THe WoRLD IS FiaT... Posted by: williambanzai7 Post date: 10/14/2013 - "Maybe the Indians will get lucky and win their country back. Probably wouldn't want it. Look at what we did to it."--George Carlin

THe WoRLD IS FiaT...

22 Reasons To Be Concerned About The U.S. Economy As We Head Into The Holiday Season

Are we on the verge of another major economic downturn? In recent weeks, most of the focus has been on our politicians in Washington, but there are lots of other reasons to be deeply alarmed about the economy as well. Economic confidence is down, retail sales figures are disappointing, job cuts are up, and American consumers are deeply struggling. Even if our politicians do everything right, there would still be a significant chance that we could be heading into tough economic times in the coming months. Our economy has been in decline for a very long time, and that decline appears to be accelerating. There aren't enough jobs, the quality of our jobs continues to decline, our economic infrastructure is being systematically gutted, and poverty has been absolutely exploding. Things have gotten so bad that former President Jimmy Carter says that the middle class of today resembles those that were living in poverty when he was in the White House. But this process has been happening so gradually that most Americans don't even realize what has happened. Our economy is being fundamentally transformed, and the pace of our decline is picking up speed. The following are 22 reasons to be concerned about the U.S. economy as we head into the holiday season... (Read More....) The following are 22 reasons to be concerned about the U.S. economy as we head into the holiday season...

#1 According to Gallup, we have just seen the largest drop in U.S. economic confidence since 2008.

#2 Retailers all over America are reporting disappointing sales figures, and many analysts are very concerned about what the holiday season will bring. The following is an excerpt from a recent Zero Hedge article...

“Traffic was our issue in quarter two. In a highly promotional and challenging environment, comparable sales result was a negative 2.6 percent on top of a positive 5.6 percent last year and a positive 12.8 percent in 2011.”

“The retail environment, it seems to indicate there’s still a lot of uncertainty out there, that the promotional environment has not gone away and that the retail environment in general continues to be choppy, especially with the recent earnings releases and this global unrest, and we just don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”

“Overall, we continue to take a conservative view of market conditions in both the U.S. and in Canada. That being said, we do expect to continue to achieve positive top line growth. We expect store closures will impact our overall revenue growth for the year by about 250 basis points. It represents net closures of approximately 50 to 55 retail locations.”

“We did have a traffic decline in Q2, sort of similar to what just about every other retailer in America has reported.”

“The Korean business continued to be strong as revenue grew in the high single digits in local currency during the quarter. This was offset with the weakness from China, where we are seeing clear evidence of a pullback in consumer spending behavior because of the slowdown in the economy.”

“Our business trends in the second quarter did not change materially from earlier in the year, which was disappointing given the level of change we registered with the brand. This performance in the third quarter outlook is being influenced by a challenging retail environment, with weak traffic trends and high levels of promotional activity.”

#3 Domestic vehicle sales just experienced their largest "miss" relative to expectations since January 2009.

#5 According to the Wall Street Journal, the 2013 holiday shopping season is already being projected to be the worst that we have seen since 2009.

#6 The Baltic Dry Index recently experienced the largest 4 day drop that we have seen in 11 months.

#7 Merck, one of the largest drug makers in the nation, has announced the elimination of 8,500 jobs.

#8 Overall, corporations announced the elimination of 387,384 jobs through the first nine months of this year.

#9 The number of announced job cuts in September 2013 was 19 percent higher than the number of announced job cuts in September 2012.

#10 The labor force participation rate is the lowest that it has been in 35 years.

#11 As I mentioned the other day, the labor force participation rate for men in the 18 to 24 year old age bracket is at an all-time low.

#12 Approximately one out of every four part-time workers in America is living below the poverty line.

#13 Incredibly, only 47 percent of all adults in America have a full-time job at this point.

#15 The Postal Service recently defaulted on a 5.6 billion dollar retiree health benefit payment.

#16 The national debt has increased more than twice as fast as U.S. GDP has grown over the past two years.

#17 Obamacare is causing health insurance premiums to skyrocket and this is reducing the disposable income that consumers have available.

#19 The gap between the rich and the poor in the United States is at an all-time record high.

#20 Former President Jimmy Carter says that the middle class in America has declined so dramatically that the middle class of today resembles those that were living in poverty when he was in the White House.

#21 According to a Gallup poll that was recently released, 20.0% of all Americans did not have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed at some point over the past year. That is just under the record of 20.4% that was set back in November 2008.

#22 Right now, one out of every five households in the United States is on food stamps. There are going to be a lot of struggling families out there this winter, so please be generous with organizations that help the poor. A lot of people are really going to need their help during the cold months ahead.

9 Signs That China Is Making A Move Against The U.S. Dollar

On the global financial stage, China is playing chess while the U.S. is playing checkers, and the Chinese are now accelerating their long-term plan to dethrone the U.S. dollar. You see, the truth is that China does not plan to allow the U.S. financial system to dominate the world indefinitely. Right now, China is the number one exporter on the globe and China will have the largest economy on the planet at some point in the coming years. The Chinese would like to see global currency usage reflect this shift in global economic power. At the moment, most global trade is conducted in U.S. dollars and more than 60 percent of all global foreign exchange reserves are held in U.S. dollars. This gives the United States an enormous built-in advantage, but thanks to decades of incredibly bad decisions this advantage is starting to erode. And due to the recent political instability in Washington D.C., the Chinese sense vulnerability. China has begun to publicly mock the level of U.S. debt, Chinese officials have publicly threatened to stop buying any more U.S. debt, the Chinese have started to aggressively make currency swap agreements with other major global powers, and China has been accumulating unprecedented amounts of gold. All of these moves are setting up the moment in the future when China will completely pull the rug out from under the U.S. dollar. (Read More....)

Why Do We Continue to Let Academics Dictate the Economy? Posted by : Phoenix Capital... Post date: 10/17/2013 - Yellen is yet another academic with no banking or business experience what-so-ever. This makes three in a row (Greenspan, Bernanke, and now Yellen). The results speak for themselves.

Chart Of The Day: Entitlement Nation, Now And Forever

The chart shows dollars spent on entitlements for every dollar spent on non-defense discretionary spending (NDDS). This latter category includes education, infrastructure, energy R&D, law enforcement and a wide range of other things that affect the productivity and the general well-being of the US economy (see table), not just today but into the future. The entitlements-to-NDDS ratio is already at an all-time high, and is headed for the stratosphere during the next few years according to CBO projections.

Ten Things to Expect from Obamacare in 2014

Buy The Rumor, Buy The News: Dollar Pummeled On "Kick The Can Day", Bonds, Stocks Soar

Fonzie Or Ponzi? One Theory On The Limits To Government Debt

Some confidence tricks have characteristics that don’t quite fit the Fonz. Take the swindles known as Ponzi schemes. These are tricks that need an endless supply of participants to sustain confidence and stay alive. Once the participant pool depletes as it eventually must, the tricks are revealed as scams. Whereas Fonzies can persist indefinitely (at least in theory), Ponzis eventually collapse. Note that the U.S. has already passed its Ponzi point by Minsky’s definition. According to Minsky, borrowing qualifies as Ponzi finance whenever fresh issuance is needed to fund interest on existing debt. Based on the common assumption that the U.S. would miss its interest payments without regular increases in the statutory debt limit, this is indeed the case

Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Shows Americans Most Pessimistic About Economy In Two Years

While there haven't been many economic data points to highlights the so-called damage to if not the economy, then the confidence of the all important US consumer, data on consumer confidence has been trickling in, and as expected, has been sliding. However, nowhere more so than in the just released latest read in the Bloomberg Weekly Consumer confidence index, whose expectations gauge just tumbled to -31, or the lowest level since November 2011. Bloomberg reports: "Americans in October were the most pessimistic about the nation’s economic prospects in almost two years as concern mounted that continued political gridlock will hurt the expansion. The monthly Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index expectations gauge plunged to minus 31, the lowest level since November 2011, from minus 9 in September, a report showed today. The share of people projecting the economy will worsen jumped by the most since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. five years ago. The weekly measure of current conditions fell to minus 34.1 in the period ended Oct. 13, the weakest since March."

Guest Post: Why I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love The Currency Collapse

There is nothing any of us can do at this point, except navigate the rapids as well as possible, and to stay out of the way of a dying empire, which is still very dangerous in its death throes. We are actually very privileged to be alive and witnessing this next transition, to what we do not know just yet. But what an honor to live at this time, not in ignorance but with an existential resolve to come out of it alive and much the wiser.

Fukushima Beta-Radiation Levels Soar To New Record In Aftermath Of Typhoon Wipha

It is only fitting that on the day the Stalingrad & Poorski 500 rises to a new record high, that that other centrally-planned catastrophe, the exploded Fukushima nuclear power plant, in the aftermath of Japan's Radioactivetyphoonado reports a completely different record: namely the level of beta radiation levels at Fukushima. Bloomberg notes that the nationalized utility Tepco, which has taken denial to a different superstring dimension altogether, has detected beta radiation levels of 400,000 becquerels per liter in a water sample taken yesterday from a monitoring well near storage tank area H4 at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. This was the highest reading on record. This number compares to Beta radiation levels of 61 Bq/L in the sample taken Oct. 16 and 90 Bq/L in the Oct. 15 sample.

The Hidden Secrets Of Money Part 4: The Biggest Scam In The History Of Mankind (In 7 Easy Steps)

From the seven stages of empire to the dollar crisis (and golden opportunity) Mike Maloney moves on to expose the system that is ultimately responsible for most of the inequality in the world today. As Mike explains, most people can feel deep down that something isn't quite right with the world economy, but few know what it is. Gone are the days where a family can survive on just one paycheck...every day it seems that things are more and more out of control, yet only one in a million understand why. Never in human history have so many been plundered by so few, and it's all accomplished through this...The Biggest Scam In The History Of Mankind.

Obamacare's Failure In One Chart

Confirming our fears from a few days ago, the early numbers are in for Obamacare... and they are not good. Of course, listening to "bloggers" an be bad for your health, but it seems, very few of the million of "uninsured" have decided that it is as crucial as the "leader" has exclaimed. As Millard Brown Digital reports, fewer than 1% of those trying to register for health insurance under Obamacare have completed the enrollment process. The following inverted pyramid highlights the dismal reality of the Affordable Car Act so far...

Guest Post: America The Reckless

The world’s developed countries face growth and employment shortfalls, while developing countries are confronting huge challenges in adapting to increasingly volatile capital flows while adjusting their growth patterns to sustain economic development. And yet America’s political dysfunction has come to marginalize these (and other) crucial issues. It is all very difficult to fathom. The threat of a default on US sovereign debt has been lifted – for now – but the deeper problem persists: For America’s Republicans and Democrats, negotiating a fiscal grand compromise appears to carry higher costs than playing a game of brinkmanship, even at the risk of default. Surely this involves a collective miscalculation of the longer-term costs.

You Either Believe In Magic Or You Believe In Math

While Santiago Capital's Brent Johnson believes "anything is possible," he warns "there's a catch." While it may be true for the individual (climb Everest, win a gold medal, walk on the moon), it is not true for the world at large because, as he so eloquently notes in this brief presentation, "the best thing we can learn from history is... that the world does not learn from history." And there is indeed plenty that is occurring once again - in oh-so-predictable cycles - that we have seen time and time again... and apparently choose to ignore the conclusion. As Johnson concludes, "you either believe in magic, or you believe in math."

What Is The Fed's Updated Year End S&P500 Price Target?

We predicted (correctly) over a year ago that the Fed's balance sheet would reach the $4 trillion mark by the end of 2013. It took the world a few months to totally buy into the fact that all that matters is the flow from the Fed's POMO but, as the chart below so humbly suggests, with a 0.95 correlation (if its not causation, we're at least on the right path) in proclaiming that for every $3.25 billion printed by the Fed the S&P 500 index will rise by 1 point. Last week, we noted the 'dip' from Fed-based "fair-value" that the debt-ceiling debacle had driven in stocks and in just a few days, that 'pent-up-demand' has all but equalized stocks to the only valuation metric that matters - the S&P 500's Fed Level-Adjusted-Balance Sheet-Indicator-Aggregate...

The Most Dangerous Line Uttered During The Debt Ceiling Debate

Today there is a great sense of relief that has swept the nation as news flowed through the media that the government shutdown had come to an end. After all, during the 16 days of the shutdown, there was great hardship inflicted on the average American as the stock market rose by 2.4%, government workers that were furloughed received a 2+ week paid vacation and interest rates fell from a peak of 2.65% on October 1st to 2.59% on October 17th. Outside of the financial markets, which were never concerned of a "default," the reality is that the government shutdown did likely clip up to 0.5% off of 4th quarter's GDP. While that clip to economic growth created by the government standoff is temporary - the ongoing persistant weakness of economic growth is another issue entirely. This is the focus of this discussion. The most disturbing sentence uttered during the debt ceiling debate/government shut down, that should raise some concerns by both political parties, is: "We must increase our debt limit so that we can pay our bills."

BLS Releases Updated Economic Data Schedule

Desperate to know what the September payrolls, CPI or PPI really were, or when the October jobs reports is due out now that the government's random number generator is back up and running with the 16 day paid vacation for government apparatchiks is over? The BLS has just released a schedule which answers those and many other questions.

Slowly At First, Then All At Once

Last night, after more than two weeks of utterly embarrassing theater, the government in the Land of the Free inked a deal to kick the can down the road a few more months. And in doing so, they set a very dangerous precedent. As part of the bargain codified in HR 2775 (which President Obama signed into law), the Treasury Department is authorized to SUSPEND the debt ceiling. In other words, for all intents and purposes, there is now NO LIMIT government borrowing. This limitless borrowing authority will expire on February 7, 2014. But it sets the precedent that dismissing the debt ceiling is a perfectly viable course of action. Congress has effectively removed their handcuffs… so you can almost assuredly bet down the road that this provision will be extended, and ultimately become permanent.

