INTeRNaTioNaL LaW 101...
Posted by: williambanzai7
Post date: 09/06/2013 - Someone has to put this front and center and that
someone is me...
INTeRNaTioNaL LaW 101...
Submitted
by williambanzai7 on
09/06/2013 12:51 -0400
1
Barack is now jury and judge
This new Neo-Con will not budge
And if he wants war
The truth he'll ignore
And reasons for war he will fudge
The Limerick King
Just a few weeks ago, that buffoon Kerry said it is remotely possible
this might end in Pakistan at some unspexcified time in the future...
.
And let us not forget this piece
of work, who Holder literally petitioned to pardon from war crimes liability
two weeks ago.
.
And the choomhead always calls the
kettle black.
.
By: @blumaberlin
Support your local Visual Combat
Artist
Visual Combat Fine Art Prints
Inquiries: [email protected]
The Fed Has Wasted Trillions
and the US Remains in Depression Posted by: Phoenix
Capital... Post date: 09/06/2013
- The facts are now becoming abundantly clear, that the forecast we’ve
maintained for well over two years has been validated: the US is in a
DE-pression and both Washington and the Federal...
Putin presses US Congress over
Syria, says Kerry lied
(Reuters) - Russian President
Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday the U.S. Congress had no right to approve the
use of force against Syria without a decision from the U.N.
Security Council, and that doing so would be an "act of aggression".
He said "anything that is
outside the U.N. Security Council is aggression, except self-defense. Now what
Congress and the U.S. Senate are doing in essence is legitimizing aggression.
This is inadmissible in principle."
In remarks that could raise
tension further before he hosts President Barack Obama and other G20 leaders on
Thursday, Putin also said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lied to Congress
about the militant group al Qaeda's role in the Syrian conflict.
"They lie beautifully, of
course. I saw debates in Congress. A congressman asks Mr Kerry: 'Is al Qaeda there?'
He says: 'No, I am telling you responsibly that it is not'," Putin said at
a meeting of his human rights council in the Kremlin.
"Al Qaeda units are the main
military echelon, and they know this," he said, referring to the United
States. "It was unpleasant and surprising for me - we talk to them, we
proceed from the assumption that they are decent people. But he is lying and
knows he is lying. It's sad."
Putin did not give any more
details.
In an exchange with a senator,
Kerry was asked whether it was "basically true" that the Syrian
opposition had "become more infiltrated by al Qaeda over time. Kerry said:
"No, that is actually basically not true. It's basically incorrect".
In another sign of tension, the
Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that since August 31, the
U.S. State Department had repeatedly asked for a telephone call between Kerry
and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov but Kerry had been unavailable and declined
to set a time for the call.
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya,;
Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Experts: U.S. Case that Syrian
Government Responsible for Chemical Weapons Is Weak
Posted by: George
Washington Post date: 08/30/2013 -
And other Syria updates ...
'UTTER NONSENSE' { Yes … I concur with Putin … First, the war
mongers seem to hang their hats on the chemical strike … conceded … that’s the
easy part … the reality concerns who the real perps are … indeed, other
so-called circumstantial at best inferences/not proof is quote ‘being held
back’ for unspecified reasons (that I believe like the yellow-cake-Iraq
scenario does not exist or definitively point to Assad) … Quite simply, I don’t
believe the americans/american position and based on history including my own
direct experience ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf
http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm ) , have no reason to do so… This is just
more desperation and diversion from unequivocally failed leadership and
government (corruption, cover-up, bankruptcy, etc.) in the u.s., ie., bush,
wobama, etc.. }
U.S. Had Intel on Chemical
Strike Before It Was Launched...
We
Have Officially Jumped The Shark: Al-Arabiya Reports Another "Gas
Attack" By Syrian Regime
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 15:12
So
totally unexpected:
SYRIA GOVT FORCES SHELL QABUN, DAMASCUS WITH GAS: AL-ARABIYA
AL-ARABIYA CITES UNIDENTIFIED ACTIVISTS - so the same
CIA-trained, al Qaeda funded, Qatari mercenaries?
Actually it is surprising: the odds were today's false flag would take
place in Iran to get the Israel card in play. Apparently nobody was dumb enough
to assume the government would go with two false flags in a row in the same
place. And now bring on the 1000 YouTube clips of "undisputed proof."
McJiHaD U.S.A...
Posted by : williambanzai7
Post date: 09/05/2013 - But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when
the drums begin to roll...And Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool--you bet that Tommy
sees!
