensation the nominee has received for speaking engagements.
The party-line vote sends Hagel's (R-Neb.) nomination to the floor for a vote by the entire Senate this week.
Syrian air base falls, Assad forces under pressure
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
AMMAN | Tue Feb 12, 2013 5:59pm EST
(Reuters) - Syrian opposition fighters captured a military airport near the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday in another military setback for President Bashar al-Assad's forces which have come under intensifying attack across the country.
The airport is the latest military facility to fall under rebel control in a strategic region situated between Syria's industrial and commercial center and the country's oil- and wheat-producing heartland to the east.
Iran calls for the destruction of all nuclear weapons
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Just hours after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test, Iran officials have called on world powers to abolish all nuclear weapons.
"We need to come to the point where no country has any nuclear weapons and at the same time all weapons of mass destruction and nuclear arms need to be destroyed," said Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, in a Times of Israel report. He added: Countries should still have the right to develop nuclear programs for peaceable uses, the report continues.
New Iran centrifuges
could shorten path to atomic bomb: Netanyahu
By Ori Lewis
JERUSALEM | Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:02pm EST
(Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that new centrifuges Iran was installing for its uranium enrichment program could cut by a third the time needed to create a nuclear bomb.
As Iran and world powers prepare to resume talks aimed at easing a dispute that has raised fears of a new Middle East war, Tehran announced late last month it planned to install the new machines at its main enrichment plant.
North Korea nuclear test draws global condemnation;
U.N. convenes
By Ashish Kumar Sen-The Washington Times
The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting Tuesday morning in New York to deal with North Korea's third nuclear test, which President Obama called a "highly provocative act" that "undermines regional stability."
"The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants further swift and credible action by the international community," Mr. Obama said. "We will strengthen close coordination with allies and partners and work with our Six-Party partners, the United Nations Security Council, and other U.N. member states to pursue firm action."
North Korea stages nuclear test in defiance of bans Regime confirms it set off its third nuclear bomb, signalled by an earthquake detected by South Korea, Japan and the US
By Justin McCurry in Tokyo
and Tania Branigan in Beijing - Guardian.co.uk
North Korea has drawn widespread condemnation after conducting a nuclear test in defiance of international bans – a development signalled by an earthquake detected in the country and later confirmed by the regime.
The test, which took place in the north-east of the country just before noon local time, could bring North Korea a step closer to developing a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile and possibly bringing the west coast of the US within striking distance.
North Korea conducts nuclear test
North Korea conducts nuclear test in what they say was "an act of self-defence against US hostility."
Obama vows swift action over nuclear tests
but North Korea remains defiant President to address Pyongyang's 'highly provocative' actions in state of the union speech following emergency UN meeting
By Chris McGreal in Washington - Guardian.co.uk
Barack Obama has vowed to take "swift and credible action" over North Korea's "highly provocative" nuclear test which appeared to bring Pyongyang closer to producing a viable weapon.
The United Nations security council held an emergency meeting in New York on Tuesday morning to "strongly condemn" Pyongyang's most powerful underground blast to date as a "clear threat to international peace and security".
American Official: 'Very Possible that the North Koreans
Are Testing' for Iran
BY DANIEL HALPER - WeeklyStandard.com
An unnamed "senior American official" suggests that North Korea is not just testing nukes for itself, but also for (and possibly with) the Iranians. The New York Times reports:
No country is more interested in the results of the North's nuclear program, or the Western reaction, than Iran, which is pursuing its own uranium enrichment program. The two countries have long cooperated on missile technology, and many intelligence officials believe they share nuclear knowledge as well, though so far there is no hard evidence.
U.S., Asian allies look for leverage
against North Korea after nuclear test
By Anne Gearan and Colum Lynch - WashingtonPost.com
The North Korean underground nuclear test confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies on Tuesday served as a stark reminder that the unpredictable and largely inscrutable government remains a wild card for President Obama's second term — a nuclear threat to U.S. allies in Asia and a potential arms merchant to the highest bidder.
The timing of the nuclear test was interpreted in Washington as an attempt by North Korea's young new leader to upstage Obama before his State of the Union address. And the claim that it involved a smaller, lighter device — an important element of any deliverable weapon— suggested that the demonstration could be the most dangerous yet by Pyongyan
Few Korea hands on Obama administration's
Asia leadership team
By Josh Rogin ForeignPolicy.com
As the world wakes up to the reality of a heightened crisis with North Korea following its latest nuclear test, the Obama administration finds itself with remarkably few Korea experts at the top of its Asia policy team.
North Korea confirmed Monday it had detonated a nuclear bomb for the third time, blatantly disregarding United Nations resolutions and the repeated warnings of the international community. The U.N. Security Council scrambled to call a Tuesday meeting on the incident and U.S. President Barack Obama issued a strongly worded statement of condemnation early Tuesday morning.
China's patience with North Korea
wears thin after latest nuclear test China may agree to stiffer sanctions or reduce aid to Pyongyang but is unlikely to cut off its long-time ally, say analysts
By Tania Branigan in Beijing - Guardian.co.uk
China is likely to agree to new or tightened economic sanctions on North Korea or possibly curb its own assistance as its frustration with its ally grows, experts believe.
China summoned the North Korean ambassador and delivered a stern protest, and as after previous tests, the foreign ministry called for a calm reaction and denuclearisation talks. However, it stopped short of the harsh criticism it unleashed in 2006 when it described the North's first nuclear test as "brazen".
UN Meets After North Korea Nuclear Test The UN Security Council is holding urgent talks after the latest nuclear test as Pyongyang calls on troops to prepare for combat.
Sky.com
The UN Security Council has opened emergency talks on North Korea's nuclear test, as world powers made calls for swift action against Pyongyang.
The 15-nation council passed a resolution last month threatening "significant action" against North Korea in the event of a new nuclear test or missile launch.
The meeting comes after North Korea confirmed on Tuesday that it carried out a third nuclear test. Monitoring agencies had earlier reported an "unusual seismic event".
North Korea is a serious threat to U.S., says American Defence Secretary Panetta after secretive state's successful nuclear test
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
President Obama has condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test as a 'highly provocative act' and pledged swift international action to bring the rogue communist regime in line.
Today's detonation - which has prompted fears the secretive state is moving closer to mounting a nuclear device on a missile - came hours before Obama's State of the Union address, in which he was expected to touch on U.S. denuclearisation plans.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta today warned Pentagon staff of the 'serious threat to the United States of America' posed by North Korea.
Ron Paul: "6,000 Years of History,
Gold Is Always Money, Paper Money Fails"
BY MARK O'BYRNE - FinancialSense.com
….Ron Paul spoke with Bloomberg television (see video in Commentary) and said that we are in a currency war and we have been for decades. He noted that governments have always competed against each other's currencies even under Bretton Woods. It has always been a form or protectionism and will make people want to export more.
Dr. Paul said don't blame countries like China and Japan just look at the debt the U.S. is buying. There will always be currency wars. The Bank of Japan claims it has to defend itself against deflation and decades of slow growth.
Pitched Currency War & USDollar Rejection
BY JIM WILLIE - FinancialSense.com
Friend of gold Jim Sinclair, and executive to a mining firm with interests in Tanzania, put it so well. He captures the theme of this article when he said, "It is the constant drop in the dollar's usage as a contract mechanism internationally. No one sees this but it is the Hammer of Thor on the head of the dollar." The rejection of the USDollar in global trade will mean the end of the abused privilege in a currency turned toxic. Its rejection is the marquee event in the financial world for 2013, following isolation. It is unstoppable and all-encompassing, certain to have geopolitical consequences, as it alters the economic and financial landscape in harsh ways much like a band of violent marauders brandishing machetes alter the neckline of their victims. See the Tonton Macoute in Haiti. The greenback is cornered; it is done!
CBO – The Coming Raid on Social Security
BY BRUCE KRASTING - FinancialSense.com
Every politician in America knows that Social Security (SS) is a third rail. Any Pol who tries to mess with the country's largest and most popular entitlement program is going to have the likes of the AARP coming after them. It's not possible to win an election on a platform that advocates cutting back SS.
With that in mind, I find it interesting to report that a very credible source is now predicting that Obama AND Congress will take action over the next 24 months that will substantially undermine both the long and short-term health of SS. The legislative raid on SS will certainly total in the hundreds of billions, it could top $1T over the next fifteen years.
The Economics and Politics of Taxation
BY JR NYQUIST - FinancialSense.com
Recently, in his annual State of the State Address, California Governor Jerry Brown congratulated the California legislature on balancing the state's budget. How was this done? It was accomplished by budget cuts and tax increases. Standing before the state legislature Brown said, "Against those who take pleasure in seeing our demise, California did the impossible. You, the legislature, did it. You cast difficult votes to cut billions…. Then the citizens of California … embraced the new taxes of Proposition 30 by a healthy margin of 55 to 40 percent."
Conservative Dr. Ben Carson speech
upstages Obama at prayer breakfast
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Move over President Obama. Conservatives are not talking so much about the president's address at Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast, but rather remarks from Dr. Benjamin Carson, a black pediatric neurosurgeon with Johns Hopkins Hospital who took over the stage for 25 riveting minutes.
Mr. Carson spoke of his disdain for political correctness, calling it a "dangerous" and "horrible thing" that has led to such ridiculous fears as wishing people Merry Christmas, according to The Blaze.
Democrat Jan Schakowsky strikes back
at Dr. Ben Carson for prayer breakfast speech
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
It sure didn't take long for Democrats to strike back at Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast remarks made by Dr. Benjamin Carson that took a conservative tack and criticized the national debt and current fiscal tax-and-spend policy.
On a CNN on Sunday, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky accused Dr. Carson of hypocrisy, saying he actually used political correctness — which he had denounced in his speech — for his personal gain.
Driving Doldrums: Gas Prices on the Rise - Again
By Jen Alic -- OilPrice.com
Here we go again—US gas prices are increasing, with AAA putting the average price at around $3.50+, and drivers wondering if they'll ever figure out how to predict prices at the pump. They won't--because even analysts find it challenging.
Let's try to simplify, if only to demonstrate why it's impossible to predict gas prices.
First of all, gas prices rise along with the price of oil, which itself is driven by a number of things, from basic supply and demand to Wall Street speculation and unrest in the Middle East--just for starters.
Banks: G20 must act to avert currency war
By Mark Thompson - CNN.com
LONDON (CNNMoney)
The G20 group of richest nations must act to avoid a currency war and halt a damaging drift toward fragmented regulation, the world's leading banks said Monday.
The Institute of International Finance, representing more than 470 financial firms, warned of the consequences of "possible discord on exchange rates" as countries rely on monetary policy easing to get their economies growing again.
A Carbon Tax may Curb the Rise in Natural Gas Flaring
By Ed Dolan - OilPrice.com
After a few years when the practice was declining, flaring of natural gas is back in the news. (See, for example, Flares take shine off fracking boom in the Financial Timesfor Jan. 27.) Estimates indicate that natural gas flaring accounts for more than 1 percent of all the CO2 that human activity releases into the atmosphere, about as much as the entire country of Spain. The focus of recent attention has been North Dakota, where some 29 percent of all gas that is produced is flared.
Why so much waste of this valuable resource, often touted as the bridge fuel to our clean-energy future, and what can be done about it?
Is Canada Preparing For Keystone XL No Vote?
By Daniel J. Graeber - OilPrice.com
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waded cautiously into the debate surrounding the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline during last week's meetings with his Canadian counterpart. Supporters describe the project as a panacea for a U.S. economy moving further away from overseas oil markets. Opponents, however, view the project as representative of the problems associated with a carbon-heavy economy. Kerry, seen as a supporter of pro-green regulations, said he wasn't getting into the merits of the project, but would make an announcement soon. Provincial leaders in Canada, however, may have already started preparing for a no vote.
G7 expected to issue statement to cool currency rhetoric
Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven nations are considering a statement this week reaffirming their commitment to "market-determined" exchange rates in response to heating rhetoric about a currency war, G20 officials said on Monday.
The language, which could be subject to change, implies that the major powers would not indulge in unilateral currency devaluation and reads very similarly to the last statement issued by the G7 on currencies in 2011.
He Who No Longer Walks on Water Will call for more of the same failed policies.
By ANDREW B. WILSON - Spectator.org
At this stage in our nation's decline, does anyone still care what Barack Obama thinks or says about "the state of the union"?
I think not.
More than 52 million people watched Obama's first State of the Union in 2009. It has been all downhill ever since –– with 48 million viewers in 2010, 43 million in 2011, and just 38 million last year.
That's a decline of 28 percent in four years.
Tax help comes with health insurance advice H&R Block is using customers' 2012 returns to advise them of their options under the Affordable Care Act and possible penalties they can face without insurance.
By Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times
Derrick Bean filed his income taxes at an H&R Block office in Los Angeles this month, and the 26-year-old left with something unexpected: a price quote on federally subsidized health insurance.
Using the information from his 2012 return, a tax advisor told the actor and waiter that he would qualify for significant government help and pay only about $65 a month in premiums under the federal healthcare law. If he skips coverage, H&R Block warned him, he faces a $95 tax penalty next year and $356 the following year.
Obama to propose pay hike for federal workers
By Jennifer Liberto, NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
President Obama plans to propose a 1% pay hike for civilian federal workers in his budget proposal for 2014.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget officials briefed federal labor leaders late Friday on the proposed pay hike.
Food Stamp Rolls in America
Now Surpass the Population of Spain
By Elizabeth Harrington - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) – Since taking office in 2009, food stamp rolls under President Barack Obama have risen to more than 47 million people in America, exceeding the population of Spain.
"Now is the time to act boldly and wisely – to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity," said Obama during his first joint session address to Congress on Feb. 24, 2009.
Firefighters, teachers face smaller retirement safety net
By Melanie Hicken - CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
For public sector workers across the country, the difference of a couple of years, months or even days when starting on the job could mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits.
Facing ballooning bills and strained budgets, 45 states have either cut pension benefits or increased mandatory employee retirement plan contributions, or both, since 2009.
Fed official: Fixing the job market could take years
By Annalyn Kurtz - CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Healing the job market should take "center stage" on the Federal Reserve's agenda, but that task could still take years, a high-ranking member of the central bank said Monday.
Janet Yellen, who as vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve Board is number two in command to Ben Bernanke, believes that the central bank should continue to focus its policies on boosting the economy and the job market in particular.
Our Children's Economics
By Barry Eichengreen - Project-Syndicate.org
TOKYO – The economics profession has not had a good crisis. Queen Elizabeth II may have expected too much when she famously asked why economists had failed to foresee the disaster, but there is a widespread sense that much of their research turned out to be irrelevant. Worse still, much of the advice proffered by economists was of little use to policymakers seeking to limit the economic and financial fallout.
We're no longer 'top-dog' in world China unseats U.S. as top trader in world
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
China has unseated the United States, and is now No. 1 when it comes to trade and the total sum of exports and imports, according to U.S. Commerce Department statistics.
Last year, the United States' exports and imports totaled $3.92 trillion. China's, meanwhile, was $3.87 trillion, Newsmax reported.
China's rising economic influence has not gone unnoticed by other nations. Germany, for instance, is predicted to export twice as much to the nation in the coming decade as it will to France, Newsmax reports.
Flash under attack, emergency patch issued:
Update immediately Summary: The Flash developer is rolling out an emergency update to the world's most popular Web plug-in for two vulnerabilities, that are currently being actively exploited by hackers.
By Zack Whittaker - ZDNet.com
Adobe has issued an emergency fix for Flash to prevent two ongoing malware attacks against the world's most popular Web plug-in.
In an advisory note, Adobe announced the latest release of Flash Player 11.5, which will patch two security zero-day vulnerabilities that are actively being used by hackers and malware writers to spread malware.
Iran behind bank cyberattacks, U.S. government officials say Summary: A former government official says the U.S. believes Iran was behind a spate of cyberattacks on U.S. banks, despite claims from a hacking group that it was behind the attempted hacks.
By Zack Whittaker - ZDNet.com
U.S. government officials are reportedly pointing the finger at Iran for a spate of cyberattacks and hacking attempts on U.S. banks, according to a report by The New York Times.
A number of banks, including HSBC, Citigroup, and Bank of America, have in recent months suffered distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which have crippled Web sites and made it nigh on impossible for banking users to access their online accounts. A group called "Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters" claimed responsibility for the attacks, but no data was taken and customer funds remained intact.
The One Scary Thing About the GOP's Tech Deficiency The other side not only has data whizzes but the wherewithal to manipulate voters.
By MICHAEL TURK - Spectator.org
There has been a considerable amount of chatter over the past three months about the GOP's challenges and travails. Much of that has focused on the perceived deficiency in the party's technical capability; some written by people with very little technology experience at all outside of booting their computer.
So let me preface this by telling you three things about me. First, I have been building and repairing PCs for almost thirty years. I got my start in technology by jamming RAM chips into motherboards as a teen and built every computer I owned from scratch for almost twenty years. I have been doing tech since long before tech was cool.
Almost all US networks can be hacked:
Intelligence Committee Summary: The chair of the US House Intelligence Committee has said that hackers from China and Iran are stealing not only military documents via online attacks, but also civilian intellectual property, and that the US government is just watching it happen.
By AAP - ZDNet.com
The US is vulnerable to cyberattacks that could shut down financial services or destroy information that companies need for daily operations, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has said.
Mike Rogers said 95 percent of private sector networks are vulnerable, and most have already been hit.
What's being stolen? Personal identities, money from banks, blueprints for next-generation jobs. At risk are private companies and public agencies.
Lawmakers to reintroduce controversial info-sharing bill Privacy advocates say CISPA would allow private companies to share personal information with few restrictions
By Grant Gross - Computerworld.com
IDG News Service - Two U.S. lawmakers plan to reintroduce a controversial cybersecurity bill that allows private companies to share customers' personal information related to a wide range of cyberthreats with government agencies.
Representatives Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, and C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, a Maryland Democrat, are scheduled to reintroduce the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) on Wednesday, they said in a press release. The new version of CISPA will be identical to the one that passed the U.S. House of Representatives despite objections from several privacy groups.
Obama and the Drones We need to outfight the enemy, not outlawyer him.
By JED BABBIN - Spectator.org
Unless the Constitution really is a suicide note, any American who joins al Qaeda or any other terrorist group that has avowed to attack us should have no more legal rights than any enemy we face on the battlefield. But since the 9-11 attacks, Congress, two presidents, and the courts have tangled us up in so many legal and policy knots that we're now parsing terrorist ranks and duties to determine whether the enemy can be subjected to lethal attack.
We're fighting a war that isn't a war, Congress having only declared an "Authorization for Use of Military Force," and only against al Qaeda, not all the terrorists who are engaged in war against us. We've not defined the enemy — radical Islam and all its adherents — and haven't decided to fight the war in a manner calculated to win it decisively. So we are losing, as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, and Syria — to mention only the top-ranking terrorist nations — are proving daily.
Drone Strikes: Murder is Illegal-Paul Craig Roberts
When it comes to recent revelations about the extensive use of drones to kill terrorists, both foreign and domestic, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts says, "It's not just unconstitutional, murder is illegal." When it comes to drone strikes on U.S. citizens suspected of terror, everyone should be concerned. Roberts says, "Now the principle is if the government says you are guilty, you are—period. No evidence is needed for your termination."
White House: No more information
about drone killings will be released to public
By Vince Coglianese - DailyCaller.com
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters Thursday that the Obama administration will not be releasing any more information about the controversial use of drones to kill American citizens.
Carney's remarks, via the White House's transcript of the off-camera press gaggle:
"This is not an open-ended process. This is a specific and unique accommodation in this circumstance. The fact is, when it comes to public disclosure, we have been — not with the kind of attention that's been given it this week — but we have been publicly discussing these matters at the highest levels of government for the very reason that I've given, which is the President understands that these are core issues about how we conduct ourselves in war, how the President of the United States — any President — balances his constitutional obligation to protect America and American citizens, and his obligation to do so in a manner that is lawful under the Constitution and reflects our values.
Obama to give Congress classified docs
on targeted killings of Americans
RT.com
Amid growing public controversy over the Obama administration's targeted killings of Americans, the White House has ordered the Justice Department to provide two congressional committees with classified documents justifying the policy.
The move by President Barack Obama comes after a group of US senators requested on Monday the legal justificationfor the killings of US citizens suspected – not convicted or even charged – of terrorism with drone strikes.
"Today, as part of the president's ongoing commitment to consult with Congress on national security matters, the president directed the Department of Justice to provide the Congressional Intelligence Committees access to classified Office of Legal Counsel advice related to the subject of the Department of Justice white paper," said an administration official.
Ex-Defense chief calls for review
before drone strikes on Americans
By Joseph Tanfani - LATimes.com
WASHINGTON -- Former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gateson Sunday said there should be an outside check on the power of a president to order drone strikes on U.S. citizens.
Gates, a former CIA director who served as Defense chief under Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, said decisions to execute Americans should be subject to some outside review, perhaps by a panel of judges or by Congress.
Software that tracks your every move
and predicts future behavior draws heat
RT.com
US defense giant Raytheon has developed a controversial software that uses social networking sites to track your movements, able to predict where a person will be and their future behavior. The program has drawn criticism from civil rights groups.
A video obtained exclusively by The Guardian shows how software developed by the US defense contractor Raytheon, can gather vast amounts of personal information from social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
Raytheon has admitted that the technology was shared with the US government as part of a joint research and development program in 2010, as part of an effort to build a national security system capable of analyzing trillions of entities from cyberspace.
Obama to bypass Congress
on CISPA with cybersecurity executive order
By RT.com
Unable to reach a deal with Congress, President Obama plans to use his power to exert executive actions against the will of lawmakers. The president will issue orders addressing controversial topics including cybersecurity.
Although President Obama has issued fewer executive orders than any president in over 100 years, he is making extensive plans to change that. Due to conflicts with a Congress that too often disagrees on proposed legislation, Obama plans to act alone and fully exercise his executive powers.
Warning over social networking 'snooping' technology New stalking software capable of tracking people's movements and predicting future behaviour using data from social networking websites has been developed, it emerged today.
By Daily Telegraph Reporter
The sophisticated technology relies on websites such as Facebook and Twitter to build a detailed picture of people's lives in a move that could raise concerns over breach of privacy and civil liberties.
The system has been created by Raytheon, the US giant defence contractor.
It was claimed that the technology could be transformed into a "Google for spies" and used by governments as a means of monitoring and controlling people online.
Pope stands down for first time in 600 years.
New pope to be elected in March Vatican spokesman, Fr. Lombardi, has stated that the papal seat will remain vacant as of 12 o'clock on 28 February. Benedict XVI is stepping down because his health is too weak to continue in office and will retire to a life of prayer
GIACOMO GALEAZZI - VATICAN CITY
Benedict XVI is first pope to stand down in 600 years. A new pope will be elected in March Vatican spokesman, Fr. Lombardi, has stated that the papal seat will remain vacant as of 12 o'clock on 28 February. Benedict XVI is stepping down because his health is too weak to continue in office and will retire to a life of prayer
Benedict XVI is the first pope to abdicate in 600 years. "The Pope's decision took us by surprise," Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi admitted, after Benedict XVI announced he would be resigning on 28 February. Cardinals listened to the Pope's words "speechless. I think the majority of those present had not been informed about the announcement the Pope was about to make." The Pope's decision to step down from the papacy was a "personal and deep decision, taken after much prayer and reflection."
Prophecy: Is the next pope the last pope? Commentary: Medieval prophet says only one pontiff remains
By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch)—Forecasting stock moves is one thing: At least there is only a certain number of possible outcomes. But forecasting all the future popes?
Yet this is what St. Malachy, a 12th-century Irish bishop, apparently managed to do. In 1139, he is said to have received a vision of all future pontiffs, which he then listed with a Latin motto for each future Bishop of Rome.
And so far he's gotten them all right, at least according to the believers of his prophecy.
Now this is certainly not church doctrine—the Catholic Encyclopedia notes strong arguments against the authenticity of the prophecy, and whether it does in fact come from St. Malachy—but enthusiasts say each and every one of the more than 260 mottoes on the list do correspond to their respective popes.
Holy Smokes! Pope Quits The Pope Resigns. Good Decision. The world has too few young-old workers--
and too many old-old ones.
by Megan McArdle - The Daily Beast
I'm not a practicing Catholic, so I try very hard not to have opinions on the internal politics of the Vatican. But the Pope's announcement this morning that he would resign seems worth commenting on, because it was a good decision, and a worthy one. The Pope recognized that he was too frail to continue performing his duties as the spiritual leader of his church, and he stepped down so that the Church could elect someone who can.
That's a very hard decision to make. 89-year old Senator Frank Lautenberg iscurrently embroiled in a spat with Newark's Mayor Cory Booker, who has begun openly campaigning to replace Lautenberg in the Senate. (Lautenberg implied that Booker needed a "spanking" for his impertinence.) Keith Humphreys points out how absurd Lautenberg's indignation is:
Latin-loving pope uses ancient language to quit
ROME | Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:38pm EST
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict announced his historic decision to resign on Monday in an address to cardinals which he delivered in Latin, the ancient tongue whose use he had done much to encourage.
"Quapropter bene conscius ponderis huius actus plena libertate declaro me ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri, mihi per manus Cardinalium die 19 aprilis MMV commissum renuntiare," he said during a meeting on naming new saints.
Pope's sudden resignation sends shockwaves through Church
By Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY | Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:02pm EST
(Reuters) - Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church on Monday when he announced he would stand down, the first pope to do so in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on.
Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution, but the decision could lead to uncertainty in a Church already besieged by scandal for covering up sexual abuse of children by priests.
Unprecedented, surprise resignation… Benedict XVI's resignation is a first for Canon Law Vatican Insider interviews Giovanni Battista Varnier, Professor of the History of Relations between State and Church at the University of Genoa on Benedict XVI's shocking and historic decision
By LUCA ROLANDI - ROME
The Pope's resignation is a shocking historical fact, which involves the Code of Canon Law. Is this resignation licit under Church law?
Absolutely, it is completely licit because the announcement was made during a Consistory in Rome, in the presence of some cardinals. During the Consistory, the Pope was meant to announce some causes of canonization but instead he came out with this shocking announcement.
What does Canon Law say about cases such as this which involve a resignation not a death?
When a pope resigns, there is a sede vacante and the Cardinal Camerlengo takes over leadership of the Church. When there is a sede vacante, the Curia also loses power. The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano (who is a non-voting cardinal this time), vicars Vallini and Comastri remain in charge and the Camerlengo, Bertone, heads the process leading up to the Conclave. This time, French Protodeacon, Tauran, will be pronouncing the words Habemus Papam. What is surprising is the decision to postpone the resignation to 28 February. There are clearly going to be many questions and debates on the running of government in the next few days. The Conclave is going to take place earlier than expected, which is inconceivable.
Electing a pope: Conclave, oath, chimney smoke
By AP - WashingtonTimes.com
Pope Benedict XVI's resignation sets in motion a complex sequence of events to elect the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The laws governing the selection are the same as those in force after a papal death. Here is the procedure:
Contenders in Line to be Pope
By LIAM MOLONEY And GIADA ZAMPANO - WSJ.com
ROME—The cardinals who will elect the next pope are likely to favor a compromise figure similar to the current pontiff: a traditionalist in doctrine who is open to building bridges between the Vatican and the modern world, Vatican experts said.
The cardinals will look for "someone who has a combination of theological stances, but who also best addresses where we are seeing the church going today," said Francesco Cesareo, president of Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.
Mystery of Benedict's Resignation Why did the pope resign, and why now?
By Ron Fraser - theTrumpet.com
It has shocked the world. The reason for it is unclear. Reuters reported that the reason was not because of illness nor to external pressures that Pope BenedictXVI suddenly decided to resign. The pope gave February 28, four days following the Italian elections, as the operative date for stepping down from office.
"Pope Benedict has no specific illness and his decision to resign was taken with no outside pressure, the Vatican spokesman said on Monday after the pontiff's shock announcement that he would step down at the end of this month. Father Federico Lombardi said the 85-year-old pope's decision was not due to an illness, but to a progressive decline in his strength, which was normal in a man of his age" (Reuters, February 11).
Pope Benedict stepping down, cites poor health:
world shudders at Malachy's prophecy of the End of the World
The Extinction Protocol
February 11, 2013 – VATICAN - Pope Benedict shocked the world on Monday by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with his ministry, in an announcement that left his aides "incredulous" and will make him the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages. The German-born Pope, 85, hailed as a hero by conservative Roman Catholics and viewed with suspicion by liberals, told cardinals in Latin that his strength had deteriorated recently. He will step down on February 28 and the Vatican expects a new Pope to be chosen by the end of March. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Pope had not decided to resign because of "difficulties in the papacy" and the move had been a surprise, indicating that even his inner circle was unaware that he was about to quit. The Pope does not fear schism in the Church after his resignation, the spokesman said. The Pope's leadership of 1.2 billion Catholics has been beset by child sexual abuse crises that tarnished the Church, one address in which he upset Muslims and a scandal over the leaking of his private papers by his personal butler. The pope told the cardinals that in order to govern "…both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. "For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter." He also referred to "today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith."
Prophecy of St Malachy
Catholic-Pages.com
….The last of these prophecies concerns the end of the world and is as follows: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End." It has been noticed concerning Petrus Romanus, who according to St. Malachy's list is to be the last pope, that the prophecy does not say that no popes will intervene between him and his predecessor designated Gloria olive. It merely says that he is to be the last, so that we may suppose as many popes as we please before "Peter the Roman". Cornelius a Lapide refers to this prophecy in his commentary "On the Gospel of St. John" (C. xvi) and "On the Apocalypse" (cc. xvii-xx), and he endeavours to calculate according to it the remaining years of time.
As Predicted In Petrus Romanus: Pope Benedict XVI In Shock Resignation. Conclave To Elect "Final Pope" Before Easter
BBC.co.uk
Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85. The unexpected development surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even the 85-year-old's closest aides. The Vatican says it expects a new Pope to be elected before the end of March, ahead of Easter. Papal resignations are not unknown, but this is the first in the modern era. The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the news has come "out of the blue", and that there was no speculation whatsoever about the move in recent days. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is quoted as saying he was "greatly shaken by this unexpected news". A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that even the Pope's closest aides did not know what he was planning to do and were left "incredulous". He added that the decision showed "great courage" and "determination".