Stocks Best 6-Day Swing in 20 Months As USD Collapses And Gold Soars

If only bellwether stock IBM hadn't indicated that earnings hopes for global tech were in the toilet, the world could be celebrating a new Dow record too. What a day... with stocks flash-crashing (Wal-Mart), bond yields screaming lower (2nd biggest 2-day drop in yields in 17 months to 2-month lows), the USD collapsing to 9 month lows, gold (and silver) soaring by their 2nd most in 16 months, and stocks tractor-beaming up to the Fed's balance sheet year-end target of 1800 for the S&P 500; even the talking heads are lost in explaining the charade. The box that the Fed has put itself in is becoming obvious for all to see - there is no argument that this is 'fundamentals' and so the Fed knows it can never leave as the wedge between perception (prices) and reality (value) has grown too wide... Low volumes in stocks on an all-time high day hardly support anything but doubt as 'safety' is sought in bonds and bullion.

Home-Flipping Bubble Bursts For All But The Uber-Wealthy... Where It Explodes By 350%

As RealtyTrac observes in its latest flipping report, while home-flipping among high-end homes, or those reserved exclusively for the New Normal aristocracy which buys and sells with reckless abandon almost exclusively on an all cash basis, is up 34% over the prior year with flipping on houses priced between $2 and $5 million was up a ridiculous 350%, overall flipping activity is finally starting to subside and in the third quarter was down by a third from Q3 and over 10% down from the the prior year. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the ultra-luxury flips were limited to New York and the four core California bubble markets. "More than three-fourths of all high-end flips were in five markets: the New York metro area and four coastal California markets — Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego. Flips on homes priced between $1 million and $2 million increased 42 percent year over year, while flips on homes priced between $2 million and $5 million increased 350 percent year over year."

Mission Accomplished 2.0: S&P 500 Surges To All-Time Record (Nominal) High

As we tweeted earlier, the mainstream media now has its headline for tonight. As earnings look likely to be a disaster, and with nothing but a 3 month can kicked to the next farce in Washington, it is likely becoming just too plain to see for the world that US equities rise on the basis of one thing and one thing only, and the Fed speakers today confirmed that the un-Taper is off the table (as gold confirms).

Gundlach Warns "America's Credibility Is Slowly Eroding"

Reflecting on the collapse of the USD, the surge in gold, the Chinese ratings agency downgrade, and the groundhog-day-like world in which the US government (and markets) live, DoubleLine's Jeff Gundlach warns that "America's credibility is slowly eroding." In his typical manner, Gundlach rapidly and efficiently covers a lot of ground in these brief clips; from the growing skepticism of the rest of the world towards the US' full faith and credit, to no end in sight for QE and reignition of bond inflows under an even more interventionist Yellen, to his views on Tesla, Google, and Apple.

October Sees Biggest Global Leading Indicator Slowdown In Past Year

One of our favorite indicators of leading "global growth" is the Goldman swirlogram released each month, for two reasons: i) it succinctly summarizes on one chart what the near-term state of the global economy is, and ii) it is rather silly. Regardless of ii), the methodology does look at the entire assortment of available global leading indicators (which in the case of the US isn't saying much(, to determine the current state of the world economy. According to the just released update, as a result of a plunge in leading indicator acceleration, the world has just had its most slowdown-y month in the past year.

33 Stats That Prove That SOMETHING Desperately Needs To Be Done About The National Debt

The U.S. national debt is 36 times larger than it was just 40 years ago. That is not a misprint. That is actually the truth. We are literally destroying the future of America, but most Americans don’t really seem to care. In fact, the most hated politicians in America are the Tea Party politicians that recently tried to take a stand against the out of control borrowing that the federal government has been doing. Pew Research has just released a new survey that shows that the popularity of the Tea Party is at an all-time low. So while many Americans may say that they theoretically want something to be done about the national debt, when push comes to shove they don’t actually mean that. You see, the reality of the matter is that about 128 million Americans get money from the federal government every month. That accounts for the majority of all government spending. Anyone who tries to take those goodies away is going to be hated. So we are going to continue down this crazy path until the system completely crashes someday. (Read More.....)

9 Reasons Why Many Liberals Absolutely Hate Obamacare

Barack Obama’s number one job is not to defeat the Republicans. Rather, his number one job is to run the government well. And when it comes to Obamacare, he has failed miserably. The launch of Obamacare has been such a colossal fiasco that words like “disaster” and “catastrophe” simply do not do it justice. According to recent polls, Americans are against Obamacare by an average margin of about 10 percent, and even many liberals that fought so hard to get Obamacare passed are now abandoning ship. All over America, health insurance policies are being canceled, health insurance premiums are absolutely skyrocketing, and millions of people that actually wanted to get health insurance through Healthcare.gov find that they are unable to do so. Yes, the U.S. health care system was already a complete and total mess before Obamacare, but now Obamacare has made things much, much worse and there is little hope that things will improve any time soon. The following are 9 reasons why most Americans (including a growing number of liberals) absolutely hate Obamacare… (Read More.....)

HeLP SToP THe NSA! Posted by: williambanzai7 Post date: 10/16/2013 - Accute Wiretap Ear spotted...

HeLP SToP THe NSA!

Submitted by williambanzai7 on 10/16/2013

When will we chuck this asshole?

Have you heard? Google wants (strike that), plans (strike that) has decided to use your face for sponsored ads...

When will this State sponsored asshole finally disappear?

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The Journalist

The Patriot (in exile)...

A Good Start (Live Long and Watch Your Backside)...

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Constitutional Shit for Brains (when will we impeach him?)

NSA Spying Did Not Result In a SINGLE Foiled Terrorist Plot Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/16/2013 - Debunking Government’s Justification for Mass Surveillance

FOX Chief: Hollywood TV Business a 'Welfare State'...

NEW 'HOMELAND' HEAD COMES FROM PENTAGON...

Approved Drone Strikes, Terror Attacks...

QE Does Not Create Jobs. It Never Did. It Never Will. Posted by: Phoenix Capital... Post date: 10/16/2013 - I continue to read pieces in the media claiming the QE should not be stopped because it will hurt the recovery. I don’t understand this claim because there is literally no historical evidence...

Police Shut Down San Francisco Union Square After “Suspicious Device” Found

Kit Daniels | Device found near intersection of Market and Fourth Street.

Internal TSA Documents: Body Scanners, Pat Downs Not For Terrorists

Adan Salazar | TSA’s ‘Administrative Record’ admits ineffective security theater.

Chase Bank Claims Concern About Capital Controls is an “Overreaction”

Paul Joseph Watson | Financial analyst Celente calls new draconian measures “unprecedented”.

Obama: Ignore Bloggers, Activists and Radio Talk Show Hosts Demanding Fiscal Sanity

Kurt Nimmo | Says opposition profits from attempt to save America from economic ruin.

Yawn. Government Non-shutdown Ends

Kurt Nimmo | Pain for average Americans will continue on schedule.

Four-Year-Old Preschooler SUSPENDED Over Toy Gun

Steve Watson | Mother Angry At Punishment: “Anybody can look at this gun and say its a fake”

UPDATED: Chase Bank Limits Cash Withdrawals, Bans International Wire Transfers

Bizarre “Freemason” Rant on House Floor During Debt Ceiling Vote

Paul Joseph Watson | “You are all sons of the devil,” stenographer shouts as she is dragged away.

The International Monetary Fund Lays The Groundwork For Global Wealth Confiscation

Forbes | IMF quietly dropped a bomb in its October Fiscal Monitor Report. Titled “Taxing Times.”

LOCK DOWN: Your Cash Is No Longer Your Own: “Everything Is Fine”

Mac Slavo | We hope you’re paying attention.

The Coming Food Stamp Riots

Michael Snyder | It may not happen this month, or even this year, but food stamp riots are coming to America.

Internal TSA Documents: Body Scanners, Pat Downs Not For Terrorists

Adan Salazar | TSA’s ‘Administrative Record’ admits ineffective security theater.

Four-Year-Old Preschooler SUSPENDED Over Toy Gun

Steve Watson | Mother Angry At Punishment: “Anybody can look at this gun and say its a fake”

Obama says he’ll veto bill that mandates Obamacare for himself, Congress

Michael Dorstewitz | President Barack Obama is reportedly telling congressional officials he will veto any debt-ceiling bill from Congress.

Bizarre “Freemason” Rant on House Floor During Debt Ceiling Vote

Paul Joseph Watson | “You are all sons of the devil,” stenographer shouts as she is dragged away.

Five-year Low: 13% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Rasmussen Reports | Right Direction or Wrong Track.

GMA caught running money laundering slush fund for GMO food companies to conceal their identities in opposing I-522

Mike Adams | The Grocery Manufacturers Association has been caught running a $7.2 million “slush fund”.

Chinese agency downgrades US credit rating

AFP | A Chinese ratings agency downgraded its US sovereign credit rating Thursday.

LOCK DOWN: Your Cash Is No Longer Your Own: “Everything Is Fine”

Mac Slavo | We hope you’re paying attention.

150 Straight Days: Treasury Says Debt Stood Still at $16,699,396,000,000

CNS News | Monday, the Columbus Day holiday, according to the Daily Treasury Statement released today, marked the 150th straight day.

Gold vaults above $1,300/ounce as dollar drops after debt deal

Reuters | Gold prices surged on Thursday.

Jamie Dimon On The US Debt Endgame

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/16/2013 - 14:00

Q. How worried are you that one morning the bond market has moved against the United States?

A. It’s virtually assured, the question is when and how. I don't know if it will be two years of five years but it will happen. It is a matter of time, the United States can’t borrow indefinitely. Over hundred years bankruptcies of country after country who thought they could get away with it because they had the reserve currency and the military power of the world. We are going to have fiscal discipline. It’s imposed upon us or we do the right thing and do it to ourselves the right way.... America knows the way, it doesn't have the will.

CHASE FEES ON CASH; LIMITS WITHDRAWALS ON SOME ACCOUNTS

CONFIDENCE RESTORED: CHINESE DOWNGRADE US CREDIT RATING....
Stocks soft as euphoria fizzles...
CNN: Hearing roar of federal government coming to life...
Biden Offers Workers Hugs and Kisses...
Did pizza end shutdown?
Goodies tucked in bill...
$174,000 payment to widow of multimillionaire senator...
MAG: Women Are Only Adults Left in DC...
Networks blamed Republicans in 41 stories -- 0 for Dems...

Senate Debt Deal Includes Provision Lessening Congress' Power On Debt Ceiling...
At 11th Hour, Republicans Blink in Standoff...
'Obama won. His prize is lame duck presidency'...
Bloomberg: 'Kicking Can Down Road'...
McConnell-Reid Deal Includes $2 Billion Earmark for Kentucky Project...

MYSTERY: Debt Went Unchanged for 150 Days...

Now $123,000 per American worker...

Graham: Politicians In Washington Have Greed and Lust In Their Hearts...

SHOCK CLAIM: CHASE Bank Limits Cash Withdrawals... Bans International Wire Transfers On Some Accounts... Developing...

POLL: 13% Say USA Heading in Right Direction...

Ice cream plant SHUTTING DOWN because of Obamacare...

Delaware Celebrates: First Person Finally Enrolls...

House Committee To Launch Investigation Into Website...

Gang Of 9 Teen Boys Cheer While Brutally Beating 15-Year-Old Girl...

REPORT: 30 million people are slaves, half in India...

Foodstamp Program Shutdown Imminent?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/15/2013 - 13:35

Dylan Ratigan Rages Over "The Extraction Of America" And The Bought-Off Congress

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/15/2013 - 15:53

It's been a while since Dylan Ratigan made some headlines but it would appear that the farce underway in Washington finally pushed him (rightly) over the edge. In a Santelli-esque rage, Ratigan loses it over the banking, trade, and taxation that is draining America of everything and how nothing will ever change as the Congress is completely bought-off. Both political parties are to blame but "until we get the money out of politics" there is no policy that will fix the mess that we are in, he exclaims. The sad truth is these kind of honest truth moments are few and far between on the mainstream media (though we suspect will increase as reality sinks in)... and Ratigan's "mathematical facts" and vehemence make this must watch on a day when the US equity market hovers incredulously near all-time highs.

Ron Paul Fears The Future Under Janet Yellen "Is Grim Indeed"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/15/2013 - 15:27

The future of the US economy with Chairman Yellen at the helm is grim indeed, which provides all the more reason to end our system of central economic planning by getting rid of the Federal Reserve entirely. Ripping off the bandage may hurt some in the short run, but in the long term everyone will be better off. Anyway, most of this pain will be borne by the politicians, big banks, and other special interests who profit from the current system. Ending this current system of crony capitalism and moving to sound money and free markets is the only way to return to economic prosperity and a vibrant middle class.

NY Fed Looks To Seal Documents In Latest Whistleblower Case

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/15/2013 - 14:08

As was widely reported last week in both the alternative media and the mainstream presstitute media, former senior bank examiner at the New York Federal Reserve, Carmen Segarra, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer accusing them of wrongful termination after she determined that Goldman Sachs had insufficient conflict-of-interest policies. As usual, anything that threatens to shed some light on the criminality at the most powerful institutions in America is immediately labeled “top secret” or “classified” and hidden from the public. Just as you would expect in a Banana Republic.

USA Credit Risk Now Worse Than 2011

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/15/2013 - 12:30

Understanding the complexities of the sovereign CDS market is tricky... so we are constantly bemused by the mainstream media's constant comment on it as if they have a clue. The fact is that the USA CDS market is indicating a higher risk of imminent technical default now than in 2011. As we explained in painful detail previously, you cannot compare a 71bps (+8 today) 1Y USA CDS spread to a 1200bps JCPenney CDS spread - they are apples and unicorns. Having got that off our chest, the fact that the cost of 1Y protection is at 2011 extremes (implying around a 6.5% probaility fo default) and has been higher (inverted) relative to 5Y now for 3 weeks is a clear indication that investor anxiety is very high this time (just look at T-Bills!).

Chase Bank Limits Cash Withdrawals, Bans International Wire Transfers

Paul Joseph Watson | Capital controls imposed on small business owners.

Confirmed: Chase bank drops the hammer on capital controls; no money allowed to transfer out of USA starting Nov. 17th

Mike Adams | This is the beginning of the capital controls we’ve been warning about for years.