McJiHaD U.S.A...
Submitted by williambanzai7 on 09/05/2013 11:40 -0400
.
.
.
.
"I didn't make that red
line."
.
.
Support your local Visual Combat
Artist
WilliamBanzai7 Fine Art Prints
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A TooL'S ERRaND...
Posted by: williambanzai7
Post date: 09/04/2013 - Apocalypse WTF!
A TooL'S ERRaND...
Submitted by williambanzai7 on 09/04/2013
WB7:
Syria is one giant hornet's nest
and it is extremely doubtful that there will be any new NG pipelines running
through it in the near future.
Why is our government dead set on
doing this?
Do you really believe this is just
about pipelines and "moral obscenities"?
Who really stands to gain?
This is one big show for the
benefit of the Russians and Chinese.
Does anyone believe they are going
to standby and watch Amerika's unilateralist adventurism without doing
something about it?
What will they do?
They will build up their own
military capability in an attempt to put the lid on the "American
hegemon."
Who would blame them?
Are they supposed to standby and
watch us piss on everyone else's front door?
And who will benefit most from
this scenario?
Put your Keynesian thinking caps
on friends and take a wild guess.
War is indeed profit...
And the fool on the ass is on a
tool's errand!
Support you local artist...
Visual Combat Fine Art Prints
Inquiries: [email protected]
[That first one is going to print
awesome]
Exclusive: Top Chemical
Weapons Expert Highly Skeptical of U.S. Case Against Syrian Government
Posted by: George
Washington Post date: 09/05/2013
- Western Samples Have No Verifiable Chain of Custody
Poland
Confiscates Half Of Private Pension Funds To "Cut" Sovereign Debt
Load
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 14:50
To summarize:
- Government has too
much debt to issue more debt
- Government
nationalizes private pension funds making their debt holdings an
"asset" and commingles with other public assets
- New confiscated
assets net out sovereign debt liability, lowering the debt/GDP ratio
- Debt/GDP drops
below threshold, government can issue more sovereign debt
The
Ultimate Chartbook For Gold Bulls And Debt Bears
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 18:10
With
gold 'handled' back below $1,400 and bonds 'tapering' through 3.00% yields as
equity bulls proclaim 'Mission Accomplished' today on the Dow 15,000 trigger,
it seems markets remain entirely confused as to whether there will be moar
printing, less-and-then-moar printing, or no moar printing. The following 61
page compendium from Incrementum offers 'everything you wanted to know
about gold and bonds' but were afraid to source yourself as a guide
for debt bears and bullion bulls... with a sprinkling of china bubbles, wealth
effect lies, and regulation imbecilities.
The
Week That Was: September 2nd - 6th 2013
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 17:52
Succinctly
summarizing the weekly bull/bear recap, positive and negative news, data, and
market events of the week...
Here's
Your "Efficient" Market!!
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 17:34
Today's
price action in Chevron will come as no surprise to any reader of ZH, but
maybe, just maybe, in flipping from porn site to porn site, the SEC will
stumble across our
earlier note on unemployment in the 'adult movie' business and will look at
the following remarkable charts. As Nanex shows, with 37 seconds to the close,
one of the largest market-cap firms in the entire world saw its stock price
attacked by an HFT algo that oscillated it by +/-2% about twice-per-second.
As Nanex exclaims, "no longer can any HFT'ers or exchange or
regulator blame THIS on humans." Perhaps the odds
of another black-out on NASDARK should be higher than the current 28%.
Chart
Of The Day: August Job Additions, Or Rather Losses, By Age Group
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 16:56
Frequent readers are well aware that in addition to having broken the
story about America's conversion to a part-time worker nation nearly
three years ago, another topic we have been closely tracking over the past
year has been its conversion to a gerontocratic worker society (from October
2012: "55
And Under? No Job For You"), which confirms that contrary to yet
another urban legend that old workers are retiring in droves, it is the old
workers who are getting the bulk of the jobs, at the expense
of everyone else (those 55 and younger). Which brings us to today's chart
of the day which shows the August job additions broken down by age group,
and as tracked monthly by the household survey. The additions, or rather job
losses, need no additional commentary aside from what we have provided so far.