No obvious front-runner yet Pope Benedict XVI to resign at month's end, Vatican says
France247.com
Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign on February 28 -- the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years -- setting the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March.
A Vatican official said the Holy See hopes the period between the pope's resignation and the election of a successor will be "as brief as possible".
With Benedict resigning, can Latin American claim papacy?
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
PARIS | Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:38pm EST
(Reuters) - With Pope Benedict's stunning announcement that he will resign later this month, the time may be coming for the Roman Catholic Church to elect its first non-European leader and it could be a Latin American.
The region already represents 42 percent of the world's 1.2 billion-strong Catholic population, the largest single block in the Church, compared to 25 percent in its European heartland.
Who Will Be Next Pope After Pope Benedict XVI's Resignation?
The Huffington Post | By Cavan Sieczkowski
Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign from the papal office on Feb. 28, marking the first resignation of a pope in the Catholic Church in almost 600 years.
So, what happens now? Who will be the next pope?
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed that the College of Cardinals will meet to elect the next pope some time in March, according to CNN. A new pope is expected to be in position by Easter on March 31.
Will the 'final' Pope be black? Cardinal Peter Turkson Causes Uproar
With 'Muslim Scare' Video At Vatican
Reuters | By Naomi O'Leary - HuffingtonPost.com
(Reuters) - A Roman Catholic cardinal has caused an uproar at the Vatican by screening a spurious YouTube video that makes alarmist predictions about the growth of Islam in Europe.
The seven-minute clip, called "Muslim Demographics," was the talk of an international gathering of bishops on Monday, two days after Cardinal Peter Turkson screened it during a free discussion period.
Turkson, a Ghanaian who is based in the Vatican and is president of its Council for Justice and Peace, sparked consternation among his fellow bishops over the clip.
First black pope?
Emerging contenders include cardinals from Africa
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
The Roman Catholic Church very well could elect its first black pope — or, at the least, its first pope of non-European descent, according to various strategists and analysts.
The Telegraph reports that two princes of the church have emerged as top contenders for the top spot: Cardinals Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana and Francis Arinze of Nigeria. Electing one would send a black man — for the first time in history, or at least since the early Middle Ages, according to The Telegraph — to head the church's spiritual direction.
ExoVaticana: Petrus Romanus &
The Vatican's Astonishing Plan
for the Arrival of An Alien Savior
Christians will not immediately need to renounce their faith in God "simply on the basis of the reception of [this] new, unexpected information of a religious character from extraterrestrial civilizations." However, once the "religious content" originating from outside the earth "has been verified" they will have to conduct "a re-reading [of the Gospel] inclusive of the new data…"
– Vatican Astronomer, Eminent Theologian and Full Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce in Rome [Connected With Opus Dei], Father Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti
Muslim Brotherhood Nominee
Looks Set to become Egypt's Next Grand Mufti
By Patrick Goodenough - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) – The anticipated naming Monday of a Muslim Brotherhood nominee to the position of grand mufti of Egypt coincides with escalating protests against a ruling party already accused of dominating the nation.
A panel of religious scholars at Al-Azhar – the top seat of learning in Sunni Islam – will name the appointee to the top post after narrowing the field down to three, and then voting by secret ballot to send one name to President Mohammed Morsi.
Report: Iran, Hezbollah setting up militias
to prepare for post-Assad Syria Washington Post quotes enior official in the Obama administration referring to Tehran's claims it is supporting up to 50,000 militiamen in Syria.
By Haaretz
According to a report in the Washington Post on Sunday, Iran and Hezbollah are preparing themselves for the day when the Syrian regime led by Bashar Assad is overthrown. Quoting officials in the U.S. and Middle East, the paper reports that Iran and Hezbollah are building a "network of militias inside Syria" that will protect their interests in a post-Assad Syria.
Officials believe that Iran is cultivating operatives on the ground that can be relied upon in the event that Assad is no longer in power and Syrians are fragmented along religious and ethnic lines. A senior official in the Obama administration referred to Tehran's claims it was supporting up to 50,000 militiamen in Syria, the Washington Post reported.
'Obama is coming to tell Netanyahu not to strike Iran' Army Radio report says first presidential visit aims to ensure the prime minister won't initiate attack on Tehran's nuclear program
By ADIV STERMAN and TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF
next month primarily in order to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in person to hold off on any military intervention in Iran, it was reported Sunday.
Quoting unnamed Israeli sources, Israel's Army Radio said the president would indeed seek to host some kind of summit meeting between Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and possibly Jordan's King Abdullah, to try to re-energize the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Putin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World
By Scott Rose & Olga Tanas - Bloomberg.com
When Vladimir Putin says the U.S. is endangering the global economy by abusing its dollar monopoly, he's not just talking. He's betting on it.
Not only has Putin made Russia the world's largest oil producer, he's also made it the biggest gold buyer. His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China, according to IMF data compiled by Bloomberg. The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty.
Gold could rise in 2013 if recent historical prices are any indication
Each peak in Gold rpices was followed by a long, deep correction, making these four more significant than other secondary peaks that occurred in the interims. Furthermore, two to five months before each peak, the gold price behaved similarly to the caprice we saw in January.
PRWeb - CommodityOnline.com
NEW YORK (Commodity Online): Gold prices could rise again in 2013 if recent historical prices are any indication, according to Arthur McGuire, Vice President of Gold Price, a leading US based precious metals adviser.
A review of gold prices since 2005 reveals a 21-22 month cycle that, theoretically, is set to come around again, sometime between May and July. In the last eight years, gold experienced four regularly spaced London PM fix price peaks:
What's really key for the price formation of gold?
By Lars Schall - SilverBearCafe.com
….Lars Schall: The growing interest in gold was underlined recently in a report that was published by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), which has the title "Gold, the renminbi and the multi-currency reserve system". (1) I think that this report is quite remarkable for various reasons. Do you agree? Robert Blumen: The report suggests that the international monetary system will accept gold in a more recognized way as a reserve asset. I think that this is already true, informally. There are many signs of this. Central banks have gone from selling to buying in recent years.
On the intellectual plane, I think there the consensus of many decades, namely that gold had been permanently removed from its monetary role, is changing. There is increasing discussion gold as a monetary metal among the elites. Several years ago, Benn Steil, a CFR economist wrote an opinion piece for the Financial Times (excerpted here) suggesting that the global gold standard worked better than the current system of floating rates. Robert Zoellick, who was president of the World Bank at the time, wrote a gold-friendly op-ed also in the FT a couple of years ago.
Silver Climbs as Gold Little Changed
Before Euro Finance Meeting
By Phoebe Sedgman - Bloomberg.com
Silver gained, while gold was little changed before European finance chiefs meet today to discuss aid to Cyprus and Greece. Palladium declined.
Silver for immediate delivery advanced as much as 0.3 percent to $31.495 an ounce before trading at $31.45 at 10:24 a.m. in Singapore. Cash gold traded at $1,667.50 an ounce, while palladium fell 0.2 percent to $753.75 an ounce. Markets in Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia are closed today for public holidays.
The Spark That Ignites A Hyperbolic Rise In Silver And Gold
By Patrick MontesDeOca - SilverBearCafe.com
As I look back at the gold and silver market signals we recently published and our 2013 silver forecast, which predicted a price well above $50 per ounce (the high reached in April 2011), I can't help but to wonder what fundamental factors will spark this "hyperbolic" move?
Several major fundamental factors are developing that could send precious metal prices soaring.
Free Money, Inflation and the Increasing Cost of Debt
PELOSI: THERE'S NO 'SPENDING PROBLEM'
by BEN SHAPIRO - Breitbart.com
With the sequester set to kick in on March 1, President Obama and his Democrat allies are hell-bent on shifting the conversation away from proper government cuts, and toward higher taxes. On Sunday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took to Fox News Sunday to explain that America does not have a spending problem. "It is almost a false argument to say that we have a spending problem. We have a budget deficit problem," Pelosi insisted.
Pelosi's motion was seconded by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) on NBC's Meet the Press, where Durbin laughably explained that the sequester was "designed as a budget threat, not as a budget strategy" – and stated that the only approach to solving the budget problem was to raise taxes again.
On the Sequester… No Bending If Republicans Bend on the Sequester,
They Don't Deserve Our Support
By Paul Roderick Gregory - Forbes.com
I was frustrated by William Kristol'sDon't Be Seduced by the Sequester. Kristol argues Republicans must be the grown-up party. The sequester cuts will delay the deployment of two battle ships at a crucial time. Per Kristol: Republicans should negotiate a more measured (and smaller) reduction with the President even if means delays in spending cuts. Bad advice! Believe me: The sequestered funds will be the only cuts in discretionary spending we will get over the next four years. Any Republican who walks away from the sequester for a future "compromise" with Obama does not deserve our votes, contributions, or volunteer efforts.
Defense, domestic groups ally
for last-minute push to halt sequester
By Jeremy Herb - TheHill.com
The defense industry is joining forces with health, education and other domestic sectors to wage a last-minute push to stop the across-the-board sequestration cuts from taking effect.
The new approach from the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and domestic spending advocates is an attempt to convince lawmakers who care about defense that they should align with lawmakers worried about cuts to domestic programs.
Keiser Report: Wicked Debt Web (E404)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the wicked web that has been weaved when banksters first set out to deceive, the first law of thermo-derivatives which states that risk cannot be destroyed and the hot tub of fraud in which the taxpayer owned Royal Bank of Scotland weaves their web of deception. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Mitch Feierstein, author of Planet Ponzi, who shows us what the Fed's $3 trillion balance sheet would look like in a briefcase and the Central Banking bag of tricks that include: divert and deflect, delay and pray and extend and pretend. Finally they ponder whether we face a global reset or sovereign failures?
How to Survive the Illusion of Recovery
John Williams interview - GoldSeek.com
….John Williams: I contend that the economy effectively hit bottom in June 2009, followed by a period of somewhat volatile stagnation, and it is beginning to turn down anew. There never was a recovery and no economic data shows the type of recovery that the official gross domestic product (GDP) report is showing. The GDP shows levels of activity now that are above where the economy was before the recession. It's been above that level now for more than a year. No other major economic series has shown a full recovery, shy of perhaps inflation-adjusted retail sales, which is due to a problem with the inflation rate used to adjust the series. Generally, the illusion of recovery has resulted from the government's use of understated inflation.
10 Immutable Laws Of Money
By Lance Roberts - SilverBearCafe.com
Money – we all want it, but few of us are willing to sacrifice to get it. Those that have it generally don't understand it, and those that don't have it come up with excuses why they can't get it. If this sounds confusing – it is.
For all that we have accomplished in the United States in the last 200+ years we have failed miserably at teaching our children the basics of money management. I am not talking about stock and bond portfolios but rather the basics of spending less than you make, understanding of credit, and how to balance a check a book.
Economy Haunted by 'Ghost of Inflation Past'
By: Rick Ackerman - GoldSeek.com
A good way to work a scam is to put a microscope on a short-term trend and pretend it is a reversal of the main trend. "Global Warming," for example. About 15,000 years ago there was a sheet of ice 5,000 feet thick over New England. As the ice age ended it melted away, and as a result sea levels rose about 390 feet. So you can say with confidence, the long-term trend is melting ice, and rising sea levels. All this happened without any human input at all — a mile of ice melts, sea levels rise 390 feet. Now, in the past 140 years, more ice has melted, and sea levels have risen about a foot.
The Tyranny of Political Economy
By Dani Rodrik - Project-Syndicate.org
CAMBRIDGE – There was a time when we economists steered clear of politics. We viewed our job as describing how market economies work, when they fail, and how well-designed policies can enhance efficiency. We analyzed trade-offs between competing objectives (say, equity versus efficiency), and prescribed policies to meet desired economic outcomes, including redistribution. It was up to politicians to take our advice (or not), and to bureaucrats to implement it.
Then some of us became more ambitious. Frustrated by the reality that much of our advice went unheeded (so many free-market solutions still waiting to be taken up!), we turned our analytical toolkit on the behavior of politicians and bureaucrats themselves. We began to examine political behavior using the same conceptual framework that we use for consumer and producer decisions in a market economy. Politicians became income-maximizing suppliers of policy favors; citizens became rent-seeking lobbies and special interests; and political systems became marketplaces in which votes and political influence are traded for economic benefits.
Fed's Warning on Junk Bond Bubble
Matters More Than You Think
By Dan Freed - TheStreet.com
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- When a Federal Reserve governor other than Chairman Ben Bernanke gives a speech, the temptation to take a nap is powerful, but Thursday's warning from Jeremy Stein about a junk bond bubble matters more than many investors are likely to realize.
Speaking in St. Louis Thursday, Stein voiced concern about "a fairly significant pattern of reaching-for-yield behavior emerging in corporate credit."
Lessons From The 1930s Currency Wars
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
With Abe picking his new dovish playmate, and Draghi doing his best to jawbone the EUR down without actually saying anything, it is becoming very clear that no matter what level of bullshit histrionics is used by the politicians and bankers in public, the currency wars have begun to gather pace. Japan's more open aggressive policy intervention is the game-changer (and increasingly fascinating how they will talk around it at the upcoming G-20), as if a weaker JPY is an important pillar of the strategy to make this export-oriented economy more competitive again, it brings into the picture something that was missing from earlier interactions among central banks of the advanced economies – competitive depreciation. The last time the world saw a fully fledged currency war was in the early 1930s. Morgan Stanley's Joachim Fels looks at what it was like and what lessons can be drawn for the sequence of events - there are definite winners and losers and a clear first-mover advantage.
Monetarists Don't Seem to Get "Monetizing"
By Jeff Snider, RealClearMarkets.com
The American Enterprise Institute's James Pethokoukis recently wrote a post ostensibly in defense of the Federal Reserve's QE programs. If not a full argument in favor, at the very least Mr. Pethokoukis is arguing that current Fed policy has been at least consistent with the historical norm. According to the chart presented, despite ongoing QE the Fed has been purchasing less of total US official marketable debt securities than it was during most of the 2000's (that featured no mistakable "monetization"). The implication seems to be that since we are not in uncharted territory there is no need to fret or worry about the potential for monetization, or even the level of monetary intrusion.
Cameron to push G8 on finance bonds for new 'social investment' David Cameron is to throw his weight behind radical plans to bring private investors into public services through rapidly growing new financial products called social impact bonds.
By Kamal Ahmed - Telegraph.co.uk
The Prime Minister will use the UK's presidency of the G8 this year to develop new agreements on "impact investing" where funds buy bonds with a guaranteed return if certain public policies are delivered.
One of the first social impact bonds in the UK was launched three years ago to support a project to reduce re-offending by inmates at Peterborough Prison. The projects are delivered by social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, foundations and charities.
Bretton Woods III
By Sanjeev Sanyal - Project-Syndicate.org
SINGAPORE – Many analysts and observers believe that the global imbalances that characterized the world economy in the years before the 2008 crisis have substantially dissipated. But, while it is true that China's current-account surpluses and America's deficits have somewhat moderated since then, have the imbalances really been corrected? More important, can the post-crisis global economy enjoy both growth and balance?
To answer these questions, it is important to understand the imbalances' underlying dynamics. An economy's current account is the difference between its investment rate and its savings rate. In 2007, the United States had a savings rate of 14.6% of GDP, but an investment rate of 19.6%, generating a current-account deficit. By contrast, China had a fixed investment rate of 41.7% of GDP and a savings rate of 51.9%, reflected in a large surplus.
EU Leaders Agree on a Budget Deal
By VANESSA MOCK and MATTHEW DALTON - WSJ.com
BRUSSELS—European Union leaders struck a deal Friday on a seven-year budget, ending more than 24 hours of talks and months of disagreements over how the bloc should divide funds among farmers, investment aid for poorer members, and programs to boost growth and combat the joblessness that prevails in parts of Europe.
The deal calls for EU governments to contribute slightly less to this budget, after adjusting for inflation, than they did to the past seven-year funding plan. That was a victory for nations such as the U.K. and the Netherlands that argued the 27-nation bloc's spending should reflect the cutbacks that governments have adopted at home. But the deal still must be passed by the European Parliament, which has argued for a more expansive budget.
EU leaders throw weight behind US trade talks
BY BENJAMIN FOX - EUObserver.com
BRUSSELS - EU leaders have thrown their weight behind talks aimed at securing a comprehensive trade agreement with the US.
In a communique adopted following the EU budget summit on Friday (February 8), the European Council reiterated its "support for a comprehensive trade agreement" with the United States.
Any talks are likely to focus more on harmonising regulatory standards than on reducing already low tariff barriers, with the Council calling on trade talks to pay "particular attention to ways to achieve greater transatlantic regulatory convergence."
Moldova takes action on EU-Russia money laundering
BY ANDREW RETTMAN - EUObserver.com
BRUSSELS - Moldova has launched criminal proceedings in a money laundering case involving its biggest bank, the Russian mafia and six EU countries.
The move comes after a UK-based investment firm, Hermitage Capital, filed a complaint with the Moldovan prosecutor in June.
Documents obtained by Hermitage indicate that a Russian organised crime group - dubbed the Kluyev Group - in 2008 wired $53 million of stolen money from an account in Russia's Bank Krainiy Sever to two accounts in Moldova's Banca de Economii.
Obama's Economy of Illusions An Economy of Illusions
By Robert Tracinski, RealClearMarkets.com
Recently Mark Perry and Don Boudreaux published an article in the Wall Street Journalchallenging "The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class." They point out that the middle class is better off than nominal measures of income might suggest, because "Household spending on food, housing, utilities, etc. has fallen from 53% of disposable income in 1950 to 32% today." This is exactly how economic progress works in a free society: it is not merely that wages go up, but that the same wages buy more as innovation drives down the cost of production.
As interesting as that article is, I found the response to it on the left to be even more interesting, because it reveals an important point about the real priorities of the welfare state and its defenders.
Restored Payroll Tax Pinches Those Who Earn the Least
By: Nelson D. Schwartz, NYTimes - via CNBC.com
Jack Andrews and his wife no longer enjoy what they call date night, their once-a-month outing to the movies and a steak dinner at Logan's Roadhouse in Augusta, Ga. In Harlem, Eddie Phillips's life insurance payment will have to wait a few more weeks. And Jessica Price is buying cheaper food near her home in Orlando, Fla., even though she worries it may not be as healthy.
Like millions of other Americans, they are feeling the bite from the sharp increase in payroll taxes that took effect at the beginning of January. There are growing signs that the broader economy is suffering, too.
The Worst Five Years Since the Great Depression
By Peter Ferrara, Contributor - Forbes.com
In February, 2009, I wrote for the Wall Street Journal an article entitled Reaganomics versus Obamanomics. The article explained that the emerging Obamanomics was pursuing exactly the opposite of every policy of the enormously successful Reaganomics, and predicted that it would produce exactly the opposite results.
Well, the results are in, and under President Obama the American people have now suffered the worst 5 years since the Great Depression, as first explained by Steve McCann of the American Thinker on January 25. McCann writes,
"From 2009 through 2012, the Obama cabal, and their allegiance to statist policies, has been in charge for four years. The global financial crisis took place in the previous year, 2008 [remember the Democrat majority Congress was elected in 2006], and based on the historical pattern of American economic recovery since the depression years, the United States should have been experiencing broad and significant economic and job growth by year three at the latest."
Show This To Anyone That Believes
That "Things Are Getting Better" In America
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
How can anyone not see that the U.S. economy is collapsing all around us? It just astounds me when people try to tell me that "everything is just fine" and that "things are getting better" in America. Are there people out there that are really that blind? If you want to see the economic collapse, just open up your eyes and look around you. By almost every economic and financial measure, the U.S. economy has been steadily declining for many years. But most Americans are so tied into "the matrix" that they can only understand the cheerful propaganda that is endlessly being spoon-fed to them by the mainstream media. As I have said so many times, the economic collapse is not a single event. The economic collapse has been happening, it is is happening right now, and it will continue to happen. Yes, there will be times when our decline will be punctuated by moments of great crisis, but that will be the exception rather than the rule. A lot of people that write about "the economic collapse" hype it up as if it will be some huge "event" that will happen very rapidly and then once it is all over we will rebuild. Unfortunately, that is not how the real world works. We are living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world, and once it completely bursts there will be no going back to how things were before. Right now, we are living in a "credit card economy". As long as we can keep borrowing more money, most people think that things are just fine. But anyone that has lived on credit cards knows that eventually there comes a point when the game is over, and we are rapidly approaching that point as a nation.
Why a flood of bankruptcies is good for America Clearing debts might be key to reinvigorating economy
By Michael Casey - MarketWatch.com
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — "Americans are renowned for their skill in business and their spirit of enterprise. But in general they are considered bad debtors."
So wrote Alexis de Tocqueville, that great observer of U.S. society, when he reflected in 1831 on the remarkable frequency with which the citizens of his host country entered bankruptcy. The itinerant Frenchman, who was baffled by how a nation with such strong "chastity of morals" and "habits of work" could be so indifferent to the practice of not paying one's debts, called it "one of the greatest stains on the American character."
San Bernardino, Calpers fail to reach deal before court date
By Tim Reid
LOS ANGELES | Thu Feb 7, 2013 10:14pm EST
(Reuters) - Negotiations between the bankrupt California city of San Bernardino and the state's public pension fund over the city's unprecedented suspension of pension payments have failed to produce an agreement before a crucial court hearing, officials said on Thursday.
Senior officials at the California Public Employees Retirement System, the biggest U.S. public pension fund and San Bernardino's biggest creditor, have met with city budget officials and held telephone conversations with the city's mayor over the past several weeks, a Calpers spokesman said.
Tangled in Housing Bust, FHA Seeks a Hand
By NICK TIMIRAOS - WSJ.com
U.S. housing markets finally are improving, but taxpayers may not be off the hook yet.
The Federal Housing Administration, a significant backer of new mortgage lending over the past five years, is facing billions of dollars in potential losses, as many loans that it guaranteed during the recession have soured. The agency's independent audit last fall showed that at its current pace, the FHA would exhaust its reserves and need $16 billion from the U.S. government to cover projected losses.
Americans using homes as ATMs Americans Are Tapping Into Home Equity Again
By: Diana Olick - CNBC.com
Nearly 11 million borrowers are underwater on their mortgages, owing more than their homes are worth, according to CoreLogic, and yet home equity lines of credit are suddenly on the rise again.
During the housing boom of the last decade Americans withdrew over $1 trillion in home equity. They did it through cash-out refinances, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit. The latter allowed them to use their homes like an ATM. They spent the money on cars, televisions, vacations and fancy home upgrades. It was seemingly endless equity, until suddenly that equity was gone.
'Obamacare' health care reform
ALREADY forcing doctors to close practices
By Valerie Richardson-The Washington Times
After 25 years of practicing medicine, Dr. Tamzin Rosenwasser packed in her dermatology practice in 2011, barely a year after the passage of President Obama's health care initiative. The timing wasn't coincidental.
"I have interrupted practicing medicine because of Obamacare," said Dr. Rosenwasser. "I'd read the bill. I was conversant with what had already happened with Medicaid, and I didn't want to go down that road with Obamacare."
Catherine Austin Fitts - national healthcare
This is a clip from an interview Catherine Austin Fitts did called "The Looting of America". Catherine, the daughter of a physician, has been watching the change in government regulations regarding the practice of medicine. Her unique perspective comes from having worked for a government agency in Washington.
Wyden says he has no plans
to again take up Medicare reform with Paul Ryan
By Elise Viebeck - TheHill.com
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has no plans to partner with Rep. Paul Ryan on a new Medicare reform bill, the senator has told The Hill.
The two lawmakers made waves in 2011 with a bipartisan proposal that infuriated Democrats and later inspired Mitt Romney's healthcare plan.
But Wyden said there will not be an encore anytime soon, especially as House Republicans move to balance the federal budget within 10 years.
Indiana soybean farmer sees Monsanto lawsuit
reach US supreme court Who controls the rights to the seeds planted in the ground? A 75-year-old farmer takes the agricultural giant to court to find out
By Paul Harris in New York - Guardian.co.uk
As David versus Goliath battles go it is hard to imagine a more uneven fight than the one about to play out in front of the US supreme court between Vernon Hugh Bowman and Monsanto.
On the one side is Bowman, a single 75-year-old Indiana soybean farmer who is still tending the same acres of land as his father before him in rural south-western Indiana. On the other is a gigantic multibillion dollar agricultural business famed for its zealous protection of its commercial rights.
President Obama to Appoint
MIT Physicist as New Energy Secretary
By Joao Peixe - OilPrice.com
Reuters have been told that President Barack Obama is thinking about appointing MIT nuclear physicist Ernest Moniz as the new Energy Secretary once Stephen Chu steps down.
Moniz has experience in government, having acted as undersecretary at the Energy Department during Clinton's time as president, and has often addressed congress at Capitol Hill on energy issues in the past.
America's Oil Revival Keeping abreast of the new energy reality —
how soon before the U.S. becomes an energy exporter?
By WILLIAM TUCKER - Spectator.org
Last week Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski unveiled the Republicans' new plan for energy development. She called for a partial opening of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, the development of offshore oil tracts plus more production from federal lands. Within hours the Natural Resources Defense Council had dismissed the whole thing as "a plan from the past." And in fact it was little more than a reiteration of the four-year-old cry, "Drill, baby, drill."
Anyone who thinks this signals another four years of energy stalemate, however, is sadly mistaken. The very next day, energy expert Daniel Yergin was telling a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee that, if anything, Washington is completely out of the loop as to what's happening in energy. "Our thinking has to catch up with reality," said Yergin, head of the prestigious Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "Everything has been turned upside down."
The Petroleum Rollercoaster
By Professor Chris Rhodes - OilPrice.com
I wrote the following in a previous posting but there are a number of points of issue, which I shall now address. In particular, the aspect of the apparent rate of decline of oil production needs clarification, and indeed what exactly is meant by "oil".
"It has been estimated that the world's road transportation fleet will reach 2 billion by 2020, of which at least 50% will be cars. China's and India's automobile fleets are expected to grow at an annual rate of around 7 or 8%, while in the United States, it will be under 1% a year, and around 1 to 2% in Western Europe, but this depends tacitly on finding an expanding liquid fuel supply, and it is this which is at issue. Indeed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued a report to the effect that a shortfall in oil production of 64 million barrels a day (mbd) can be expected by 2030, which represents a loss of 62% of the world supply of conventional crude oil, currently 84 mbd, assuming a demand by 2030 of 96 mbd, a figure significantly downgraded from prior estimates by the IEA of 120 - 130 mbd. At a mean decline rate of 2.9 mbd/year (-3.4%/year) this value accords closely with the prediction in a recent U.S. Army report that there will be a deficiency of 10 mbd by 2015, following a loss of any spare capacity for crude oil against demand for it by the end of this year (2012)."
Colorado Prepares for All-Out Gun Fight Newly blue state could see red with proposed gun laws
By LAUREN FOX - USNews.com
Colorado's state legislature is the stage where one of nation's fiercest gun debates will unfold.
A state with a strong tradition of sport shooting and hunting, Colorado is also home to two of the country's deadliest mass shootings.
Recently state legislators have introduced bills on everything from universal background checks, to limiting high-capacity magazines over 10 rounds, to holding gun manufacturers and dealers liable if their products fall into dangerous hands—a bill that actually runs counter to current federal law, which protects gun makers and sellers.
Clueless… AGAIN! PELOSI SAYS FIRST AMENDMENT GRANTS 'RIGHT TO A GUN'
by WARNER TODD HUSTON - Breitbart.com
As Nancy Pelosi appeared on Fox News Sunday with host Chris Wallace, she didn't seem to know the difference between the First Amendment and the Second Amendment.
During her February 10 segment, Pelosi premised her conversation by pointing out that Japan has, "the most violent games and the rest and the lowest mortality from guns." This, Pelosi imagined, was because Japan "might have good gun laws."
Vatican hopes secret files exonerate 'Hitler's pope' Author uncovers evidence
on Pius XII's wartime efforts to save Jewish refugees
By Dalya Alberge, The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
Pius XII has long been vilified as "Hitler's pope", accused of failing publicly to condemn the genocide of Europe's Jews. Now a British author has unearthed extensive material that Vatican insiders believe will restore his reputation, revealing the part that he played in saving lives and opposing nazism. Gordon Thomas, a Protestant, was given access to previously unpublished Vatican documents and tracked down victims, priests and others who had not told their stories before.
The Pope's Jews, which will be published next month, details how Pius gave his blessing to the establishment of safe houses in the Vatican and Europe's convents and monasteries. He oversaw a secret operation with code names and fake documents for priests who risked their lives to shelter Jews, some of whom were even made Vatican subjects.
HOW THE iWATCH COULD KILL THE PASSWORD
Bullfax.com
Imagine a day when you don't need to constantly retype passwords. If Apple develops an iWatch, we may never have to type in a password again, according to Bruce Tognazzini, a former Apple employee who specializes in human-computer interaction. "The watch can and should, for most of us, eliminate passcodes altogether on iPhones, and Macs and, if Apple's smart, PCs: As long as my watch is in range, let me in!" Obviously, some security concerns come to mind. In order to make it totally secure, Tognazzini writes, Apple would first need to implement a security feature where if you remove the watch, you would need to somehow reestablish authenticity when you put it back on.
Apple Is Testing Watch-Like Device
By JESSICA E. LESSIN - WSJ.com
Apple Inc. s experimenting with designs for a watch-like device that would perform some functions of a smartphone, according to people briefed on the effort.
The company has discussed such a device with its major manufacturing partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., one of these people said, as part of explorations of potentially large product categories beyond the smartphone and tablet.
Apple Granted Patent for New Solar Powered iPhone
By Charles Kennedy - OilPrice.com
Apple has just had a new patent approved for what could become the next major advancement in mobile phone technology in the form of an integrated touch and solar sensor panel; in layman's terms a solar powered iPhone.
New generations of smart phones have faster electronics, more powerful computer chips, and larger screens with a higher resolution, yet battery technology has changed little, and this is starting to limit further advancements. Phones are becoming thinner and thinner, but they can only be as thin as their battery allows them to be; using a solar panel would avoid that problem.
The Information Revolution Gets Political
By Joseph S. Nye - Project-Syndicate.org
NEW DELHI – The second anniversary of the "Arab Spring" in Egypt was marked by riots in Tahrir Square that made many observers fear that their optimistic projections in 2011 had been dashed. Part of the problem is that expectations had been distorted by a metaphor that described events in short-run terms. If, instead of "Arab Spring," we had spoken of "Arab revolutions," we might have had more realistic expectations. Revolutions unfold over decades, not seasons or years.