Crisis: USDA Orders States to Withhold Electronic Food Stamps

Paul Joseph Watson | EBT shutdown risks widespread looting, riots by welfare recipients.

FITCH puts USA rating on negative watch...

TWITTER's Loss Widens...

WALMART: Economy 'tough' and 'unpredictable'...

American Women Selling Hair, Breast Milk, Eggs to Make Ends Meet...

New questions about government's official story on Kennedy assassination...

NSA COLLECTING CONTACTS FROM 500,000 'BUDDY LISTS' EACH DAY...

We Know Who Your Friends Are...

Companies show interest in moving servers to Russia...

Guest Post: When Countries Go Broke

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/14/2013 - 18:45

It’s become almost cliche these days to point out how many governments are broke beyond belief. The theater playing out in the US right now is irrelevant. America’s debt challenge is not a political problem. It’s an arithmetic problem. Same in Japan and most of Europe. However, most of these ‘rich’ western nations aren’t doing anything about it. It’s business as usual, and their debts are only getting bigger. Poorer countries don’t have this luxury of kicking the can down the road and delaying the inevitable. They must face their financial reckoning now... and they are finding increasingly unique ways to encourage 'revenues'.

Marc Faber Warns "There Is No Safe Haven"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/14/2013 - 18:20

There is no safe haven, Marc Faber tells Bloomberg TV's Tom Keene, "The best you can hope for is that you have a diversified portfolio of different assets and that they don't all collapse at the same time." Bank deposits are no longer safe; money and treasury bills are not 100% safe; and equities in the US are relatively expensive by any valuation metric. However, at around $1250, gold is a buy, Faber adds on the basis of the ongoing monetization of debt globally. The debt ceiling debacle will lead to the Fed stepping up to directly fund the government (something it already implicitly does but mainstream media prefer not to consider). Faber clarifies the idiocy of the discussions, "both parties want to spend, it's just on different things," with "the idiocies of government" having grown way too large, wasting money everywhere... the Democrats are "buying votes" and the Republicans funding the military complex. The debt-ceiling is merely a symptom of the problem, Faber concludes, that "government has grown disproportionately large and that retards economic growth."

The "Aggregation Of Rackets" That American Life Has Become Is Rolling Over

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/14/2013 - 17:46

Things that can’t go on, the prophet Herb Stein once observed, go on until they can’t. Criticality eventually bushwhacks credulity. The aggregation of rackets that American life has become is rolling over like a great groaning wounded leviathan and the rest of the world is starting to freak out at the spectacle. Instead of a revolution, we’re having a suicide party. But don’t worry, a revolution would not be far behind.

Another JPMorganite Busted For "Bandits' Club" Market Manipulation

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/14/2013 - 17:14

A few days ago many were shocked when JPM disclosed for the first time that in less than four years, or since 2010, Jamie Dimon's den of alleged criminals has reserved a mindblowing $28 billion toward legal expenses. In light of recent developments, investors may just want to round that number to a good, clean $30 billion, because as the WSJ just revealed, yet another JPMorgan market manipulator has emerged in a seemingly endless line of people whose shortcut to success at 270 Park Avenue has been to manipulate assorted markets, be it Libor, Credit Derivatives, Electricity, Aluminum, or Equities. We can now add FX to that, following news that one Richard "Dick" Usher, until 2010 at RBS, and since then JPM's London-based head of G10 spot trading, has been implicated in the infamous RBS FX London closing fax manipulation "chat sessions."

Meanwhile, The President Is Busy...

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/14/2013 - 15:09

The US is two days away from no longer being able to issue new debt, but at least Obama is busy... Making sandwiches.

NSA COLLECTING CONTACTS FROM 500,000 'BUDDY LISTS' EACH DAY

DRAMA: Senate Nears Deal on Crisis; White House Talks Delayed...

PLAN: MAX DEBT RAISED UNTIL FEB 15...

RYAN: We DEMANDED individual mandate delay...

Neighbors: Cory Booker 'never lived in Newark'... RESIDENTS RISE UP....

VIDEO...

THe WiZaRD oF PONZ... Posted by : williambanzai7 Post date: 10/08/2013 - Pay no attention to that Keynesian moron behind the curtain!

THe WiZaRD oF PONZ...

Submitted by williambanzai7 on 10/08/2013 12:33 -0400

The Symbolism Hidden Within "THE WIZARD of OZ"
~ author unknown

The "Wizard of Oz", written by L. Frank Baum, is not a mere child's story.

What is "Oz" a symbol for? Ounces.

What is measured in ounces? Gold.

What is the yellow brick road? Bricks or ingot bars of gold.

The character known as the Straw Man represents that fictitious, ALL CAPS, legal fiction - a PERSON, the Federal U.S. Government created with the same spelling as your birth name.

Remember what the Straw Man wanted from the Wizard of Oz? A Brain! No juristic person - legal fiction - paper corporation has a brain because he/she has no breath of life.

What did he get in place of a brain? A certificate: a Birth Certificate for a new legal creation.

He was proud of his new legal status, plus all the other legalisms he was granted. Now he becomes the epitome of the brainless sack of straw who was given a certificate in place of a grain of common sense.

Now, what about the Tin Man? Does Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) recall anything to mind? The poor TIN Man just stood there mindlessly doing his work until his body literally froze up and stopped functioning.He worked himself to death because he had no heart nor soul.

He's the heartless and emotionless creature robotically carrying out his daily task as though he were already dead. He's the ox pulling the plow and the mule toiling under the yoke. These days, his task masters just oil him nightly with beer and place him in front of a hypnotic television until his very existence no longer has any meaning or value. His masters keep him cold on the outside and heartless on the inside in order to control any emotion or feeling that might arise.

The Cowardly Lion was always too frightened to stand up for himself. Of course, he was a bully and a big mouth when it came to picking on those smaller than he. (Have you ever noticed how bullies are really the biggest cowards? They act as though they have great courage, but, in reality, have none at all. They roar, but with no teeth of authority to back them up.) When push came to shove, the Cowardly Lion always buckled under and whimpered when anyone of any size or stature challenged him. He wanted courage from the Grand Wizard, so he was awarded a medal of "official" recognition. Now, although remaining a coward, his official status allowed him to be a bully, but with officially recognized authority. (He's not unlike the Attorneys who hide behind the Middle Courts of the Temple Bar.) et al ad infinitum.

What about the trip through the field of poppies? Did you notice how this had no narcotic effect on the Straw Man (no brain) or the Tin Man (no heart or soul)? They weren't real people, so drugs could not influence them.

The Wizard of Oz was written at the turn of the century, so how could the author have known America was going to be drugged?

The Crown has been playing the drug cartel game for centuries.

Just look up the history of Hong Kong and the Opium Wars.

The Crown already had valuable experience conquering all of China with drugs, so why not the rest of the world?

What was the Emerald City? The Federal Reserve System.

Who finally exposed the Wizard for what he really was?

Toto, the ugly (or cute, depending on your perspective) and somewhat annoying little dog. Toto means "in total, all together; Latin in toto."

What was it that the witch wanted after she alleged that the little dog had bitten her? TOTO. ... everything. Notice how Toto was not scared of the Great Wizard's theatrics, yet he was so small in size, compared to the Wizard, that no one seemed to notice him?

The smoke, flames and holographic images of Oz were designed to frighten people into doing as the Great Wizard commanded.

Toto simply padded over, looked behind the curtain (the COURT, etc.), saw it was a scam, started barking until others paid attention to him and came to see what all the barking was about. Who was behind the curtain?

Just an ORDINARY PERSON controlling the levers that created the illusion of the Great Wizard's power and authority.

When Toto pulled back the curtain and completely exposed him, the charade was at an end. (The veil hiding the corporate legal fiction and its false courts was removed.)

The Wizard's game was UP. What was he after all? ... a con-man. A FRAUD.

We can see, in this tale, just how loud the bark from a little dog can be.

How about YOUR bark? How big is it?

Most of us remain silent and wait to be given whatever food and recognition, if any, by our legal master.

Let us not forget those pesky flying monkeys. What perfect mythical creatures to represent the Bar Association Attorneys who attack and control the little people for the Great Crown Wizard, the powerful and grand Bankers of Oz: GOLD!

How, finally, was the evil witch destroyed? .... pure, clean water LIQUIDATION!

How, at last, did Dorothy get home? She simply clicked her heels. She always had the power, and SO DO WE!

What would it take to expose the Wizard for what he is, tearing away his veils?

We each need only a brain, a heart and soul --- and COURAGE.

"This isn't Keynesia Toto..."

"Watch how munch you munch Munchkin..."

"If I were King of the distorted..."

"Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?"

.

.

"And Bears, oh my..."

"Hopeless..."

"Go and bring him to me!"

"Pay no attention to that Keynesian moron behind the curtain."

.

.

Fact Or Fiction: Obama Administration Proposes 2,300-Page "New Constitution"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/10/2013 - 20:14

The U.S. Constitution leaves too many areas open to interpretation; a New Constitution of 2,300 pages (+ 200 redacted secret pages) is the solution.

Power Mad Obama Offers Two Choices: Unconditional Surrender Or Default

Barack Obama is warning that if he does not get everything that he wants that he will force the U.S. government into a devastating debt default which will cripple the entire global economy. In essence, Obama has become so power mad that he is actually willing to take the entire planet hostage in order to achieve his goals. A lot of people are blaming the government shutdown on the Republicans, but they have already voted to fund the entire government except for Obamacare. The U.S. Constitution requires that all spending bills originate in the House of Representatives, and the House did their duty by passing a spending bill. If the Senate or the President do not like the bill that the House has passed, then negotiations need to take place. That is how our system works. And the weak-kneed Republicans have already indicated that they are willing to give up virtually all of their prior demands. In fact, if Obama offered all of them 20 dollar gift certificates to Denny's to end this crisis they would probably jump at that deal. But that is not good enough for Obama. He has made it clear that he will settle for nothing less than the complete and unconditional surrender of the Republican Party. (Read More....)

Extreme Hypocrisy! Obama Orders Federal Workers To “Make Life As Difficult For People As We Can”

Why would the president of the United States try to purposely hurt the American people? Well, in 2013 this is done in order to score political points and force the opposition in to doing what you want them to do. A few days ago, an angry Park Service ranger publicly admitted that he and his fellow rangers have been ordered to "make life as difficult for people as we can" during this government shutdown. That Park Service ranger would never have received such an order unless it came from the very top. Apparently the Obama administration plans to cause as much pain as possible until Obama gets everything that he is demanding. In many cases, it is actually going to cost far more money to put up barricades and use guards to keep Americans from visiting open air memorials, driving on roads, and fishing in bodies of water than it would to put up a "closed" sign and simply go home. As you will see from the examples posted below, the Obama administration is being extremely spiteful and vindictive. And the level of hypocrisy that we are now witnessing is hard to fathom. For instance, the National Mall has been totally closed to the public, but the Obama administration is specifically reopening it for a massive pro-immigration rally that will benefit the Democrats politically. The abuse of power that is taking place is absolutely staggering, and the American people need to demand that those that are abusing it be held accountable when all of this is over. (Read More....)

12 Facts About The Epic Obamacare Launch Train Wreck That Every American Should Know

Even though it is nearly impossible to get signed up for health insurance through the Obamacare websites, if you don’t currently have health insurance you better get signed up by January 1st or you will get slapped with a fine. Is this fair? Of course not. But this is the way that the U.S. government works in the 21st century. They put unreasonable demands on people, and then the government punishes them heavily when they are not able to comply. The launch of the online “health insurance exchanges” which were supposed to make signing up for Obamacare a breeze has been an abysmal failure. There have been a great many examples of government incompetence over the years, but this one might take the cake. The Obama administration spent more than 93 million dollars to set up these websites, and they are so hideously dysfunctional that hardly anyone has actually been able to get signed up for Obamacare over the first ten days. But instead of delaying the individual mandate, the Obama administration is using the threat of a fine to force millions of Americans to use a system that is a complete and total nightmare. (Read More.....)

Has ANYONE Actually Been Able To Successfully Sign Up For Obamacare Yet?

Do you know anyone that has been able to get past all of the glitches and sign up for health insurance using one of the Obamacare websites? Thousands of applications have been “started”, but the mainstream media has been desperately searching for someone that has actually been able to successfully get enrolled and so far they haven’t been able to find a single example. The Obama administration had been promoting the story of one 21-year-old student from Georgia, but it turns out that his “success story” was a fraud and he was not actually successful in signing up for health insurance yet. So exactly what in the world is going on here? Certainly a few of the millions of visitors to these websites must have successfully signed up for health insurance, right? In the end, whether a handful of Americans have been able to sign up for health insurance or not is not the real issue. The real issue is that the launch of the most highly touted health law in U.S. history has been an epic fail. (Read More.....)

Extreme Political Correctness Is Making Public School Education Pure Hell For America’s Children

Political correctness is taking over America, and this is especially true when it comes to our public schools. In the United States today, our public schools are being transformed into “Big Brother” training centers where virtually everything that our children do inside and even outside of school is being monitored, tracked, scrutinized and put into permanent records. As you will read about below, some U.S. public schools are now even monitoring the social media accounts of their students and are ready to pounce on any perceived violation. “Zero tolerance” policies have been implemented at public schools nationwide, and if a student does break “the rules”, it can result in immediate arrest and it can end up haunting them for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, the content of the “educational instruction” that our children are receiving continues to decline. At this point, public schools in American have become little more than (Read More....)

Chuck Schumer's "Bottom Line": Don't Hurt The Stocks

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/12/2013 – { Americans Are Disgusted By BOTH Republicans and Democrats Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/11/2013 - 60% of Americans Want a Third Party Candidate for 2016 [… Make that a ‘Second Party Candidate’ since there seems to be a morphed one party which could be aptly called the repdemolicansocrats which has supported failure, obama’s failure, ultimately at every turn, though contraindicated, favoring that 1% with their ‘non-plan plan’ which has somewhat obfuscated wobama’s unequivocal failure in terms of selling the sizzle ( like Zimbabwee, soaring inflation/asset bubbles/paper share prices, etc.) … Bob Woodward did not mince words in positing blame with wobama … Yet, the incompetence/corruption is pervasive which is my direct observation and experience … http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm ] }

We commend Senator Schumer for being the first Senator to openly step up and admit that the worst case scenario in the whole Congressional 3D IMAX farce is not about keeping the economy afloat, is not about preserving jobs, but merely keeping the stock market at or near its all time highs:

Schumer Says He Worries About Monday Stock Drop on Default Risk. "This is playing with fire," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., tells reporters. Says he worried whether “the stock market will go down”

For those confused, Schumer has merely admitted what the vast majority of the Senate, where two thirds are millionaires, and nearly half the House, think: don't you dare let the manipulated precious, which at last check was just 1% below its all time Fed-balance sheet derived highs, drop.