Mission
Un-Accomplished: Dow Loses 15,000 As Syria Tops Taper
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 16:17
An
impressive chaotic day in stocks and bonds as both markets appeared confused as
to whether jobs bad news was good, if the jobs bad news was bad enough, and if
Syrian bad news was actually good news in holding off the Taper a little
longer. The Dow seemed the trigger for all things today as the collapse
on Putin's statement slammed the Dow into the red for the week
(which would have made 5 weeks in a row, something we haven't seen since the US
downgrade in 2011). That was clearly unacceptable to someone, and the Dow
soared 220 points on no news whatsoever to break the all-important
"Mission Accomplished" level of 15,000. Once that farce was
over, we started to fade and then on news of Syrian government "gas"
shelling, we tumbled back into the red (with the Nasdaq and S&P practically
unchanged again). Treasuries rallied off their just-greater-than 3.00% yields
with their biggest intraday plunge in yields in weeks on a slow-growth (or
Taper-off) bid exaggerated by Putin's comments, only to sell-off back to
pre-Putin by the close. Gold, Silver, and Oil (highest clsoe since May
2011) all surged not looking back after the jobs and Putin news.
Fact
Or Fiction: Poll Says Majority Of Americans Approve Of Sending Congress To
Syria
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 15:46
As President
Obama continues to push for a plan of limited military intervention in Syria, a
new poll of Americans has found that though the nation remains wary over the
prospect of becoming involved in another Middle Eastern war, the vast majority
of U.S. citizens strongly approve of sending Congress to Syria.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that sending Congress to Syria - or, at the
very least, sending the major congressional leaders in both parties - is the
correct course of action," one respondent noted, adding "sooner
rather than later, too, this war isn’t going to last forever."
Is
Initial Claims Data Useless?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 14:30
Today's jobs number (and revisions) are sparking some initial vain hope
that SepTaper is delayed and providing enough 'optimism' that Fed spice will
flow just a little longer. However, as we have noted numerous times, the Fed
is cornered and has to taper for four more critical reasons (sentiment,
deficits,
technicals,
and international
resentment) and Obama has already confirmed that the Fed will be
Tapering 'gradually'. This leads us to the Fed's next 'tool' - forward
guidance. Explaining to the world how they will keep rates lower for longer and
longer, however, in the face of the following chart suggests either, i) the
Fed has zero interest in anything but feeding easy money to the banking system,
and/or ii) jobless claims data has become less than irrelevant. We suspect
both.
Guest
Post: The Cost Of Convenience
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 14:03
The
ultimate killer app in the U.S. economy is convenience. Convenience sells in
every market and every sector. Convenience and comfort have long replaced need
as the driver of developed economies. Since the economy depends on convenience
as the one surefire motivator of sales, no one dares admit that convenience has
reached diminishing returns. We are so habituated to absurd marketing
"innovations" offering some tiny additional gain in
convenience that we may not notice that the gains in convenience have slipped
to near-zero. It turns out that convenience is truly the killer app, as it
ultimately leads to diabesity, chronic disease and early death. Convenience has
gone from diminishing returns to negative returns. Staying fit and
preparing real meals are intrinsically inconvenient. Convenience, it seems, is
the killer app we'll die for.
The
Great Rotation Out Of Actors And Into Waiters
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 13:35
Earlier
we pointed out the latest amusing scapegoat for the "soft" jobs
report: it wasn't the weather this time, but
the porn inudstry, and specifically the exodus of 22k "actors"
due to an HIV scare. Whether or not this truly amusing justification for the
recent, and ongoing, weakness is relevant is unknown, but what is known is that
there appears to have been another great rotation to take place in the
just as amusingly-called US economic "recovery" - a rotation
out of actors and into, where else, waiters and bartenders.
Picturing
Where Congress Stands On Syria
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 13:10
As WaPo
illustrates in the great infographic below, lawmakers appear to be
tentatively dividing into four camps over military action in Syria.
"Overly
Optimistic" Earnings Expectations Are In Jeopardy
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 12:48
The
ongoing deterioration in earnings is something worth watching closely.
The recent improvement in the economic reports is likely more ephemeral due to
a very sluggish start of the year that has led to a "restocking"
cycle. The sustainability of the uptick is crucially important
if the economy is indeed truly turning a corner toward stronger economic
growth. However, with interest rates rising, oil prices surging and the
Affordable Care Act about to levy higher taxes on individuals, it is likely that
a continuation of a "struggle" through economy is the most
likely outcome. This puts overly optimistic earnings estimates in
jeopardy of be lowered further in the coming months ahead as stock
buybacks slow and corporate cost cutting continues to become less effective.