Consider the French Revolution, which began in 1789. Who would have predicted that within a decade, an obscure Corsican soldier would lead French armies to the banks of the Nile, or that the Napoleonic Wars would disrupt Europe until 1815?
Congress to renew cybersecurity
scrap with Obama administration
By Jennifer Martinez - TheHill.com
A cybersecurity bill that received pushback from privacy advocates and the White House last year will be re-introduced on Wednesday, setting up a potential battle between Congress and the administration over cybersecurity legislation.
House Intelligence Committee leaders Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) will re-introduce their Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) and hold a public hearing analyzing the current state of cyber threat information sharing between the U.S. government and industry next week.
NASA Ames Catches Heat Over Alleged Tech Leaks To China
By George Anders, Contributor - Forbes.com
Two prominent Republican Congressmen contend that classified weapons know-how may have been illegally transferred to other countries, including China, by unspecified individuals at NASA's Ames Research Center in California, and that government probes of those allegations have been hamstrung by various delays.
The complaints are being raised by Frank Wolf of Virginia, chairman of the House Appropriations panel's subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies, and also by Lamar Smith of Texas, chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. They raise their concerns in a letter dated Feb. 8 to Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department's inspector general. The letter's contents were first reported by Aviation Week.
* * * * * IMPORTANT issue about your privacy…
…."If you're not paying for the product, you are the product."
Software that tracks people on social media
created by defence firm Exclusive: Raytheon's Riot program mines social network data like a 'Google for spies', drawing ire from civil rights groups
By Ryan Gallagher - Guardian.co.uk
A multinational security firm has secretly developed software capable of tracking people's movements and predicting future behaviour by mining data from social networking websites.
A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an "extreme-scale analytics" system created by Raytheon, the world's fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.
How Raytheon software tracks you online - video - World news
In this video obtained by the Guardian, Raytheon's 'principal investigator' Brian Urch explains how the Rapid Information Overlay Technology (Riot) software uses photographs on social networks. These images sometimes contain latitude and longitude details -- automatically embedded by smartphones within so-called 'exif header data'. Riot pulls out this information, analysing not only the photographs posted by individuals, but also the location where these images were taken
Google Moves to Destroy Online Anonymity …
Helping Authoritarian Governments In the Process
by George Washington - ZeroHedge.com
….A soon-to-be-released book by Google executive Eric Schmidt - called "The New Digital Age" – describes the desire of authoritarian governments to destroy anonymity. The Wall Street Journal provides an excerpt:
Some governments will consider it too risky to have thousands of anonymous, untraceable and unverified citizens — "hidden people"; they'll want to know who is associated with each online account, and will require verification at a state level, in order to exert control over the virtual world.
Last December, China started requiring all web users to register using their real names.
But the U.S. is quickly moving in the same direction. Gene Howington explains:
The Truthseeker: You're Being Watched Now (E8)
You, not terrorists, are the target for American spooks; Obama's Adventures in Murderland; and why the Police State makes a pedophile's paradise. Seek truth from facts with Endthelie.com editor Madison Ruppert, Truthout lead investigative reporter Jason Leopold, Law Professor Neil Richards, cyber security expert Rich Mogull, Kade Crockford of the American Civil Liberties Union and web multimillionaire Kim Dotcom.
EUROPE WANTS TO LIMIT GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK'S ABILITY TO SELL YOUR PERSONAL DATA
Reuters, Editing By Sebastian Moffett - BullFAX.com
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Internet companies such as Facebook and Google may have to get more permission to use information if European Union lawmakers give users more control over their personal data. EU lawmakers want to limit companies' ability to use and sell data, such as internet browsing habits, to advertising companies, especially when people are unaware their data is being used in such a way. "Users must be informed about what happens with their data," said Jan Philipp Albrecht, a German Member of the European Parliament who is driving the reform. "And they must be able to consciously agree to data processing - or reject it." Facebook and Google, who were among the first to profit from users' data, have been lobbying against the curbs.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt Plans To Sell 3.2M Company Shares Over The Next Year, 42% Of His Stake In Google
By FREDERIC LARDINOIS - TechCrunch.com
Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt, the companytoday reported in an SEC filing, plans to sell about 3.2 million of the Class A common stock he currently owns through a stock trading plan, which would reduce his share in the company by about 42 percent. At Google's current stock price, this transaction would be worth about $2.5 billion.
According to the filing, Schmidt currently owns about 7.6 million shares of Class A and Class B common stock. That, Google reports, accounts for about 2.3 percent of Google's outstanding capital stock and 8.2 percent of the voting power.
Brussels fights US data privacy push
[Google article title for free access]
By James Fontanella-Khan in Brussels - FT.com
Europe's most senior justice official is adamant she will fight US attempts to water down a proposed EU data protection and privacy law that would force global technology companies to obey European standards across the world.
Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for justice, said that the EU was determined to respond decisively to any attempts by US lobbyists – many working for large tech groups such as Google and Facebook – to curb the EU data protection law.
Dick Cheney blasts Obama's 'second-rate'
national security team
AP - WashingtonTimes.com
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Saturday night that President Obama has jeopardized U.S. national security by nominating substandard candidates for key Cabinet posts and by degrading the U.S. military.
"The performance now of Barack Obama as he staffs up the national security team for the second term is dismal," Mr. Cheney said in comments to about 300 members of the Wyoming Republican Party.
DERELICTION OF DUTY: OBAMA DID NOTHING
TO SAVE AMERICAN LIVES IN BENGHAZI--
AND LIED ABOUT IT
by JOEL B. POLLAK - Breitbart.com
Nothing. That is what President Barack Obama did on the night of September 11, 2012, as terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed four Americans, among them Ambassador Christopher Stevens. President Obama's inaction was revealed in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday by outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.
Under direct questioning by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Panetta admitted that he had no communication with President Obama after their "pre-scheduled" meeting at 5:00 p.m. EDT. The attack on the consulate had already been under way for 90 minutes at that time. Neither the president nor anyone else from the White House called afterwards to check what was happening; the Commander-in-Chief had left it "up to us," said Panetta.
Drones and biometric identity detection Ron Paul's Dire New Warning
The former Congressman and presidential candidate warned that the proposed McCain/Schumer immigration "reform" plan, as it exists now, would usher in warrantless surveillance of US citizens using drones, a de facto mandatory national ID system barring those without it from working legally, increased federal database information on US citizens, and the further erosion of our core civil rights under the guise of keeping our economy "safe" from illegal immigration.
Scariest paragraph of Ron Paul's post: "Harper rightly notes that E-Verify is in fact a national ID card, writing last week that, 'the system must biometrically identify everyone who works—you, me, and every working American you know. There is no way to do internal enforcement of immigration law without a biometric national identity system.'"
DHS Watchdog OKs 'Suspicionless' Seizure
of Electronic Devices Along Border
BY DAVID KRAVETS - Wired.com
The Department of Homeland Security's civil rights watchdog has concluded that travelers along the nation's borders may have their electronics seized and the contents of those devices examined for any reason whatsoever — all in the name of national security.
The DHS, which secures the nation's border, in 2009 announced that it would conduct a "Civil Liberties Impact Assessment" of its suspicionless search-and-seizure policy pertaining to electronic devices "within 120 days." More than three years later, the DHS office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published a two-page executive summary of its findings.
CrossTalk: Drone Master
Is 'death by drone' justifiable? Or even effective? Is Washington's use of drones legal under international -- and now also national - law? What of the issue of blowback -- is this being taken seriously? And in sending out drones, what other message is the US sending out to the world? CrossTalking with David Swanson and Noel Sharkey.
Lawmakers urge oversight of drone program
By Philip Elliott, AP - WashingtonTimes.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Obama's use of unmanned drones to kill Americans who are suspected of being al Qaeda allies deserves closer inspection, lawmakers said Sunday, as even some of the president's allies suggested an uneasiness about the program.
Mr. Obama's stance toward the terrorist threats facing the United States has left some Democrats and Republicans alike nervous about the unmanned drones targeting the nation's enemies from the skies. Questions about the deadly program dogged Mr. Obama's pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency last week and prompted lawmakers to consider tighter oversight. All killings carried out under the drone program have ballooned under the president's watch.
Is This the Secret U.S. Drone Base in Saudi Arabia?
BY NOAH SHACHTMAN - Wired.com
These satellite images show a remote airstrip deep in the desert of Saudi Arabia. It may or may not be the secret U.S. drone base revealed by reporters earlier this week. But the base's hangars bear a remarkable resemblance to similar structures found on other American drone outposts. And its remote location — dozens of miles from the nearest highway, and farther still to the nearest town – suggests that this may be more than the average civilian airstrip.
According to accounts from the Washington Post and The New York Times, the U.S. built its secret Saudi base approximately two years ago. Its first lethal mission was in September of 2011: a strike onAnwar al-Awlaki, the American-born propagandist for al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia. Since then, the U.S. has launched dozens of drone attacks on Yemeni targets. News organizations eventually found out about the base. But they agreed to keep it out of their pages — part of an informal arrangement with the Obama administration, which claimed that the disclosure of the base's location, even in a general way, might jeopardize national security. On Tuesday, that loose embargo was broken.
Cantor offers support for administration's drone program
By Ben Wolfgang-The Washington Times
While promising that Republicans won't abandon their oversight role, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Sunday expressed support for the Obama administration's use of drones.
In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press,"Mr. Cantor, Virginia Republican, said he and his colleagues soon will be "getting into examining" a recent Justice Department memo stating it's legal to use drones to target U.S. citizens in extreme circumstances. That memo was first obtained by NBC News last week.
5 Homeland Security 'Bots
Coming to Spy on You (If They Aren't Already)
BY ROBERT BECKHUSEN - Wired.com
It's been 10 years since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) started up operations. During that decade, DHS has moved to the forefront of funding and deploying the robots and drones that could be coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
DHS funds research and development for surveillance robots. It provides grant money by the hundreds of thousands to police agencies to buy their own. And sometimes it's bought and deployed robots -- for their skies, the ground and the waters -- of its own, usually concentrated along the border. It's not clear how many of those robots police operate, and law enforcement isn't by any means the only domestic market for the 'bots. But the trend lines point toward more robotic spy tools for law enforcement in more places -- with more DHS cash.
It Has Happened Here the police state is real
By Paul Craig Roberts
The Bush regime's response to 9/11 and the Obama regime's validation of this response have destroyed accountable democratic government in the United States. So much unaccountable power has been concentrated in the executive branch that the US Constitution is no longer an operable document.
Whether a person believes the official story of 9/11 which rests on unproven government assertions or believes the documented evidence provided by a large number of scientists, first responders, and structural engineers and architects, the result is the same. 9/11 was used to create an open-ended "war on terror" and a police state. It is extraordinary that so many Americans believe that "it can't happen here" when it already has.
The Anti-Democracy Index Executive branch agencies make law via regulation with brazen disregard of the Constitution. Can Congress regain its proper role?
By WAYNE CREWS & RYAN YOUNG - Spetator.org
The United States Constitution gives "all legislative powers herein granted" to Congress. Neither the judicial nor the executive branch has the power to make laws, only interpret and execute them, respectively — at least in theory. In practice, things are quite different. Not only do executive branch agencies makes laws every day by issuing regulations that have the force of law, they do more lawmaking than Congress — a lot more.
Ben Carson for President The Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon
has two big ideas for America.
Opinion - WSJ.com
Whether this weekend finds you blowing two feet of snow off the driveway or counting the hours until "Downton Abbey," make time to watch the video of Dr. Ben Carson speaking to the White House prayer breakfast this week.
Seated in view to his right are Senator Jeff Sessions and President Obama. One doesn't look happy. You know something's coming when Dr. Carson says, "It's not my intention to offend anyone. But it's hard not to. The PC police are out in force everywhere."
Obama allies urge greater scrutiny of drones policy Lawmakers use Sunday political talkshows to question use of unmanned aircraft to kill American citizens
AP - Guardian.co.uk
President Barack Obama's use of unmanned drones to kill Americans who are suspected of being al-Qaida allies deserves closer inspection, lawmakers said on Sunday, as even some of the president's allies suggested uneasiness about the program.
Obama's stance toward the terrorist threats facing the United States has left some Democrats and Republicans nervous about unmanned drones targeting the nation's enemies from the skies. Questions about the deadly program dogged Obama's pick to lead the CIA last week and prompted lawmakers to consider tighter oversight. Killings carried out under the drone program have ballooned on Obama's watch.
Did the CIA Betray Syria's Rebels? Americans didn't keep promises to opposition leaders.
Now they've turned against the U.S.
By Mike Giglio - TheDailyBeast.com
In mid-August, a well-connected Syrian activist drove to the border city of Gaziantep in southern Turkey to meet two officers from the CIA. The officers had set up shop in a conference room at a luxury hotel, where representatives from a handful of opposition groups lounged in the lobby, waiting for their turn at an audience.
Turkey will not halt gold flow to Iran, demand may fall
By Asli Kandemir and Evrim Ergin
ISTANBUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Turkey will not be swayed by U.S. sanctions pressure to halt gold exports to Iran but Tehran's demand for the metal may fall this year, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Thursday.
U.S. officials are concerned that Turkey's gold sales, which allow Iran to export natural gas, provides a financial lifeline to Tehran, which is largely frozen out of the global banking system by Western sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.
Tunisa in tatters Tunisian president's party 'to withdraw from coalition'
Congress for the Republic says its ministers will withdraw from transitional government on Monday
By Angelique Chrisafis in Tunis - The Guardian
Tunisia's transitional coalition government hung in the balance on Sunday after President Moncef Marzouki's key secular party, the Congress for the Republic (CPR), said its ministers would withdraw. Meanwhile the moderate Islamist prime minister held crunch talks with his ruling Ennahda party over replacing certain ministers to calm tensions in the wake of the murder of opposition leader Chokri Belaïd.
The CPR said the withdrawal was linked to its long-running demands for cabinet changes. A party leader told the state-run TAP news agency that the withdrawal would be confirmed on Monday.
Israeli strike in Syria might be first in series
By Joel Greenberg
and Babak Dehghanpisheh - WashingtonPost.com
JERUSALEM – Israel's recent airstrike in Syria, which according to Western officials targeted weapons destined for the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah, could mark the start of a more aggressive campaign by Israel to prevent arms transfers as conditions in Syria deteriorate, according to analysts in Israel and Lebanon.
Israel's readiness to strike again if necessary heralds a new and more volatile phase in the regional repercussions of Syria's civil war, which has raised concerns in Israel about the possible transfer of advanced or nonconventional weapons to Islamist militant groups.
Iranians on revolution day chant 'death to America'
By AL ARABIYA WITH AFP -Alarabiya.net
Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday in Tehran and other cities chanting "Death to America" as Iran marked the 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah.
In the capital, crowds waving Iranian flags and portraits of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini walked toward the landmark Azadi (Freedom) Square, in a government-sponsored rally which is now a cornerstone of the regime.
Iran and Hezbollah build militia networks
in Syria in event that Assad falls, officials say
By Karen DeYoung and Joby Warrick - WashingtonPost.com
Iran and Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, are building a network of militias inside Syria to preserve and protect their interests in the event that President Bashar al-Assad's government falls or is forced to retreat from Damascus, according to U.S. and Middle Eastern officials.
The militias are fighting alongside Syrian government forces to keep Assad in power. But officials believe Iran's long-term goal is to have reliable operatives in place in the event that Syria fractures into separate ethnic and sectarian enclaves.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says
Iran ready for nuclear talks with US President admits effect of sanctions and says West must 'pull away the gun from the face of the Iranian nation'
AP - Guardian.co.uk
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Sunday that he is ready to have talks with United States if the West stops pressuring his country.
His remarks constituted the latest in a series of hints from leaders in both Washington and Tehran about the prospect of direct bilateral negotiations over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program.
CME Cuts Gold, Silver Margins
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Any trader of paper gold and silver will likely never forget the endless and certainly parabolic barrage of margin hikes that the CME imposed in the spring and summer of 2011 which had only one purpose: to break the back of the relentless anti-fiat rally in the precious metals (and which culminated with thehistoric May 1 take down of silver when the metal plunged some 15% in the span of seconds). Since then, perhaps as a result of initial and maintenance margins still at residual levels indicative of when the S&P was some 30% lower and some $4 trillion less in slushing global central bank liquidity, the upside euphoria in gold and silver has been decidedly hobbled, perhaps so much that the CME is now scrambling to find a whole new set of gullible investors who will obediently put their money in the paper trap, only to see a surge followed by yet another mauling from soaring margin demands. After all, the CME needs trading volume to keep the cash flow flowing - killing the paper market in any one product suits nobody. Sure enough, moments ago, the CME once again cut margins in a slew of products, most notably gold and silver, by some 10% and 14%.
Stirring It Up With Bill Gross, Gold Fan In 2013 Stirring Things Up Bond-fund chief Bill Gross likes gold. Investor Meryl Witmer's picks include Tribune, fresh out of bankruptcy. And tech expert Fred Hickey is wary of most technology stocks, except EMC.
By Lauren Rublin, Barron's
What does it say about the markets and the times when the world's top bond-fund manager names gold his No. 1 investment pick of 2013? We kid you not, though everyone at this year's Barron's Roundtable thought Bill Gross surely was joking -- until he delivered an impassioned and thoroughly convincing case for owning hard assets in an age when central banks are busily manipulating financial ones.
If you read Parts 1 and 2 of this year's Roundtable, you know that macro issues, including central bankers' unprecedented attempts to drive down interest rates to juice economic growth, weigh heavy on the minds of our nine market sages, who gathered in New York on Jan. 14 to give us their 2013 investment views. Extraordinary circumstances provoke colorful, controversial, and sometimes bracing commentary, and there is no dearth of all of the above in this year's final Roundtable issue.
"If you follow issues like Too-Big-To-Fail or Wall Street corruption long enough, you realize that the reason things don't get done about them by our government has very little to do with ideology or even politics, in the way most of us understand politics.
Instead, it's a bizarre, almost tribal mentality that rules our capital city – a kind of groupthink that makes extreme myopia and a willingness to ignore the tribe's ostensible connection to the people who elected them a condition for social advancement within."
Matt Taibbi, Neil Barofsky's Adventure in Groupthink
Personally I think this is the corrosive influence of the credibility trap, the amorality of careerism, and of course, an ambivalence towards white collar corruption as the inherent entitlement of privilege. There seems to have been a shift in perspective amongst the new ruling class from noblesse oblige to droit du seigneur. This is what Robert Johnson calls 'the audacious oligarchy.'
Currency Wars Return, 1930s Style: Who Will Lose Out?
By: Matt Clinch - CNBC.com
As countries try to weaken their currencies to boost exports, the risk of a currency war similar to events seen in the 1930s has heightened, and policymakers are making sure they are on the winning side, according to Morgan Stanley.
The balance of power now rests with Japan, according to the bank, as Japan's policy-makers' more dovish approach looks set to bring the world a step closer to a currency war.
Will Japan's "Attempted" Reflation Succeed
And Will It Spill Over Into Full-Fledged Currency War?
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Yesterday we presented a simplistic analysis of why for Japan "This Time Won't Be Different", a preliminary observation so far validated by the just announced Japanese December current account deficit which was not only nearly double the expected 144.2 billion yen, printing at some 264.1 billion yen, but was only the first back-to-back monthly current account deficit since 1985.
In short - at least in the first month of Abe's great reflation attempt, not only did trade post another whopper of a deficit, but so did the broader current account implying that much more Yen weakness will be needed to generate the structural reforms sought by the new Prime Minister.
The ECB Staying Out of Currency Wars - For Now
BY SOBER LOOK - FinancialSense.com
Once again some analysts in Europe question the potency of the so-called currency warslaunched by Japan and the US. The euro-yen currency cross has had an unprecedented rally, changing the export landscape where Japan and Europe (particularly Germany) compete.
Fed seen pressing on with stimulus, mindful of risks
By Pedro da Costa and Ann Saphir
Thu Feb 7, 2013 1:56pm EST
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve looks set to continue its bond-buying stimulus for the foreseeable future despite hints of strength in the economy and rising concern about the policy's risks, comments from top officials indicated on Thursday.
Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank who is a known as a policy dove, said the central bank may need to keep up its purchases of bonds through the end of this year or into the next, and may even need to add to the program if fiscal restraint is greater than expected.
Jim Rogers Joins Bill Gross Warning on Treasuries
By Wes Goodman - Bloomberg.com
Investor Jim Rogers joined Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund, in warning that a rout that sent Treasuries to their biggest loss last month in almost a year probably isn't over.
The list of bond bears is growing after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Capital Management Inc. also voiced concern. While unemployment rose in January, Labor Department revisions showed job gains at the end of last year were higher than previously reported, increasing speculation the Federal Reserve will curtail its debt purchases this year. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rallied this month to approach a record.
Place Geithner's Book In Fiction Section Timmy's tome
By Charles Gasparino, New York Post
When I first reported last month that ex-Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner wants to write a book about his long years as one of Washington's chief economic bureaucrats, I was only half joking when I said it should be in the fiction section. And now I mean it.
Geithner yesterday confirmed that he's shopping a book. As a free-markets fan, I hope he gets a nice payday. The irony is that Geithner has done much to damage the country's free markets.
Meredith Whitney Pounds the Table:
Bank of America Stock Going to $15!
By 24/7 Wall St. - DailyFinance.com
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was the top-performing Dow Jones Industrial Average stock in 2012. That performance was not with banking analyst Meredith Whitney cheering it along all the way. Ultimately, she did change her tune and called it a solid Buy in banking stocks. Meredith Whitney was out Thursday, not just reiterating her bullish stance on Bank of America. Whitney predicts that Bank of America's common stock is headed to $15 in the next six to nine months.
An Economy Built On An Illusion
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
From an op-ed by George Melloan
The Fed's Asset-Inflation Machine
Asset inflation often produces something called "wealth illusion," the belief that pricier asset holdings necessarily make one permanently richer. Illusions are dangerous. Eventually, painful reality intervenes.
* * *
President Obama and Mr. Bernanke worsened the effects of the 2008 crash by adopting the same Keynesian antirecession measures—fiscal and monetary "stimulus"—that had failed before, most dramatically in the 1970s. Stanford economist and former Treasury official John Taylor recently argued persuasively on these pages that "stimulus" measures had retarded rather than speeded recovery.
Top financial regulators to appear before Senate committee
(Reuters) - Officials responsible for overseeing Wall Street will update lawmakers next week on their progress implementing the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, a U.S. Senate committee announced on Thursday.
Financial regulatory agencies have been writing a heap of new rules called for by the Dodd-Frank law, which Congress passed in response to the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis.
Keiser Report: The Birth of a Scandal (E403)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the Wall Street schmatas now warning of bondpocalypse as bonds now considered 'risky' investment. They also discuss both George Osborne's electric fence of new financial regulatory powers which are same as the old powers that have never actually been used against the too big to fail banks and the London lawyers suggesting that the level of manipulation of Libor was so great that contracts tied to the rate should be considered null and void. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to John Butler, Chief Investment Officer at Amphora Capital, about the bond market, currency vigilantes and the not very hidden inflation.
Obama Tells Democrats He Wants a 'Big Deal' to Trim Deficit
By Hans Nichols - Bloomberg.com
President Barack Obama said he wants to reach a "big deal" on the budget that will cut the nation's deficit without slashing spending on education and research that is needed to ensure future growth.
Obama said negotiations with congressional Republicans over avoiding the $1.2 trillion in automatic, across-the-board spending reductions set to begin March 1 shouldn't push aside the effort for a broader plan to cut government debt.
Global Economy Living Off Fed's Gravy Train
By: Michael Ivanovitch - CNBC.com
The Fed's key role in international economic policy coordination is a largely overlooked and ignored aspect of its work. Typically, most people think that is what the president and his economic officials do during the meetings of what American academic community derisively calls "talking shops" (G8, G20, and various U.N. agencies).
But the best kept secret is that the Fed does more for the successful operation of the global business cycle than all these "talking shops" combined. And it does that at no cost to American taxpayers. Last year, for example, the Fed transferred $76.9 billion in profits to the U.S. Treasury, while one of these summit jamborees can cost $850 million.
Watch The Financial Markets In Europe
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Is the financial system of Europe on the verge of a meltdown? I have always maintained that the next wave of the economic crisis would begin in Europe, and right now the situation in Europe is unraveling at a frightening pace. On Monday, European stocks had their worst day in over six months, and over the past four days we have seen the EUR/USD decline by the most that it has in nearly seven months. Meanwhile, scandals are erupting all over the continent. A political scandal in Spain, a derivatives scandal in Italy andbanking scandals all over the eurozone are seriously shaking confidence in the system. If things move much farther in a negative direction, we could be facing a full-blown financial crisis in Europe very rapidly. So watch the financial markets in Europe very carefully. Yes, most Americans tend to ignore Europe because they are convinced that the U.S. is "the center of the universe", but the truth is that Europe actually has a bigger population than we do, they have a bigger economy then we do, and they have a much larger banking system than we do. The global financial system is more integrated today than it ever has been before, and if there is a major stock market crash in Europe it is going to deeply affect the United States and the rest of the globe as well. So pay close attention to what is going on in Europe, because events over there could spark a chain reaction that would have very serious implications for every man, woman and child on the planet.
Soros Fears 'Rebellion',
Warns "The Euro Could Destroy The EU"
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
From a discussion of the Dutch political system being in the pocket of Big Oil to warning that German policy stipulations and the Euro itself could "potentially destroy the European Union," amid rebellion, George Soros has drastically reduced all Euro-related exposure from his portfolio - only a few weeks after his cautious optimism that Europe is 'revived' in Davos. As Open Europe blog notes, Soros fears that "there is a real danger that the [Euro] solution to the financial problem creates a really profound political problem." The interview below with Dutch TV shows Soros grave concerns that the Southern nations are "being pushed unwittingly... into a long lasting depression," as Germany's austerity program is "counter-productive - cannot actually succeed." Just as we recently noted the similarities between the European Union and the Soviet Union, so Soros believes the 'Euro' itself is "bound to break up the European Union." It may take generations, he notes, as a terrible tragedy of "lost political freedom and economic prosperity."
From Davos - two weeks ago...optimism that the banking system had been revived but even then he was concerned...
Abe urges Japanese companies
to raise wages
for workers to beat deflation
JapanTimes
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is urging business leaders to raise wages, saying it could help stimulate domestic demand and beat chronic deflation.
"We'll ask for the cooperation of companies whose performance is improving" in a bid to boost national income through wage increases, Abe said during a meeting Tuesday of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, the government's key economic panel.
Welfare's Failure Amid Red Ink What happens when welfare spending outpaces poverty growth?
By RALPH R. REILAND - Spectator.org
A slideshow presented by Pennsylvania's Secretary of Public Welfare, Gary Alexander, "Welfare's Failure and the Solution," graphically illustrates the cost and unsustainability of the state's anti-poverty programs.
Starting with the big picture, a "Pennsylvania Growth Trends" graph shows 10-year expansions, 2001 to 2011, adjusted for inflation, in four categories.
10 states where people are living on edge of financial disaster
Nearly half (43.9%) of households—132.1 million people are "liquid asset poor" LIVING ON THE EDGE: FINANCIAL INSECURITY AND POLICIES TO REBUILD PROSPERITY IN AMERICA
Findings from the 2013 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard [PDF]
By Jennifer Brooks and Kasey Wiedrich
The Assets & Opportunity Scorecard is a comprehensive look at Americans' financial security today and their opportunities to create a more prosperous future. It assesses the 50 states and the District of Columbia on 102 outcome and policy measures, which describe how well residents are faring and what states can do to help them build and protect assets.These measures are grouped into five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Housing & Homeownership, Health Care, and Education.
J&J Sales Rep Told Surgeon of Hip Problems, Jury Told
By Maurice Possley, David Voreacos & Jef Feeley - Bloomberg.com
A Montana surgeon testified he stopped using Johnson & Johnson's ASR all-metal hip device eight months before the company recalled it because a sales representative told him about problems with the implant.
Peter Wendt, testifying today by videotape in state court in Los Angeles, said he implanted 76 ASRs, including one in Loren Kransky, 65, of Montana. Kransky's lawsuit is the first of 10,000 to go to trial over claims that J&J's DePuy unit defectively designed the 93,000 hips recalled in August 2010 and failed to warn of the risks.
The Coming Obamacare Recession Actually, we already saw it last quarter
and there'll be no escaping it this year.
By BRANDON CROCKER - Spectator.org
To the shock of many, U.S. GDP shrank in the fourth quarter of 2012 by 0.1%. Immediately, however, economists and commentators flooded the media with reassuring explanations. Super Storm Sandy reduced economic activity in the areas it ravaged; worries about the fiscal cliff and sequestration dampened business spending and government defense spending; businesses let inventory levels dwindle. Even the Federal Reserve commented that the GDP drop was the result of "weather-related disruptions and other transitory factors." All this is true, to some extent. But none of the reporting I saw even mentioned the elephant in the room that not only depressed economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2012, but will continue to depress economic activity through 2013 and beyond. That elephant is the "Affordable Care Act," aka "Obamacare."
HOUSE BILL WOULD CREATE 'NATIONAL NURSE' The House of Representatives will consider legislation that would create a "National Nurse for Public Health."
by TONY LEE - Breitbart.com
On Wednesday, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), along with more than two dozen Democrats, and Pete King (R-NY), introduced The National Nurse Act, H.R. 485, which would "would designate the chief nurse officer of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)" as the "National Nurse for Public Health."
In an announcement on her website, Johnson said she, "as the first registered nurse in Congress," knew from "experience how nurses play a critical role in health promotion and disease prevention."
Mortgage Putback Ruling Could Slam Banks
(FBC, AGO, MBI, JPM, CS, BAC)
By 24/7 Wall St. - DailyFinance.com
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled yesterday that Flagstar Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: FBC) must pay $90.1 million to bond insurer Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) in a mortgage "putback" case. The amount may be relatively small, but the impact could be startlingly large.
At issue was a claim by Assured that Flagstar had misrepresented the quality of loans the bank packaged into securities and passed on to Assured to guarantee. Loan guarantors, like Assured, have sued to force banks to take back the crappy securities and return the fees that the guarantors paid. Hence the name "putback."