The Long Game Of Hiking The Debt Ceiling

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/12/2013 - 13:43

Government spending has long been believed to have a multiplier effect in the economy. However, as the chart above shows, the reality is quite shocking. Each dollar in debt only increased GDP by roughly $0.15. In other words each $1 in government spending actually has a negative multiplier effect of 85% in the real economy. The leaders in Washington need to start focusing on the real issues at hand. While we toss around $100 billion here and there, as if it is left pocket change, the reality is that the rising debt levels will continue to drag on economic growth going forward. Of course, the continued shenanigans in Washington, inept leadership and lack of fiscal responsibility is why there is a continuing increase in the number of individuals who perceive the need for a third political party. Change was promised. Change is wanted. Change will happen. Unfortunately, history shows that REAL change, politically and otherwise, has only occurred under the worst possible conditions.

Senate Votes Down Clean 2014 Debt Extension Along Party Lines As Democrats Reject Collins' Plan

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/12/2013 - 12:39

Goldman: "2013 Is Different: For The Second Time The Expectation Of A Last Minute Deal Was Incorrect"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/12/2013 - 12:27

The main reason for last week's massive market surge on nothing but hope, if no actual deal, is due to the market's now habituated response that no matter what happens in Congress, there will always be a last minute deal. After all this was the pattern with the 2011 government shutdown and debt ceiling deal, and the 2012 fiscal cliff solution: surely enough points to make a pattern. However, as Goldman's Alec Phillips points out, 2013 may be different: "First, Congress allowed sequestration to take effect on March 1, despite the expectation among many observers earlier in the year that the cuts would be pushed off in light of the predicted the negative practical and economic effects that might result. Then, two weeks ago, Congress allowed the government to shut down. For the second time this year, the expectation of a last-minute deal turned out to be incorrect."

"No Deal" - Boehner Says Obama Rejects Proposals, Not Negotiating; Talks At An Impasse

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/12/2013 - 10:55

After a two-day, five hundred point Dow Jones rally on nothing but hope that just because politicians are talking, all shall be well, it was the weekend's turn, when the market is conveniently closed, for true Congressional colors to emerge. Sure enough, moments ago Boehner told GOP lawmakers that Obama has "rejected our deal", and that talks with the president have hit an impasse. The WSJ, whose recent poll in conjunction with NBC found Republican approval rating at an all time low (because if the debt ceiling slams shut, the machinery that funds both the "wealth effect" for the 0.01% and the 60 million on foodstamps and disability will cease: or in other words a bust for the ultra wealthy and poor, if not quite so bad for what's left of the middle class) reports that his comments, in a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, put renewed focus on a plan being developed by Senate Republicans to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and fully reopen the government. As we speculated, Obama, smelling blood, has decided to shut down the GOP on all their demands: "On Saturday, a House GOP aide said Mr. Obama had essentially rejected everything offered by House Republican leaders in their proposal." Which is hardly a negotiation. The question is will the GOP, having pushed the country so far, decide to back off now, and let Obama take all the spoils?

Have We Reached Peak Entitlements?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/12/2013 - 10:15

There is no way an economy that grows by 75% every 25 years can fund entitlement programs expanding by 500% or more over the same time period. If we are not yet at Peak Entitlements, we are getting close. Short of the Federal Reserve printing $1 trillion a year and distributing it to entitlement beneficiaries directly (with all the unintended consequences of such blatant money-printing), there is no way an economy with stagnant employment and modest productivity growth (roughly 60% in 25 years) can fund entitlement programs expanding by 500% or more over the same time period.

Jim Grant Warns America's Default Is Inevitable

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2013 - 23:08

“There is precedent for a government shutdown,” Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs, remarked last week. “There’s no precedent for default.” How wrong he is.

Marc Faber Blasts "A Corrupt System That Rewards Stupidity"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2013 – [ Americans Are Disgusted By BOTH Republicans and Democrats Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/11/2013 - 60% of Americans Want a Third Party Candidate for 2016 { Make that a ‘Second Party Candidate’ since there seems to be a morphed one party which could be aptly called the repdemolicansocrats which has supported failure, obama’s failure, ultimately at every turn, though contraindicated, favoring that 1% with their ‘non-plan plan’ which has somewhat obfuscated wobama’s unequivocal failure in terms of selling the sizzle ( like Zimbabwee, soaring inflation/asset bubbles/paper share prices, etc.) … Bob Woodward did not mince words in positing blame with wobama … Yet, the incompetence/corruption is pervasive which is my direct observation and experience … http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm } ]

For the greater part of human history, leaders who were in a position to exercise power were accountable for their actions. The problem we are faced with today is that our political and (frequently) business leaders are not being held responsible for their actions. Thomas Sowell sums it up well: "It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." Fortunately, there is an institution that exercises control over the academics at the Fed; it is called the 'real' market economy... and it has badly humbled the professors at the Fed.

The Life And Death Of A Massive Debt Bubble In Seven Charts

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2013 - 20:52

On September 5, 2008, Citi's Matt King wrote a report titled "Are the brokers broken?" which in its rhetorical question (the answer was and still is yes), implicitly explained why ten days later the world would experience the largest bankruptcy in the history of western civilization, crushing confidence in the financial system to this day, and forcing the Fed for five consecutive years to be the marginal source of credit money in a "not without training wheels" world in which the longer the central bank is the only backstop of anything and everything, and where failure and risk are prohibited through artificial means, the less faith there is in any and every financial counterparty. So when Matt King sat down to pen his latest warning in which he showed how the world is now "positioning for the wrong sort of recovery", we naturally listened. Below are the key charts which not only show the lifecycle of the source of every modern Keynesian empire's boom and best, namely debt, but why 5 years later, "the slate has still not been wiped clean."

Fed Lie Of The Day

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2013 - 13:19

In what has to be the most disingenuous bullshit comment of the day, Fed's Rosengren appears to have re-written history in his lame attempt to justify the Fed's in-action at the last FOMC Meeting. His comment:

*ROSENGREN: WEAK DATA, FISCAL DISRUPTION WARRANTED TAPER DELAY

Is a total lie... 1) US Macro data had reached its highest in a year in the data preceding the decision, and 2) the government shutdown and debt-ceiling both happened well after, and only after the infamous Cruz filibuster focusing on Obamacare, which the Fed certainly had no idea was coming. If anything, the Fed's decision to not taper served as the reason why government thought it could shut down: after all stocks, pardon the Fed's balance sheet, had just hit an all time high so what really was the downside.

G-20 Slams US And Japanese Fiscal And Monetary Policy

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2013 - 13:06

Unlike the usual back-slapping reacharound that G-20 meetings are, the most recent one, just ended in Washington with a rather more aggressive set of comments...

*JAPAN'S ECONOMIC PLANS MEET 'WIDESPREAD' SKEPTISM AT G-20: ZHU
*U.S. SHOULD HEED GLOBAL CONCERNS ON DEBT CRISIS, ZHU SAYS (or else)
*G-20: MONETARY POLICY MUST BE CALIBRATED, COMMUNICATED WELL (stop messing up Fed!)
*G-20 SAYS U.S. MUST TAKE `URGENT ACTION' ON FISCAL UNCERTAINTY (come on Congress!)

In other words, you guys in the US and Japan with your crazy policies and lack of credibility and screwing up "the plan."

Obama Rejects House Offer...

`Tavis Smiley: 'Black People Will Have Lost Ground in Every Single Economic Indicator' Under Obama... { Yet the fact is, though everyone but the wealthiest 1% have lost ground with unequivocal failure wobama, whites among others, the middle class, etc., have lost even more in absolute and relative terms (`Marc Faber Blasts "A Corrupt System That Rewards Stupidity"

Companies, consumers running up record debt...

Sebelius event in Pittsburgh turns into debacle...

Senator calls for resignation...

Tech experts fear plague of glitches...

Enrollment Confuses Insurers...

Thousands of doctors fired by UNITED HEALTHCARE...

CARSON: 'Obamacare Worst Thing That Has Happened In This Nation'...

‘Dutch sandwich’ grows as Google shifts €8.8bn to Bermuda

Financial Times | Google funnelled €8.8bn of royalty payments to Bermuda last year.

The U.S. Military Is Creating Iron Men, Super Soldiers And Terminator Robots To Fight Future Wars

The wars of the future are very likely going to resemble many of the science fiction movies that we are watching right now. The U.S. military is in a global race to create the “technologies of the future”, and some of the things that they are coming up with are disturbing to say the least. Are you ready for future conflicts where “Iron Men”, “super soldiers”, “Terminator robots”, and autonomous drones do most of the killing? Are you ready for American soldiers that have been genetically modified to perform superhuman feats of strength, run at superhuman speeds and even regrow limbs? The truth is that all of this stuff is being developed right now and most Americans have no idea that it is happening.

Have you enjoyed watching the “Iron Man” movies that have come out in recent years? Tens of millions of Americans have flocked to see those films, and now they are being used as inspiration to create a new generation of “exoskeletons” for U.S. soldiers. In fact, it is being reported that this revolutionary new “smart armor” was specifically (Read More....)

'COMPROMISE' WOULD FUND OBAMACARE, LIFT DEBT CEILING, REOPEN GOVERNMENT AND REVERSE SEQUESTER CUTS... { WOW! }
Paul Ryan Back In Charge...

Embattled IRS official made 155 visits to White House...

Sebelius event in Pittsburgh turns into debacle...

Two People Attend 'Obamacare and You!' Event...

Thousands of doctors fired by UNITED HEALTHCARE...

Man Falsely Accused of Rape by Al Sharpton Calls on Companies to Join Boycott...

'I'm dumbfounded at how advertisers accept what he has done'...

SHARPTON: I 'have become cornerstone of this country'...

Like Edward Snowden, Benjamin Franklin Was Called a Traitor For Informing the People About the Actions of its Government Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/10/2013 - Parallels Between Snowden and the Founding Fathers

It's 3PM - Do You Know Where Your Vertical Ramp Is?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/10/2013 - 15:20

No news... but green now on the week and month as epic volume ramped stocks perfectly at 3pm...

BUCHANAN: Is red state America seceding?[ Americans Are Disgusted By BOTH Republicans and Democrats Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/11/2013 - 60% of Americans Want a Third Party Candidate for 2016 { Make that a ‘Second Party Candidate’ since there seems to be a morphed one party which could be aptly called the repdemolicansocrats which has supported failure, obama’s failure, ultimately at every turn, though contraindicated, favoring that 1% with their ‘non-plan plan’ which has somewhat obfuscated wobama’s unequivocal failure in terms of selling the sizzle ( like Zimbabwee, soaring inflation/asset bubbles/paper share prices, etc.) … Bob Woodward did not mince words in positing blame with wobama … Yet, the incompetence/corruption is pervasive which is my direct observation and experience … http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm } ]

POLL: 60% say fire every member of Congress...

Feds collect $56 billion in taxes during 9 days of 'shutdown'....

Snowden breaks cover in Moscow to collect prize for 'Integrity in Intelligence'...

Surveillance, democracy, transparency -- a global view...

NSA Veterans: White House Is Hanging Us Out to Dry...

REPORT: OBAMA BRINGS CHILLING EFFECT ON JOURNALISM...

'Scared to death'...

Taliban Mocks Shutdown: Lawmakers 'Sucking Blood Of Their Own People'...
Furloughed can't stop looking at phones, breaking law...
WHITE HOUSE, IRS EXCHANGED CONFIDENTIAL TAXPAYER INFO

CRACKS EMERGE AMONG DEMS OVER SHUTDOWN...

Obama apologizes...

House Republicans Expect to Approve Short-Term Debt Deal...

REPORT: NY & NJ have worst tax climates in USA...

COULTER: DEMS TO AMERICA: WE OWN THE GOVERNMENT!

SOWELL: Inarticulate Republicans...

LIMBAUGH: Obama Approval Down to 37% and Republicans Still Think They're Losing?

President and liberals hug it out...

PREZ TO SPEAKER: I won't negotiate...

Portrays those opposed to raising debt ceiling as kidnappers, arsonists... 'Deadbeat'...

FLASHBACK: Voted AGAINST raising debt ceiling when he was senator...

Error! Unknown switch argument.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: American adults dumber than average human...

'Quite distressing'...

IMF issues warning...

Priest: Obama Administration Denied Mass To Catholics...

Tensions Ratchet Up in Debt Battle...
Cantor: Obama, Quit Mocking Congress...
Reid wants $1 Trillion MORE...

USA: Uncle Sam is Dead Posted by: Pivotfarm Post date: 10/08/2013 - Isn’t it wonderful how the US believes (whether that be the citizens or the politicians) that the state will never default on its debt repayments?

Drones to Make 'Kill' Decisions on Their Own...

CONGRESSIONAL GYM STAYS OPEN

Feds issue $8,323,949,000,000 in new Treasury securities...

CHINA WARNS USA ON DEFAULT...

White House Opens Door to Interim Fix On Debt Limit...

House GOP Weighs Short-Term Extension...

POLL: 39% Say Nation Can Go Past Deadline...

PAPER: America's Gatsby moment...

Cancelled trip leaves Obama schedule empty...

KERRY SUBS FOR PRESIDENT, MEETS WITH RUSSIAN, CHINESE LEADERS...

Parents Upset Over Trayvon Martin Day at High School...

Top WH adviser accidentally tweets the 'N' word...

Maryland Obamacare Exchange: 'No Doctors Are Found'...

Sebelius shredded on DAILY SHOW...

Individuals Can Get 1-Year Delay -- By Paying Penalty...