Porn
Industry Blamed For "Temporary" Softness In Jobs Data
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 12:20
After
months of rock-hard gains in stocks, and an extended period of firming in the
headline jobs data, some are noting that today's limpness in the jobs data is
temporary, driven by an unexpected choke down of staffing in the porn industry.
As Bloomberg
reports, a big surprise in today's report was a 6% decline in the
number of people working in the "motion picture and sound recording
industries." It turns out that, as WaPo notes,
the U.S. porn industry stopped working for a week after an actress tested
positive for HIV. It seems we should all be pulling for a revival of
the porn industry to raise the economy from its slumber.
"Will
We Help Syria? We Will" - What Putin Really Said
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/06/2013 - 11:58
“Will we help Syria? We will,” the Russian leader said
recalling that Russia had already been helping Syria through arms supplies and
economic and humanitarian cooperation, including provision of humanitarian aid.
In reply to the question what other country in the world may theoretically be
subjected to aggression similar to that Syria is facing, Putin said, “I
do not want to think that any other country will be subjected to any
external aggression.” A military action against Syria will
have a highly deplorable impact on international security at large,
Putin emphasized. He said he was surprised to see that ever more
participants in the summit, including the leader of India, Brazil, the South
African Republic, and Indonesia were speaking vehemently against a possible
military operation in Syria. Putin cited the words of
the South African President, Jacob Zuma, who said many countries were feeling
unprotected against such actions undertaken by stronger countries.
LET'S
CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF?
DOESN'T
HAVE THE VOTES
O
LOSES G20
PUTIN:
Russia Will Help Syria If USA Attacks...
Sends more naval ships to
coast...
BUCHANAN: Our boys to
be 'mercenaries of sheikhs, sultans and emirs'...
NOONAN:
Why America Is Saying NO...
Chris
Christie Explains Chemical Weapons to Children...
Reid
predicts win on use-of-force resolution...
House
could delay vote...
Record
90,473,000 Not in Labor Force...
NYTIMES
blames bad jobs month on plunge in porn industry...
Unemployment
Rate Down Just 0.5% in 56 Months Under Obama...
BLACK
UNEMPLOYMENT LEAPS TO 13%...
Mumps
outbreak traced to Jersey Shore bar...
BOOKER
RIVAL DEMANDS RELEASE OF EXPENSE REPORTS...
NSA
Code Cracking Puts GOOGLE, YAHOO Security Under Fire...
NSA
cracks banking and medical records...
Video: Confronting
Dyess Air Force Base Over Secret Nuke Transfer
Anthony Gucciardi | Dyess Air Force Base confronted over
secret nuke transfer to S. Carolina.
Video: Obama-Backed
Rebels Seize Bibles, Food Aid
Paul Joseph Watson | “There are things even more
dangerous than chemical weapons”.
Syria: Backlash to
Sen. Graham’s “Nuke Threat” Spreads As Opposition to War Goes Viral
Kit Daniels | Unprecedented explosion of resistance in the
wake of alternative media.
Government to Run
Cyberattack ‘Drill’ in November
Adan Salazar | Drills are notoriously the perfect cover
for false flag ops.
Syria: Next Chapter
of U.S. Shadow War in Middle East
Julie Wilson | For 12 years strong, US running
“counterinsurgency air force” for allies.
Obama: Congress Is
Supposed to Represent Me, Not the American People
Kit Daniels | Lawmakers know better than 99% of the
voters, Obama implied.
Mixed Messages:
White House Rules Out Strike Without Congress Vote, Obama Does Not
Steve Watson | Not even Obama’s aides know what he’s planning.
SWAT Team Takes on
“Native Born Terrorists” In Florida Exercise
Paul Joseph Watson | Move to demonize American citizens
as domestic extremists accelerates.
Work Force Rate: 63.2%, Lowest
Since 1978
Bloomberg | Unemployment rate declining because more
people stopped looking for work.
Record 90.5 Million Out Of Labor
Force As Half A Million Drop Out In One Month
zerohedge.com | Labor force participation rate plunges
to 1978 levels.
Study: “Beginning of the Longest
Period of Economic Decline in American History”
Mac Slavo | Economists will often argue that booms and busts are
cyclical.
Syria: Backlash to
Sen. Graham’s “Nuke Threat” Spreads As Opposition to War Goes Viral
Kit Daniels | Unprecedented explosion of resistance in
the wake of alternative media.