The Pension Fund That Ate California CalPERS's corruption, insider dealing, and politicized investments have overwhelmed taxpayers with debt.
By Steve Malanga - City Journal
After spending years dogged by unpaid debts, California labor leader Charles Valdes filed for bankruptcy in the 1990s—twice. At the same time, he held one of the most influential positions in the American financial system: chair of the investment committee for the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, the nation's largest pension fund for government workers. Valdes left the board in 2010 and now faces scrutiny for accepting gifts from another former board member, Alfred Villalobos—who, the state alleges, spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to influence how the fund invested its assets. Questioned by investigators about his dealings with Villalobos, Valdes invoked the Fifth Amendment 126 times.
Revenue Checkpoints Come to Florida
"According to Public Affairs Office Sgt. Steve Gaskins, troopers will be looking for worn tires, bad brakes and lighting defects, in addition to driver's license laws," reports Hernando Today.
In the past, cops usually set-up checkpoints in the evening and the wee hours of the morning to flush out drivers who dared drink alcohol and drive. Over they years, the alcohol level permissible by the state fell to a point where half a beer will get a citizen-subject thrown in the hoosegow and indebted for years to the system and its revenue enhancement apparatus.
Now the revenue enhancement game in Florida has found a new crop of victims -- folks driving cars not up to standards set by government or in violation of its byzantine documentation rules.
Hostess Bakers' Union Says It Held Talks With Bidders
By Dawn McCarty & Phil Milford - Bloomberg.com
The union representing Hostess Brands Inc.'s fired bakery workers held talks with companies bidding for the Twinkie maker's assets, the union's leader said.
"We've engaged with potential future owners and we're willing to work with them," David Durkee, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, told reporters on a conference call today. He didn't specify which companies the union contacted or what was discussed.
American Airlines and US Airways Merging
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
As of last night it looks like American Airlines is finally going to do the right thing and accept US Airways' efforts to take it over. That's the best outcome for American financially; it's the most plausible outcome in terms of regulatory scrutiny; and it's the outcome American's unions have been pushing for.
Laughable legislation Proposed bill would guarantee
perpetual employment for lawmakers
HutchNews.com
Kansas Senator Greg Smith, R-Overland Park, has introduced one of the most absurd pieces of legislation to ever see the light of day.
Senate Bill 119, introduced on Monday, would offer employment protection for legislators who find themselves unemployed due to a failed re-election bid. According to the bill, legislators who give proper notice to their employers before taking office - either through election or appointment - would be guaranteed a return to those same positions - with the same pay, seniority and responsibility level - they would have enjoyed had they never left the job at all.
How Amazon Could Save the U.S. Postal Service
BY MARCUS WOHLSEN - Wired.com
It's the internet's fault that, if the U.S. Postal Service has its way, you won't be getting letters delivered to your mailbox on Saturdays anymore. After all, how many stamps have you bought lately?
But the engine of the USPS's demise could also save it. After all, how many packages have you received from Amazon lately? And wouldn't you like to get them faster?
Postal Service spokesman John Friess says that while its letter-carrying business is shrinking, its package-delivery business is growing. (Note that postal carriers will still be delivering packages on Saturdays.) In its anxious search to make money any way possible, the agency late last year began testing a same-day delivery service in San Francisco for online purchases. While the experiment, called Metro Post, is starting out small, it also comes at a time when the world's largest online retailer might be looking for a lot of trucks and a lot of drivers who can do same-day delivery cheap.
Why Doesn't the Postal Service Make Money? What do UPS and FedEx know that the USPS doesn't?
By Brian Palmer - Slate.com
The U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday that it would end Saturday letter deliverybeginning in August. The change reportedly will save the USPS $2 billion annually. UPS andFedEx post profits fairly regularly. Why can't the Postal Service make money delivering mail?
Because it got complacent holding a monopoly. The U.S. Postal Service has a legal monopoly on the non-urgent delivery of letters. It used to be an extremely valuable asset. The monopoly was so valuable, in fact, that the agency built its future around the lucrative first-class letter business. With the profits from first-class mail, the Postal Service priced the delivery of newspapers and magazines at well below cost. In 2006 alone, the USPS subsidized periodicalsto the tune of $273 million. The profits from first-class letter monopoly also allowed the Postal Service to stand by while private companies dominated the now crucial parcel-delivery business. The Internet eventually made letters obsolete; gas prices surged; and health care and retirement costs rose beyond projections, turning letter delivery from a cash cow into a burden. (The true cost of delivering a letter is likely more than twice what we now pay.) The collapse of first-class mail was inevitably going to damage the agency. Many observers believe, however, that the Postal Service could have survived those challenges, and even prospered like other delivery companies, if it hadn't relied so heavily on the profits from its exclusive letter-delivery business.
House Democrats fire away with 15 new gun-ban proposals
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
House Democrats are bringing their own gun-control plan to the table and are due to unveil on Thursday 15 separate proposals — including a copycat of President Obama's wish to outright ban assault weapons, according to various media reports.
Democrats will also propose bans on sales of magazines that carry more than 10 rounds of ammunition, background checks for all gun sales - and prohibitions on gun trafficking, according to The Associated Press.
The Root Cause of Gun Violence If Obama & Co. are helpless to prevent gang warfare,
what are they doing trying to disarm the law-abiding?
By PETER FERRARA - Spectator.org
Aside from a few, brave, truth-tellers, all of the discussion in Washington boils down to one theme — Why More Power and Money Should Be Transferred from You to Me.
Of course, the sophists never say that directly. They always say it is for the children, or the poor, or the middle class, or the elderly, or the sick. But watch what they do, not what they say. In the end, every Washington Establishment initiative, proposal, or campaign is always aimed at the same result — power and money taken from you, to be given to them.
President Obama vows
to make Nancy Pelosi speaker of the House again 'I love Nancy Pelosi,' Obama gushes
By Susan Crabtree-The Washington Times
President Obama, speaking to House Democrats at a party retreat in Lansdowne, Va., on Thursday, told lawmakers that if they stick to their principles, "I expect Nancy Pelosi will be speaker again."
The president said immigration, gun control and the economy are his top priorities for the year, and he offered some oddly-worded praise for Mrs. Pelosi, the House minority leader.
Rigs in the Gulf of Mexico Cease Drilling
after Discovery of Faulty Bolts
By Joao Peixe - OilPrice.com
Just three years after the events of the Macondo well oil spill befell the Gulf of Mexico, many rigs have once again been asked to cease all operations; this time due to the discovery of faulty bolts used in safety equipment.
The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement have ordered energy companies working in the Gulf, such as Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, and Transocean, to suspend all work upon any rig that uses General Electric devices to connect drilling tubes and safety equipment to the sea floor.
Can Leak Detection End the Pipeline Impasse?
Interview with Adrian Banica
By James Stafford - OilPrice.com
Pipelines used to be things that were just built without blinking. It is said that there are enough pipelines now in the US to encircle the Earth 25 times with enough left over to also tie a bow around it. Today, getting a pipeline built is not so easy - there are too many environmental concerns and the industry has become highly polarized. But here's one thing that could bring everyone together: pipeline safety technology. And it's something we all want, especially for those who live along the thousands of miles of aging pipeline routes that carry hazardous liquids.
Spawned by research that started in space, remote-sensing technology designed to detect dangerous leaks in pipelines has the potential to provide the neutral ground for decisions to be made and consensus to be formed. The clincher: This technology is not only affordable -it saves money and could eventually save the industry.
Brazil Prepares to Surprise Drillers This Time With Gas
By With assistance from Peter Millard - Bloomberg.com
As Brazil prepares for its first-ever auction of shale-gas acreage, it has a message for global prospectors: The country that discovered the world's biggest offshore oil finds this century may have almost twice as much natural gas onshore as is currently estimated.
Brazil's energy regulator known as ANP made the assertion in a preliminary estimate of potential reserves, in an e-mail to Bloomberg News. The estimate is 88 percent higher than the U.S. Energy Information Administration's calculation that Brazil may have 226 trillion cubic feet of gas held in shale, a sedimentary rock increasingly being harvested for fuels around the world.
Garbage in - Power out
By Peter McCusker - OilPrice.com
Work has started on the construction of the world's largest plasma gasification plant with its development signalling the dawning of a new era in the UK's Energy from Waste sector.
The £300m plant on Teesside, North East England, is being built by US industrial gases outfit Air Products using the latest plasma gasification technology developed by AlterNRG Westinghouse.
How does Fracking Differ from Conventional Oil Recovery
By Dave Summers - OilPrice.com
Before there were refrigerators folks kept drinks cool by putting them into clay jars that had been soaked in water. The evaporation of the water from the clay cooled the container and its contents, which today includes wine bottles. On the other hand, for many years artisans have taken clay in a slightly different form, shaped it and baked it and provided the teacups which keep the liquid inside until we drink it.
Storm panic hits: BofA warns 'Get Cash,' FEMA sees blackouts
By Paul Bedard - WashingtonExaminer.com
In what may be the first full digital storm panic, federal, state and business officials worried about the snow headed for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast have taken to Twitter warn that a potential disaster is coming.
Bank of America led the frenzy. "Winter Storm #Nemo may bring 2 feet of #snow to New England late Fri & Sat. Prepare now - make sure you have plenty of cash on hand."
Apple Should, And Will, Make a Smartwatch
BY CHRISTINA BONNINGTON - Wired.com
It isn't a matter of "if" Apple creates a smartwatch, but rather "when." And "why."
Moving into the hot "wearables" market with a smartwatch would allow Apple to compete against upstarts like Pebble and seasoned stalwarts like Sony and capitalize on a trend that is sweeping the industry — as shown by the vast number of "wearable" computing devices seen at CES this year. Companies like Nike, Adidas and Motorola are expected to ship 90 million wearables by 2017, and there's no way Apple would miss out on a piece of that action. A smartwatch would also help complete Apple's product lineup since the company abandoned the wrist-wearable, square-shaped iPod nano in favor of a larger-screened version.
All day I've faced a barren waste
Without the taste of water
Cool water...
Cool Water by Bob Nolan (1936)
When Nolan wrote that song - about a man and his mule in the desert - it's doubtful he knew that he was prefiguring a world to come. Despite the massive abundance of water on our planet (and throughout the known universe, in fact), access to potable water (or a lack thereof) may prove to be the defining social struggle of this century, much like oil in the last. But a plethora of new technologies aim to nip the problem in the bud. Will they be enough?
There Is a Lot of Water Out There
The Next Industrial Revolution will be Led by Robots
By Gregor Macdonald - OilPrice.com
The quest for cheap energy and cheap labor is a conquering human urge, one that has played out with notable ferocity starting with the Industrial Revolution. The introduction of coal into British manufacturing and the more recent outsourcing of Western manufacturing to Asia have marked key thresholds in this ongoing progression.
But despite the harvesting of additional productivity gains from the more recent revolution in information technology, the suite of macro data suggests that the rate of advancement in physical production has slowed, notably, in the past thirty years.
Is There An Artificial Crisis Over Artificial Intelligence?
BY CRIS SHERIDAN - FinancialSense.com
There's a lot of controversy over robots these days. The NY Times reports, "Robots have once again gripped the nation's imagination, stoking fears of displaced jobs and perhaps even a displaced human race." Yesterday, the Atlantic ran a story asserting that people are freaking out, creating an "artificial crisis" over AI.
60 Minutes stirred the pot with a news segment that went viral when they interviewed MIT Professors, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, on how robots are partly to blame for our jobless recovery:
Cybersecurity: how preemptive cyberwar
is entering the nation's arsenal In addition to authorizing the use of cyberweapons, the White House is preparing an executive order to beef up cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, such as the electric grid, refineries, and telecommunications.
By Mark Clayton - CSMonitor.com
A formal, three-year legal and policy review of US cyberweapons that concluded last fall has effectively cleared their use alongside other weapons systems in the US arsenal, a stamp of approval that propels the fledgling US Cyber Command toward a fully operational role within the nation's military structure, cyberwar experts say.
Cyberweapons have been available to the US militarysince at least the first Gulf War against Iraq, but when, how, and under what conditions they could or should be deployed has been subject to vigorous debate among military and civilian policymakers.
Newspapers defend sitting on, publishing U.S. drone stories
By Jennifer Harper-The Washington Times
For more than year, two of the nation's top news organizations withheld major stories revealing secret details about American drone bases in the Middle East, complying with a request from the Obama administration to withhold the reports. This week, however, the race was on between The New York Times and The Washington Post to spill all the details.
The events prove that old-fashioned scoops are still irresistible and that competition can trump political loyalty.
Top lawmakers consider new court to monitor drones
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senator Dianne Feinstein says it's time to lift the secrecy off the CIA drone program that targets al-Qaida operatives so that U.S. officials can acknowledge the strikes and correct what she says are exaggerated reports of civilian casualties.
The California Democrat and Senate Intelligence Committee chairman says she and other lawmakers may explore setting up a special court system to regulate strikes, similar to the special courts that signs off on government surveillance in espionage and terror cases.
White House to release legal rationale
for killing of US citizens with drones 50-page document to be given to Senate intelligence committee in attempt to ease pressure on John Brennan
By Chris McGreal and Ian Black - Guardian.co.uk
The White House has bowed to demands from Congress to release its legal reasoning for the killing of US citizens by armed drones in an attempt to ease pressure on John Brennan, the architect of the drones strategy, at his Senate confirmation hearing as CIA director on Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that Barack Obama ordered that the 50-page legal rationale finally be given to the Senate intelligence committee as members' anger at the administration's refusal to share the classified document led to an implied threat from some senators to hold up Brennan's nomination.
Exclusive: U.N.'s Drone Investigator
Backs Brennan for Top CIA Job
BY SPENCER ACKERMAN - Wired.com
The head of the United Nations inquiry into drone strikes and targeted killings believes the chief architect of those efforts will rein them in at the CIA.
Ben Emmerson, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights and counterterrorism, tells Danger Room he's giving his qualified backing to John Brennan, President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser and nominee to become CIA director. The endorsement comes at a critical time for both men: Brennan faces Senate questioning on Thursday afternoon, and Emmerson is negotiating access with the U.S. government to its targeted-killing efforts for his recently announced international inquiry into their legality.
In Brennan's Private Sector Stint, a Chinese Connection
By: Eamon Javers - CNBC.com
John Brennan, President Obama's nominee to be director of the CIA, like many government employees took a three-year turn through the private sector before rejoining the administration – but it was nothing like the blandly profitable corporate stints of other federal bureaucrats.
When Brennan went to work for a private intelligence contractor called The Analysis Corporation, he entered a murky milieu of transnational private spy firms with taxpayer-fueled profits. And he found himself working for a Ferrari-driving foreign boss who made much of his money on the dangerous streets of Iraq.
Lawmakers to get access to drone war rules
Washington AFP-JIJI - JapanTimes.co.jp
In a reversal, President Barack Obama will hand lawmakers classified documents outlining the legal justification for drone strikes that kill U.S. citizens abroad who are conspiring with al-Qaida.
An administration official disclosed the move Wednesday on the eve of a Senate hearing on Obama's nomination of top White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency in the president's second term.
Brennan: Government Goes Through 'Agony'
Before Launching Drone Strikes
BY SPENCER ACKERMAN - Wired.com
During a contentious and at times raucous Senate hearing, John Brennan, President Obama's nominee to run the CIA, said the government agonizes over authorizing lethal drone strikes.
The deadly strikes have attracted such acrimony at home and abroad that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) ordered the public removed from Brennan's nomination hearing after protesters yelled out their objections to the program. For the first time in public, Brennan expressed frustration that "the people standing up today" did not understand the government's dilemma.
Michael Moore Asks Americans
to Stand Up to Obama, Back NDAA Suit
Truthdig.com
Michael Moore is taking a stand against President Obama's National Defense Authorization Act by supporting a lawsuit that seeks to change the "dangerous" measure, and he's urging others to do the same.
The filmmaker and liberal activist is arguing that the NDAA represents an effort by the White House to scrap "vital civil rights," something he says all U.S. citizens should be concerned about. "At the moment a lot of people think the NDAA does not look scary. But this sort of thing never looks scary at the start. But the American people will rue the day if they do not stop this," he told The Guardian.
Obama hands off on Benghazi action Panetta says the president 'left it up to us'
By Guy Taylor-The Washington Times
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta on Thursday revealed he personally broke the news to President Obama that the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, was under attack last year — but he and the president didn't speak the rest of the night as the assault on the compound unfolded.
Mr. Panetta said he and Mr. Obama, along with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, discussed the attack for 15 minutes in the Oval Office the afternoon of Sept. 11, and also covered an anti-American protest that had broken out that day at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.
Crisis Looms if Defense Cuts Implemented: Panetta
AP - CNBC.com
Looming across-the-board budget cuts present the U.S. military with the most significant readiness crisis in more than a decade and quick action is needed to avoid the spending reductions, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned during testimony Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
If the billions of dollars in cuts are allowed to stand, Panetta said, he would have to throw the country's national defense strategy "out the window,"and the United States would no longer be a first-rate power. "This will badly damage our national defense and compromise our ability to respond to crises in a dangerous world," Panetta said.
Russian fighters intrude into Japanese airspace
on isle row day, spurring protest
JapanTimes.co.jp
Two Russian fighter jets briefly intruded into Japanese airspace Thursday off Hokkaido, the first such incursion in five years, the Defense Ministry said.
Tokyo lodged a protest with Moscow over the incident, asking the Russian side to look into the case, the Foreign Ministry said.
U.S. kicks off allied fighter jet training over Pacific
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Fighter jets from the United States, Australia and Japan are currently flying over western Pacific skies, as military drills — called Cope North — aimed at bolstering an allied force kicked off Thursday.
"The training is not against a specific country, like China," said Japan Air Self-Defense ForceLt. Gen. Masayuki Hironaka, in an Associated Press report. "However, I think [the fact] that our alliance with the U.S. and Australia is healthy is a strong message."
Asteroid to Traverse Earth's Satellite Zone, NASA Says
By Jim Snyder - Bloomberg.com
An asteroid half the size of a U.S. football field will pass between Earth and orbiting satellites next week, sparing the human race from the fate suffered by dinosaurs, NASA said.
The 150-foot diameter asteroid, named 2012 DA14, will pass about 17,000 miles above Earth on Feb. 15 -- lower than the orbits of some satellites -- in the closest recorded approach of an object of its size. It will travel at 7.8 kilometers a second (17,400 miles an hour), or about eight times the speed of a rifle shot, NASA scientists said yesterday.
Asteroid 2012 DA14
Planetary scientist Daniel Durda talked about Near Earth asteroids, and the possibility of a mid-sized one, 2012 DA14, hitting us in 2013. The 150 ft. wide object (much smaller than Apophis) won't collide with Earth when it makes a close approach on Feb. 15th, 2013, he said, but its subsequent pass in 2020 could be of concern. We don't have enough information yet about what its orbit will look like at that time, he noted. A lot of recent asteroid & comet discoveries are being made by amateur astronomers, who ironically sometimes have better equipment and more time than the professionals, he commented.
How Asteroid 2012 DA14 Will Give Earth Close Shave
by Karl Tate - Space.com
At 2:26 p.m. EST (1926 GMT) on Feb. 15, the asteroid 2012 DA14 will fly within 17,200 miles (27,680 kilo- meters) of Earth. This is lower than the communications satellites that orbit 22,000 miles (35,800 km) above the equator.
The asteroid will not hit the Earth on this orbital pass, but asteroid 2012 DA14 is about the size of the object that hit Siberia in 1908 (the "Tunguska Event"). The asteroid was discovered on Feb. 23, 2012, by the La Sagra Sky Survey.
NASA: Asteroid flyby next week is the closest ever of its size
By Brian Vastag - WashingtonPost.com
A close encounter of the rocky kind is set for Feb. 15, when an office-building-size asteroid will speed past Earth faster than a bullet and closer than some communications satellites.
It will be the nearest recorded brush with a space rock so large, NASA scientists said Thursday.
The good news: There's no chance of an impact. At its closest, asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass about 17,000 miles above Earth.
Gold And The Super Bubble
By Larry Trefz - SeekingAlpha.com
Gold prices are largely a function of broader market uncertainty. This is evidenced by the low and steady gold prices (about $300-$500 per oz.) from the mid-1980s through mid-2000s. This time period correlated with the DJIA gaining about 1000% when much of the developed world experienced a long period of relative economic certainty (other than the dot-com bubble which did not cause major systemic risk).
Prior to this period of relative calm, gold prices experienced a massive spike to over $800 per oz. in the inflation scare of the late 1970s and early '80s. This spike was in response to extreme broad-market uncertainty where the Federal Reserve had considerable difficulty choking off skyrocketing inflation.
What Changed in Swiss Gold Banking? What the Swiss banks' move away from unallocated accounts says about gold, and about banking…
By Adrian Ash - GoldSeek.com
IMAGINE you could sell someone something, but keep ownership of it, and then use it yourself.
You could lend it out for interest, say, or raise loans of your own by pledging it as collateral. Or even sell it to raise cash when things get tight. And if your business fails entirely, the "owner" will just have to cue up with all of your other creditors, and be thankful with whatever small change is paid out by the courts.
US Dollar's loss of value in gold terms... The ever-changing yardstick
By Steve Saville - 321Gold.com
To illustrate the difficulty of measuring performance in terms of the US dollar, today we are presenting three inflation-adjusted (IA) gold charts. Our method of inflation adjustment was outlined in the December-2010 article posted here.
First, we present the long-term monthly chart that we normally use to show gold's 'real' performance. This chart puts historical prices into current (in this case, December-2012) dollar terms, which means that prices from past times are adjusted upward to reflect the estimated decline in the dollar's purchasing power from the past time to the present. For example, we calculate that the January-1980 gold price of $722 is the equivalent of around $3100 in current dollar terms. This means that by our calculations it takes more than four dollars today to buy what one dollar would have bought in January-1980, or, to put it another way, the US$ has lost more than 75% of its purchasing power since January of 1980.
U.S. FISCAL POLICY IS UPSIDE DOWN
by John Cassidy - NewYorker.com
Reading through the new budget outlook from the Congressional Budget Office, which was released on Tuesday, three figures made the biggest impression on me: 1.4 per cent, 2.4 per cent, and 76 per cent. Taken together, these three numbers explain a good deal about what's wrong with Washington, and how we are focussing on precisely the wrong things. Rather than tackling the long-term rise in entitlement spending, which does present a potentially serious threat to the country's prosperity, policy makers, particularly congressional Republicans, are intent on making short-term spending cuts across the board, for which there is little or no rationale. In short, they've got things upside down.
Another 'virtual currency' for the real world Amazon Launches Its Own Currency
to Make It Easier to Spend on the Kindle
BY SARAH MITROFF - Wired.com
Following in the footsteps of Microsoft and Nintendo, Amazon has announced its own virtual currency for game, app, and in-app purchases, called Amazon Coins, on the Kindle Fire HD. The e-commerce giant is billing it as a way for developers to make more money by making it easier for shoppers to buy apps and games.
Android and iOS app developer Zak Tanjeloff agrees that Amazon Coins could put more cash in developer's bank accounts. "Any time you reduce the friction in buying an app or an in-app purchase, developers see better sales," he says. It could also open the door for more in-app promos, where consumers can win coins and use them for future in-app purchases, which would help developers earn even more money, Tanjeloff says.
Payback for a Downgrade? The feds sue S&P but not Moody's for pre-crisis credit ratings.
Opinion - WSJ.com
Now, this is awkward. One agency of the federal government is suing a company for fraud while another agency continues to endorse it.
On Monday in Los Angeles, the Department of Justice sued Standard & Poor's and its parent McGraw-Hill for $5 billion. The claim is that S&P committed civil fraud when it issued high credit ratings on mortgage-related securities prior to the financial crisis of 2008. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have piled on the suit.
Levitt Says McGraw-Hill 'Foolish' to Not Settle S&P Lawsuit
By Elizabeth Dexheimer - Bloomberg.com
The U.S. government will prevail in its lawsuit accusing McGraw-Hill Cos. and its Standard & Poor's unit of fraud, former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt said.
"The government is going to win," Levitt said in an interview today with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Radio. "McGraw-Hill was foolish not to have made a settlement."
The Justice Department this week sued McGraw-Hill, claiming that S&P deliberately understated the risk of bonds backed by mortgages made to the riskiest borrowers to win business from Wall Street banks. S&P rated more than $2.8 trillion of residential mortgage-backed securities and about $1.2 trillion of collateralized-debt obligations from September 2004 through October 2007, according to the complaint.
OMG! US MBS suit against S&P is LOL funny
By JOHN CRUDELE - NYPost.com
I'm LOL about this one.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Justice Department said it would sue Standard & Poor's for rating mortgage-backed securities incorrectly during the 2008 financial crisis. This is funny on a number of levels; LOL — or laugh out loud — funny, in fact.
For one thing, why wasn't Moody's Investors Service sued? There's no indication that Moody's was any better at spotting the crappy mortgages that were bundled into securities by Wall Street and later sold (or taken over) by the government and taxpayers.
BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE OF S. & P.
Posted by John Cassidy - NewYorker.com
One of the most surprising aspects of the Justice Department's five-billion-dollar lawsuit against Standard & Poor's, which the D.O.J. accuses of defrauding investors by issuing ratings on subprime mortgage securities that it knew to be misleading, is that the settlement talks broke down. According to a story in the Times, McGraw-Hill, S. & P.'s parent company, decided to take its chances in court rather than accept a billion dollar fine and admit wrongdoing, which could have made it vulnerable to more lawsuits from investors.
Keiser Report: Horror Bankers Attack! (E402)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss Ben 'Horror Frog' Bernanke ripping the legs off the global reserve currency in order to defend itself from deflation, while in Europe, the Magritte and Dali of policymakers worry not about bankruptcy as long as the fraud flow fees keep flowing, or F-cubed. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Simon Rose of SaveOurSavers.co.uk about his recent experience giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee and about the moochers living on the dole of quantitative easing while the Bank of England sits on one third of the stock of gilts with a 'cunning' plan to sell them one day and theoretically make a profit.
Economy can't defy laws of nature forever Chris Martenson examines a toxic global economy
By Al Lewis - MarketWatch.com
DENVER (MarketWatch) — When the global economy finally collapses, we might look back at the work of a neurotoxicologist named Chris Martenson and say, well, I guess that guy was right.
Meantime, it will be easier to listen to the loudest economic cheerleaders and question whether a neurotoxicologist has any business diagnosing the economy in the first place.
GOP revives alternative sequester plan
By Jeremy Herb - TheHill.com
House and Senate Republican defense hawks are reviving a proposal to avoid the first year of sequestration cuts by reducing the size of the federal workforce, which they introduced Wednesday as they blasted President Obama's efforts.
The Republican lawmakers, who gathered for a joint press conference Wednesday, said their plan was the path of least resistance to avoid the $45 billion in across-the-board spending cuts that Pentagon leaders say would devastate the military.
Insiders now aggressively bearish Insider selling pace now fastest in several years
By Mark Hulbert - MarketWatch.com
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — Corporate insiders are aggressively selling their shares.
This is worrisome because corporate insiders — officers, directors and the largest shareholders — presumably know more about their companies' prospects than the rest of us do. If they were confident that the shares of their companies would soon be trading markedly higher, they wouldn't be selling them now.
Yet selling they are — at an alarming pace.
Do Wall Street Insiders Expect
Something Really BIG To Happen Very Soon?
By Michael Snyder -TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Why are corporate insiders dumping huge numbers of shares in their own companies right now? Why are some very large investors suddenly making gigantic bets that the stock market will crash at some point in the next 60 days? Do Wall Street insiders expect something really BIG to happen very soon? Do they know something that we do not know? What you are about to read below is startling. Every time that the market has fallen in recent years, insiders have been able to get out ahead of time. David Coleman of the Vickers Weekly Insider report recently notedthat Wall Street insiders have shown "a remarkable ability of late to identify both market peaks and troughs". That is why it is so alarming that corporate insiders are selling nine times as many shares as they are buying right now. In addition, some extraordinarily large bets have just been made that will only pay off if the financial markets in the U.S. crash by the end of April. So what does all of this mean? Well, it could mean absolutely nothing or it could mean that there are people out there that actually have insider knowledge that a market crash is coming. Evaluate the evidence below and decide for yourself...
Why Economists Don't See
The Coming Recession And Popping Stock Bubble
By John Early - SeekingAlpha.com
The surprise contraction in fourth quarter GDP may just mean the third quarter's strength came from pulling growth from the fourth. While a recession could have started, it is probably still a few months away. Like other recessions, most economists will fail to warn that it is coming.
In the 30 plus years I have watched, I have never seen a consensus of economists correctly forecast a recession before it started. Economists in positions of authority, particularly at the Federal Reserve and in a President's administration, virtually never publicly forecast a recession, perhaps out of concern it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Economists on Wall Street rarely predict recessions, perhaps because it reduces their firm's effectiveness in selling product. Wall Street economists, who predict recessions, even if they are correct, often find themselves unemployed.
The Silver Lining Buried in the "Bad" GDP Number
By MARTIN HUTCHINSON - MoneyMorning.com
The markets were hit with an unexpected twist last week. On Wednesday the Bureau of Economic Analysis shocked markets by announcing that U.S. Gross Domestic Product had declined by 0.1% in the fourth quarter.
That marked the first time economic output had fallen since the end of the Great Recession.
But the report wasn't all doom and gloom by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, when you look at the report more closely there was a silver lining buried in the numbers: the decline was entirely caused by weakness in government spending and inventories.
Those are areas where bad is really good.
Friends of Fraud
By PAUL KRUGMAN - NYTimes.com
Like many advocates of financial reform, I was a bit disappointed in the bill that finally emerged. Dodd-Frank gave regulators the power to rein in many financial excesses; but it was and is less clear that future regulators will use that power. As history shows, the financial industry's wealth and influence can all too easily turn those who are supposed to serve as watchdogs into lap dogs instead.
There was, however, one piece of the reform that was a shining example of how to do it right: the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a stand-alone agency with its own funding, charged with protecting consumers against financial fraud and abuse. And sure enough, Senate Republicans are going all out in an attempt to kill that bureau.
Why Isn't Tim Geithner Going to Wall Street?
By Kevin Roose - NYMag.com
For high-ranking public-sector officials with significant economic experience, selling out to the private sector once you're out of office is about the easiest thing in the world. Most Wall Street banks, private equity firms, and white-shoe law firms love hiring former government muckety mucks through the revolving door — it gives them a prestigious name to put on the firm letterhead and access to a world-class Rolodex, and all that's required for them to dish out is a fat salary and a ceremonial job with little actual responsibility.