CHINA, JAPAN WARN USA ON DEFAULT

Feds issue $8,323,949,000,000 in new Treasury securities...

Soldier stabbed to death in possible hate crime...

'Cracker'... { Niggers doing what they do instinctively do, uncivilized apes that they are ‘…LAKEWOOD, Wash. - A Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was stabbed to death in a parking lot at the 12500 block of Pacific Highway Southwest around 2:30 a.m., officials say.
20-year-old Tevin Geike was walking with two other white soldiers along Pacific Highway SW when a group of black men drove by and shouted a racial comment toward the soldiers, the Lakewood Police Department said."One of the soldiers yelled back something about the suspects treating combat soldiers with disrespect," Lt. Chris Lawler said.The car turned around and the men confronted the soldiers, according to reports. As the verbal confrontation ensued, the driver of the vehicle realized the men were actually combat veterans and called his friends off. While the men headed back to their vehicle, one of the suspects appeared to have bumped into Geike, witnesses say.The soldiers saw Geike fall to the ground as the car sped away. He was bleeding profusely from stab wounds and died at the scene."We came down here, and he was already dead in my brother's arms," said Glenn Zimmerman, a friend of Geike…’ … of course it was a race-based hate crime! Why are people afraid to call a spade a spade! Not embracing the reality of the nigger has cost this nation and the world immeasurably … the uncivilized niggers are indicative of societal decline! That’s particularly so in america! }

Woman tries to ram car into White House barricade... { Typical niggers … perfect match for that other recent vintage killer, nigger, aaron alexis }
Believed to Have History of Mental Illness... { Riiiiight … the ‘mental illness thing … reality: typical niggers … look at the stats! }
Suspect pursued to Capitol...
20-car police chase...
Small child recovered from vehicle...

RoLLeRDoPeS, SaVY BuSiNeSSMeN AND A GuM CHeWiNG TWiSTeD SWiNDLeR... Posted by : williambanzai7 Post date: 10/02/2013 - 13:16 Clear all food and beverages now!

RoLLeRDoPeS, SaVY BuSiNeSSMeN AND A GuM CHeWiNG TWiSTeD SWiNDLeR...

Submitted by williambanzai7 on 10/02/2013 13:16 -0400

The derby is getting intense

Obama is on the offense

So here is the deal

Although it looks real

This game is a clever pretense

The Limerick King

http://albertpeia.com/100713mostlybanzai.htm

http://albertpeia.com/93013mostlybanzai.htm

David Stockman Explains The Keynesian State-Wreck Ahead - Sundown In America

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/05/2013 - 18:38

David Stockman, author of The Great Deformation, summarizes the last quarter century thus: What has been growing is the wealth of the rich, the remit of the state, the girth of Wall Street, the debt burden of the people, the prosperity of the beltway and the sway of the three great branches of government - that is, the warfare state, the welfare state and the central bank...

What is flailing is the vast expanse of the Main Street economy where the great majority have experienced stagnant living standards, rising job insecurity, failure to accumulate material savings, rapidly approach old age and the certainty of a Hobbesian future where, inexorably, taxes will rise and social benefits will be cut...

He calls this condition "Sundown in America".

NSA Chief Admits "Only One Or Perhaps Two" Terror Plots Stopped By Spy Program

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/05/2013 - 14:01

The last few days have been punctuated with fearmongery from Alexander and Clapper over the shutdown's impact on the NSA and the increased threat of terror this generates. However, as the Washington Times reports, things are a little different in reality. Pressed by the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at an oversight hearing, Gen. Keith B. Alexander admitted that the number of terrorist plots foiled by the NSA’s huge database of every phone call made in or to America was only one or perhaps two — far smaller than the 54 originally claimed by the administration.

Jesse Ventura Calls For "American Revolution" Against The "Corrupt System"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/05/2013 - 12:48

The irony of Jesse Ventura calling for a new "American Revolution" in a conversation with Brit Piers Morgan is not lost on us but the former Governor of Minnesota asks some awkwardly open questions in this 'colorful' interview. Ventura asked if the government's shut down, "That should mean we shouldn't have to pay any taxes, right?" He called for another American revolution to push back against the "corrupt system" created by Democrats and Republicans in Washington. He told Morgan the two-party system has legalized "bribery" for access, suggesting he's fed up enough to actually run for president in 2016. Ventura called both parties "gangs," and Morgan admitted he had to agree, adding that they're "overpaid, underworked children!" The discussion then veers from Obamacare, Ventura's run for President, and the JFK conspiracy.

Does The NSA Think You're A Terrorist?

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/04/2013 - 22:18

When the NSA sorts through American communications to find terrorists, what is their accuracy in identifying one?

An Insider Exposes The Algo Secrets Of The FX Market

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/04/2013 - 21:50

From algos to trading pschology and from market-maker's tricks to the quant models that dominate, Batur Asmazoglu provides an insider's view of a large sell-side bank FX trading desk. While the likes of Goldman's Thomas Stolper have proved it, Asmazoglu's first 'secret' is that "while many believe the big investment banks are very sophisticated, that is not the case at all."

Citi Warns US Equities Are A Cocktail of 2011, Slice Of 1998, Dash Of 2000

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/04/2013 - 21:02

Looking at the equity market and some of the background dynamics Citi's FX Technical group cannot help but be reminded of 2011. They also warn, despite the constant hope-driven rallies this week, there are also some aspects of what we saw in 1998 and similarities with 2000 that are worth noting. The bottom line, we have had the view for some time that we would see a much deeper correction in the equity market (in excess of 20%). Recent price action and developments might (just might) be suggesting that it is time to revisit that theme.

83% of Federal Government Still Operating...
House approves back pay for federal workers...
Pentagon recalls furloughed civilians...
Towns, States Rally to Reopen National Parks...
Police Remove Vietnam Vets at Memorial Wall...
Vets Break Through Barricade at Iwo Jima Memorial...
'Circus' outrages visitors...
Feds attempt to close ocean...

HILL TAKES BREATHER

NYT Reporter: Administration 'most closed, control-freak I've ever covered'...

Washington at War: Political animosity reaches new, personal level...

Navy SEALs Stage Raid on Somali Militants... { Truth be told, back when those uncivilized apes paraded around those 18 dead soldiers, if up to me, I would have carpet-bombed 18 square miles of the center of Mogadishu until but a barren parking lot devoid of any life whatsoever would have remained. }

Budget stalemate persists as focus shifts to debt ceiling...

Schiff: 'I think there's going to be a depression'...

Government Lies About Spying Again and Again … Here’s What’s REALLY Going On Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/04/2013 - “Spies … Can Now, For The First Time, Monitor Everything About Us, And They Can Do So With A Few Clicks Of A Mouse And – To Placate The Lawyers – A Drop-Down Menu Of Justifications”

30 Statistics About Americans Under The Age Of 30 That Will Blow Your Mind

Why are young people in America so frustrated these days? You are about to find out. Most young adults started out having faith in the system. They worked hard, they got good grades, they stayed out of trouble and many of them went on to college. But when their educations where over, they discovered that the good jobs that they had been promised were not waiting for them at the end of the rainbow. Even in the midst of this so-called "economic recovery", the full-time employment rate for Americans under the age of 30 continues to fall. And incomes for that age group continue to fall as well. At the same time, young adults are dealing with record levels of student loan debt. As a result, more young Americans than ever are putting off getting married and having families, and more of them than ever are moving back in with their parents. (Read More....) It can be absolutely soul crushing when you discover that the "bright future" that the system had been promising you for so many years turns out to be a lie. A lot of young people ultimately give up on the system and many of them end up just kind of drifting aimlessly through life. The following is an example from a recent Wall Street Journal article...

James Roy, 26, has spent the past six years paying off $14,000 in student loans for two years of college by skating from job to job. Now working as a supervisor for a coffee shop in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles, Ill., Mr. Roy describes his outlook as "kind of grim."

"It seems to me that if you went to college and took on student debt, there used to be greater assurance that you could pay it off with a good job," said the Colorado native, who majored in English before dropping out. "But now, for people living in this economy and in our age group, it's a rough deal."

Young adults as a group have been experiencing a tremendous amount of economic pain in recent years. The following are 30 statistics about Americans under the age of 30 that will blow your mind...

#1 The labor force participation rate for men in the 18 to 24 year old age bracket is at an all-time low.

#2 The ratio of what men in the 18 to 29 year old age bracket are earning compared to the general population is at an all-time low.

#3 Only about a third of all adults in their early 20s are working a full-time job.

#4 For the entire 18 to 29 year old age bracket, the full-time employment rate continues to fall. In June 2012, 47 percent of that entire age group had a full-time job. One year later, in June 2013, only 43.6 percent of that entire age group had a full-time job.

#5 Back in the year 2000, 80 percent of men in their late 20s had a full-time job. Today, only 65 percent do.

#6 In 2007, the unemployment rate for the 20 to 29 year old age bracket was about 6.5 percent. Today, the unemployment rate for that same age group is about 13 percent.

#7 American families that have a head of household that is under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent.

#8 During 2012, young adults under the age of 30 accounted for 23 percent of the workforce, but they accounted for a whopping 36 percent of the unemployed.

#9 During 2011, 53 percent of all Americans with a bachelor’s degree under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed.

#10 At this point about half of all recent college graduates are working jobs that do not even require a college degree.

#11 The number of Americans in the 16 to 29 year old age bracket with a job declined by 18 percent between 2000 and 2010.

#12 According to one survey, 82 percent of all Americans believe that it is harder for young adults to find jobs today than it was for their parents to find jobs.

#13 Incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you adjust for inflation since the year 2000.

#14 In 1984, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older was 10 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger. Today, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older is 47 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger.

#15 In 2011, SAT scores for young men were the worst that they had been in 40 years.

#16 Incredibly, approximately two-thirds of all college students graduate with student loans.

#17 According to the Federal Reserve, the total amount of student loan debt has risen by 275 percent since 2003.

#18 In America today, 40 percent of all households that are led by someone under the age of 35 are paying off student loan debt. Back in 1989, that figure was below 20 percent.

#19 The total amount of student loan debt in the United States now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt in the United States.

#20 According to the U.S. Department of Education, 11 percent of all student loans are at least 90 days delinquent.

#21 The student loan default rate in the United States has nearly doubled since 2005.

#22 One survey found that 70% of all college graduates wish that they had spent more time preparing for the "real world" while they were still in college.

#23 In the United States today, there are more than 100,000 janitors that have college degrees.

#24 In the United States today, 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees.

#25 Today, an all-time low 44.2 percent of all Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are married.

#26 According to the Pew Research Center, 57 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 24 year old age bracket lived with their parents during 2012.

#27 One poll discovered that 29 percent of all Americans in the 25 to 34 year old age bracket are still living with their parents.

#28 Young men are nearly twice as likely to live with their parents as young women the same age are.

#29 Overall, approximately 25 million American adults are living with their parents according to Time Magazine.

#30 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated that previous generations have saddled them with a nearly 17 trillion dollar national debt that they are expected to make payments on for the rest of their lives.

And this trend is not just limited to the United States. As I have written about frequently, unemployment rates for young adults throughout Europe have been soaring to unprecedented heights. For example, the unemployment rate for those under the age of 25 in Italy has now reached 40.1 percent.

Simon Black of the Sovereign Man blog discussed this global trend in a recent article on his website...

Youth unemployment rates in these countries are upwards of 40% to nearly 70%. The most recent figures published by the Italian government show yet another record high in youth unemployment.

An entire generation is now coming of age without being able to leave the nest or have any prospect of earning a decent wage in their home country.

This underscores an important point that I’ve been writing about for a long time: young people in particular get the sharp end of the stick.

They’re the last to be hired, the first to be fired, the first to be sent off to fight and die in foreign lands, and the first to have their benefits cut.

And if they’re ever lucky enough to find meaningful employment, they can count on working their entire lives to pay down the debts of previous generations through higher and higher taxes.

But when it comes time to collect… finally… those benefits won’t be there for them.

Meanwhile, the overall economy continues to get even weaker.

In the United States, Gallup's daily economic confidence index is now the lowest that it has been in more than a year.

For young people that are in high school or college right now, the future does not look bright. In fact, this is probably as good as the U.S. economy is going to get. It is probably only going to be downhill from here.

The system is failing, and young people are going to become even angrier and even more frustrated.

So what will that mean for our future?

Please feel free to share what you think by posting a comment below...

21 Of The Best Comments Posted By Frustrated Americans On The Official Obamacare Facebook Page

The launch of Obamacare has been a complete and total nightmare so far. The “online exchanges” are constantly crashing, there are endless glitches and delays, and many of the people that actually have been able to successfully register for an account are discovering that health insurance premiums under Obamacare are far higher than what they are used to paying. In fact, as I wrote about the other day, some Americans that have had their old policies canceled by their insurance companies are discovering that their health insurance costs will double or even triple under Obamacare. What a great “success”, eh? Under Obamacare, Americans are going to pay more for health care, they are going to have more limited health care options, they are going to be subjected to much more paperwork, and if they choose not to participate in the system they are going to be hit with very punitive fines. What’s not to like?

But despite all of the negatives, a lot of Americans were actually looking forward to (Read More....)

SHUTDOWN FALLDOWN

GALLUP: OBAMA FALLS TO 41%...
WIRED SHUT: BARRICADE AT WWII MEMORIAL REINFORCED...
Military keeps Camp David open; Halts NFL, baseball coverage to troops overseas...
Autumn 'leaf season' in jeopardy...
Debt ceiling fight dates to Founding Fathers...
Boehner looking to temper expectations...
WH asks for shutdown sob stories...

$63B Spent, $26B Taxed, $1.6B Borrowed in First 2 Days of 'Shutdown'...

'DUCK DYNASTY' Star Claims Editors Cut Jesus' Name From Prayer At End Of Show...

UPDATE: Off-duty NYPD cop stood by while bikers beat dad...

REPORT: Feds seize grocer's bank account for no reason...

SHOCK VIDEO: Obama Supporters Don't Know What Party Obama Is Affiliated With!

POLL: 88% say government 'in charge' of people...