Syria: Next Chapter
of U.S. Shadow War in Middle East
Julie Wilson | For 12 years strong, US running
“counterinsurgency air force” for allies.
Obama: Congress Is
Supposed to Represent Me, Not the American People
Kit Daniels | Lawmakers know better than 99% of the
voters, Obama implied.
Mixed Messages:
White House Rules Out Strike Without Congress Vote, Obama Does Not
Steve Watson | Not even Obama’s aides know what he’s planning.
SWAT Team Takes on
“Native Born Terrorists” In Florida Exercise
Paul Joseph Watson | Move to demonize American citizens
as domestic extremists accelerates.
Obama Has No
Intention to Strike Syria if Congress Says No: Aide
Yahoo! News | President Barack Obama will take his case
for military strikes on Syria Tuesday night to the American people in a prime
time address.
House Might Not
Vote on Obama’s Syria Resolution
National Review Online | They actually doubt the House
would ultimately vote on it if failure seemed certain.
Putin: Syria
chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’
RT | The alleged chemical weapons use in Syria is a
provocation carried out by the rebels to attract a foreign-led strike, Russian
President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit.
McCain Confronted
on Syria at Angry Town Hall Meeting
Paul Joseph Watson | Woman whose cousin was killed by
US-backed rebels pleads with Senator.
U.S. Stocks Fall After Putin Says
Russia Will Assist Syria
Bloomberg.com | U.S. stocks rose as slower-than-forecast
jobs growth eased concern about reductions in Federal Reserve stimulus.
Real Unemployment Rate Rises To
11.4%, Difference Between Reported And Real Data Rises To Record
Zero Hedge | The actual implied unemployment rate just rose
from 11.2% to 11.4%.
Propaganda Alert: Peace with Syria
Will Crash the U.S. Economy
Washington’s Blog | Moronic Drivel from Clueless Warmonger.
Pro-War Senator Votes Bought With
83% More Defense Lobby Money?
Zero Hedge | On average, a ‘yes’-voting senator received 83% more money
from defense contractors than one who voted ‘no.’
Standoff
In The Mediterranean: The US vs Russian Navies
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 11:05
While the leaders of the two
superpowers are shaking
hands for the camera in St. Petersburg, their navies are sending a
different message. Here is the latest breakdown of the world's key navies
in the Mediterranean theater of naval operations as of last night. By now it is
likely woefully outdated, now that there are reports the Chinese have
joined the fray too (not on the side of the 'free droning world').
No Correlation At All??
Posted by : Bruce
Krasting Post date: 09/06/2013
- Labor Secretary Perez crossed the credibility line on his second day at the
job.
Tepco
Releases Video Of Fukushima Reactor Flooding
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 20:58
It is
unclear just why Tepco released the following clip of what it alleges is a leak
at Fukushima two and a half years after the infamous March 2011 catastrophe. If
it is to restore confidence that it is finally trying to regain control over
the Fukushima situation, that is simply laughable: for an organization that had
to be nationalized and then lied for years, making up "safe" numbers
out of thin air to avoid panic, this is not an option. If it is to indicate
that the hype about the danger surrounding Fukushima is overblown, perhaps it
should not have lied for years, and if really desperate to show just how safe
the Fuku detritus is, maybe the great Japanese propaganda machine could have
had some unlucky soul injest the water, as happened back in 2011. For whatever
reason, the only thoughts that cross our minds as we watch this video is
"what else is leaking over there?"
Japanese
Stocks Plunge 200 Points On Triple Whammy Of Bad News
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 20:50
What
started out a quiet Asian open is startting to esclate rapidly. Japanese stocks
futures had levitated along with a weaker JPY and US equity futures all day and
opened higher. News confirming further leaks at Fukushima (1)
started the selloff, but soon after that AFP reported that (2) Madrid
may be edging out Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics (stocks leg down), and
then the big one hit: *S.KOREA MAY BAN IMPORTS OF SOME JAPAN FISHERIES
PRODUCTS:YONHAP As South Korea bypasses the currency wars and goes
straight to a trade-war (3) and tanking the Nikkei 225 by over 200
points and slamming USDJPY back under 100.00. Treasuries are modestly bid with
10Y trading with a 2.97% handle.
Nixon's
Impact On Gold And Inflation
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 20:30
"Something's
Different This Time..."