Geithner's New Job Sharpens Fed Speculation
By Dunstan Prial - FOXBusiness.com
Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has landed a job in New York with the Council on Foreign Relations, one of the more prestigious think tanks.
The position, announced Wednesday, will do nothing to quell speculation that Geithner could soon be in line for another position in government, namely Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
Tim Geithner to write book
focusing on his response to the financial crisis
NYPost.com
Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will write a book focusing on his response to the financial crisis, The Associated Press has learned.
Geithner, 51, will be represented by Washington-based attorney Robert Barnett, who confirmed Wednesday that Geithner would be meeting with publishers, but otherwise declined comment. Barnett has negotiated deals for President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and many others. Clinton said recently that she hoped to write a book.
Gerald Celente - USA Watchdog.com - February 4, 2013
Gerald Celente pulls no punches when he predicts, "The world is going to war." Celente says what is happening today happened before, prior to World War II. Celente says the pattern is the same as the one that started in 1929.
RBS to pay $612M to resolve Libor case
By Danielle Douglas - WashingtonPost.com
Royal Bank of Scotland on Wednesday became the third international bank to reach a settlement in the ongoing investigation of the widespread manipulation of the global interest rate known as the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.
Federal prosecutors and regulators said RBS has agreed to pay $612 million to U.S. and British authorities for its role in the rate-fixing scandal. As part of the deal, the bank's Japanese subsidiary pleaded guilty to criminal charges of wire fraud and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department. No individuals have been indicted.
U.S. Postal Service to Cut Saturday Mail
By ERIC MORATH - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Postal Service is moving to end Saturday mail delivery as part of a strategy to curb losses at the agency, which swelled to $15.9 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe said Wednesday that the Postal Service will halt Saturday mail delivery to homes and businesses Aug. 5, but continue to deliver packages and Express Mail that day. Post office boxes would continue to receive mail Saturdays as well.
The change will result in a $2 billion annual savings for the agency, it said.
No letters on Saturday won't save Postal Service
By Rick Geddes - CNN.com
(CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service today announced it will stop delivering first-class mail on Saturdays, expecting to save about $2 billion a year. Given the rapid rate of decline in letter mail and the loss of revenues, this is a welcome cost-cutting move.
But this change will not make the Postal Service sustainable for the long term.
Mich. governor signs on for Obama's Medicaid expansion
By Tom Howell Jr.-The Washington Times
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday became the sixth Republican governor to support the expansion of Medicaid as envisioned by President Obama's health law.
In making the announcement, Mr. Snyder is following in the footsteps of notable "Obamacare" critics such as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who unveiled his decision on Monday.
Corporate America:
Saving the Twinkie but Not the Workers
CEPR.net
No, I am not kidding. Steven Davidoff has a DealBook columntouting the fact that Hostess Twinkies are likely to survive as a product, even though the company that makes them has gone bankrupt. The Twinkie brand, along with other iconic brands owned by the company, will be sold off in bankruptcy to other companies who expect to be able to profitably market them. Of course there is no guarantee that they will restart the old factories and rehire the Hostess workers, likely leaving them out in the cold.
There are two major issues here. First, in the United States firms can in general fire workers at will. This means that if they can find workers elsewhere in or outside the country who will work for less, then they can dump their current workforce and hire lower cost labor. This happens all the time. Most other wealthy countries require some sort of severance payment to longer term workers, but the United States does not.
Robots Taking Jobs From Every Sector of the Economy
By DAVID ZEILER - MoneyMorning.com
Robots taking jobs from manufacturing workers is a trend dating back decades, but rapidly advancing software has spread the threat of job-killing automation to nearly every occupation.
The technological advances, while helping businesses boost productivity dramatically, have cost the U.S. economy millions of jobs.
Nothing stops a bullet like a job
By Van Jones, CNN.com
(CNN) -- Our gun debate continues to revolve around measures to prevent deranged people from using military-style weapons to massacre innocent people. This is a worthy goal. We should do all we can do, within the limits of our Constitution, to reduce the number and deadliness of these tragedies.
But I am increasingly concerned that the debate will never evolve to include deeper sources of gun violence in our country. After all, most people killed by guns in the United States are not killed in school massacres by villains carrying AR-15s.
Bruce Willis: Don't infringe on Second Amendment
By Ryan Pearson, AP - WashingtonTimes.com
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bruce Willis says he's against new gun control laws that could infringe on Second Amendment rights. The "Die Hard" star also dismisses any link between Hollywood shootouts and real-life gun violence.
"I think that you can't start to pick apart anything out of the Bill of Rights without thinking that it's all going to become undone," Willis told The Associated Press in a recent interview while promoting his latest film, "A Good Day To Die Hard." "If you take one out or change one law, then why wouldn't they take all your rights away from you?"
NRA's enemies list: Most of America
By John Avlon, CNN.com
(CNN) -- Question: What do George Clooney, Chaka Khan, the American Medical Association, Bon Jovi and C. Everett Koop have in common?
Answer: They are among the 500 names on the National Rifle Association's absurd new "enemies list."
Richard Nixon would be embarrassed to find that his once sinister form of score-keeping has been revived so promiscuously by the NRA. But there is some redeeming social value here: The list illustrates an organization that has become hermetically sealed from society at large, so caught up in conservative debates that it has forgotten how to connect with Main Street America.
Who owns guns in Congress?
By USA Today
Republicans in Congress are much better armed than their Democratic counterparts -- a fact that helps explain the deep partisan divide as Congress gears up for its first major votes on gun control in a decade.
One hundred nineteen Republicans and 46 Democrats declared themselves as gun owners in a USA TODAY survey of lawmakers.
Tony Bennett: Without gun control,
U.S. may become 1940s Germany
By David Sherfinski-The Washington Times
President Obama's gun control push got some Hollywood star power at a Wednesday morning news conference at the Capitol that included appearances from actors Chris Rock, Adam Scott, and Amanda Peet — as well as crooner Tony Bennett, who cautioned that if America does not act on the issue of gun violence, it could be headed down the road of 1940s Germany.
"We should just care for our children so much," the 86-year-old Mr. Bennett said, adding that he's told his own children: "no guns in my house; they're not allowed."
Alaskan Brewery will Use Beer to Power its Machines
By James Burgess - OilPrice.com
The Alaskan Beer Company brews its award winning beer in Juneau, Alaska. In an attempt to reduce the cost of its brewing process it has decided to install a generator for producing energy from an alternative source.
Quite often for factories this alternative source would be in the form of solar panels or wind turbines; however the Alaskan Beer Co. have decided to use a source unique to them – waste beer.
Obama Makes no Attempt
to Curb High Oil Prices after Elections
By Dian L. Chu - OilPrice.com
I guess the SPR Threat was politically motivated
When Oil and Gas prices were last at these levels President Obama utilized the threat of releasing the SPRs to put a lid on the rampant speculation in the oil markets. And yes with oil inventories at record levels here in the US, there is rampant speculation in the oil markets once again. The oil market is being pegged right alongside the S&P 500 almost tick for tick, regardless of overflowing supplies at Cushing, or large weekly builds in total US stocks.
UK Exports its own Cheap Gas,
whilst Importing Expensive Foreign Gas
By Joao Peixe - OilPrice.com
An analysis of gas flow in and out of the UK, performed jointly by the Guardian and Greenpeace, has shown that Britain more often than not exports its cheap gas to Europe, whilst at the same importing more expensive gas from Qatar to be used domestically.
Ofgem, the energy watchdog, has suggested that this behaviour could undermine the UK's energy security.
Africa No.1 Risk Area for Oil Tankers
By John Daly - OilPrice.com
First, the good news.
Piracy off Somalia is down. In 2012, there were 297 piracy attacks and 28 hijackings worldwide, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center, with 75 incidents attributed to Somali pirates, who captured 250 hostages.
Royal Dutch Navy Commodore Ben Bekkering, the former commander of the NATO counter piracy task force, said, "The numbers of successful pirate attacks are going down, but I am also pretty sure that as soon as we turn away and go somewhere else, they will be back in big numbers."
Complacency in a Leaderless World
By Joseph E. Stiglitz - Project-Syndicate.org
DAVOS – The World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos has lost some of its pre-crisis panache. After all, before the meltdown in 2008, the captains of finance and industry could trumpet the virtues of globalization, technology, and financial liberalization, which supposedly heralded a new era of relentless growth. The benefits would be shared by all, if only they would do "the right thing."
Those days are gone. But Davos remains a good place to get a sense of the global zeitgeist.
Boy Scouts Will Postpone a Decision on Admitting Gays
By LAUREN D'AVOLIO and KIRK JOHNSON - NYTimes.com
IRVING, Tex. — The Boy Scouts of America, which reconfirmed last summer its policy banning openly gay people from participation, then said last week it was reconsidering the ban, said on Wednesday that it would postpone a decision once more, until May, as talk of gays in the ranks has roiled a storied organization that carries deep emotional connection and nostalgia for millions of Americans.
An end to the national ban on gays, which the United States Supreme Court said in 2000 was legal free speech by a private organization, would create a huge new moment of risk, experimentation and change people on both sides of the issue said. The proposal floated last week would allow local scouting units to decide membership rules for themselves.
Obama crony wins contract to give phones to jobless Critics see poor way to teach skills
By Luke Rosiak-The Washington Times
A cellphone company whose top executive has close ties to President Obama lobbied for and won a piece of a major new government push to provide Internet service to low-income job-seekers, even though critics say the company's smartphones are poorly suited to the task of helping those in the program find work.
The program's supporters tout it as a way for the unemployed to learn technical skills, to prepare resumes and to search for jobs, but one of the 14 pilot contracts that the FCC awarded went to Miami-based TracFone Wireless Inc.
Cyber War IS real… are we winning or loosing?
Federal Reserve confirms its Web site was hacked
Days after Anonymous claimed to have stolen and published private information from more than 4,000 bank executives, the Fed says its system was attacked.
by Dara Kerr - CNet.com
The wave of high-level cyberattacks continues as the Federal Reserve confirmed that one of its internal Web sites was hacked into today, according to Reuters.
"The Federal Reserve system is aware that information was obtained by exploiting a temporary vulnerability in a website vendor product," a Fed spokeswoman told Reuters. "Exposure was fixed shortly after discovery and is no longer an issue. This incident did not affect critical operations of the Federal Reserve system."
Apparently the hackers accessed data associated with specific individuals, according to Reuters.
Fed downplays hack attack
The Federal Reserve has admitted that one of its internal websites was hacked, raising questions about cyber security at the US central bank.
Fed says internal site breached by hackers,
no critical functions affected
By Alister Bull and Jim Finkle
WASHINGTON/BOSTON | Wed Feb 6, 2013 9:30am EST
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that one of its internal websites had been briefly breached by hackers, though no critical functions of the U.S. central bank were affected by the intrusion.
The admission, which raises questions about cyber security at the Fed, follows a claim that hackers linked to the activist group Anonymous had struck the Fed on Sunday, accessing personal information of more than 4,000 U.S. bank executives, which it published on the Web.
House Intel chairman says US 'under siege' from cyberattacks
By Jennifer Martinez - TheHill.com
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) on Wednesday said the United States is in the middle of a war in cyberspace and "losing" the battle.
"We are absolutely under siege and we are fooling ourselves if we don't think we have a problem," Rogers said.
The chairman warned that countries like Russia and China are getting more sophisticated in their cyberattack capabilities, with Iran following closely on their heels. He said other countries have integrated offensive cyberattack capabilities into their military planning, which is changing the face of future warfare.
Vulnerability Lets Hackers Control Building Locks,
Electricity, Elevators and More
BY KIM ZETTER - Wired.com
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — A critical vulnerability discovered in an industrial control system used widely by the military, hospitals and others would allow attackers to remotely control electronic door locks, lighting systems, elevators, electricity and boiler systems, video surveillance cameras, alarms and other critical building facilities, say two security researchers.
The vulnerability in the Tridium Niagara AX Framework allows an attacker to remotely access the system's config.bog file, which holds all of the system's configuration data, including usernames and passwords to log in to the framework and control systems managed by it.
How the Pentagon Aims
to Stop China's Cyber-Hacking of America
By WILLIAM PATALON III, Executive Editor, MoneyMorning.com
Given the deficit fears and budget skirmishes that are focus of the moment down in Washington, it's tough to get excited about defense-related investments right now.
Defense outlays are destined to shrink.
But there's one area where spending is slated to go up ...
And I mean go way up.
I'm talking, of course, about defense-related spending that will promote cybersecurity and combat cyber-terrorism.
Fragmentation leaves Android phones vulnerable to hackers
By Craig Timberg - WashingtonPost.com
In late October, researchers at North Carolina State University alerted Google to a security flaw that could let scam artists send phony text messages to Android phones — a practice called "smishing" that can ensnare consumers in fraud.
Google's security officials replied in minutes, confirming the flaw and promising to correct it. Within days they had incorporated a fix into the latest version of the Android operating system, Jelly Bean 4.2, and made available a security update for earlier versions.
Microsoft Bing Battles Bot Queries by the Billions
BY ROBERT MCMILLAN - Wired.com
In October 2011, Microsoft's Bing search engine handled 2.7 billion search queries, enough to qualify as the number-three search engine in the U.S. But according to new research done by Microsoft and others, that number was dwarfed by the billions of queries that arrived from botnets running on hacked computers across the world.
Looking at Bing query data covering a 16-day period that October, researchers at Microsoft, Wright State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology counted nearly 3.2 billion queries made by some sort of automated software — and a vast majority of these automated search requests came from botnets. That's 500 million more than the number of legitimate queries that Bing saw all month. During another 16-day period in May, they counted just over 3 billion auto-queries.
FCC to Congress: U.N.'s ITU Internet plans 'must be stopped' Summary: Today's testimony from FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell to Congress explicitly reveals that the free and open Internet is under attack by the ITU.
By Violet Blue - ZDNet.com
Today, U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell will testify to Congress in a joint U.S. House subcommittee hearing on international Internet governance, that the free and open Internet is under attack — and inaction is not an option.
The FCC Commissioner ominously warned Congress that what happened at WCIT-12 "ended the era of an international consensus to keep inter-governmental hands off of the Internet in dramatic fashion."
Brennan nomination exposes criticism
on targeted killings and secret Saudi base
By Greg Miller and Karen DeYoung - WashingtonPost.com
President Obama's plan to install his counterterrorism adviser as director of the CIA has opened the administration to new scrutiny over the targeted-killing policies it has fought to keep hidden from the public, as well as the existence of a previously secret drone base in Saudi Arabia.
The administration's refusal to provide details about one of the most controversial aspects of its drone campaign — strikes on U.S. citizens abroad — has emerged as a potential source of opposition to CIA nominee John O. Brennan, who faces a Senate confirmation hearing scheduled for Thursday.
Bring drones out of the shadows
By Sarah Holewinski - CNN.com
(CNN) -- The president's pick for CIA director -- John Brennan -- is one of a handful of U.S. officials who understands America's covert drone campaign inside and out.
Nearly everyone else is in the dark about the whos, wheres and whys of the program, including most members of Congress. But Brennan is also one of the few U.S. officials who's stood in front of a public audience and tried to explain the targeting of terrorists outside recognized battlefields. And while overseeing a massive use of lethal force, Brennan is also known inside the administration as a moderating voice in the fight against terrorism.
White House silent over CIA drone
reports
as pressure builds on Brennan
Embarrassment for Obama administration after revelations that CIA is secretly using Saudi air base to conduct drone strikes
By Chris McGreal and Ian Black - Guardian.co.uk
The pressure on John Brennan, Barack Obama's nominee for CIAdirector and the architect of the White House strategy on drones, intensified on Wednesday amid revelations of a secret CIA drone base in Saudi Arabia and anger in Congress at the administration's refusal to reveal the legal basis for killing US citizens.
The Obama administration and Saudi Arabia were silent over reports on Wednesday that the CIA is secretly using an air base in Saudi Arabia to conduct its controversial drone assassination campaign in neighbouringYemen. The reports revealed that the drones that killed the US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and his son in September 2011, and Said al-Shehri, a senior al-Qaida commander who died from his injuries last month, were launched from the unnamed base.
Panetta faces grilling over Benghazi's unanswered questions
By Guy Taylor-The Washington Times
Critics of the Obama administration's handling of the Benghazi affair get another chance to probe the affair as outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies on Capitol Hill Thursday. Nearly five months the terrorist attack killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at a U.S. diplomatic post in the restive Libyan town, questions remain about the attack and the administration's shifting explanations for what happened and why.
Tsunami Destroys Villages in Solomon Islands
By ENDA CURRAN And KAYLENE HONG - WSJ.com
SYDNEY—A powerful earthquake in the South Pacific triggered a tsunami that destroyed villages and killed at least five people in the Solomon Islands Wednesday, according to government and hospital officials.
A wave measuring three feet reached the island chain after the quake hit around midday local time, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. The magnitude-8 quake, with a depth of 17.8 miles (28.7 kilometers), was centered about 220 miles east of the Santa Cruz Islands, part of the Solomon Islands nation, according to a bulletin issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.
China says extremely concerned
after latest North Korea threats
(Reuters) - China expressed serious concern on Wednesday after North Korea stepped up its bellicose rhetoric and threatened to go beyond a third nuclear test in response to what it sees as "hostile" sanctions imposed after a December rocket launch.
"China is extremely concerned by the way things are going. We oppose any behavior which may exacerbate the situation and any acts which are not beneficial towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
A solar 'superstorm' is coming
and we'll only get 30-minute warning They cause devastation, occur every 150 years –
and the last one was in 1859
By STEVE CONNOR - Independent.co.uk
A solar "superstorm" could knock out Earth's communications satellites, cause dangerous power surges in the national grid and disrupt crucial navigation aids and aircraft avionics, a major report has found.
It is inevitable that an extreme solar storm – caused by the Sun ejecting billions of tonnes of highly-energetic matter travelling at a million miles an hour – will hit the Earth at some time in the near future, but it is impossible to predict more than about 30 minutes before it actually happens, a team of engineers has warned.
the other point of view on Solar Superstorms... Sun's 2013 Solar Storm Peak Expected to Hit Century Low
by Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor
The sun's peak of solar activity this year will likely be the quietest seen in at least 100 years, say NASA scientists who watch Earth's closest star daily.
Sunspot numbers are low, researchers said, even as the sunreaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. Also, radio waves that are known to indicate high solar activity have been very subdued.
A Gold Production Cliff Could Be Coming In 2017
By Rob Wile - BusinessIsider.com
Cash flow has stalled for the world's major gold producers despite high gold prices, which probably means we're heading for a gold production cliff, according to National Bank Financial.
That means higher prices.
From NBF's mining analyst team, led by Steve Parsons:
As gold companies grew, too few large deposits have been discovered to sustain current production rates. Though, in recent years, the development of a handful of large mines and the threat of others to follow provided the useful impression that the Production Cliff would be deferred, at least to the point where it was perceived to be a next-cycle problem. No such luck. Project congestion marked by capacity constraints and resultant delays and cost pressures has forced a more orderly sequencing of projects. High-quality projects have stayed at the front of the queue with delays, while the rest have seen significant delays or, worse, been shelved.
Gold And Stocks Recouple As VIX And Credit Shrug
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
S&P 500 (henceforth - under the Un-Patriot Act - to be known as the Moodys & Fitch 500 at least until such time as Moodys too downgrades the US) futures scrambled up to fill yesterday's day-session gap-down open and then pressed on to run stops to new highs. The Dow did not make new highs - but managed a third day in a row of greater-than-100 point swings and tested back above the magic 14,000 level. Credit markets were absolutely not buying it. VIX was not playing along either (though did compress). Treasury yields rose but nothing on par with stock's surge. The USD fall very modestly - not supportive of stocks. And sure enough, after running those highs, S&P 500 futures cracked back lower into the close with the Dow losing 14,000. A gain of around 0.8 to 1% on the day for stocks with reasonable volume as early haters like JCP and AAPL surged handily on the day by the close. The S&P 500 ended the day recoupling perfectly with Gold on the week...
Virginia coin moves closer to reality
By Ylan Q. Mui - WashingtonPost.com
A proposal to study whether Virginia should adopt its own currency passed the state House of Delegates on Monday after gaining support from a number of conservative economists.
Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) has been fighting for the bill for three years as a safeguard against what he believes is a central banking system that has swung out of control. But until Monday, the plan seemed little more than a quixotic quest. The House voted 65 to 32 to approve the measure.
Penny-pinching: Canada cuts penny;
is our Lincoln coin next?
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
Canada has dropped penny production. And now some are wondering: Maybe it's time for America to do the same?
The Royal Canadian Mint ended production this week, citing costs as the driving reason, Fox News reported.
In the United States, meanwhile, efforts to do the same and stop penny production haven't gone so smoothly.
While the U.S. Mint estimates it spends $44 million each year on penny production — and that each Abe Lincoln face-stamped penny costs 2 cents to make — legislative attempts to do away with the zinc-based coin have failed.
Who Controls The Money?
An Unelected, Unaccountable Central Bank
Of The World Secretly Does
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
An immensely powerful international organization that most people have never even heard of secretly controls the money supply of the entire globe. It is called the Bank for International Settlements, and it is the central bank of central banks. It is located in Basel, Switzerland, but it also has branches in Hong Kong and Mexico City. It is essentially an unelected, unaccountable central bank of the world that has complete immunity from taxation and from national laws. Even Wikipedia admits that "it is not accountable to any single national government." The Bank for International Settlements was used to launder money for the Nazis during World War II, but these days the main purpose of the BIS is to guide and direct the centrally-planned global financial system. Today, 58 global central banks belong to the BIS, and it has far more power over how the U.S. economy (or any other economy for that matter) will perform over the course of the next year than any politician does. Every two months, the central bankers of the world gather in Basel for another "Global Economy Meeting". During those meetings, decisions are made which affect every man, woman and child on the planet, and yet none of us have any say in what goes on. The Bank for International Settlements is an organization that was founded by the global elite and it operates for the benefit of the global elite, and it is intended to be one of the key cornerstones of the emerging one world economic system. It is imperative that we get people educated about what this organization is and where it plans to take the global economy.
Prophets and Losses The vaunted Fed's real track record on the economy.
By THOMAS SOWELL - Spectator.org
The recent release of the Federal Reserve Board's transcripts of its deliberations back in 2007 shows that their economic prophecies were way off. How much faith should we put in their prophecies today — or the policies based on those prophecies?
Even after the housing market began its collapse in 2006, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in 2007, "The impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained."
President Obama's Economy Continues To Fizzle
By Ed Pozzuoli - Forbes.com
The Commerce Department rendered its verdict on the final quarter of President Obama's first term last week and the results—like most of Obama's economic policies thus far—were disappointing. While most economists were anticipating anemic 1% growth, gross domestic product actually dropped 0.1%, sliding back yet again into recessionary territory. It was the first such economic contraction in almost four years. Not good. Also, not good was the fact that unemployment ticked up again to 7.9%. These are not the kinds of reports that Obama and his economic team were hoping for just after Inauguration Day—especially not after the trillions spent on fiscal and monetary stimulus.
Obama calls on Congress to pass spending cuts,
tax changes to delay sequester
By Zachary A. Goldfarb - WashingtonPost.com
President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax changes to delay the start next month of deep reductions in domestic and defense spending that could deliver a fresh blow to a fragile economic recovery.
With time running out, Obama said, Congress should adopt measures to postpone the automatic spending reductions, known as the sequester, for a few months. Without any action, the cuts, worth $1.2 trillion over a decade, are scheduled to take effect March 1 and are causing deep anxiety among government workers and contractors.
Obama proposes short-term budget fix,
Republicans swiftly object
By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal
WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 5, 2013 6:05pm EST
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms to delay larger, automatic cuts from going into effect and damaging the economy on March 1.
Republican leaders quickly rebuffed his proposals, rejecting what they saw as a bid for new tax increases after lawmakers agreed to raise rates for top U.S. earners earlier this year.
Navy to clip Blue Angels' wings if sequester hits
By Susan Crabtree-The Washington Times
With military concern about budget cuts set to hit the Pentagon and federal government March 1 reaching a crescendo, the Navy is prepared to ground the famous squadron for the second half of the 2013, according to an internal Navy memo.
The memo and an accompanying slide show, sent out by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert last week, show plans to cut all funding for the Blue Angels, the Navy's flight demonstration squadron and the country's oldest flying aerobatic team.
The case for the too-big-to-fail banks
by Neil Irwin - WashingtonPost.com
America is still spitting mad over the financial crisis that hit the country half a decade ago and that continues to hang over the U.S. economy. And in the last few months, there's been a new wave of calls to break up the "too big to fail" banks that were at the center of the crisis — and the beneficiaries of a massive wave of bailouts.
So, is splitting those banks up the answer? That debate is just getting going.
Subprime ABS Securitizations Are Back
As Absolute Worst Of The Credit Bubble Returns
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Back in 2007, at the peak of the credit and housing bubble, Wall Street knew very well the securitization (and every other) party was ending, which is why the internal names used for most of the Collateralized Debt Obligations - securitized products designed to provide a last dash trace of yield in a market in which all the upside had already been taken out - sold to less sophisticated, primarily European, investors were as follows: "Subprime Meltdown," "Hitman," "Nuclear Holocaust," "Mike Tyson's Punchout," and, naturally, "Sh-tbag."
The Commonwealth Pursues a Bold Proposal for Sound Money Honoring its heritage.
BY JUDY SHELTON - WeeklyStandard.com
In these days of unprecedented monetary activism by the Federal Reserve, including massive purchases every month of federal government debt, it's nice to see even a fledgling amount of resistance from attentive citizens. A bill now making its way through the Virginia legislature would establish a joint subcommittee "to study the feasibility of a metallic-based monetary unit."
Last night the House voted 65-32 to approve the bill; now it goes before the Virginia Senate. "The need to establish a sound money unit was deemed so essential for assuring the success of the United States that Thomas Jefferson personally assumed the task of defining the dollar as a fixed standard of value," the measure notes.
QE for Dummies Understanding the most outlandish
monetary experiment ever conducted
BY CHRIS MARTENSON PHD - FinancialSense.com
A PeakProsperity.com reader recently lamented:
I have been trying to get my head around the mechanism of QE. Not being an economist or experienced investor I don't really understand a lot of the jargon. The usual simple definition of QE as "thin air money printing" does not satisfy my need for understanding either. Have hunted for a description of QE for dummies that leaves me feeling like I get it, but with no luck. My difficulty is in understanding how thin air money gets into circulation.
So I'm going to do my best to answer this plea in as intuitive and straightforward a manner as I can. I, too, share the need to understand the mechanism of a process in order to feel like I have a grasp of it. And I think it's critically important to understand QE (also known by its full name, "quantitative easing") and what it really represents. Because it is, without a doubt, one of the largest market-shaping forces of our times.
The Austrians Were Right
Mises Daily: by Harry Veryser
The global economic meltdown that began in 2007 has brought suffering to countless millions. We have all witnessed—and in many cases experienced—the devastation.
But it didn't have to be this way. This kind of financial devastation has been predicted again and again—decade after decade—by proponents of the Austrian School of economics. Ludwig von Mises, one of the most prominent Austrian economists, summed up the perennial crisis in the title of one of his many books, Planned Chaos (1947). Mises, especially in The Theory of Money and Credit(1912) and Human Action (1949), maintained that the boom-and-bust cycle that has afflicted modern economies is both unnatural and unnecessary. It worsens living conditions for just about everyone. Since the publication of his books, abundant scholarly studies have validated the Austrian view. Yet few people—even among those teaching economics in colleges and universities worldwide—know or understand the Austrian School.
Rethinking savings plans as struggling Americans raid 401(k)s
By Susan Heavey
WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 5, 2013 11:02am EST
(Reuters) - For too many of Vada Lindsey's lower-income clients, their hard-earned 401(k) accounts become go-to emergency funds when they are faced with unexpected cash needs.
Each year, Lindsey, a tax lawyer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who helps some of the city's poorest residents, sees people yanking money from already modest retirement accounts to deal with unexpected moves, job losses and other emergencies.
Housing Market Already Shows Signs of New Bubble
By Diana Olick, CNBC.com
When housing began to simmer back in 2002, prices were rising around seven percent a year, then eight percent in 2004 and a stunning 12 percent in 2005.
At the time, words like "bubble," and "unsustainable," were uttered with every monthly reading. No one had seen home prices soar like that since the mid 1970's.
Historically, prices nationally rise about three to four percent a year. The market was clearly too hot, and by 2007 it had reversed dramatically, with prices falling nationally for the first time in history.
Austerity in Small Places
By Daniel Gros - Project-Syndicate.org
BRUSSELS – Interest in small countries' economic policies is usually confined to a small number of specialists. But there are times when small countries' experiences are interpreted around the world as proof that a certain policy approach works best.
Nowadays, Greece, the Baltic states, and Iceland are often invoked to argue for or against austerity. For example, the Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman argues that the fact that Latvian GDP is still more than 10% below its pre-crisis peak shows that the "austerity-cum-wage depression" approach does not work, and that Iceland, which was not subject to externally imposed austerity and devalued its currency, seems to be much better off. Others, however, have noted that Estonia pursued strict austerity in the wake of the crisis, avoided a financial crisis, and is now growing again vigorously, whereas Greece, which delayed its fiscal adjustment for too long, experienced a deep crisis and remains mired in recession.
Breaking the Chains of Debt Peonage
By Chris Hedges - Truthdig.com
The corporate state has made it clear there will be no more Occupy encampments. The corporate state is seeking through the persistent harassment of activists and the passage of draconian laws such as Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act—and we will be in court next Wednesday to fight the Obama administration's appeal of the Southern District Court of New York's ruling declaring Section 1021 unconstitutional—to shut down all legitimate dissent. The corporate state is counting, most importantly, on its system of debt peonage to keep citizens—especially the 30 million people who make up the working poor—from joining our revolt.
Keiser Report: Fake-It-Til-You-Make-It Economy (E401)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss the global yellow cake baking, talcum powder shaking, perpetual war making, balloon boy chasing, fake it til you make it economy in which spoof trading and a shadow banking system collateralised by a combination of liar loans and temporary workers consuming genetically modified food-like products produces such heroes for our times as Robb U, the guy who was handed $6 million in loans based on having a YouTube music video with a million plus views. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to former Scotland Yard fraud squad detective, Rowan Bosworth-Davies of Rowans-Blog.blogspot.co.uk about justice departments and regulators going after the 'little guy' because he is 'easier' to get than the too-big-to-fail.