Happy Birthday: Tax Code Increases 73,208 Pages Since Inception...

Former NSA/CIA Chief Jokes About Putting Edward Snowden on Obama's Kill List...

Government Shutdown Not Slowing Down Warmongers Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/03/2013 - Warmongering Continuing Full Speed Ahead …The government shutdown isn’t slowing down the warmongers. For example:

The CIA is ramping up covert training program for Syrian rebels

President Obama has waived a ban on aiding regimes that use child soldiers

The Department of Defense awarded 94 new contracts worth a combined total of more than $5 billion dollars the day right before the government shutdown

DoD will continue to award contracts during the shutdown … but will stop publicly announcing them

The giant $2 billion dollar NSA spying center in Utah is still opening (the NSA is part of the Department of Defense, which carries out assassination and cyber-warfare campaigns, as well as destroying the privacy of American citizens)

As Ron Paul notes, military spending will increase 18% even after the sequestration “cuts”:

Reducing spending on militarism would not only help balance the budget, but would enhance our security.Yet both the House and the Senate continuing resolutions not only fail to reduce military spending, they actually authorize $20 billion more in military spending than authorized by the “sequestration” created by the 2011 Budget Control Act. Most of the supposedly “draconian” sequestration cuts are not even cuts; instead, they are “reductions in the planed rate of spending.” This is where Congress increases spending but by less than originally planned—and yet they claim to cut spending.

Under sequestration, military spending increases by 18 percent instead of by 20 percent over the next ten years. Yet some so-called conservatives are so opposed to these phony cuts in military spending that they would support increased taxes and increased welfare “military” spending. This “grand bargain” would benefit the DC political class and the special interests, but it would be a disaster for the American people.

Of course, we wouldn’t be in this crisis of hitting the debt ceiling in the first place if we hadn’t spent so much money on unnecessary wars … which are horrible for the economy.

And as John Whitehead writes:

The one area not impacted in the least by a government shutdown will be the police/surveillance state and its various militarized agencies, spying programs and personnel. Take a look at the programs and policies that will not be affected by a government shutdown, and you’ll get a clearer sense of the government’s priorities — priorities which have … little to do with serving taxpayers and everything to do with maintaining power and control, while being sold to the public under the guise of national security.

Postscript: Those who say that soldiers won’t be paid are wrong. Active-duty military service members, plus civilians and contractors with the departments of Defense and Homeland Security support active-duty troops and guardsmen, will still be paid during the temporary cessation of most government activities.

Chief DHS Privacy Officer: Government Called Privacy Office "Terrorists" Posted by: George Washington Post date: 10/02/2013 - DHS Pretends It Still Has Privacy Officers ... When They've All Quit In Disgust

Jim Rogers Warns US Stock Investors "Be Careful... You're In A Fool's Paradise"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/03/2013 - 17:03

"We may well have had a big, big rally in the U.S. stock market, but it's not based on reality.

I would encourage investors to know you're in a fool's paradise, be careful, and when people start singing praises, say, 'I've been to this party before, and I know know it's time to leave.'"

-Jim Rogers

Government Shutdown? 36 Facts Which Prove That Almost Everything Is Still Running

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/03/2013 - 20:40

There really is very little reason why this "government shutdown" cannot continue indefinitely because almost everything is still running. 63 percent of all federal workers are still working, and 85 percent of all government activities are still being funded during this "shutdown". It turns out that the definition of "essential personnel" has expanded so much over the years that almost everyone is considered "essential" at this point. In fact, this shutdown is such a non-event that even referring to it as a "partial government shutdown" would really be overstating what is actually happening. In the end, this shutdown could turn out to be very good for America. We have a government that is wildly out of control and that desperately needs to be reigned in.

Wall Street Headhunter: "I Haven't Seen Morale This Bad Since The Titanic"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/03/2013 - 20:04

One thing is now abundantly clear: 2013 is now one big scratch for bankers who were expecting that this year bonuses would finally pick up from the prior several years mediocre performance and catch up to the record days of 2009 (just after the biggest wholesale bank bailout in history). The WSJ summarizes the situation best: "I haven't seen morale this bad since the Titanic," said Richard Stein, a senior recruiter at Caldwell Partners CWL.T -3.41% who specializes in financial services. And if bankers are not happy, nobody else will be (here's looking at you dear perpetual banker bailout ATM known as US taxpayers).

Have Questions On Obamacare? Call 1-800-F U-CKYO

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/03/2013 - 12:32

Presented with a stunned level of WTFness... the Obamacare Help-Line - available 24/7 is 1-800-318-2596 as we have been told a number of times by the President... it seems someone did not do their due diligence on what that telephone number's mnemomic is...

1-800-F U-CKYO

Indeed, Mr. President, 1-800-318-2596 to you too.

Government Shutdown? 36 Facts Which Prove That Almost Everything Is Still Running

All of this whining and crying about a "government shutdown" is a total joke. You see, there really is very little reason why this "government shutdown" cannot continue indefinitely because almost everything is still running. 63 percent of all federal workers are still working, and 85 percent of all government activities are still being funded during this "shutdown". Yes, the Obama administration has been making a big show of taking down government websites and blocking off the World War II Memorial, but overall business in Washington D.C. is being conducted pretty much as usual. It turns out that the definition of "essential personnel" has expanded so much over the years that almost everyone is considered "essential" at this point. In fact, this shutdown is such a non-event that even referring to it as a "partial government shutdown" would really be overstating what is actually happening. The following are 36 facts which prove that almost everything is still running during this government shutdown... (Read More....)

#1 According to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, 85 percent of all government activities are actually being funded during this "government shutdown".

#2 Approximately 1,350,000 "essential" federal employees will continue to work during this "government shutdown".

#3 Overall, 63 percent of the federal workforce will continue to work during this "government shutdown".

#4 The U.S. Postal Service will continue to deliver our mail.

#5 U.S. military personnel will remain on duty and will continue to get paid.

#6 Social Security recipients will continue to get their benefits.

#7 Medicare recipients will continue to get their benefits.

#8 Medicaid recipients will continue to get their benefits.

#9 Food stamp recipients will continue to get their benefits.

#10 Those on unemployment will continue to get their benefits.

#11 Federal retirees will continue to get their pensions.

#12 The federal school lunch program has enough money to go through at least the end of this month.

#13 Public schools all over the country will continue to stay open.

#14 Almost all federal law enforcement officials will continue working.

#15 The Federal Reserve will remain "completely functional".

#16 The Supreme Court will continue to operate normally and federal courts have enough money to keep going for at least two weeks.

#17 TSA employees will continue to molest travelers at our airports.

#18 Air traffic controllers will continue to monitor traffic at our airports.

#19 Hopelessly outmanned border patrol agents will continue to try to stem the tide of illegal immigration.

#20 Visas and passports will continue to be issued by the State Department.

#21 The Veterans Administration will continue to offer substandard medical services, and it will be able to continue processing benefit payments at least for now.

#22 The Obama administration apparently has plenty of money to spend on closing open-air memorials that are usually open to the public 24 hours a day.

#23 The Department of Defense announced the awarding of 94 new contracts worth a combined total of more than 5 billion dollars on September 30th - the day right before the "government shutdown".

#24 The "government shutdown" has not prevented the new two billion dollar NSA spy center from opening up.

#25 Federal prisons will continue to operate normally.

#26 Amtrak trains will continue to run.

#27 The Patent and Trademark Office will be open.

#28 The Consumer Product Safety Commission will continue to issue product recalls if the products "create an immediate threat to the safety of human life".

#29 The National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center will continue to track weather patterns.

#30 If the federal government needs to respond to a natural disaster, this "shutdown" will not affect that.

#31 NASA will continue to support the Mars Rover and the two American astronauts up on the International Space Station.

#32 All city employees of the D.C. government have been deemed "essential" and will continue to go to work.

#33 Even though the Obamacare exchanges are not working properly, people will still be able to access them.

#34 The IRS will continue to collect taxes, but it will be suspending punitive audits of conservative organizations.

#35 Barack Obama will continue to get paid for the full duration of this "shutdown".

#36 The U.S. Congress will continue to get paid for the full duration of this "shutdown".

Of course not everything is operating normally during this government shutdown. Government parks are closed. The EPA and the Department of Energy have almost totally closed up shop. But overall, most Americans are not going to notice much of a difference.

And perhaps now is a good time for the American people to evaluate whether or not they actually need a gigantic federal government that wastes enormous mountains of our money.

For example, our federal government recently spent $98,670 to construct a single outhouse in Alaska.

That is more than a lot of Americans pay for their entire houses.

For many more examples like this, please see my previous article entitled "The Waste List: 66 Crazy Ways That The U.S. Government Is Wasting Your Hard-Earned Money".

It is about time that Washington D.C. started experiencing some of the "belt-tightening" that the rest of the country has been going through. For far too long, the fatcats in D.C. have been living in an alternate reality where they have been able to live the high life at our expense. A recent blog post by Daniel Greenfield discussed how this shutdown is going to affect the alternate reality that the Obamas have been living in...

The government shutdown has forced Obama to make do with only a quarter of his 1,701 person staff. That would leave 436 “vital” employees. The 90 people who look after his living quarters would be slashed to 15 to “provide minimum maintenance and support”.

Buckingham Palace, which is twelve times the size of the White House and has its own clockmaker, only has an 800 person staff. King Harald V of Norway and his court make do with 152 staffers. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden gets by with 203.

On Twitter, Michelle Obama announced that she is unable to Tweet on her own without the aid of all of her sixteen assistants; many of whom take home six figure salaries. There are more directors, associate directors and deputy associate directors on Michelle Obama’s staff than there were in George Washington’s entire administration.

Presidents have fought wars and made peace, explored and annexed vast territories and built a nation out of a handful of colonies with fewer senior staffers than are needed to handle Michelle Obama’s Twitter account.

Oh the humanity! Will Michelle Obama ever tweet again? And how will the White House continue to function without at least one projectionist on duty at the White House 24 hours a day?

No wonder Barack Obama is so upset about this shutdown.

In the end, this shutdown could turn out to be very good for America. We have a government that is wildly out of control and that desperately needs to be reigned in.

During the Obama administration, federal debt held by the public has risen by 90 percent, and overall federal government spending has risen by a whopping 317 percent since 1990.

So is it really a bad thing that the federal government has been forced to cut back for a little while?

Our politicians can whine and cry all they want. They won't be getting any sympathy from me.

CRAZY
Woman tries to ram car into White House barricade... { Typical niggers … perfect match for that other recent vintage killer, nigger, aaron alexis }
Believed to Have History of Mental Illness... { Riiiiight … the ‘mental illness thing … reality: typical niggers … look at the stats! }
Suspect pursued to Capitol...
20-car police chase...
Small child recovered from vehicle...
SENATOR: 'I didn't get my Marine sword down to do battle, but I was ready to'...
Rangel Blames Republicans...

DEMS UNLEASHED: Angry name calling, bombastic insults, rhetorical bullying...

Congressman assaulted outside Capitol...

'Jihad'...

SIGN UP: 1-800-FUCKYO...

$175 monthly premium for a young, healthy student?

'WORSE TODAY THAN YESTERDAY'...

Insurance Manager: 'We Have Yet To Have Someone Successfully Register'...

WH: We 'Don't Have that Data'...

TV Station Can't Find Anyone Who Signed Up...

WASHPOST seeks public's assistance in search...

Some state websites see less than 1% signup rates...

Louisiana: Zero Enroll?

CA says 5M hits; actual number 645K...

Feds shut down D-Day beaches, cemetery in Normandy...

Barrycades: Try to Close Privately Owned Mount Vernon...

Philly tavern frequented by Founding Fathers shuttered...

Lodge with 12 rooms closes on Cape Cod...

Monuments, memorials stayed open during last shutdown...

Grocery stores on Army bases closed, Obama's golf course open...

Mark Hulbert Market overvalued, CFOs say Commentary: Chief financial officer survey on stock valuations is worrisome for these reasons. { The reality is that for quite some time, valuation in any meaningful sense has become largely irrelevant; and, manipulation in favor of the ‘compliant cheerleaders/propagandists’ (buffet, et als) for this great american fraud and embrace of decline has become the rule and not the exception. In fact, I’m surprised that the market hasn’t tanked 30-40% with the shutdown, so interconnected/dependent it’s become with government induced contraindicated QE/welfare and a ‘hands-off approach’ to the huge inflated ‘churn-and-earn hot potato paper fraud’ called wall street. The ‘so-called sell the sizzle’ tech sector also has become as preposterous as in the dot-com bust days. }

Treasury Warns Asset Manager "Herding" Threatens US Financial System

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/02/2013 - 22:10

Just two weeks ago we explained how when there is only one driving factor for market performance and "too-many coat-tail clinging asset managers chasing too few real alpha opportunities" then problems can arise. Critically, we showed the correlation between the S&P 500 and hedge fund returns has never been higher and is approaching 1. So it is refreshing that the Treasury Department agrees in a recent report that this "herding into popular assets" by asset managers could pose a threat to the US financial system.

Say It Often Enough And It's True

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/01/2013 - 17:04

To suggest that the United States is not the richest country in the world, or that the government could default, is tantamount to blasphemy. It doesn’t matter that every objective scrap of evidence points to the inevitable conclusion that the US government is going to have to default on its obligations. The hubris and arrogance here is amazing. And it just goes to show that if you just repeat something over and over again, people will believe it... no matter how absurd. This is the basic premise behind propaganda. Start with an idea. Inundate the population through constant repetition. And soon it becomes the unquestionable truth.

WWII VETS STORM DC MEMORIAL...
WAR VETERANS THREATENED WITH ARREST...
REPORT: WH rejected visit request...
PAUL: 'Goons' blocked landmark...
BARRYCADES: Park Service workers erect fences...
More guards than at Benghazi...
NPS says Obama admin ordered closure...
Reid blames Republicans...
RNC offers to pay to keep open...

'WHY WOULD WE WANT TO' HELP ONE KID WITH CANCER?

Some Obamacare state websites see less than 1% signup rates...

Louisiana: Zero Enroll?

Debt Held by Public Up 90% Since Jan '09...

BLINK: Reid offers to talk tax reform if GOP ends federal shutdown...