Pro-War
Senator Votes Bought With 83% More Defense Lobby Money?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 20:01
Wednesday's
10-7 vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee supporting an authorization
of military attacks on Syria may have been affected by varying levels of
financial support the senators got from political action committees
representing the defense industry, and from the companies' employees. As The Daily
Mail reports, on average, a 'yes'-voting senator received 83% more
money from defense contractors than one who voted 'no.' Committee
members who voted Wednesday to support the proposal collected an average of
$72,850 in defense campaign financing between 2007 and 2012, Wired magazine
reported, based on data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. Those
who dissented in the committee vote averaged $39,770, with the four senators
who received the least amount of defense dollars, ranging from $14,000 to
$19,250, all voted no. At a Pentagon-estimated cost of around $5
billion per month (for a 2-month deployment) - and in
light of our previous discussion on lobbying ROIs - is it any wonder?
Payrolls
"Taper-On" Preview - 95 Estimates And A 7-Sigma Spread
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 19:33
With
TrimTabs seeing real wage and salary growth at a mere 0.7%
year-over-year in August, some of the more 'robust' expectations for
tomorrow's non-farm payroll report appear a little exuberant. However, Goldman's
200k estimate (based on 24 labor market indicators) suggests there
will be enough to provide cover (aside from the cornering via sentiment,
deficits,
technicals,
and international
resentment) for a Fed "Taper." SocGen's Brian Jones is
top-dog at a stunning 220k expectations (2-sigma above the 180k median
expectation for 'probably the most important data point in the world'). At the
other end of the scale of 95 estimates summarized below by Bloomberg, is
TrimTabs' Madeline Schnapp who sees a 5-sigma miss at a mere 79k jobs added.
Goldman expects the unemployment rate to hold steady at 7.4%.
Guest
Post: What Do We Stand For?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 19:01
As
the U.S., led by the Obama Administration, moves towards yet another possible
war in the Middle East, using covert terrorists as proxies and enacting violent
policy based on dubious or non-existent evidence and far flung accusations, we
realize that with all the blathering voices out there telling us what to think,
what to do, what to fear, who to admire, who to worship, how to live, and what
to aspire, perhaps it is time for each of us to solemnly question what
we stand for, and what America is supposed to stand for? Really, think
about it. What are we here for? What purpose do we serve in the grand scheme of
things? What are our defining principles? Have we lost track of ourselves as
Americans so completely that we cannot even explain in a reasonable fashion
what kind of people we want to be, and what kind of world we want to live in?
These
False Flags Were Used To Start A War
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 17:43
Just in
case one's history textbook had a few extra pages ripped out, this may be a
good time to recall just how far one's government is willing to go to start a
war under false pretenses.
Betting
On Black-Outs: NASDARK Outage Odds Surge
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 17:17
This
week's brief 'outage' in US equity markets has been shrugged off by most, with some
proclaiming that "we are getting used to it now." However, there is
at least one group that are not ignoring this. Paddy
Power has inaugurated bets on the next exchange in the world to
suffer from a greater-than-2-hour outage, and the winner (for now) is...
NASDARK. At 5/2 Odds, the pride of US capital markets is more than
double as likely to suffer such an outage again by the end of 2014 than Tokyo
and London and four times as likely as the emerging market Brazil's BOVESPA.
USA is number 1 once again, well played...
Bullrun:
The NSA's Infatuation With "Back Door" Penetration
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 16:41
In
all the stories surrounding mass interception, recording (and abuse) of every
form of private electronic communication by the NSA, there was always one
missing link: encryption. After all, the NSA's primary task has always been to
decrypt data, not to record and store every bit of communication traversing the
ether or the internet. And yet, with the advent of recent encryption
technologies, it would, or at least could, have made such pervasive
interception by the spying agency problematic at least. However, according to a
just released exposed by the NYT and ProPublica, it turns out the NSA had that
base covered too. Presenting Bullrun, or "there's
a hack for that."
Bonds
And Bullion Crunched, Stocks Unch'd
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 16:08
Ahead
of tomorrow's all-important facade of the NFP print, US equity markets
traded on very low volume in the 2nd narrowest range in 6 months.