Twinkies Union Issues Ultimatum:
We Get Our Jobs Back Or The Company Gets It Again
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
Following a brief infomercial for Gordian Group's apparent skills in bringing dough-makers and yeast-cooking perfection to the table - arguing that they are here to preserve jobs (for skilled workers who have been apparently working for below-market wages) - and maximizing value for the Bakery Union; Peter Kaufman stops the pretense of helping and goes straight for the threat. "We are here to work with credible bidders to get started right away with a great work-force; on the other hand, if bidders don't want to work with us (and re-hire Hostess employees), the union will ask the AFL-CIO to put any Hostess product on its 'boycott product' list." But "we're here to help," he reminds the somewhat stunned CNBC anchor. It seems beggars are once again choosers... as the entitled roll on.
Seven ways boomers are rewriting the rules of retirement
By Mark Miller
CHICAGO | Tue Feb 5, 2013 2:38pm EST
(Reuters) - The baby boom generation has broken the mold at every stage of life, and it looks like old age won't be any different.
Boomers aren't heading quietly into retirement. They're launching businesses, embracing digital technology and living abroad in greater numbers than ever before. But in other ways they are struggling more than the previous generation.
Here is a look at trends shaping the next wave of retirement.
Student Loan Bubble Forces Yale,
Penn To Sue Their Own Students
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
We have not been shy about exposing the massive (and unsustainable) bubble of credit being blown into the economy via Student Loans from the government. We have not been afraid to note the dramatic rise in delinquencies among these loans - and the implications for the government. However, as Bloomberg reports, it appears the impact of this exuberance has come back to bite the colleges themselves. In what can only be described as a vendor-financing model, the so-called Perkins loans (for students with extraordinary financial hardships) have seen defaults surging more than 20%. The vicious circle, though, has begun as the ponzi of using these revolving loan funds to 'fund' the next round of students is collapsing thanks to the rise in delinquencies. Schools such as Yale, Penn, and George Washington are becoming very aggressive at going after delinquent student borrowers. While financially hard-up graduates complain of no jobs, the schools are not impressed: "You could take a job at Subway or wherever to pay the bills ... It seems like basic responsibility to me," but perhaps that is the point - avoiding responsibility is seemingly rewarded in the new normal.
Yale Suing Former Students Shows Crisis in Loans to Poor
By Janet Lorin - Bloomberg.com
Needy U.S. borrowers are defaulting on almost $1 billion in federal student loans earmarked for the poor, leaving schools such as Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania with little choice except to sue their graduates.
The record defaults on federal Perkins loans may jeopardize the prospects of current students since they are part of a revolving fund that colleges give to students who show extraordinary financial hardship.
CBO: Entitlements, ObamaCare
To Make Up 53% of Federal Spending
By Matt Cover - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) – According to projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), entitlements and ObamaCare spending will comprise 53 percent of all federal spending over the coming decade, totaling $24.9 trillion.
In its updated Budget and Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the CBO projects that Social Security will account for $11.149 trillion in spending from 2014 to 2023 while federal health care entitlements, including Medicare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare, will spend $13.85 trillion. (That total includes TRICARE, CHIP, and "other" spending listed by the CBO under healthcare.)
Obamacare: A Deception
by Paul Craig Roberts
Obamacare was formulated on the concept of health care as a commercial commodity and was cloaked in ideological slogans such as "shared responsibility," "no free riders" and "ownership society." These slogans dress the insurance industry's raid on public resources in the cloak of a "free market" health care system.
You will learn how to purchase a subsidized plan at the Exchange, what will happen when income and family circumstances change during the year or from one year to the next, and other perils brought to you by Obamacare. It is one of the most important articles that will be posted on my website this year. Americans will be shocked to learn the extent to which they have been deceived. The legislation neither protects the patient nor are the plans affordable.
Seven million will lose insurance under Obama health law
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
President Obama's health care law will push 7 million people out of their job-based insurance coverage — nearly twice the previous estimate, according to the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday.
CBO said that this year's tax cuts have changed the incentives for businesses and made it less attractive to pay for insurance, meaning fewer will decide to do so. Instead, they'll choose to pay a penalty to the government, totaling $13 billion in higher fees over the next decade.
The taxman is now playing doctor How today's tax returns will impact tomorrow's medical bills
By Jonnelle Marte - MarketWatch.com
When they file their returns this year, some Americans will get a medical bill with their tax bill.
Starting next January, the Affordable Care Act mandates that every American have health coverage, and those who remain uninsured will pay a penalty. The extent to which one is eligible for federal subsidies to buy insurance, and the penalties for failing to comply with the mandate, will both be determined using one number: the adjusted income reported to the Internal Revenue Service this year. "So much of the Affordable Care Act is being implemented through the tax code," says Kathy Pickering, executive director of the Tax Institute at H&R Block. And for many taxpayers, "their tax situation will factor into health-care decisions as well," she says.
8,830,026: Americans on Disability
Hits New Record for 192nd Straight Month
By Terence P. Jeffrey - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - The number of American workers collecting federal disability payments climbed to yet another record high of 8,830,026 in January, up from 8,827,795 in December, according to newly released data from the Social Security Administration.
This is the 192nd straight month that the number of American workers collecting federal disability payments has increased. The last time the number of Americans collecting disability decreased was in January 1997. That month the number of workers taking disability dropped by 249 people—from 4,385,623 in December 1996 to 4,385,374 in January 1997.
SURRENDER: OHIO GOV. KASICH SPURNS TEA PARTY,
BACKS OBAMACARE MEDICAID EXPANSION; LEFT CELEBRATES
by JOEL B. POLLAK - Breitbart.com
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican who campaigned as a budget hawk and rode the Tea Party wave to victory in 2010, hasagreed to accept Obamacare funding to expand his state's Medicaid program, breaking ranks with fellow Republican governors and the Tea Party that elected him.
Kasich's decision, announced yesterday, could encourage other Republican governors to do the same, joining the five who have done so already.
What Would Happen If America Got Free,
'Nationwide' WiFi? Google Wins, Carriers Lose
By Parmy Olson, Forbes Staff
If you're seeking an example of economic disruption, look no further than the Federal Trade Commission's designs for Wi-Fi networks that cover large swathes of the United States. A proposal pending before an FCCpanel aims to make access to the Internet and phone calls free and easy for millions of people across the United States. There's a big if here. Having already run the political gauntlet for years, the proposal would face a logistical nightmare if approved.
But traditional mobile network carriers are apparently not taking any chances.
There Is No FCC Plan for Free Super Wi-Fi
By Matthew Yglesias - Slate.com
A somewhat confusingly structured Cecilia Kang article (the inverted pyramid is not a great way to explain everything) has got the whole Internet abuzz about an FCC plan to build a national Super Wi-Fi network and the evil telecommunications companies who are trying to kill it.
The FCC does have a good idea here and the telecommunications companies are evil, but there is no such plan.
The key issue is the difference between a wireless spectrum that's owned by private firms and a wireless spectrum that's "free" and "open" to whomever. The reason you can tune into a TV or radio station and get a clear signal is that it's illegal for anyone other than the owner of the frequency in question to broadcast on it. The same is true for the spectrum bands owned by the different mobile phone operating companies.
Facebook May Soon Be Tracking You At All Times
By Matt Miller, Contributor - Forbes.com
Facebook already knows who all of your friends are, when you broke up with your last girlfriend/boyfriend and what you did or wish you didn't do on spring break last year. But if that wasn't enough, Facebook may soon be tracking you at all times.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that Facebook is "developing a smartphone application that will track the location of users … even when the program isn't open on a handset." The purpose of such an app is to help Facebookers find friends when they're out and about. Such an app, Bloomberg said, could be used to sell ads based off of where users go. It's something that will be of huge value to advertisers, but may not go down easy with users for obvious privacy reasons.
Could Smart Grid Technology
Have Prevented the Superbowl Blackout?
By James Burgess - OilPrice.com
Could smart grid technology have prevented the blackout that occurred at Super Bowl XLVII? Probably not, but it would have certainly reduced the duration of the power cut.
It is still unclear exactly what caused the power outage, which left much of the Superdome in darkness and led to a 34 minute delay to the game. Early suggestions that it may have been Beyoncé's half time show have been denied as that ran on its own generator.
Senior citizen sharpshooter:
Vegas burglar killed by elderly gun owner
By Jessica Chasmar-The Washington Times
A 72-year-old man, who was the victim of a recent burglary, immediately went for his handgun when he heard a commotion in his Las Vegas home early Monday morning.
"Several intruders, had gotten into the home, entered his bedroom and he fired at least one shot, and they fled," Metro Police Officer Bill Cassell said, according to KLAS-TV.
On Guns, Unfinished Business
By Eugene Robinson - Truthdig.com
WASHINGTON—The moment that most deserves to be remembered from Sunday's thrilling Super Bowl came before the game, when Jennifer Hudson joined students from the Sandy Hook Elementary School in singing "America the Beautiful." It was a heart-rending elegy for the fallen—and a stirring call to action.
The brave students, in khakis and white polo shirts, survived the unspeakable massacre in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 of their schoolmates dead, riddled with bullets from an assault rifle fired by a madman. Hudson, the acclaimed recording artist and Oscar-winning actress, lost her mother, brother and nephew to Chicago's endemic gun violence in 2008 when a troubled relative went on a murderous rampage; she had to identify all three bodies at the morgue.
Leaked Obama administration memo
sets out case for killing US citizens Lawyers give 'rules' on killing senior al-Qaida members,
and seek to justify drone attacks abroad
By Peter Beaumont - Guardian.co.uk
The detailed circumstances in which a US government may order the killing of an American citizen who is a high-ranking member of al-Qaidahave been revealed in a leaked memo prepared by Obama administration lawyers.
The document, acquired by NBC and dating from 2011, lays out for the first time the precise rationale for carrying out targeted killings of senior al-Qaida members who are US citizens, and who are believed to pose an "imminent threat of violent attack" against America.
Rise Of The Droids:
Will Robots Eventually Steal All Of Our Jobs?
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Will a robot take your job? We have entered a period in human history when technology is advancing at an exponential rate. In some ways, this has been a great blessing for humanity. For example, I am absolutely blown away by all of the things that my little iPod can do. But on the other hand, all of this technology is eliminating millions upon millions of high paying jobs. In the past, I have written extensively about how millions of American jobs have been sent to the other side of the world, but now we may be moving into a time when workers all over the planet will be steadily losing jobs to super-efficient robots. For employers, robots provide a lot of advantages to human workers. Robots never complain, they never get tired, they never need vacation, they never show up late, they never waste time of Facebook, they don't need any health benefits and there are a whole lot of rules, regulations and taxes that you must deal with when you hire a human worker. In the past, robots were exceedingly expensive, and that limited their usefulness in the workplace, but as you will see later in this article that is rapidly changing. As robots continue to become even more advanced and even less expensive, will there eventually come a point where the "human worker" is virtually obsolete?
How to Freak Out Responsibly About the Rise of the Robots It's fun to imagine an economy where machines are smarter than humans. But we don't need an artificial crisis over artificial intelligence.
By Derek Thompson - TheAtlantic.com
It's become very fashionable very quickly to talk about robots and their insatiable appetite for your job. Industrial machines can and do replace human beings in car factories, electronics plans, and food manufacturing centers. But the editorial rage against the machines is messy, and the automatons might not have as much to do with our current jobs crisis as the volume of robot reportage might suggest.
Virginia City Bans Drones
BY DANIEL HALPER - WeeklyStandard.com
Local news reports reveal that last night the Charlottesville, Virginia, city council voted to ban drones:
"City council also passed a resolution banning drones," reports NBC 29. "The use of drones for surveillance is not allowed in Charlottesville. the resolution supports a two year ban on drone use and prohibits city entities from purchasing them.
How Obama Transformed an Old Military Concept
So He Can Drone Americans
BY SPENCER ACKERMAN - Wired.com
"Imminence" used to mean something in military terms: namely, that an adversary had begun preparations for an assault. In order to justify his drone strikes on American citizens, President Obama redefined that concept to exclude any actual adversary attack.
That's the heart of the Justice Department's newly leaked white paper, first reported by NBC News, explaining why a "broader concept of imminence" (.pdf) trumps traditional Constitutional protections American citizens enjoy from being killed by their government without due process. It's an especially striking claim when considering that the actual number of American citizens who are "senior operational leader[s] of al-Qaida or its associated forces" is vanishingly small. As much as Obama talks about rejecting the concept of "perpetual war" he's providing, and institutionalizing, a blueprint for it.
WH DRONE STRIKE POLICY ADAPTS 'BUSH DOCTRINE'
AGAINST INDIVIDUALS
by JOHN SEXTON - Breitbart.com
During Tuesday's press briefing, White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked about a legal memo used by the Obama administration to justify drone strikes against American citizens. Carney gave a prepared response which was reminiscent of the "Bush Doctrine."
There have actually been several definitions of the Bush Doctrine. One of the most common has been the idea of launching a preemptive strike against any government who might pose a threat.
Tiny, Hackable Quadcopter Drone Launches Pre-Orders
BY NATHAN HURST - Wired.com
A tiny new open source drone kit made by Bitcraze is buzzing its way to market this spring, targeted at hackers and modders who want to explore droning indoors as well as out.
Marcus Eliasson, Arnaud Taffanel, and Tobias Antonsson are the engineers behind the Swedish startup now accepting pre-orders for a palm-sized quadcopter called the Crazyflie Nano. (Not to be confused with the Norwegian-made nano-copter used by British troops in Afghanistan.)
Drone Boosters Say Farmers, Not Cops,
Are the Biggest U.S. Robot Market
BY SPENCER ACKERMAN - Wired.com
When the flying robots that loiter in Afghanistan's and Yemen's airspace come home, they won't just be headed for the local police station. They might prefer a pastoral existence of spraying crops, scanning soil patterns and other features of America's farms.
No, Predators and Reapers aren't going to scan large swaths of vegetation for suspected militants. And there's tremendous interest from state and local law enforcement in drones as surveillance tools. But to Chris Mailey, a vice president with the drone promotion organization known as AUVSI, the cop shops represent short money. "Agriculture," Mailey tells Danger Room, "is gonna be the big market."
Magnitude 8 Quake Strikes Off Santa Cruz Islands
By KAYLENE HONG - WSJ.com
A magnitude 8 earthquake struck Wednesday off Santa Cruz Islands, shortly after a magnitude 6.3 quake struck in the same area, triggering a tsunami warning for islands in the Pacific, U.S. watch centers said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a South Pacific earthquake generated a tsunami that may be destructive near the epicenter, according to the Associated Press.
The center says sea level readings indicate a tsunami formed after the 8.0 earthquake Wednesday near the Solomon Islands. More distant coasts may be threatened.
Hamas Rising
By Mkhaimar Abusada - Project-Syndicate.org
GAZA CITY – Hamas, the militant political movement that has ruled Gaza since 2007, has emerged from the latest round of fighting with Israel with its regional status significantly enhanced. At the same time, the movement faces new questions about its ability to take advantage of the diplomatic opportunities that it has gained.
Hamas's forceful response to Israel's military operation in Gaza in November, which included landing rockets near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, demonstrated its commitment to its core value of steadfastness. Moreover, in the wake of the eight-day clash, Hamas's long-exiled leader, Khaled Meshal, who had never before dared to show himself openly to Israel, entered Gaza from Egypt. Parading triumphantly through the streets, he reinforced the idea – at home and abroad – that Hamas had been victorious.
North Korea video shows US city in flames after missile attack YouTube video shows city ablaze in scenes reminiscent of 9/11, as South Korea claims nuclear test imminent in Pyongyang
By Justin McCurry in Tokyo - Guardian.co.uk
It begins benignly enough, with an image of a sleeping young North Korean man, and a genteel piano version of the US feel-good pop anthem We Are the World providing the musical backdrop.
But the YouTube video recently posted by Uriminzokkiri, North Korea's official website, quickly takes a more sinister turn as the man's dream continues into the realms of Stalinist fantasy.
North Korea video shows US city under attack
North Korea, which is poised to conduct a nuclear test any day now, has posted a video depicting a US city resembling New York engulfed in flames after an apparent missile attack.
The footage was uploaded on Saturday by the North's official website, Uriminzokkiri, which distributes news and propaganda from the state media.
The video is shot as a dream sequence, with a young man seeing himself on board a North Korean space shuttle launched into orbit by the same type of rocket Pyongyang successfully tested in December.
North Korea Rips Off Call of Duty in New Propaganda Video
BY GRAEME MCMILLAN - Wired.com
The worlds of international politics, propaganda and popular culture have been colliding in a weird and wonderful way over the past few days, thanks to a strange video released to YouTube by the North Korean authorities that combines images of destruction yanked from the videogame Call of Duty with images of the North Korean space program, all soundtracked by a piano version of the 1985 charity anthem "We Are The World." But don't go running to YouTube to check it out, because it's not there anymore — not because of American censorship, but a copyright claim on the game footage from its publisher.
blowing up, now with English subtitles
Posted by Max Fisher - WashingtonPost.com
We wrote earlier today about the truly bizarre North Korean propaganda video that apparently depicts a space shuttle blowing up New York City, among other things. Now, someone very industrious has subtitled the video in English. (The YouTube account that posted the new version is listed as "KimJongUnOfficial," so there's that.)
The Korean translation is a bit clunky in places, which somehow actually enhances the effect. "A long time the World disrespected us and laughed about our Leaders," it opens. "That time is over now. The moment of Revenge has come."
Iran Accelerates Nuclear Program
BY ANTHONY CHIBARIRWE - theTrumpet.com
Iran will speed up its controversial nuclear weapons program at its Natanz facility by installing more advanced nuclear enrichment centrifuges, it announced January 23. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it would install approximately 3,000 new-generation IR2m centrifuge machines, which are three to five times faster than current models.
This new development could be "a most unfortunate game changer," said Mark Fitzpatrick, a nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The 3,000 centrifuge machines may take up to a year to install and operate, but after that, Tehran will be much closer to developing a nuclear weapon. "Once installed and in operation, the centrifuges could give Iran the capability to make a dash for the bombfaster than the U.S. and its allies could react," wrote CBS News.
Why is Iran Going Nuclear?
By Claude Salhani - OilPrice.com
Iran is a member of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It ranks among the world's top four countries that hold both proven oil and natural gas reserves. Just a little over two years ago, in 2010, Iran counted as the world's third-largest exporter of crude oil, after Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Iran also sits atop the world's second-largest natural gas reserves. However the country's energy industry, particularly its natural gas production, suffers from severe under-development, partially due to sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by the international community. These sanctions come as punishment for Iran's continued drive to acquire nuclear technology which Iran claims is intended for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity. But why does a country with so much proven oil and natural gas reserves need to delve into the nuclear conundrum and all the implications that accompanies the nuclear dossier?
"Lenin was certainly right, there is no more positive, or subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency...The process engages all of the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner that not one man in a million is able to diagnose." -- John Maynard Keynes
Neither Keynes nor Lenin would have envisioned currency debasement on a global basis yet that is exactly where we find ourselves today. As mentioned in last month's The Gold Owners Guide to 2013, it is as if John Law had been reincarnated simultaneously in every major nation state in the world. At this stage, it is difficult to gauge the potential effects though, as you are about to read, there is plenty of speculation. Though the price of gold remained range bound this past January, global demand for coins and bullion has been anything but restrained. The U.S. Mint reports the highest monthly sales ever for the Silver Eagle in January and the highest monthly total for the Gold Eagle in over two years. Similarly ETF gold holdings are up about 12% since last August reflecting strong interest among financial institutions and funds. Though Keynes was right about currency debasement, he missed the mark on the public's ability to identify the problem. Apparently, a good many understand the problem all too well.
The Bernanke Shock
By Peter Schiff - GoldSeek.com
The financial world was shocked this month by a demand from Germany's Bundesbank to repatriate a large portion of its gold reserves held abroad. By 2020, Germany wants 50% of its total gold reserves back in Frankfurt - including 300 tons from the Federal Reserve. The Bundesbank's announcement comes just three months after the Fed refused to submit to an audit of its holdings on Germany's behalf. One cannot help but wonder if the refusal triggered the demand.
Obama Signs Debt-Ceiling Law. Now What?
By Damian Paletta - WSJ.com
President Barack Obama on Monday signed into law the congressional plan to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling until May 18, pushing back a political brawl over the country's borrowing limit for several months but clearing the way for a number of other budget battles in the coming weeks.
The debt-ceiling suspension plan was developed by Republican leaders in the House of Representatives. In addition to taking the threat of a government cash crunch off the table for a few months, it also requires the House and Senate to pass budget resolutions by April 15, or lawmakers will risk missing out on their pay.
Obama signs debt-ceiling bill
By DONOVAN SLACK - Politico.com
President Obama on Monday signed legislation suspending the nation's borrowing limit until May 18.
The "No Budget, No Pay Act Act of 2013" also mandates that pay for lawmakers be held in escrow starting April 16 until their chamber has passed 1 2014 budget resolution.
The statement from press secretary Jay Carney:
On Monday, February 04, 2013, the President signed into law: H.R. 325, the "No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013," which temporarily suspends the public debt limit until May 18, 2013; and provides for depositing payments for compensation of Members of either House of Congress in an escrow account beginning April 16, 2013, unless and until that House has passed a FY 2014 budget resolution.
Fed's Fisher says don't go "cold turkey" on QE3
By Ann Saphir
SAN FRANCISCO | Mon Feb 4, 2013 8:05pm EST
(Reuters) - A top Federal Reserve official who once called a new round of bond-buying stimulus a "Wall Sreet fantasy" on Monday said that he would rather cut back on the Fed's current purchases gradually than stop them outright.
"I don't want to go from wild turkey to cold turkey," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. Although the Fed has added much more stimulus than he would have liked, "Now that we are there, I don't think you stop, I think you taper it off."
Why price inflation will take off
By Alasdair Macleod - GoldSeek.com
There are key aspects of economics that neo-classical monetarists do not apparently comprehend; the most important, given their job-description, being the relationship between money and prices. They are like motorists who drive on the basis of the chaos and destruction viewed in the rear-view mirror. This is what happens when you use historic prices to guide monetary policy.
Bankers at Davos Swap Obama-Bashing for Pragmatism
By Max Abelson - Bloomberg.com
Wall Street leaders descending on Davos this week will drink cocktails at Hotel Schatzalp, consort with Nobel laureates and try to "reshape" capitalism, as the World Economic Forum's website puts it.
They won't be doing it with as much vitriol as in previous years, when financiers including Blackstone Group LP (BX) Chief Executive Officer Stephen Schwarzman lashed out at government leaders, according to interviews with seven executives of firms with ties to the banking industry who are attending the annual Swiss Alpine meeting.
Gauge of U.S. business investment plans edges lower
(Reuters) - A gauge of U.S. business investment plans dropped in December, a possible sign companies were losing confidence in the economy's strength due to fears over tighter fiscal policy, government data showed on Monday.
The data from the Commerce Department also gave some positive signals, with a big jump in defense industry orders suggesting some of the surprise fall in U.S. economic output late last year was poised to reverse.
AN IGNOMINIOUS ANNIVERSARY
BY STEVEN HAYWARD - PowerLineBlog.com
Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 16th Amendment, which authorized the income tax. I frequently show students the following chart, generated by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and ask the simple question: "See if you can spot when the personal income tax started?"
Meanwhile, John Steele Gordon has a nice retrospective on the history of the income tax over at American.com, including this most relevant bit:
Once the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified, of course, Congress (with strong Democratic majorities in both houses) quickly passed a personal income tax, aimed at the upper middle class and above, with a top rate of 7 percent on incomes over $500,000.
Is This The Beginning Of A
Horrifying Stock Market Crash In Europe?
By Michael Snyder - EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
Are we witnessing the start of a historic financial meltdown in Europe? In recent days, two massive corruption scandals have greatly shaken confidence in European financial markets. The first involves Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. It is being alleged that he has been receiving illegal cash payments, and the calls for his resignation grow louder with each passing day. The second is a derivatives scandal at the third largest bank in Italy. Allegedly, there were some very large unreported derivatives deals that were supposed to help hide losses at the bank, but instead they actually made the losses much larger. The investigation that is looking into this derivatives scandal is starting to spread to other banks, and nobody is quite sure how far down the rabbit hole this thing goes. But what everyone does agree on is that this derivatives scandal has shaken up Italian politics, and the outcome of the upcoming election is now very uncertain.
Europe removes agriculture barriers to U.S. trade talks
By Robin Emmott
BRUSSELS | Mon Feb 4, 2013 4:02pm EST
(Reuters) - The European Union dropped its ban on some U.S. meat imports on Monday in a gesture aimed at starting talks on a free-trade pact that would encompass about half the world's economic output.
Brussels and Washington want to deepen a relationship that accounts for a third of global trade, and ending the EU import ban on live pigs and beef washed in lactic acid is meant to show the Europeans are serious about a deal.
Argentina freezes prices to break inflation spiral
By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA, AP - MyFoxNY.com
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina announced a two-month price freeze on supermarket products Monday in an effort to break spiraling inflation.
The price freeze applies to every product in all of the nation's largest supermarkets — a group including Walmart, Carrefour, Coto, Jumbo, Disco and other large chains. The companies' trade group, representing 70 percent of the Argentine market, reached the accord with Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno, the government's news agency Telam reported.
How To Restore the West
Ron Holland - SilverBearCafe.com
By any political, cultural or economic measure the nations of the West are in total decline. The historic virtues of hard work, free-market thinking and a common cultural integrity as well as religious and historical principles are gone. They have been subverted and replaced by an emphasis on rampant materialism and a consumer driven society that exceeds 70 percent of GNP in addition to private and public debt. Furthermore, a kind of parasitism has laid claim to Western culture by which sports stars, politicians, media darlings and financial scam artists get recognition and exorbitant incomes while real workers find their incomes falling and promised benefits curtailed.
Texas to California businesses: Move here! Texas Governor Rick Perry has three words of advice
for California businesses: Move to Texas.
By Tami Luhby - CNN.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Perry has launched a high-profile battle for California companies, running radio ads in California touting the Lone Star State's low taxes and favorable business climate. The ads will be heard in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Inland Empire area east of Los Angeles.
"Building a business is tough, but I hear building a business in California is next to impossible. This is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and I have a message for California businesses: Come check out Texas," starts the 30-second spot.
Bankrupt, Decaying And Nearly Dead:
24 Facts About The City Of Detroit That Will Shock You
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
If you want to know what the future of America is going to be like, just look at the city of Detroit. Once upon a time it was a symbol of everything that America was doing right, but today it has been transformed into a rotting, decaying, post-apocalyptic hellhole. Detroit was once the fourth-largest city in the United States, and in 1960 Detroit had the highest per-capita income in the entire nation. It was the greatest manufacturing city the world had ever seen, and the rest of the globe looked at Detroit with a sense of awe and wonder. But now the city of Detroit has become a bad joke to the rest of the world. Unemployment is rampant, 60 percent of the children are living in poverty and the city government is on the verge of bankruptcy. They say that Detroit is just a matter of "weeks or months" away from running out of cash, and when Detroit does declare bankruptcy it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in the history of the United States. But don't look down on Detroit, because the truth is that Detroit is really a metaphor for what is happening to America as a whole. In the United States today, our manufacturing infrastructure has been gutted, poverty is absolutely exploding and we are rapidly approaching national bankruptcy. Detroit may have gotten there first, but the rest of the country will follow soon enough.
Banks report stronger loan demand, easier standards: Fed
By Alister Bull
WASHINGTON | Mon Feb 4, 2013 3:38pm EST
(Reuters) - Banks eased U.S. credit standards somewhat over the last three months and reported stronger demand for loans and residential mortgages, according to the Federal Reserve's latest quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey, which was released on Monday.
The January report, based on responses from 68 domestic banks and 22 U.S. branches of foreign firms, also asked if domestic banks had tightened lending standards to European competitors, but found that only 10 percent had done so.
Former Reagan budget director warns of new housing bubble
By Betsi Fores - DailyCaller.com
The market may be rising, but according to one expert, all is not well on the home front.
David Stockman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan administration, insists that the housing market outlook is not as cheery as some say.
"I would say we have a housing bubble … again," Stockman told the Daily Ticker. "We don't have a real organic sustainable recovery, because in a world of medicated money by the central bank, things aren't what they appear to be."
Stockman pointed to artificially low interest rates and speculation in the real-estate market as culprits.
Small lenders ride U.S. mortgage wave as big banks cut back
By Anna Louie Sussman
Mon Feb 4, 2013 6:36am EST
(Reuters) - Guaranteed Rate, Inc, a home loan company, opened shop in 2000 in Chicago with a single office. Now it is one of the 20 biggest U.S. mortgage lenders, with more than 140 offices.
Most of that growth has come in the last two years and Chief Executive Victor Ciardelli said in an interview he is not planning to slow down.
"We've hired over a thousand people over the last year and we're trying to hire a ton more," Ciardelli said.
Obamacare may triple costs for some ACA premium sticker shock could fuel foes
By BRETT NORMAN | Politico.com
The federal health care law could nearly triple premiums for some young and healthy men, according to a forthcoming survey of insurers that singles out a group that might become a major public opinion battleground in the Obamacare wars.
The survey, fielded by the conservative American Action Forum and made available to POLITICO, found that if the law's insurance rules were in force, the premium for a relatively bare-bones policy for a 27-year-old male nonsmoker on the individual market would be nearly 190 percent higher.
For insurance exchanges, states need 'navigators'
and hiring them is a huge task
By N.C. Aizenman - WashintonPost.com
Signing up an estimated 30 million uninsured Americans for coverage under the health-care law is shaping up to be, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, at the very least a daunting task.
While some people will find registering for health insurance as easy as booking a flight online, vast numbers who are confused by the myriad choices will need to sit down with someone who can walk them through the process.
Obamacare Alchemy Tinkering with the contraception mandate
won't change its base properties.
By DOUG BANDOW - Spectator.org
The Obama administration has found the policy equivalent of alchemy. Employees of religious organizations will receive contraception coverage. And neither the individuals nor the groups will have to pay for it. It's magic.