FEEL THE PAIN: IRS collecting money, not sending refunds during shutdown...

Just 6.6% of EPA employees deemed 'essential'...

9 out of 10 IRS workers sent home...

But 1,350,000 still on the job...

NPS Orders Closure of Park that Receives No Federal Funding...

No more golf for Obama?!

TV network stories blame GOP 21-0... { Yeah, that ‘access/government welfare/fear thing’ is tough to shake … I’m inclined to believe WOODWARD: 'On the president's head'... }

NSA Central to U.S. Assassination Program Posted by: George Washington Post date: 09/29/2013 - Intelligence Agencies Central In Assassination Programs Carried out Without Oversight

World Bank Whistleblower Karen Hudes Reveals How The Global Elite Rule The World

Karen Hudes is a graduate of Yale Law School and she worked in the legal department of the World Bank for more than 20 years. In fact, when she was fired for blowing the whistle on corruption inside the World Bank, she held the position of Senior Counsel. She was in a unique position to see exactly how the global elite rule the world, and the information that she is now revealing to the public is absolutely stunning. According to Hudes, the elite use a very tight core of financial institutions and mega-corporations to dominate the planet. The goal is control. They want all of us enslaved to debt, they want all of our governments enslaved to debt, and they want all of our politicians addicted to the huge financial contributions that they funnel into their campaigns. Since the elite also own all of the big media companies, the mainstream media never lets us in on the secret that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way that our system works. (Read More....)

FLASH: Senate Kills Bill to Fund Gov't... DEMS VOTE TO KEEP TAX ON MEDICAL EQUIPMENT...
House GOP: Eliminate subsidies for Congress!
REQUIRE ADMINISTRATION TO SIGN UP!
CORN: Will Obama get very mad?
Even in shutdown, Feds get overtime, comp time, 'Sunday pay'...
Kerry still going on Tokyo/Bali trip...

`BREAKING BAD`

`REPORT: DNC 'nearly broke'...`

`FAT CITY: Obesity up 25% in NYC under Nanny Bloomberg...`

`Train Runs Over Couple Having Sex on Tracks...`

`Thugs Armed with Tasers Terrorizing DC Streets...`

Congressman Shows Obamacare Exchanges Crash Minutes After Launch

Senate Rejects House Proposal to Avoid Shutdown Hours Before Deadline

Global Growth Hopes Fade As Baltic Dry Drops Most In 11 Months

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/01/2013 - 15:23

While the recent surge in the Baltic Dry Index was headlined as 'proof' that the global recovery was 'on', China is back, and every retiree should BTFATH, we recently noted, all was not at all it seems on the surface of this data. Fast forward a few days and we have had 2 China PMI misses (notably disappointing relative to their Flash prints) and now the Baltic Dry has plunged by its most in 11 months over the last 4 days. Of course, we've seen these kind of ramps and dumps before in the Baltic Dry - though it is odd that we don't hear the cheerleaders as the price collapses.

Domestic Vehicle Sales Plunge; Miss By Most Since Jan 2009

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/01/2013 - 14:57

We already noted the apparently 'transitory' weakness in GM's numbers and huge surge in channel-stuffing; but now the full numbers are in and it is not pretty. The annualized domestic vehicles sales collapsed (by the most in 29 months) to 11.66 million - it's lowest in 11 months - missing expectations by the most since January 2009. Stone McCarthy offers some hope that this does not signal "peak autos" for this cycle as they note, "it would appear that sales for September were pulled into August due to the extra selling days for August, stemming from the manner in which the Labor Day weekend fell on the calendar this year. Recall that August sales were firmer relative to expectations and now we have September being weaker."

David Stockman Fears Intense Resentment Over "Disaster" That Is Obamacare

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/01/2013 - 14:34

"Obamacare is a disaster," is the jumping-off point for David Stockman's latest tirade against the "greatest expansion to the welfare state in the last 80 years," that was rammed through congress on a totally partisan vote. In this brief Bloomberg TV clip, Stockman "understands why the Republicans are willing to hold up government if they have to," as there is growing intensity of partisanship and resentment that can only bode ill for debt ceiling discussions... "The Republicans have to take a stand."

Why Are They Trying So Hard To Demonize Gun Owners?

There is an all-out effort to demonize gun owners in the United States today. Those that own guns are repeatedly portrayed as being uneducated, mentally deficient racists in the mainstream media. No evidence is ever produced to actually back up those claims. Gun owners regularly make lists of “potential terrorists” in official government documents, and many government officials openly regard them as ultra-paranoid “conspiracy nuts” that are a serious threat to national security. Of course the truth is that gun owners are actually among the most law-abiding and patriotic people in the entire nation, but that doesn’t really fit with the radical gun control agenda of the progressive elite. In order to move their agenda forward, they must make gun owners look bad, and they will go to ridiculous extremes in order to achieve that goal. And to a certain extent, it is working. As you will see below, some large financial companies no longer want to conduct business with gun owners, and just the sight of a gun is enough to get people freaking out and calling the police in many communities in America today. (Read More.....)

`Widespread Glitches in 34 States...`

`PAPER: America's Superpower Status Ebbs Away...`

`FOURNIER: Beginning of the End for Washington...`

`CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...`

`Senate votes NOT to negotiate with House on compromise...`

`Kerry still going on Tokyo/Bali trip...`

`Illegal to walk on National Mall?`

`FLASHBACK: Government has shut down 17 times since 1976...`

`Are the WH chefs 'essential'?`

`Toddler Among 4 Stabbed in NYC...`

`'He was walking through park and just started going after people'...`

`Man Shot 8 Times During Robbery At Historic Philly Park... { Niggers! }`

Government Has Shut Down 18 Times Since 1976 Posted by : George Washington Post date: 10/01/2013 - Not the End of the World

Oxford Professors: Robots And Computers Could Take Half Our Jobs Within The Next 20 Years

What are human workers going to do when super-intelligent robots and computers are better than us at doing everything? That is one of the questions that a new study by Dr. Carl Frey and Dr. Michael Osborne of Oxford University sought to address, and what they concluded was that 47 percent of all U.S. jobs could be automated within the next 20 years. Considering the fact that the percentage of the U.S. population that is employed is already far lower than it was a decade ago, it is frightening to think that tens of millions more jobs could disappear due to technological advances over the next couple of decades. I have written extensively about how we are already losing millions of jobs to super cheap labor on the other side of the globe. What are middle class families going to do as technology also takes away huge numbers of our jobs at an ever increasing pace? We live during a period of history when knowledge is increasing an an exponential rate. In the past, when human workers were displaced by technology it also created new kinds of jobs that the world had never seen before. But what happens when the day arrives when computers and robots can do almost everything more cheaply and more efficiently than humans can? (Read More....)

Q3 Earnings Warnings Second-Worst Since 2001

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/30/2013 - 17:52

US companies are warning about Q3 earnings at the second highest level since 2001, with estimates well below what they were just three short months ago. Of course, the US equity markets don't care - having rallied aggressively in the face of this collapse; lubricated by multiple-expanding QE and rev. repo. As Reuters reports, companies issuing negative outlooks outnumber positive ones by 5.2-to-1, the most negative since the 6.3-to-1 ratio in the second quarter, when however the "second half recovery" (which has been once again indefinitely delayed, perhaps to the third half?) was said would take place momentarily and lead to another mythical rebound. Industrials, Materials, and Tech top the list for negative pre-announcements.

Marc Faber Warns “We Have Reached The Endgame Of Monetary Policy”

Zero Hedge | “One day this whole credit bubble will be deflated very badly – you are going to experience a complete implosion of all asset prices and the credit system…”

State and Local Taxes at All Time Highs

Lew Rockwell Blog | I thought Republicans on the state and local levels were more “conservative” than those on the national level?

20 Obama Quotes About Islam Contrasted With 20 Obama Quotes About Christianity

You are about to read some of the most shocking quotes that Barack Obama has ever uttered in public. A few of these have been widely circulated, but most of them are very obscure. Even though he claims to be a Christian, throughout his political career Obama has repeatedly attacked traditional Biblical Christianity and he has a very long history of anti-Christian actions. In public speeches he has repeatedly cast doubt on the Bible, he has repeatedly stated that he does not believe that Jesus is necessary for salvation, and he has consistently said that he believes that all “people of faith” believe in the same God. At the same time, Obama has always referred to Muhammed as “the Prophet”, he has always expressed great love and respect for Islam, and he has even removed all references to Islam from terror training materials used by federal government agencies. So what in the world does “the leader of the free world” actually believe? Read the quotes below and (Read More....)

20 Quotes By Barack Obama About Islam

#1 “The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam”

#2 “The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to prayer”

#3 “We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world — including in my own country.”

#4 “As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam.”

#5 “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance.”

#6 “Islam has always been part of America”

#7 “we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities”

#8 “These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings.”

#9 “America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”

#10 “I made clear that America is not – and never will be – at war with Islam.”

#11 “Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace.”

#12 “So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed”

#13 “In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education.”

#14 “throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.”

#15 “Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality”

#16 “The Holy Koran tells us, ‘O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.’”

#17 “I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan here at the White House later this week, and wish you a blessed month.”

#18 “We’ve seen those results in generations of Muslim immigrants – farmers and factory workers, helping to lay the railroads and build our cities, the Muslim innovators who helped build some of our highest skyscrapers and who helped unlock the secrets of our universe.”

#19 “That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”

#20 “I also know that Islam has always been a part of America’s story.”

20 Quotes By Barack Obama About Christianity

#1 “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation”

#2 “We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.”

#3 “Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?”

#4 “Even those who claim the Bible’s inerrancy make distinctions between Scriptural edicts, sensing that some passages – the Ten Commandments, say, or a belief in Christ’s divinity – are central to Christian faith, while others are more culturally specific and may be modified to accommodate modern life.”

#5 “The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage nevertheless are opposed to a Constitutional amendment to ban it. Religious leadership need not accept such wisdom in counseling their flocks, but they should recognize this wisdom in their politics.”

#6 From Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope: “I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights on such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simply because the people they love are of the same sex—nor am I willing to accept a reading of the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount.”

#7 Obama’s response when asked what his definition of sin is: “Being out of alignment with my values.”

#8 “If all it took was someone proclaiming I believe Jesus Christ and that he died for my sins, and that was all there was to it, people wouldn’t have to keep coming to church, would they.”

#9 “This is something that I’m sure I’d have serious debates with my fellow Christians about. I think that the difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and prostelytize. There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they’re going to hell.”

#10 “I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup.”

#11 “I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. But I feel very strongly that whether the reward is in the here and now or in the hereafter, the aligning myself to my faith and my values is a good thing.”

#12 “I’ve said this before, and I know this raises questions in the minds of some evangelicals. I do not believe that my mother, who never formally embraced Christianity as far as I know … I do not believe she went to hell.”

#13 “Those opposed to abortion cannot simply invoke God’s will–they have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths.”

#14 On his support for civil unions for gay couples: “If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount.”

#15 “You got into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

#16 “In our household, the Bible, the Koran and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology”

#17 “On Easter or Christmas Day, my mother might drag me to church, just as she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the Chinese New Year celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites.”

#18 “we have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, and their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own”

#19 “All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra — (applause) — as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer. (Applause.)”

#20 “I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.”

About the author: Michael T. Snyder is a former Washington D.C. attorney who now publishes The Truth. His new thriller entitled “The Beginning Of The End” is now available on Amazon.com.

SHOCK: Black Pastor Shot by Black Man, Killed During Church Service...

Number of Americans giving up citizenship soars...
Maine communities contemplate 'neighborhood secession'...

Pelosi absent for vote...
Senate Will Reject...
Obama Will Veto...
'SHUTDOWN' LOOMS...
Digital Revolution Rallies Troops...

DELAY OBAMACARE OR WE WILL SHUT IT DOWN
BOEHNER MAKES MOVE

Islamic Terror Groups Are Killing Christians All Over The World And Obama Wants Us To Ally With Them

Over the past couple of days, we have witnessed some absolutely horrific examples of Islamic terror groups specifically targeting Christians and those from other non-Muslim religions. Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon. Radical Islamic jihadists are constantly attacking churches and slaughtering Christians all over the planet. The recent events in Pakistan, Kenya and Egypt may have taken this persecution to a new level, but this is just the continuation of a trend that has been building for years. Unfortunately, Barack Obama does not seem too concerned about Islamic terrorism. In fact, he specifically directed that “all references to Islam” be removed from terrorism training materials that the federal government uses. If that wasn’t bad enough, now Obama is actually supplying weapons to the radical jihadist rebels that want to take over Syria, and he appears to be very ready to use the U.S. military to attack the Assad regime directly if “negotiations” with the Syrian government fail. In essence, Obama wants the United States to be allies with psychotic jihadists that have the exact same radical philosophy that those who are killing Christians in Pakistan, Kenya and Egypt have. (Read More.....)

NSA Central to U.S. Assassination Program Posted by: George Washington Post date: 09/29/2013 - Intelligence Agencies Central In Assassination Programs Carried out Without Oversight

Spy Agencies Are Doing WHAT? Posted by: George Washington Post date: 09/23/2013 - New Revelations Are Breaking Every Day

Revelations about the breathtaking scope of government spying are coming so fast that it's time for an updated roundup:

The government is spying on essentially everything we do. It is not just "metadata" ... although that is enough to destroy your privacy

The government has adopted a secret interpretation of the Patriot Act which allows it to pretend that "everything" is relevant ... so it spies on everyone. For example, the NSA "oversight" court believes the mere claim that terrorists use the phone system is enough to show that all phone records are relevant

NSA whistleblowers say that the NSA collects all of our conversations word-for-word

It's not just the NSA ... Many other agencies, like the FBI and IRS – concerned only with domestic issues - spy on Americans as well. The Drug Enforcement Administration has had direct access to AT&T phone records for 25 years

The information gained through spying is shared with federal, state and local agencies, and they are using that information to prosecute petty crimes such as drugs and taxes. The agencies are instructed to intentionally "launder" the information gained through spying, i.e. to pretend that they got the information in a more legitimate way ... and to hide that from defense attorneys and judges

The Department of Health and Human Services will also have access to vast quantities of sensitive federal data on Americans as part of Obamacare (here's the underlying Government Accountability Office report)

The NSA not only shares our information with other American agencies, it also gives personal, sensitive unfiltered information on Americans to Israel and other foreign nations

And it's not only governments. Private contractors can also view all of your data (and the government isn’t keeping track of which contractors see your data and which don’t). And because background checks regarding some contractors are falsified, it is hard to know the types of people that might have your information. Indeed, private contractors are involved in spying on behalf of governments world-wide

It's not just your computer and your phone. It is well-documented that the government may be spying on us through cars and buses, streetlights, at airports and on the street, via mobile scanners and drones, through our smart meters, and in many other ways

Top counter-terror experts say that the government’s mass spying doesn't keep us safe

Indeed, they say that mass spying actually hurts U.S. counter-terror efforts (more here and here)

They say we can, instead, keep everyone safe without violating the Constitution ... more cheaply and efficiently than the current system

There is no real oversight by Congress, the courts, or the executive branch of government. And see this and this.