Sectors were a litte more disprsed with rate-sensitive names hurt and Utes
underperforming. The real story of the day was the "Taper-On" trades
in Treasuries, precious metals, and the USD. The belly of the Treasury
curve smashed another 10-11bps higher (now up 21bps from Friday's
pre-Obama speech) as the 10Y trod water at 2.98% from the European close only
to jump up to 2.99% into the close. As we crossed the US open,
gold and silver were summarily punched lower, down 1-2% on the week as the USD
surged following Draghi's chatter and better macro data this morning. Credit
markets were decidely more nervous going into the close than stocks. Gold
and the S&P 500 are now exactly equal with each other and unchanged from
the 6/18 FOMC "Taper" moment (and Silver is up 7%).
This
Is Panic: Smuggling Diamonds Out Of India
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 15:50
Asia
is a damned excited part of the world. And Singapore is the financial epicenter
of all of it. For the last 24-hours, banker and fund manager friends of mine
have been telling me stories about oil refinery deals in North Korea, their crazy
investments in Myanmar, and the utter exodus of global wealth that is finding
its way to Singapore. In the last few weeks we are seeing two new
groups moving serious money into Singapore - customers from Japan and India. The
contrast is very interesting. From Japan, people who see the writing on the
wall just want to be prepared with a sensible solution. They’re taking action
before anything happens. From India, though, people are in a panicked
frenzy. They waited until AFTER the crisis began to start taking any
of these steps. As a result, they’re suffering heavy losses and taking
substantial risks... some wealthy Indians are trying to smuggle out
diamonds... anything they can do to skirt the government's capital controls.
With
10 Year A Breath Away From 3.00%, Just 50bps Left Until The "Disorderly
Rotation"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 15:23
We are
assured by the great and good of the status quo that when 10Y rates burst
through the 3.00% barrier (its highest in 26 months) it will not hinder the
housing recovery (as affordability plunges), slow equity buybacks (via
increased cost of capital), or crush bank earnings (via AFS losses and NIM compression
as the curve flattens). Bond yields are rising as a 'positive' sign for the
economy... must be right? But wasn't it Steve
Liesman just 2 weeks ago, amid his "best nailing it on CNBC in years",
that proclaimed 10Y would hit 2.65% before 3.00%? As we
warned 3 weeks ago, a move to 3.0% will create more meaningful
outflows from retail and ETFs and 3.5% is the trigger for a "disorderly
rotation," from risk to cash.
The Next Hot
Zone - Iraq?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 14:57
With all eyes squarely focused on
Syria, attention spans have drifted from Iraq but as Stratfor explains, things
are once again going from bad to worse in that 'stable democratic' nation. Coordinated,
high-casualty attacks have become
common in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country at the
end of 2011. The geographic focus of the attacks indicates that
the reach of militants is limited to areas in which they can routinely operate
freely, typically where the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish spheres of influence
intersect.
New
Jersey Worker Union Complains Recently Bankrupt Casino Using Too Many Part-Time
Jobs
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 14:29
Where
does one even start with this one. Six months
ago we discussed the plight of Revel - New Jersey's "state of the
art" casino - which filed for bankruptcy less than a year after opening
its doors, despite numerous sunk incentives an millions of dollars in an
"economic development incentive" by the financially troubled state. A
few months later, following a prepackaged debt-for-equity, the casino
has emerged from bankruptcy with $1.2 billion of its pre-petition $1.5
billion in debt converted into equity. While it is unclear if the casino will
ever turn a profit even with the much streamlined balance sheet one thing is
clear: it is trying. So hard, in fact, that as the AP
reports Local 54, Atlantic City's main casino workers' union, is
complaining to state labor and political officials about Revel Casino Hotel's
use of part-timers. Is the irony here becoming apparent?
Guest
Post: Maybe This Is Why We Now Have A Serial-Bubble Economy
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 14:06
If
there is any one strikingly obvious feature of the U.S. economy in the past 15
years, it's the serial asset bubbles, one after another. So who benefits from
serial bubbles? The financial sector and the central government... { Indeed this is true; all asset classes,
particularly real estate (and their concomitants, ie., rents, etc.), stocks
(continuing frauds on wall street), commodities, etc.; all the consequence of
the over-printing/creation of worthless fiat paper currencies and unsustainable
debt/financing among other scams to obfuscate the failure of same,
past/present/future. }
Did
Obama Just Appoint Himself Fed Chair?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 13:40
Amid
the G-20 headlines ("nobody mention the war"), leaders are proudly
commenting on the global co-ordination on growth and tackling joblessness (and
group hugs), but it was President Obama's comments that raised a few eyebrows:
*OBAMA TOLD G-20 STIMULUS
WILL BE WITHDRAWN GRADUALLY: RUSSIA
It would seem, the President has
decided the decision to taper - gradually - will be his, which is odd, because
- as if one needed reminding - the decision is not his to make (unless he
decided to nominate himself for Fed chair?).