Otherwise known as making the insurer pay.
On Friday the Department of Health and Human Services announced its new rule mandating coverage of contraception. Responding to the furor that the proposal first raised, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius proclaimed that the draft regulation would guarantee free coverage "while respecting religious concerns."
Kasich's Obamacare flip burns conservatives
By DAVID NATHER | Politico.com
Conservative groups wanted to stop the march of Obamacare expansion at ground zero: the states.
But one of their best hopes just caved.
John Kasich, the fiercely conservative governor of Ohio, announced Monday that he's going to expand Medicaid dramatically using federal money — a 180-degree turn from what conservative groups swore their allies in governors' mansions would do when the Supreme Court gave them an out last year.
The growing wealth gap is unsustainable The ever-increasing many who are struggling cannot support a structure that favours a tiny number of the very rich
Editorial, The Observer - Guardian.co.uk
Antony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclays, who appears before MPs and peers on the banking standards commission this week, has removed one issue from the agenda, namely his right to a bonus of more £1m. The bank has been fined £290m for rigging the benchmark Libor rate, has set aside £2bn to pay claims for mis-selling payment protection insurance and faces an official investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Services Authority into its dealings withQatar at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. So this is the least Jenkins could do. The announcement of his monetary self-denial on Friday signals a belated sensitivity on the part of those who have benefited most from one of the least attractive sides of capitalism.
Michigan Union Tell-All A memo shows how unions hope to keep coercing worker dues.
Opinion - WSJ.com
When Michigan became the 24th right-to-work state late last year, everyone knew unions would try to overturn or otherwise neuter the law. Less expected was that they would do so at the expense of their own members.
That's the message from a December 27-28 memo to local union presidents and board members from Michigan Education Association President Steven Cook, which recommends tactics that unions can use to dilute the impact of the right-to-work law. One bright idea is to renegotiate contracts now to lock teachers into paying union dues after the right-to-work law goes into effect in March. Another is to sue their own members who try to leave.
ROVE DECLARES WAR ON TEA PARTY
by BEN SHAPIRO - Breitbart.com
The battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party has begun. On one side is the Tea Party. On the other side stand Karl Rove and his establishment team, posing as tacticians while quietly undermining conservatism.
Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the "biggest donors in the Republican Party" have joined forces with Karl Rove and Steven J. Law, president of American Crossroads, to create the Conservative Victory Project. The Times reports that this new group will dedicate itself to "recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiasts who Republican leaders worry could complicate the party's effort to win control of the Senate." The group points to candidates like Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and Richard Mourdock in Indiana as examples of Tea Party primary picks going sideways in major Senatorial battles.
OUT OF AMMO
BY JOHN HINDERAKER - PowerLineBlog.com
I really, really wanted to shoot today, but wasn't able to. Why, you might ask? Was I backed up with work? Nope. Did I have a long list of chores to do, to stay in my wife's good graces? Nope. I was free as a bird. But I couldn't shoot because, with the exception of 100 rounds of 22LR and the loaded 9 mm magazines that I keep at home for purposes of self-defense, I was out out of ammo.
Nor was I alone. The shelves here in Minnesota are empty. You can still find a few rounds of .380, .40 and even .45 caliber bullets, along with more exotic varieties, but the most popular ammunition–22LR and 9 mm–is sold out everywhere. The shelves are literally bare. Every now and then someone gets in a small shipment; a friend told me that a local Dick's Sporting Goods got some 9 mm bullets in yesterday. They were gone almost instantly.
As gun-ban prospects fade, NRA takes aim elsewhere Registration may be compromise
By David Eldridge-The Washington Times
As gun-control proponents increasingly downplay a proposed assault weapons ban to focus instead on background checks, Wayne LaPierre made clear Sunday the National Rifle Association's position: No new gun laws.
Speaking one day before President Obama travels to Minneapolis to make another plea for his embattled gun-control package, Mr. LaPierre said the NRA opposes even the proposed expansion of background checks for gun purchases that has become the focus of the debate for some compromise-minded Democrats.
How Digits Are Reinventing the World Order
By Jeffrey Tucker - DailyReckoning.com
Most people today use technologies without a clue to the larger picture of what is really happening to the structure of the world because of them. People are staring at the trees and not noticing the gigantic, growing, and ever expanding forest, much less considering the meaning of it all.
This is an attempt to provide a larger look, starting with one of the most beautiful images on the entire Web. It comes from Tweetping.net. This site lights up a tiny pixel for every public communication sent through Twitter.
Tech, telecom giants take sides
as FCC proposes large public WiFi networks
By Cecilia Kang - WashingtonPost.com
The federal government wants to create super WiFi networks across the nation, so powerful and broad in reach that consumers could use them to make calls or surf the Internet without paying a cellphone bill every month.
The proposal from the Federal Communications Commission has rattled the $178 billion wireless industry, which has launched a fierce lobbying effort to persuade policymakers to reconsider the idea, analysts say. That has been countered by an equally intense campaign from Google, Microsoft and other tech giants who say a free-for-all WiFi service would spark an explosion of innovations and devices that would benefit most Americans, especially the poor.
FCC wants free WiFi for all
By Josh Peterson - DailyCaller.com
The FCC is aiming to create a free super WiFi network, putting the agency at odds with wireless companies and market advocates.
Companies like Verizon have fought with the government about spectrum allocation, stating that a large portion of spectrum held by the government is not in use and that freeing it up would alleviate current network congestion problems affecting consumers.
Hackers claim responsibility for Super Bowl power outage
By Josh Peterson - DailyCaller.com
Hackers and hacktivists associated with Anonymous have attempted to claim responsibility for Sunday night's power outage at the Super Bowl that left fans and teams in the dark for over 30 minutes.
Screenshots posted to Twitter by the account @RustleLeague show a program allegedly used to control the lights at the events.
Rustle League is a band of hacktivist Internet trolls loosely affiliated with the Anonymous collective.
Forget the Super Bowl.
Critical Java patch released; update now Summary: Oracle has released a critical Java update that fixes more than 50 security vulnerabilities. Considering the ruckus over the past fortnight, along with repeated warnings from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, you should update Java as soon as possible.
By Zack Whittaker - ZDNet.com
....The latest patch, Java 7 Update 13—critical updates are issued in consecutive odd numbers—was due to be released on February 19, but was pushed forward by two weeks.
In an advisory, Oracle said, "it felt that, releasing this Critical Patch Update two weeks ahead of our intended schedule, instead of releasing a one-off fix through a Security Alert, would be more effective in helping preserve the security posture of Java customers."
US draws up battle plan to stave off digital attack cyberstrikes Pre-emptive strikes will be launched
under secret guidelines to protect computer systems
By NIKHIL KUMAR - Independent.co.uk
The US could launch pre-emptive cyber strikes against countries it suspects of threatening its interests with a digital attack, under a new set of secret guidelines to safeguard the nation's computer systems.
The rules – the country's first on how it defends or retaliates against digital attacks – are expected to be approved in coming weeks, and are likely to be kept under wraps, much like the policies governing the country's controversial drone programme.
Real Reason for Fracking Boom Is to Build North American Union?
By Staff Report - DailyBell.com Dominant Social Theme: Fracking is the most important technology since the advent of the oil drill. Free-Market Analysis: Reuters is signaling that a Keystone Pipeline decision is coming soon. Turning the United States into two separate countries (metaphorically anyway) is an ongoing option that looks to become reality.
Looked at this way, we have a solution to our "fracking dilemma."
In several articles we've raised the point about why fracking – a way of unlocking oil – has become a recognized solution to the world's artificial oil crisis. It seems to weaken another elite dominant social theme, which is that the world is running out of oil and authoritarian governmental measures must be taken to conserve what we have.
ROBERT REDFORD BEGS OBAMA
TO REJECT 'DIRTY' KEYSTONE PIPELINE OIL Progressive actor Robert Redford must not have heard about Solyndra or any of the other crony capital green energy busts in President Barack Obama's first term.
by CHRISTIAN TOTO - Breitbart.com
Redford has a new op-ed at The Huffington Post begging Obama to stay the course, embrace all things green and reject dirty, dirty oil.
It's easy for Redford, flush with the kind of cash that can pay premium prices for inefficient green energy, to preach to the enviro-choir. Meanwhile, ordinary Americans see their tax dollars fly out the window with Solyndra-like deals and watch other nations capitalize on their homegrown oil resources.
Gas diplomacy time for Iran
By Chris Cook - ATimes.com
After a long hiatus, the US-Iran policy logjam is showing encouraging signs of breaking.
On the US front, President Barack Obama has now been inaugurated, and is both free from worrying about another term and not unhappy at "Bibi" Netanyahu's setback in the recent Israel election. Obama has made pragmatic appointments in John Kerry and Chuck Hagel while his deputy, Joe Biden, is now offering direct US talks with Iran for the first time in many years.
Sea changes from oil revolution American technology, Asian demand
on course to reshape global politics
By Patrice Hill-The Washington Times
Second of two parts.
For Americans who came of age in an era marked by worries about scarce world oil supplies, dominant international oil cartels and unrest in the Middle East, the times are changing — quickly.
Technologies bred in America are unlocking reserves of oil that for decades were considered out of reach. With oil production from shale rock, oil sands and deep-sea drilling booming in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and elsewhere, worries about Middle East-based oil cartels and vulnerable Persian Gulf supply lines are close to becoming things of the past.
Canada Sends Billion-Dollar Message to Oil Industry
By Jen Alic - OilPrice.com
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper may be about to get tough on offshore oil developers and pipeline companies with legislation that could make them liable for billions of dollars in the event of an accident.
The rumor is that Harper's cabinet is pouring over some major legislation that would go a long way to appease environmentalists who view the country's laws governing the sector as far too lenient.
An Unedifying Debate "Immigration reform" and Senator Rubio's
well-meaning but naive plan are dividing the right.
By LARRY THORNBERRY - Spectator.org
Clare Boothe Luce is given credit for this insight: "In this world there are optimists and pessimists. The pessimists are better informed." If La Luce were with us today and said this, she might be talking about the current highly political and way-less-than-useful back and forth about America's chronic illegal immigration problem.
Some conservatives are praising Florida Senator Marco Rubio (and his seven accomplices) for his high-minded "principles," meant to morph into legislation that would deal with our immigration mare's nest. Another group of conservatives — we'll find out later which group is larger — say his approach is little more than amnesty for those here illegally and, more importantly, an incentive for more millions more to come here illegally and be a financial burden to the federal and local governments.
South Korea's UN envoy says
a North Korean nuclear test 'seems to be imminent'
AP - WashingtonPost.com
UNITED NATIONS — South Korea's U.N. ambassador said Monday a North Korean nuclear test "seems to be imminent."
Ambassador Kim Sook said there are "very busy activities" taking place at North Korea's nuclear test site "and everybody's watching."
Kim told a press conference that in the event of a nuclear test, he expects the U.N. Security Council to respond with "firm and strong measures."
Egypt says Ahmadinejad to visit Cairo this week,
1st visit by Iranian leader in decades
AP - WashingtonPost.com
CAIRO — Egypt's foreign minister says Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Cairo this week, marking the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian leader in decades.
Even so, Mohammed Kamel Amr described Ahmadinejad's visit as routine, since he will be attending a summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Cairo.
Officials in Cairo did not say Monday whether the Iranian leader would meet Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi during his visit. Morsi is from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.
Is Palestinian-Israeli Peace
the Key to Happiness in the Middle East?
By Jeffrey Goldberg - TheAtlantic.com
Among many Middle East analysts, particularly those of the so-called "realist" school of foreign policy thought, "linkage" is a holy doctrine. It holds that peaceful compromise between Israel and the Palestinians will lead to a generally placid Middle East. But it's a false notion. One of its more famous advocates is Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee to be secretary of defense.
In my Bloomberg View column, I look at Hagel's views, and try to understand how linkage became such a dominant doctrine when it is so provably false:
U.S. Military - Major Iran Sanctions Buster?
By John Daly - OilPrice.com
The title of the 30 January report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Office of Special Projects says it all.
"AFGHAN NATIONAL SECURITY FORCES: LIMITED VISIBILITY OVER FUEL IMPORTS INCREASES THE RISK THAT U.S.-FUNDED FUEL PURCHASES COULD VIOLATE U.S. ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN."
Who is SIGAR?
According to its website, "SIGAR employees travel throughout Afghanistan to complete their mission. As of March 2012, Congress has provided over $89.5 billion in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan. These funds are used to build the Afghan National Security Forces, promote good governance, conduct development assistance, and engage in counter-narcotics and anti-corruption efforts. Congress created the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to provide independent and objective oversight of Afghanistan reconstruction projects and activities. Under the authority of Section 1229 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (P.L. 110-181), SIGAR conducts audits and investigations to: 1) promote efficiency and effectiveness of reconstruction programs and 2) detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse."
Israel prepares for wider conflict
By Phoebe Greenwood, Richard Spencer - SMH.com.au
ISRAEL is said to be considering further attacks in Syria and Lebanon following the air strikes on a weapons convoy this week, and on Friday claimed ''the entire axis of evil is coming apart''.
Officials said that the risks of military action to prevent Lebanese militia Hezbollah obtaining sophisticated weapons outweighed the threats of a response from either Syria or Iran.
Syria Is Not Iraq Why the legacy of the Iraq War
keeps President Obama from doing the right thing in Syria.
By Shadi Hamid - TheAtlantic.com
More than a year ago, a real debate began over whether to intervene militarily in Syria. Here in The Atlantic, Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations was one of the first to propose taking military action - or at least thinking seriously about it. When Cook wrote his article (which, in its prescience, is well worth re-reading today), around 5,000 Syrians had been killed. Today, the number is more than 10 times that, and is now over 60,000 according to some estimates. I remember, early on, wondering whether 15,000 would be a "trigger."
Munich conference breaks Iran-US ice
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi - Atimes.com
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts - Iran and the United States are on the verge of a historical opportunity to repair their frozen relations and thus reverse the spiral of conflict spiral that for years has dominated their interactions. It is the right thing to do and at the right time, given the fact that more often than not past opportunities were lost simply because one side or the other was not "ready".
Fortunately, today's situation is different and that is a cause for cautious optimism in light of positive statements from US and Iranian officials, particularly by US Vice-President Joseph Biden who, while attending the 49th Munich Security Conference, announced US's readiness to engage in serious dialogue with Iran, a move that was immediately reciprocated by Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akba Salehi, who termed Biden's remark as a welcome "step forward."
Gold Outlook For The Following Months
By Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA - GoldSeek.com
Gold moved sideways for the last six weeks, with each rally and correction sparking either new hopes or new fears about the yellow metal. But focusing on such short-term volatility can rarely bring any good when it comes to long-term investments. That's one of the things that we often stress – one should always analyze the market form different perspectives and keep in mind their order of importance. This week we will focus on the long term.
Own Physical Gold & Silver
As Currency Wars Will Destroy Our Money
GoldSilverWorlds.com
The general macro economic outlook of Andy Hoffman is based on the expectation we will see "more of the same," including more money printing, weaker economies, higher unemployment, social unrest … and importantly weaker currencies. With the Dow Jones index almost at all-time highs (14,009 closing price on February 1st) and the VIX indicator close to all time lows (12.90 on February 1st), weakness is not reflected in equity prices.
Markets are not real; they no longer exist. Every market is manipulated to levels we have never seen before. Governments have always been buying bonds. Now they admit that they are buying stocks as well; they use the exchange stabilization fund to manipulate currencies. They have so thoroughly taken over the market that they have literally destroyed volatility. That is why the metals are the safest place to be.
What's behind moving Swiss Bank clients
from unallocated to 'allocated' gold accounts?
By: Julian D. W. Phillips - GoldSeek.com
Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse have moved to offer 'allocated' gold and silver accounts to their clients, including high net worth individuals, hedge funds, other banks and institutions.The move allows these entities to take direct ownership of their bullion in 'allocated'accounts. In addition, their storage fees have been raised by 20%.
The reason being is that the banks say that they are making the move to reduce exposure and risks on balance sheets and in an effort to be more transparent. Is there more to this than meets the eye? We believe there is, much more, and it is a warning for us!
First let's look at what the actions mean.
Goldilocks Ends and 'Currency Wars' Begin
BY GARY TANASHIAN - FinancialSense.com
Amid continuing inflationary policy, the US Dollar is at a critical juncture by both daily and weekly charts. Euro targets 142+ and the Yen approaches our target. Currency war kicks off; gold just sits there biding time.
From last week's eLetter:
"A Goldilocks atmosphere was expertly created in large part due to the fact that Operation Twist (yes, we are still dealing with its effects) by its very definition held long-term interest rates down (buying long-term T bonds) while sopping up any money supply implications and inflationary signals by sanitizing the process with the sales of equal amounts of short-term bonds."
Obama defends spending, blames slowing economy
on 'bad decisions in Washington'
By David Eldridge-The Washington Times
President Obama, offering what is likely a preview of his Feb. 12 State of the Union address, blamed this week's disappointing economic news – U.S. gross domestic product shrunk unexpectedly in the fourth quarter of 2012 – on "bad decisions in Washington."
The president, speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address, defended the overall economy and warned that too much focus on cutting government spending would backfire.
Peter Schiff & Doug Casey About Gold, Dollar Collapse & US Fed
GoldSilverWorlds.com
In a recent interview, Doug Casey talks with Peter Schiff about his expectations of the gold price and the future of the dollar. They discuss the role of the central bank(s) in today's debt crisis and conclude that the Fed is trapped. They end with some tips on where individuals and investors can go to with their money.
The gold price will exceed $5,000
Peter Schiff believes that the gold price will rise fast in the coming years. His prediction has always been $5,000. In fact, he believes gold will go much higher, but it is impossible to tell when exactly. It will not be in ten or twenty years; the sharp price increase should be rather imminent (somewhere in the coming few years).
Five problems bigger than the national debt
Commentary: We've got all kinds of problems, but debt ain't one
By Rex Nutting - MarketWatch.com
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – With even top Republicans such as Eric Cantor beginning to question the political wisdom of waging perpetual warfare over the deficit, it's possible that Washington may slowly turn its attention to other, more pressing matters.
What could be more urgent than deficit reduction? you may ask.
My answer: Almost everything.
Sequestration, Politics—and the Economy
BY IRWIN M. STELZER - WeeklyStandard.com
It took only a tiny drop of .01 percent in fourth quarter GDP to produce another battle in the ideological war that is going on in Washington. Republicans blame it on the president's spending and deficits, the president and his team on the congressional Republicans they call a "major headwind" and on Fox News for opposing Barack Obama's plans for more spending and higher taxes. The president says that there is no spending problem and "we don't have to worry about the debt short term," Republicans that spending is the problem.
Banks, at Least, Had a Friend in Geithner
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON - NYTimes.com
TIMOTHY F. GEITHNER left the Treasury Department last week after four years as secretary. So how did he do?
As financial adviser to the president in the tumultuous years immediately after the credit crisis, Mr. Geithner had immense sway over the government's approach to all things economic. For everyday Americans, his major tasks included responding to the home foreclosure mess, unwinding federal bailouts under the Troubled Asset Relief Program and tackling the problem of financial institutions that are too big to manage and too interconnected for America's good.
Why the U.S. Government Never, Ever
Has to Pay Back All Its Debt Governments really can, and do, borrow forever.
By Matthew O'Brien - TheAtlantic.com
How will our children, grandchildren, and sundry other friends and relatives too young to see an R-rated movie unaccompanied ever pay back the entire debt the government is piling up now? Easy. They won't. The U.S. government is never completely debt-free (except for that one time it sold land seized from Native Americans).
Fed's Dudley floats even broader revamp of wholesale funding
By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK | Fri Feb 1, 2013 11:19am EST
(Reuters) - An influential Federal Reserve official on Friday suggested an even broader revamping of the worrisome U.S. wholesale funding market than is currently being considered.
New York Fed President William Dudley advocated expanding the central bank's backstop to firms doing "socially useful" business or forcing them to rely more on longer-term funding.
Government "Help" to Manage Retirement Accounts Retirement Savings Accounts
Draw U.S. Consumer Bureau Attention
By Carter Dougherty - Bloomberg.com
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing whether it should take on a role in helping Americans manage the $19.4 trillion they have put into retirement savings, a move that would be the agency's first foray into consumer investments.
"That's one of the things we've been exploring and are interested in in terms of whether and what authority we have," bureau director Richard Cordray said in an interview. He didn't provide additional details.
Goldman Sachs braces for bond market blow up The bank cuts its interest rate exposure after warnings from CEO Lloyd Blankfein and COO Gary Cohn.
By Stephen Gandel - Fortune.CNN.com
FORTUNE -- Goldman Sachs is growing more nervous about the bond bubble.
In the past year, the investment bank has dramatically cut the amount of money it could lose on any given day if interest rates were to rise, which would cause bond prices to fall. The bank has also upped its own borrowing in order to lock in low interest rates.
Greece swamped by illegals from North Africa, Mideast Arab Spring chaos fueling wave, envoy says
By Shaun Waterman-The Washington Times
Greece has been hit by a "devastating" wave of illegal immigration from chaos induced by Arab Spring uprisings in North Africa and continued instability in South and Central Asia, according to Athens' Ambassador to the United States Christos P. Panagopoulos.
"For a country of 10.11 million, to have 1 million [immigrants], most of them illegal in a period of hardship and economic crisis, it's devastating," he told editors and reporters of The Washington Times.
US be forewarned… Japan is caught in a stimulus trap
By Robert J. Samuelson - WashingtonPost.com
Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is trying to revive the country's flagging economy, and we could all learn from the exercise. You may recall that, in the 1980s, Japan was widely anointed as the next economic superpower, displacing the United States. It's been a long slide since. In the 1990s, the "bubble economy" of high stock and real estate prices burst. The stock market is roughly a quarter of its high. Land prices have tumbled to 1975 levels. Since 2000, economic growth has averaged less than 1 percent annually. Government debt has ballooned to 214 percent of the economy (gross national product), about double the level of most advanced countries. Some superpower.
Who Runs The World?
Solid Proof That A Core Group Of Wealthy Elitists
Is Pulling The Strings
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Does a shadowy group of obscenely wealthy elitists control the world? Do men and women with enormous amounts of money really run the world from behind the scenes? The answer might surprise you. Most of us tend to think of money as a convenient way to conduct transactions, but the truth is that it also represents power and control. And today we live in a neo-fuedalist system in which the super rich pull all the strings. When I am talking about the ultra-wealthy, I am not just talking about people that have a few million dollars. As you will see later in this article, the ultra-wealthy have enough money sitting in offshore banks to buy all of the goods and services produced in the United States during the course of an entire year and still be able to pay off the entire U.S. national debt. That is an amount of money so large that it is almost incomprehensible. Under this ne0-feudalist system, all the rest of us are debt slaves, including our own governments.
IRS: Parents Must Pay Federal Fine for Uninsured Kids
By Matt Cover - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) – In new, final regulations issued Wednesday, theInternal Revenue Service (IRS) said that parents must pay a federal fine under Obamacare if their children or dependent spouses are uninsured for any part of the year.
The regulations clarify provisions of Obamacare that seem to say that a parent will be held liable for Obamacare's individual mandate penalty if they don't have insurance coverage for their children.
Something good from Obamacare… payoff transparency Medical Industry Must Disclose Doctor Payments, U.S. Says
By Alex Wayne - Bloomberg.com
Payments from drugmakers and medical device companies to doctors must be disclosed to the U.S. government beginning next March, regulators said.
The 2010 health-care law, the Affordable Care Act, requires the companies to report their payments to physicians for help with research, speaking engagements and other activities. The government will begin disclosing the payments on a public website by Sept. 30, 2014, according to rules issued yesterday.
Study: Nearly Half Of Americans Have No Financial Safety Net
WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – Nearly 44 percent of Americans don't have enough savings or assets to stay out of poverty should they lose their income.
A new report from the nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) also finds that almost one-third of Americans do not have a savings account. The state-by-state breakdown of "assets and opportunity" shows that savings have been hit hard across the country, but some regions are much worse than others.
Almost every Southern state – ranging from North Carolina down to Florida, and west to Arkansas – was ranked in the worst category of "liquid asset poor."
Americans Rip Up Retirement Plans Nearly Two-Thirds of Those Between 45 and 60 Plan Delays,
a Steep Rise From Two Years Ago
By LAUREN WEBER - WSJ.com
The American workplace is about to get grayer.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 45 and 60 say they plan to delay retirement, according to a report to be released Friday by the Conference Board. That was a steep jump from just two years earlier, when the group found that 42% of respondents expected to put off retirement.
The increase was driven by the financial losses, layoffs and income stagnation sustained during the last few years of recession and recovery, said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at the organization and a co-author of the report, which is based on a 2012 survey of 15,000 individuals.
In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn't Better ... It's Brutal
By CATHERINE RAMPELL - NYTimes.com
Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents' couches. People in their 30s and 40s can't afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings.
In the current listless economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department's latest jobs snapshot and other recent data reports present a strong case for crowning baby boomers as the greatest victims of the recession and its grim aftermath.
If I Were the Devil - (BEST VERSION)
by PAUL HARVEY audio restored
Long time radio newsman/commentator Paul Harvey created the original of this homily around 1965. It was updated as the years went by and therefore versions of it vary over time. This one is probably from about 1996. It is a warning to America about its own decay.
Jobless rate increases to 7.9 percent; 157K jobs added
By Cheryl K. Chumley-The Washington Times
U.S. unemployment rose slightly to 7.9 percent, according to just-released federal figures. The economy, meanwhile, added 157,000 jobs.
Pre-Friday expectations were for the job rate to remain at 7.8 percent, CNBC reported, with the addition of 160,000 jobs.
By comparison, 155,000 jobs were added in December — mostly in food services, drinking establishments and health care — and the jobless rate stood at 7.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Shocking Numbers That Show The Media Is Lying To You
About Unemployment In America
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
Did you know that the percentage of the U.S. labor force that is employed has continually been falling since 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics? Did you know that the increase in the number of Americans "not in the labor force" during Barack Obama's first four years in the White House was more than three times greater than the increase in the number of Americans "not in the labor force" during the entire decade of the 1980s? The mainstream media would have us believe that 157,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in January. Based on that news, the Dow broke the 14,000 barrier for the first time since October 2007. But if you actually look at the "non-seasonally adjusted" numbers, the number of Americans with a job actually decreased by 1,446,000 between December and January. But nowhere in the mainstream media did you hear that the U.S. economy lost more than 1.4 million jobs between December and January.
No-money-down mortgages are back
By AnnaMaria Andriotis - MarketWatch.com
Some affluent buyers are getting the keys to their new home without putting a penny down.
It's 100% financing—the same strategy that pushed many homeowners into foreclosure during the housing bust. Banks say these loans are safer: They're almost exclusively being offered to clients with sizable assets, and they often require two forms of collateral—the house and a portion of the client's investment portfolio in lieu of a traditional cash down payment.
Companies, longshoremen strike tentative port deal Tentative agreement reportedly
averts $1 bln loss daily to economy
By Ronald D. Orol - MarketWatch.com
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A longshoremen's union and shipping companies at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports reached a tentative agreement late Friday night for the handling of cargo containers, averting a strike that could have incapacitated shipping along the East Coast and reportedly cost the economy more than $1 billion a day.
"I am extremely pleased to announce that the parties have reached a tentative agreement," Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George Cohen, a mediator brought in to assist in negotiating a deal, said in a statement.
The price of moral grandstanding
By George F. Will - WashingtonPost.com
Politics becomes amusing when liberalism becomes theatrical with high-minded gestures. Chicago's government, which is not normally known for elevated thinking, is feeling so morally upright and financially flush that it proposes to rise above the banal business of maximizing the value of its employees' and retirees' pension fund assets. Although seven funds have cumulative unfunded liabilities of $25 billion, Chicago will sacrifice the growth of those assets to the striking of a political pose so pure it is untainted by practicality.
How Republicans can solve their electoral-vote problem
By Chris Cillizza - WashingtonPost.com
Republicans have an electoral-vote problem.
The Republican nominee hasn't won more than 300 electoral votes — out of a possible 538 — since George H.W. Bush in 1988. In the six elections between 1992 and 2012, the Republican presidential candidate has averaged 210 electoral votes. The Democratic nominee has averaged 327 electoral votes during that same time.
Gallup: Conservatives Outnumber Liberals in 47 Out of 50 States
By Patrick Burke - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - The percentage of individuals who identify as conservative in 2012 outnumber those who identify as liberal in 47 out of the 50 states, in addition to the District of Columbia (D.C.) according to a Gallup poll released on Feb. 1.
Nationally, the amount of self-identified conservatives (38 percent) still outnumbers liberals (23 percent). The disparity between conservatives and liberals has remained consistent since Gallup began its tracking in 2008.
The Truth Left Behind
Alex talks with Pastor Steven Anderson in-studio today. He is featured in the film, After The Tribulation, available at the Infowars Store. Mr. Anderson was viciously tasered and assaulted by Border Patrol agents a couple years back for protesting at a Constitution free-zone checkpoint.
Obama Administration:
We Will Still Force Christians to Act Against Their Faith
By Terence P. Jeffrey - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - The Department of Health and Human Services on Friday set the stage for a massive showdown between the federal government of the United States and American Christians who believe the government has no right to force them to act against their faith by mandating that they buy, provide or facilitate health-care coverage that includes sterilizations, contraception, or abortion-inducing drugs.
Plan for public WiFi overhaul splits tech giants FCC plan would redefine wireless industry
Tech, telecom giants take sides as FCC proposes large public WiFi networks
By Cecilia Kang - WashingtonPost.com
The federal government wants to create super WiFi networks across the nation, so powerful and broad in reach that consumers could use them to make calls or surf the Internet without paying a cellphone bill every month.
The proposal from the Federal Communications Commission has rattled the $178 billion wireless industry, which has launched a fierce lobbying effort to persuade policymakers to reconsider the idea, analysts say. That has been countered by an equally intense campaign from Google, Microsoft and other tech giants who say a free-for-all WiFi service would spark an explosion of innovations and devices that would benefit most Americans, especially the poor.
Nature Journal Tells Obama to Support Keystone XL
By Frik Els - OilPrice.com
One of the world's preeminent science journals has lent its support to the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline in a recent editorial.
An editorial published in the 29 January issue of Nature, one of the world's leading science periodicals, has called for the Obama administration to rebuff criticism of the Keystone XL project and approve it as long as environmental standards are satisfied.