Indeed, most Congress members had no idea what the NSA is doing. Even staunch defenders of the NSA - and congress members on the intelligence oversight committees - now say they've been kept in the dark

A Federal judge who was on the secret spying court for 3 years says that it's a kangaroo court

Even the current judges on the secret spying court now admit that they're out of the loop and powerless to exercise real oversight.

When these judges raised concerns about NSA spying, the Justice Department completely ignored them

A former U.S. president says that the spying program shows that we no longer have a functioning democracy

The chairs of the 9/11 Commission say that NSA spying has gone way too far

Top constitutional experts say that Obama and Bush are worse than Nixon ... and the Stasi East Germans

While the government initially claimed that mass surveillance on Americans prevented more than 50 terror attacks, the NSA’s deputy director John Inglis walked that position back all the way to saying that – at the most – one (1) plot might have been disrupted by the bulk phone records collection alone. In other words, the NSA can't prove that stopped any terror attacks. The government greatly exaggerated an alleged recent terror plot for political purposes (and promoted the fearmongering of serial liars). The argument that recent terror warnings show that NSA spying is necessary is so weak that American counter-terrorism experts have slammed it as "crazy pants"

You're much more likely to be killed by brain-eating amoeba, lightning or a toddler than by terrorism. Even President Obama admits that you're much less likely to be killed by terrorists than a car accident. So the government has resorted to lamer and lamer excuses to try to justify mass surveillance

Experts say that the spying program is illegal, and is exactly the kind of thing which King George imposed on the American colonists ... which led to the Revolutionary War

A Harvard law school professor - and director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University - says:

"The NSA has mounted a systematic campaign against the foundations of American power: constitutional checks and balances, technological leadership, and market entrepreneurship. The NSA scandal is no longer about privacy, or a particular violation of constitutional or legislative obligations. The American body politic is suffering a severe case of auto-immune disease: our defense system is attacking other critical systems of our body".

The top counter-terrorism Czar under Clinton and Bush says that revealing NSA spying programs does not harm national security

The feds are considering prosecuting the owner of a private email company - who shut down his business rather than turning over records to the NSA - for refusing to fork over the information and keep quiet. This is a little like trying to throw someone in jail because he's died and is no longer paying taxes

Whistleblowers on illegal spying have no "legal" way to get the information out

Spying started before 9/11 ... and various excuses have been used to spy on Americans over the years

Governments and big corporations are doing everything they can to destroy anonymity

Mass spying creates an easy mark for hackers. Indeed, the Pentagon now sees the collection of "big data" as a "national security threat" ... but the NSA is the biggest data collector on the planet, and thus provides a tempting mother lode of information for foreign hackers

Mass surveillance by the NSA directly harms internet companies, Silicon Valley, California … and the entire U.S. economy. For example, Facebook lost 11 millions users as of April mainly due to privacy concerns (and that was before the Snowden revelations). And see these reports from Boingboing and the Guardian

IT and security professionals are quite concerned about government spying

Some people make a lot of money off of mass spying. But the government isn't using the spying program to stop the worst types of lawlessness

The NSA spying program is unambiguously being used for industrial espionage, by spying on large foreign corporations, and the biggest financial payments systems such as VISA and Swift. Indeed, in a slide leaked by Edward Snowden, "economic" was one of the main justifications for spying

The top U.S. spy's justifications for such financial spying is not very reassuring:

"We collect this information for many important reasons: for one, it could provide the United States and our allies early warning of international financial crises which could negatively impact the global economy. It also could provide insight into other countries' economic policy or behavior which could affect global markets."

Top financial experts say that the NSA and other intelligence agencies are using the information to profit from this inside information

The Wall Street Journal reported that the NSA spies on Americans’ credit card transactions. Many other agencies are doing the same. In fact, virtually all U.S. intelligence agencies – including the CIA and NSA – are going to spy on Americans’ finances. The IRS will also be spying on Americans’ shopping records, travel, social interactions, health records and files from other government investigators

Polls show that the public doesn’t believe the NSA … and thinks that the government has gone way too far in the name of terrorism

While leaker Edward Snowden is treated as a traitor by the fatcats and elites, he is considered a hero by the American public. Members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government have all praised the debate on spying which Snowden's leaks started

The heads of the intelligence services have repeatedly been caught lying about spying. And even liberal publications are starting to say that Obama has been intentionally lying about spying. The government claimed that most spying programs ended in 2011, when - in fact - they were expanded that year

Obama says he'll rein in spying ... but his words and deeds indicate that he won't. Indeed, Obama appointed the fox to guard the chicken coop. No wonder only 11% of Americans trust Obama to actually do anything to rein in spying

A huge majority of Americans wants the director of intelligence - Clapper - prosecuted for perjury. One of the chairs of the 9/11 Commission agrees

While the Obama administration is spying on everyone in the country – it is at the same time the most secretive administration ever (background). That’s despite Obama saying he’s running the most transparent administration ever

The NSA treats the American people with contempt. For example, Spiegel notes:

"The authors of the [NSA slides] draw a comparison with "1984," ... revealing the agency's current view of smartphones and their users. "Who knew in 1984 that this would be Big Brother …" the authors ask, in reference to a photo of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. And commenting on photos of enthusiastic Apple customers and iPhone users, the NSA writes: "… and the zombies would be paying customers?

Worse, the intelligence agencies often view normal, true-blue Americans as potential terrorists (and see this)

A Congressman noted that - even if a mass surveillance program is started for good purposes - it will inevitably turn into a witch hunt

There are indications that the spy agencies aren't just passively gathering information, but are actively using it in mischievous ways

Surveillance can be used to frame you if someone in government happens to take a dislike to you

Government spying has always focused on crushing dissent … not on keeping us safe

An NSA whistleblower says that the NSA is spying on – and blackmailing – top government officials and military officers (and see this)

High-level US government officials have warned for 40 years that mass surveillance would lead to tyranny in America

A top NSA whistleblower says that the only way to fix things is to fire all of the corrupt government officials who let it happen. As the polls above show, the American public is starting to wake up to that fact

NSA DIRECTOR ADMITS:

... Collecting data from social networks

... Testing U.S. cellphone tracking

... Releasing 'misleading' numbers on terror plots foiled by snooping

NJ property taxes up 13% under Christie...

Obama applauds mayoral candidate's vow to hike taxes in NYC...

CNN: 3 alleged Kenya attackers from USA...

Raises concerns in U.S....

Gunmen executed non-Muslims after asking them to name Prophet Mohammed's mother...

Deep cuts at agency responsible for investigating health-care fraud...

Secret American Subculture of Putin-Worshippers... { Secret … I doubt it … I believe the Russia/Putin ‘miracle’ is worthy of praise and world class global recognition as such! }

Movement grows to repeal Obamacare 'exemption' for Congress...

'Could they be more out of touch?'

OBAMA: Republicans 'trying to mess with me'...
'We are not some Banana Republic'... { Au contraire … http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm }

13 shot in mass shooting at Chicago park...
3-year-old boy shot in face...

CA Dem wishes death upon Ted Cruz staffer's children...

17,679 things the federal government has done since sequestration...

Quantitative Easing Worked For The Weimar Republic For A Little While Too

There is a reason why every fiat currency in the history of the world has eventually failed. At some point, those issuing fiat currencies always find themselves giving in to the temptation to wildly print more money. Sometimes, the motivation for doing this is good. When an economy is really struggling, those that have been entrusted with the management of that economy can easily fall for the lie that things would be better if people just had "more money". Today, the Federal Reserve finds itself faced with a scenario that is very similar to what the Weimar Republic was facing nearly 100 years ago. Like the Weimar Republic, the U.S. economy is also struggling and like the Weimar Republic, the U.S. government is absolutely drowning in debt. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve has decided to adopt the same solution that the Weimar Republic chose. The Federal Reserve is recklessly printing money out of thin air, and in the short-term some positive things have come out of it. But quantitative easing worked for the Weimar Republic for a little while too. At first, more money caused economic activity to increase and unemployment was low. But all of that money printing destroyed faith in German currency and in the German financial system and ultimately Germany experienced an economic meltdown that the world is still talking about today. This is the path that the Federal Reserve is taking America down, but most Americans have absolutely no idea what is happening. (Read More....)

Druckenmiller Blasts "The Biggest Redistribution Of Wealth From The Poor To The Rich Ever"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/19/2013 - 09:38

Reflecting on exactly what was said yesterday, Duquesne's Stanley Druckenmiller is initially perplexed as Bernanke explained 'financial conditions' - not interest rates - have prompted the decision to forestall any taper. His confusion is that financial conditions are actually slightly better than they were in June and "a stock market at an all-time high would suggest we don't have a problem with financial conditions." While he dismisses surveys, the big-money was betting that they were going to taper as is clear from the moves in gold, bonds, and stocks; and it appears the Fed "lost their nerve." In fact, Druck continues, the Fed "blew it... they had a freebie," they could have started the process to "get us off the dope." This action, or inaction, he warns "is going to make it so much harder for the next Chairman to start the process." In fact, he concludes, that from beginning to end - once markets adjust from these subsidized prices - that the wealth effect of QE will have been negative not positive.

McCain's self-defeating Pravda op-ed can only help Putin Washington Post (blog) ‎- by Max Fisher ‎ Senator John McCain, a frequent critic of the Kremlin, responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's New York Times op-ed with his own, ...

{ How laughable to hear of ‘never-saw-a-war-he-didn’t-like’ neo-con mccain try to lecture the historically formidable Vladimir Putin on the ‘rule of law’. What parallel universe is senile mccain operating in? ( I’m going to even give ‘songbird’ mccain a pass on his violation of military code while a POW so criticized by his fellow POWs).The law is something that I know a lot about; from intense study and direct experience, while mccain can’t possibly say the same. After all, there are indeed a plethora of rules of law in pervasively corrupt, defacto bankrupt america. The problem is, in venal america, they are not meaningful rules of law as applied to some and not others (him and his et als in the latter category). Wow! Talk about out of touch … or maybe he’s just used to such drivel/propaganda being lapped up by the dumbed down american masses! See http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm for reality! }

PUTIN NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE...

DOCTOR OBAMACARE, a photo by WilliamBanzai7/Colonel Flick on Flickr.

Dozens Killed By Freakishly Huge Hornets In China – And Now They Are Attacking People In The U.S. Too

The photo of an Asian giant hornet posted above was taken by blogger Kurt Bell, and as you can see, these Asian giant hornets are freakishly huge. They are also extremely aggressive and they are not afraid to attack people at all. And as you will read about below, getting stung by one of them is exceedingly painful. If they only attacked humans once in a while, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Unfortunately, Asian giant hornets appear to be multiplying rapidly and they have killed dozens of people in China in recent months. But most Americans are not going to get too concerned about a plague of giant hornets on the other side of the planet. Well, what if I told you that Asian giant hornets are now spreading like wildfire in this country and attacking people all over the United States? Would I have your attention then? Because that is precisely what is happening.

The recent giant hornet attacks in China have made headlines all over the (Read More....)

Yellowstone Supervolcano Alert: The Most Dangerous Volcano In America Is Roaring To Life

Right now, the ground underneath Yellowstone National Park is rising at a record rate. In fact, it is rising at the rate of about three inches per year. The reason why this is such a concern is because underneath the park sits the Yellowstone supervolcano – the largest volcano in North America. Scientists tell us that it is inevitable that it will erupt again one day, and when it does the devastation will be almost unimaginable. A full-blown eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano would dump a 10 foot deep layer of volcanic ash up to 1,000 miles away, and it would render much of the United States uninhabitable. When most Americans think of Yellowstone, they tend to conjure up images of Yogi Bear and “Old Faithful”, but the truth is that sleeping underneath Yellowstone is a volcanic beast that could destroy our nation in a single day and now that beast is starting to wake up. (Read More.....)

Are You Prepared For An Extremely Bitterly Cold Winter? Solar Activity Is At A 100 Year Low

Are you ready for bone chilling cold this winter? The Old Farmer’s Almanac and other weather forecasters that rely on solar activity as a factor in their weather forecasts are projecting that this upcoming winter will be bitterly cold. Solar activity is at a 100 year low, and even though we were supposed to be in the midst of a solar maximum this year, our sun has been eerily quiet. So precisely what in the world is going on? There have been other periods throughout history when solar activity has been extraordinarily quiet, and those times have corresponded with periods of extreme cold. For example, the “Maunder Minimum” which stretched from 1645 to 1715 corresponded with the most bitterly cold period that the earth experienced in the last 1000 years. So could we be heading toward another “mini-ice age”? That is a question that some scientists are now beginning to ask.

Clearly, something unusual is happening with our sun. The following is from a Universe Today article that was posted back in (Read More....)

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Man Shot 8 Times During Robbery At Historic Philly Park... { Niggers! }

McCain's self-defeating Pravda op-ed can only help Putin Washington Post (blog) ‎- by Max Fisher ‎ Senator John McCain, a frequent critic of the Kremlin, responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's New York Times op-ed with his own, ...

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`Man Shot 8 Times During Robbery At Historic Philly Park... { Niggers! }`