Goldman Sachs Reduces 2013 Forecast for U.K. Gas Price by 19%
By Chou Hui Hong - Bloomberg.com
Gas prices at the U.K.'s National Balancing Point will drop this year to 59.7 pence a therm because of lower demand and discounts from pipeline gas suppliers, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) said.
The forecast is 14.1 pence, or 19 percent lower than Goldman's previous projection, Samantha Dart, a London-based analysts for the firm, said in a report e-mailed today. U.K. NBP prices will rebound starting in 2014 to 66 pence as a stronger economy stokes demand for gas and production declines in northwest Europe, the analysts said.
Why the World May Never Experience a Shale Boom
By. Matt Smith - OilPrice.com
Given the rapid rise of the US shale gas market, it is not surprising that similar opportunities are being explored with gusto across the globe. Given the size of technically recoverable shale gas already identified, it would seem that a global boom is inevitable….or is it?
Most things in life come with a caveat, from ice cream (calories) to fast cars ($$$). And the caveat for shale gas is that no two shale deposits are created equal. No better place is this exemplified than in the chart below, which spans the spectrum of breakeven costs.
231 Sheriffs and 4 State Sheriffs Associations
Saying 'NO' to Obama Gun Control
CSPOA.org - Infowars.com
Sheriffs have risen up all over our great nation to stand up against the unconstitutional gun control measures being taken.
The following is a list of sheriffs and state sheriff's associations from who have vowed to uphold and defend the Constitution against Obama's unlawful gun control measures. I applaud these public servants for their courage and conviction.
I call on sheriffs all over this nation to add their voices to the growing numbers of faithful protectors of our freedom. -Richard Mack
Sheriff Mack: Hell NO to Gun Control!
A wave of sheriffs, state legislatures and law enforcement figures have stood up to put the federal government on notice that they will NOT be involved in any disarmament measures or violations of the 2nd Amendment. Their courageous and patriotic actions are the very solution, grounded in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, that Sheriff Mack has been advocating for decades through his books, and his organizational work with the Oath Keepers, the Constitutional Sheriffs & Police Officers Association (CSPOA.org) and more.
Chinese hackers suspected in attack on The Post's computers
By Craig Timberg and Ellen Nakashima - WashingtonPost.com
A sophisticated cyberattack targeted The Washington Post in an operation that resembled intrusions against other major American news organizations and that company officials suspect was the work of Chinese hackers, people familiar with the incident said.
Post company officials confirmed the broad outlines of the infiltration, which was discovered in 2011 and first reported by an independent cybersecurity blog on Friday. But they did not elaborate on the circumstances, the duration of the intrusion or its apparent origin.
Global Crackers gone phishing with worms? Bank of America site down because of 'technical issues'
By Hayley Tsukayama- WashingtonPost.com
Bank of America's consumer Web site has been hit with a long outage because of what the company called "technical issues."
The bank confirmed the problems through its Twitter account, telling consumers that it knew about the issues and was "working to resolve as soon as possible."
Hackers hit Twitter, affecting a quarter of a million accounts
By Jessica Guynn - LATimes.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Twitter is the latest target of hackers.
The San Francisco company disclosed late Friday that its systems had been attacked by hackers and that nearly a quarter of a million Twitter users were affected.
The attack took place over the last week, Twitter said. The unidentified hackers may have had access to usernames, email addresses and other user information. The company has reset the passwords of the affected accounts. It is informing users by email.
Immigrants in the U.S. sending $120B back home
By Jessica Chasmar-The Washington Times
Immigrants working in the United States sent $120 billion back to their home countries in 2012, according to reports.
More than $23 billion went to Mexico, $13.45 billion to China, $10.84 billion to India and $10 billion to the Philippines, among other recipients, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.
Only $5.1 billion was sent back to the U.S. by the 2.4 million American citizens working abroad.
Hagel Doesn't Understand the Defense Budget
BY DANIEL HALPER - WeeklyStandard.com
Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated by President Obama to be the secretary of defense, does not understand the defense budget. Gary Schmitt explains:
Senator Lindsey Graham's skewering yesterday of former senator and prospective defense secretary Chuck Hagel over the latter's comments about the "Jewish lobby" and its ability to "intimidate" members of Congress will certainly go down in the history of confirmation hearings as a Top Ten moment. But somewhat obscured by that exchange was Senator Graham's previous question to Hagel about the size of the defense budget relative to the country's GDP. Hagel, clearly guessing, answered: "Well, we are, I think, it is probably 5% in that area." Well, actually, it's not Mr. Hagel. The national defense budget is 4% of GDP, with war funding included, and the base defense budget is only 3.4%. No wonder Chuck Hagel thinks, as he is quoted as saying, the Defense Department is "bloated."
North Korea issues guidelines on strengthening military
By Hyung-jin Kim, AP - WashingtonTimes.com
SEOUL(AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued "important" guidelines on how to bolster the army and protect the nation's sovereignty at a high-level ruling Workers' Party meeting, state media said Sunday, an indication that Pyongyang may be ready to conduct an atomic test at any time.
North Korea said last month that it would conduct its third nuclear test to protest international sanctions toughened over its long-range rocket launch in December. The United States, South Korea and other countries have urged the North to scrap its nuclear test plans or face grave consequences.
Departing Clinton Warns Iran Is Expanding Aid to Assad
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan & Nicole Gaouette - Bloomberg.com
Hillary Clinton said Iran has increased the number and quality of weapons it sends Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, underscoring a top challenge facing John Kerry, her successor as U.S. secretary of state.
The Iranian government is also aiding Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based militant group that backs Assad, Clinton said yesterday in her final interview before leaving office.
Israel Threatened by Syria and Iran Jewish State makes it clear
it will meet existential threats head-on.
By Arnold Ahlert - PatriotPost.us
The presumed Israeli airstrike within Syrian territory on Wednesday has elicited threats of retaliation from both Syria and Iran. Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, quoted at al-Ahd, a Hezbollah-run news website, contended that his nation could make "a surprise decision to respond to the aggression of the Israeli warplanes," adding that "Syria is engaged in defending its sovereignty and its land." In Iran, a deputy foreign minister was quoted by English-language Press TV as saying the "strike on Syria will have serious consequences for Tel Aviv." He did not elaborate.
Benghazi, Libya, deteriorating into security nightmare
By Ashish Kumar Sen-The Washington Times
Security in Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city where four Americans were killed Sept. 11 in a terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate, has decayed to the point where Westerners are fleeing, assassinations and kidnappings are rife and residents worry that U.S. drone strikes on jihadist targets are imminent.
"The situation has obviously deteriorated. It is a systematic deterioration," said longtime Benghazi resident Jalal Elgallal, who was spokesman of the now-defunct National Transitional Council.
U.S. Violating its Own Sanctions on Iran
By Daniel J. Graeber - OilPrice.com
An audit of U.S. defense spending in Afghanistan finds the Pentagon may have spent a significant amount of money on fuel for the military there that came from Iran. Congress appropriated billions of dollars of taxpayer money to support the Afghan military and the lack of strict oversight means some of that money may have wound up in Tehran's coffers. A week ago, Iran said it was taking pre-emptive measures by cutting off whatever is left of its European consumer base from oil and natural gas. Demand from vibrant Asian economies, meanwhile, has provided a boost to Iranian oil exports. The audit finds that U.S. defense officials took action in late 2012 to stave off the flow of Iranian fuel products to Afghan forces. The U.S. government's own oversight, however, suggests that efforts to starve Iran of revenue isn't working.
Biden raises possibility of direct U.S.-Iran talks
By Adrian Croft and Myra MacDonald
MUNICH | Sat Feb 2, 2013 3:01pm EST
(Reuters) - The United States is ready for direct talks with Iran if it is serious about negotiations, Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday, backing bilateral contact many see as crucial to easing a dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.
Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Biden said Iran - which says it is enriching uranium for peaceful energy only - now faced "the most robust sanctions in history" meant to ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons.
Iran positive, yet equivocal, on U.S. talks over nuclear program Views 'threatening rhetoric' as roadblock
By Geir Moulson, AP - WashingtonTimes.com
MUNICH — Iran's foreign minister on Sunday welcomed the United States' willingness to hold direct talks with Tehran on the standoff over its nuclear program but didn't commit to accepting the offer — insisting that Washington must show "fair and real" intentions to resolve the issue and complaining about "threatening rhetoric."
Ali Akbar Salehi insisted that no Iranian "red line" is getting in the way of direct negotiations with Washington, but he also pointed to deep mistrust between the two countries.
Iranian minister says nuclear talks possible
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch.com
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Iran on Sunday said that Tehran would be interested in participating in bilateral talks on its nuclear program, so long as there is "honest intention," The Wall Street Journal reported.
"If there is an honest intention on the other side, then we will take that into consideration," Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told a panel discussion at an annual international security conference in Germany.
All that pivots is gold
By Pepe Escobar - ATimes.com
To quote the immortal line in Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, as filmed by John Huston, "Let's talk about the black bird" - let's talk about a mysterious bird made out of gold. Oh yes, because this is a film noir worthy of Dashiell Hammett - involving the Pentagon, Beijing, shadow wars, pivoting and a lot of gold.
Let's start with Beijing's official position; "We don't have enough gold". That leads to China's current, frenetic buying spree - which particularly in Hong Kong anyone can follow live, in real time. China is already the top gold producing and the top gold importing nation in the world.
Rush To Safety: Americans Buy Nearly
Half a Billion Dollars Of Gold and Silver In January
By Mac Slavo - SilverBeaCafe.com
While public officials may be ignoring the continued deterioration of our economy, job losses to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people weekly, and the unprecedented demand for government emergency support services like unemployment insurance and food assistance, Americans who sense uncertainty in the air are flocking to the safety of physical resources.
Our first point of interest is a recent report from the Federal Reserve that indicates some $114 billion dollars in cash was withdrawn from the nation's largest banks in the last thirty days. Those holding their money at bailed out financial institutions are understandably concerned because the government's $250,000 deposit insurance guarantee program, originally implemented to restore confidence in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, expired at the end of 2012. That and the US fiscal situation has never been worse, with one Obama official recently having said the solution to the country's woes is to simply kill the dollar.
Pimco's Gross calls U.S. economy
"supernova" on path to extinction
By Herbert Lash
Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:15am EST
(Reuters) - Bond guru Bill Gross of Pimco warned on Thursday that the U.S. economy has become too credit-reliant and is requiring more and more government stimulus to produce ever-diminishing rates of growth, much like Japan has experienced over the past decade.
Using a supernova as a metaphor for the U.S. financial system, Gross said the universe is expanding so rapidly now that in the far future it will end in a "big freeze." Dependence on credit for growth will produce similar results, he said.
The Linchpin Lie:
How Global Collapse Will Be Sold To The Masses
By Brandon Smith - Alt-Market.com
In our modern world there exist certain institutions of power. Not government committees, alphabet agencies, corporate lobbies, or even standard military organizations; no, these are the mere "middle-men" of power. The errand boys. The well paid hitmen of the global mafia. They are not the strategists or the decision makers.
Instead, I speak of institutions which introduce the newest paradigms. Who write the propaganda. Who issue the orders from on high. I speak of the hubs of elitism which have initiated nearly every policy mechanism of our government for the past several decades. I am talking about the Council On Foreign Relations, the Tavistock Institute, the Heritage Foundation (a socialist organization posing as conservative), the Bilderberg Group, as well as the corporate foils that they use to enact globalization, such as Monsanto, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the Carlyle Group, etc.
Countdown to the Collapse
John Butler - SilverBearCafe.com
On multiple fronts there appears to have been a resumption of hostilities in the global currency wars. A subtle indication of this is the recently released report,Gold, the Renminbi and the Multi-Currency Reserve System, which I believe is highly significant for two reasons: First, it demonstrates that major global actors are now keenly aware and frightened of the possibility of a major breakdown in international monetary relations. Second, it suggests that these same actors are trying to contain the growing demand for gold as an alternative reserve asset and pre-empt an uncontrolled gold remonetization. These efforts will fail. A collapse of the current, unstable global monetary equilibrium is inevitable. Recent events indicate that the countdown has begun.
Keiser Report: Bond-Pocalypse Now (E400)
In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert for their 400th episode discuss Obeelzebub and Jamie Demon as the inevitable outcome of collateral faking, zombie banking and paper printing. They also discuss Russia's central bank buying gold while David Cameron is telling porkies about UK national debt. In the second half of the show, Max Keiser talks to Ian Williams of Charteris Treasury about silver suppression and the bond-pocalypse.
"Everybody in the Industry Knows
the US Doesn't Have the Gold"
BY JOHN RUBINO - FinancialSense.com
In this week's talk with National Numismatics' Tom Cloud, he explains why Germany's gold repatriation is just the beginning, the US Mint's silver shortage will continue, and the big money is right about precious metals.
DollarCollapse: Hi Tom. It's been an eventful few weeks in precious metals, though you wouldn't know from the price action alone. Hit the high points for us.
Tom Cloud: Germany's gold repatriation is obviously a game changer. They got all their gold back from France right away. But the US government put them off for 7 years, probably by offering them some kind of premium to take their gold back slowly. More gold, Treasuries, no one knows what exactly but clearly it was a big inducement. It's also clear that Germany won't be the last country to bring its gold home. The Netherlands is next and then probably Switzerland. It's become a game of musical chairs. No one wants to be caught when the music stops. And make no mistake, it will stop. Everybody in the industry knows the US doesn't have the gold and can't deliver it. They've leased it all out.
10 Reasons Precious Metals Prices
Are Ready to Break Out In 2013
Greg McCoach presents his lecture entitled, "10 Reasons Precious Metals Prices Are Ready to Break Out In 2013." Taped at Cambridge House International's Vancouver Resource Investment Conference in January 2013.
Let the sequesters begin, some Republicans say
Lawmakers see leverage on budget
By Sean Lengell - The Washington Times
Congressional Republicans are preparing to let $85 billion in automatic spending cuts begin to bite March 1, saying they have become convinced that letting the "sequesters" take effect is the only way they will be able to wrangle real spending cuts from President Obama.
House Speaker John A. Boehner, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and other Republicans are talking increasingly tough about the sequesters, saying they are willing to accept the deep cuts to military and domestic spending in order to force Mr. Obama to come up with his own counteroffer.
Suspension of debt limit wins final congressional approval
By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON | Thu Jan 31, 2013 6:07pm EST
(Reuters) - A bill allowing the government to keep borrowing money for at least a few more months, beyond its record $16.4 trillion debt limit, won final congressional approval on Thursday, clearing the way for President Barack Obama to sign it into law.
The Democratic-led Senate passed the bill, 64-34, a week after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved it, 285-144. Both votes were bipartisan.
Congress puts off fight with three-month debt hike
By Stephen Dinan-The Washington Times
Chastened by its last brush with the debt limit, Congress on Thursday approved a waiver allowing the government to run up as much debt as it needs over the next three months — but also promised to finally write a budget for the first time in four years.
Indeed, lawmakers even voted to punish themselves by withholding their own salaries should they fail to pass budgets by April 15.
Why Have Recoveries Been So Miserable the Past 20 Years?
Recoveries have been getting weaker and weaker because that's how the Fed wants them
By Matthew O'Brien - TheAtlantic.com
It's time to talk about everybody's least favorite Davos buzzword -- New Normal.
With GDP unexpectedly contracting 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 (though the private sectormostly kept up, despite the obstacles we've thrown in its way), it's enough to make you wonder if this time really is different. In other words, has the economy settled into a, well, new normal of slower growth?
Dollar Sell Off Within 4 Months-John Williams
If Congress does not get its financial house in order by the new deadline in mid-May 2013, John Williams of Shadowstats.com contends, "It will be the end of the road . . . . They are not going to have another opportunity . . . they are pushing the limit as it is now." Williams says he expects, ". . . a negative reaction in the next 3 or 4 months to the dollar." Williams adamantly continues to predict hyperinflation to the U.S. dollar by the end of 2014.
The Politics of Debt in America
By Steve Fraser - SilverBearCafe.com
Shakespeare's Polonius offered this classic advice to his son: "neither a borrower nor a lender be." Many of our nation's Founding Fathers emphatically saw it otherwise. They often lived by the maxim: always a borrower, never a lender be. As tobacco and rice planters, slave traders, and merchants, as well as land and currency speculators, they depended upon long lines of credit to finance their livelihoods and splendid ways of life. So, too, in those days, did shopkeepers, tradesmen, artisans, and farmers, as well as casual laborers and sailors. Without debt, the seedlings of a commercial economy could never have grown to maturity.
Why We Cannot Print/Borrow/Spend Our Way to Prosperity
by Charles Hugh-Smith - OfTwoMinds.com
I have often explained why the Keynesian belief that the government can print/ borrow and spend enough money to trigger self-sustaining prosperity is a nonsensical, magical-thinking Cargo Cult.
The following charts show why printing/borrowing and spending our way to self-sustaining prosperity has failed, and why it will continue to fail, with eventually catastrophic results: the returns on this unprecedented borrow-spend policy are diminishing to near-zero or negative.
Watch Out: Derivatives Are Back Remember CLOs, CDOs?
They're Back, Signaling Return to 2004
By Katy Barnato - CNBC.com
Structured finance deals of a type last seen before the financial crisis are set to come back in 2013, according to market experts, as a nascent credit boom, coupled with low interest rates, spurs banks and investment firms to test the market for high-yielding, riskier assets.
Speaking to CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange", Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist at Rosenblatt Securities, forecast a resurrection in issuance of CDOs (collateralized debt obligations), an asset-backed security that gained notoriety during the financial crisis in 2008.
Financial Drones
Dan Denning - SilverBearCafe.com
A few hundred words from now, I'll examine the "liquidity pyramid" that argues for loading up on gold. But between here and there, I'll amble past a recent news story, convert that story into a metaphor and then…eventually…get to my main point.
First, the news story…About two weeks ago Wired Magazinereported that a US drone strike in Pakistan had killed eight people. It was the sixth US drone strike in Pakistan in the preceding eight days, with at least 35 deaths reported.
Mis-sold swaps may cost UK banks billions
By Matt Scuffham
LONDON | Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:19pm GMT
(Reuters) - Banks face another round of compensation claims that could total billions of pounds after the regulator found they had widely mis-sold complex interest-rate hedging products to small businesses.
The interest-rate swaps are the latest in a series of costly banking scandals that include insurance on loans and mortgages that was also mis-sold, rigged global benchmark rates and breaches of anti-money laundering rules.
China's Narrowing Policy Horizons
By Yu Yongding - Project-Syndicate.org
BEIJING – Back in the last quarter of 2011, when the decline in China's investment growth accelerated, concerns about a hard economic landing intensified, particularly given the authorities' reluctance to pursue new expansionary policies. By May 2012, however, the government had changed its mind, with the National Development and Reform Commission approving ¥7 trillion ($1.3 trillion) in new projects. That, together with two ensuing interest-rate cuts by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), guaranteed an end to the economic slowdown in the third quarter of 2012.
15 Signs That You Better Get Prepared
For The Obama Recession Of 2013
By Michael Snyder - TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com
You better get ready, because there are a whole host of signs that economic trouble is on the horizon. U.S. economic growth slipped into negative territory during the fourth quarter of 2012. That was the first time that has happened in more than three years. Several important measures of manufacturing activity have also contracted in recent weeks, and consumer confidence is way down. There is a tremendous amount of economic pessimism in the air right now, and Americans are pulling enormous amounts of money out of our banks and they are buying up precious metals at unprecedented rates. Meanwhile, our "leaders" seem very confused about what is happening.
Where did all the housing inventory go?
Listed inventory down over 20 percent
from last year
and at lowest levels since January of 2001.
DoctorHousingBubble.com
This might sound like the start of a riddle but really, where did all the housing inventory go? In the latest piece of data we find that listed inventory is now at levels last seen in January of 2001. That is right, today we have the same number of homes listed for sale that we did 12 years ago. This continues to be the biggest underreported story in the housing market. A large part of this has to do with the external forces interacting with housing. One has to do with banks holding on selectively to distressed properties while another is the dragging out of the foreclosure process. Next, you still have roughly 10 million Americans that are underwateron their mortgages. Think of that when you realize that only about 1.8 million homes are listed for sale. Those 5 million homes in distress either because of foreclosure or missing payments sure would relieve some of the pressure current buyers are facing.
Mikulski's 'Paycheck Fairness Act'
Would Allow Employees to Discuss Salaries
CBS DC
LANHAM, Md. (CBSDC)- A 'Paycheck Fairness Act' introduced in Congress last week would require employers to show pay disparity is related to job-performance and prohibit employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers.
Senator Barbara A. Mikulski and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, both Democrats, said their legislation is aimed at closing the pay gap between men and women and would also address loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act.
Weekly jobless-aid applications rise to 368,000
By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP - WashingtonTimes.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose sharply last week but remained at a level consistent with moderate hiring.
Weekly applications for unemployment benefits leapt 38,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The increase comes after applications plummeted in the previous two weeks to five-year lows. Applications fell by a combined 45,000 in the second and third weeks of January.
Time Inc. Cuts Some 500 Jobs, Biggest Layoffs in Years Storied Publisher Resumes Reductions to Employee Rolls
By: Nat Ives - AdAge.com
Time Inc., the publisher of magazines including Time and Sports Illustrated, has begun eliminating about 6% of its head count -- nearly 500 jobs -- in the biggest round of cuts at the company since 2008.
"With the significant and ongoing changes in our industry, we must continue to transform our company into one that is leaner, more nimble and more innately multi-platform," CEO Laura Lang said in a memo to employees today. "To make this change, we need to operate as smartly and efficiently as possible to create room for critical investments and new initiatives. These reductions are part of this important transformation process."
Justice tries to halt Budweiser beer merger
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
The Department of Justice has turned its attention to the beer industry and is trying to halt the merger of Budweiser maker, Anheuser-Busch InBev, with Mexican brewer, Grupo Modelo.
DOJ filed a lawsuit to stop the merger on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.
DOJ says the companies provide roughly 46 percent of U.S. beer sale — and a merger would constitute take-over of the market, BBC reports. The competitive edge would drive up beer prices, DOJ argues, according to the BBC.
Gallup: 61% of Small Business 'Worried' Over Healthcare Costs -- 30% Not Hiring, Fear Going Out of Business
By Patrick Burke - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) -- Sixty-one percent of U.S. small business owners said they were "worried about the potential cost of healthcare" and 56 percent said they were "worried about new government regulations," according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup small business index released on Jan. 31, which also showed that 30 percent of small business owners are not hiring and fear going out of business within a year.
"At the bottom of the list, but still at a surprisingly high level, 30% of owners say they are not hiring because they are worried they may no longer be in business in 12 months," according to Gallup's index summary. "This is up from 24% who had the same worry in January 2012."
Labor Unions Finally Read Obamacare Fine Print,
Realize Costs Set To Spike, "Turn Sour" On Obama
by Tyler Durden - ZeroHedge.com
It is a well-known fact that nobody in Congress ever reads, or even skims, any law, and especially not the fine print, it passes until long after it has been enacted into law. It appears the same is just as true for the biggest pillar of support for the Obama administration: America's labor unions, whose liberal vote every election is instrumental to preserving the outflow side of America's welfare state. As it turns out, it was the same labor unions who enthusiastically supported the primary accomplishment of the Obama administration in the past 4 years, Obamacare, only to realize, long after it has become reality that, surprise, their healthcare plan costs are about to go up. And, as the WSJ colorfully summarizes, they are now "turning sour."
From WSJ:
Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment measures in many health-care plans. It also allows children to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26.
IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family
By Matt Cover - CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) – In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year.
Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS.
The IRS's assumption that the cheapest plan for family will cost $20,000 per year is found in examples the IRS gives to help people understand how to calculate the penalty they will need to pay the government if they do not buy a mandated health plan.
Some families to be priced out of health overhaul
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, AP - USNews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some families could get priced out of health insurance due to what's being called a glitch in President Barack Obama's overhaul law. IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix the problem as liberal backers of the president's plan had hoped.
As a result, some families that can't afford the employer coverage that they are offered on the job will not be able to get financial assistance from the government to buy private health insurance on their own. How many people will be affected is unclear.
Obamacare Repeal Still Top Conservative Goal,
Despite Improbability Sen. Ted Cruz knows it's a tough task,
but he still hopes for repeal
By REBEKAH METZLER - USNews.com
For outside groups and conservative politicians aiming to make names for themselves, there's still plenty of incentive to attempt the impossible.
Sure the Republican-controlled House might have voted to repeal all or part of Obamacare more than 30 times over the last two years, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court might have upheld its core constitutionality and voters may have returned the man whose name is branded on it to the presidency, but that doesn't mean conservatives are done pressing for its removal.
When Hospitals Become Killers A drug-resistant germ has struck
even the National Institutes of Health Medical Center.
By BETSY MCCAUGHEY - WSJ.com
In 2011, the lethal germ known as CRK—short for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella—raced through the National Institutes of Health Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Antibiotics couldn't stop it. Infection-control precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could not contain it. Six patients died because of it, including a 16-year-old boy.
Last week, public-health researchers released alarming data in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology showing that the same germ that swept through the NIH is invading hospitals across the country. Researchers writing this month in another medical journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, warn that CRK poses "a major threat to public health."
Chinese Hackers Targeted Wall Street Journal Computers
By SIOBHAN GORMAN, DEVLIN BARRETT
and DANNY YADRON - WSJ.com
The Wall Street Journal said its computer systems had been infiltrated by Chinese hackers for the apparent purpose of monitoring the newspaper's China coverage.
The infiltration at the Journal, along with reports of computer network breaches at theNew York Times and other news outlets, indicate that Chinese spying on U.S. media has become a widespread phenomenon.
Hacking the Times: China's reach,
and its rules, push beyond its borders
by Max Fisher - WashingtonPost.com
The hackers would start digging into the New York Times' systems at about 8 a.m., Beijing time, and persist for about the length of a standard work day, according to the newspaper's account of its months-long battle with China-based cyber assaults. The attacks began Oct. 25, the day that the Times published an expose of the enormous wealth that Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's family had quietly accumulated, and were thought to be "consistent with other attacks believed to have been perpetrated by the Chinese military."
The Chinese government has not been directly implicated and formally denies its involvement. But the Times' investigation and outside analysts seem to strongly suspect that China may be responsible for this and similar attacks on other Western journalists as well as defense contractors and technology companies. Bloomberg News, which published a similar story last year, also reported China-based attacks.
Carper: Expect White House cyber security order
after State of the Union
By Jennifer Martinez - TheHill.com
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) said the White House has signaled that it will likely introduce its cybersecurity order in the second half of February, following President Obama's State of the Union address.
After the White House releases the cyber order — which it has been crafting over the last several months — Carper said he plans to hold a joint hearing with the Commerce and Intelligence committees to discuss the measures included in the order. Carper said he wants to hear from administration officials and stakeholders' feedback as well.
'Better Than Cash Alliance'
Backed by Bill Gates to Usher in Cashless Society
By Brandon Turbeville - SilverBearCafe.com
It appears that while Bill Gates was content to play the role of Microsoft innovator and billionaire philanthropist early on, he has decided that the second half of his life deserves a more open and slightly more honest twist.
Indeed, in recent years Bill Gates and his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have funded a variety of initiatives aimed at reducing population, promoting toxic vaccinations, and now hyping and funding the development of the cashless society.
America's New Progressive Era?
By Jeffrey D. Sachs - Project-Syndicate.org
NEW YORK – In 1981, US President Ronald Reagan came to office famously declaring that, "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." Thirty-two years and four presidents later, Barack Obama's recent inaugural address, with its ringing endorsement of a larger role for government in addressing America's – and the world's – most urgent challenges, looks like it may bring down the curtain on that era.
In Amerika Law No Longer Exists: the extermination of truth
By Paul Craig Roberts
In the 21st century Americans have experienced an extraordinary collapse in the rule of law and in their constitutional protections. Today American citizens, once a free people protected by law, can be assassinated and detained in prison indefinitely without any evidence being presented to a court of their guilt, and they can be sentenced to prison on the basis of secret testimony by anonymous witnesses not subject to cross examination. The US "justice system" has been transformed by the Bush/Obama regime into the "justice system" of Gestapo Germany and Stalinist Russia. There is no difference.
Are there Big Changes Ahead for the Pipeline Industry?
By Keith Schaefer - OilPrice.com
Do you know how most leaks are found on oil and gas pipelines?
They get a shrill complaint over the phone from one of the landowners where the pipeline crosses.
It's true, says Dr. David Shaw, one of the authors of a draft "Leak Detection Study" prepared for the U.S. Department of Transportation, for a report that will go to the US Congress early in 2013. Dr. Shaw is a project engineer with independent consulting firm Kiefner & Associates, Inc., a high-end, Ohio-based consulting firm that specializes in pipeline engineering.
Strong Earthquake Rattles Southern Alaska
AP - ABCNews.Go.com
A strong earthquake shook southeastern Alaska early Thursday, but there was no danger of a tsunami and no early reports of any damage, officials said.
The magnitude 6.0 quake struck shortly before 1 a.m. and was centered in the ocean, about 200 miles south of the capital, Juneau, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Tsunami Warning Center said there was no danger of a tsunami.
Strong earthquake hits central Chile Magnitude-6.8 quake struck 44km north of Vallenar,
causing buildings to shake in the capital Santiago.
Aljazeera.com
A magnitude-6.8 earthquake has struck central-northern Chile, shaking offices, toppling supermarket shelves and breaking windows.
A 50-year-old woman in the city of Copiapo died of a heart attack, Atacama Regional Governor Rafael Prohens said on Wednesday, attributing her death to fear during the quake.
Authorities said that damage was limited and discounted the possibility of a tsunami.
Egypt Is Burning and U.S. Should Do Little, Very Quietly
By the Editors - Bloomberg.com
With violence threatening to destroy Egypt's fledgling democracy, a growing number of voices there and abroad are calling on the U.S. to take a stronger, more public stand in favor of the secular opposition and against President Mohamed Mursi and his supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood.
For now, the U.S. would be wise to resist these calls. It would probably be pilloried for any position it took, whether backing an Islamist government with authoritarian reflexes or a secular minority that wants to unseat a party that beat it in free elections. As the military theorist Anthony Cordesman wrote this week in a paper about upheavals in the Muslim world, the U.S. can't hope to control t