Russia’s
Aircraft Carrier To Visit Syrian Naval Base
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 13:20
Russia’s
only aircraft carrier will visit Moscow’s small naval base in Syria later this
year, BBC Monitoring reported citing a newspaper published by the
Russian government. Earlier this year a Russian naval officer told
Interfax that the Navy had decided to end the Admiral Kuznetsov’s scheduled
maintenance early and deploy it on a mission that would include a stopover in
the Mediterranean Sea, where Russia has established a permanent naval task
force in response to the hostilities in the Middle East. That report did
not specify whether it deployed to the Tartus military base in Syria, although
speculation abounded.
On
This Day In History, Crude Oil Has Never Been More Expensive
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 12:48
We are sure this is just a
'transitory' storm-in-a-teacup, but for those who 'use' energy, the price of
the most important raw material in the world has never been higher on this day
of the year than it is today... must
be all this growth?
A
House Divided: Obama Lacks Votes For Syrian Attack
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 12:15
War-weary
'real' Americans appear to have the ear of their representatives (for once).
Message such as "you don't stop a war by getting involved and shooting
more," and "once you start launching missiles, anything can
happen," appear to have moved both the staunchest tea-party
Republican and the most anti-war Democrats to shun the position of Boehner and
Pelosi. As Bloomberg
reports, only about 20 members (or 5%) of the House is publicly
supporting a military strike. Against this, 68 lawmakers (an
uncomfrtable alliance of Dems and Reps) are actively opposed to a strike. 350
House members are 'undecided', with 217 required to make or break the vote. With
60 votes required in the Senate, Obama can currently only count on 20
'confirmed' yesses. Obama's problem arises from the fact that whipping
the members in line is tough with a number of different strains of thought
resisting Obama's urgings.
JPMorgan
To Stop Making Student Loans
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 11:46
If you know you are adding more
fuel to the latest and greatest credit bubble - that of student loans - and the
blended return will be zero at best, why do it? That's precisely the question
JPM appears to have asked itself, and when taking into consideration the
persistently rising debt rates and thus the even lower probability
of repayment, came to the only logical conclusion possible:
JPMORGAN CHASE TO STOP MAKING
STUDENT LOANS -MEMO - RTRS
JPMORGAN CHASE WILL STOP
ACCEPTING APPLICATION FOR STUDENT LOANS ON OCTOBER 12
"We just don't see this
as a market that we can significantly grow," said Thasunda Duckett, chief
executive for auto and student loans at Chase
Which means that the government,
that one lender that can't and won't pull out from the student loan bubble
until it finally blows up, will be even more on the hook, and require yet
another bailout of this latest $1+ trillion debt house of cards.
A
Post-ECB Reminder On The 'State' Of Europe
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/05/2013 - 11:27
Pouring
forth from all of the nations on the Continent, like a Preacher with the
"Good News," is the notion that Europe is over the recession,
that every country is doing just fine and that all problems have been solved.
This, in our opinion, could not be further from the truth.
It is the spiel of the day and reality will be found in the footnotes of
tomorrow as long as tomorrow is after September 22... Even Draghi was forced to
admit that thing smay have got a little ahead of themselves...
*DRAGHI SAYS CAN'T SHARE
ENTHUSIASM ABOUT RECOVERY
As a reminder, September 22 is the
date for the German Elections. All of Europe and the IMF are keeping their
heads down, playing nice and saying very little until this date comes and goes.
U.S. Silver Coin Sales Top
2012- Record Store Of Value Buying Posted by: GoldCore
Post date: 09/05/2013 - Since 2003, we have consistently said that silver
was likely to surpass its real high in the coming years. The gold silver ratio
is likely to trend lower and revert to its long term average and its...
Russia claims 100-page report blaming Syrian REBELS for
chemical weapons attack...
BRUTALITY
REVEALED....
Al
Qaeda 'Highwaymen, Kidnappers, and Killers'...
EXECUTING
MEN ON KNEES...
'We swear to Lord of Throne, we will take revenge'...
Kerry
claims 'moderate'...
AL
QAEDA ATTACKS CHRISTIAN VILLAGE...
U.S.
Travel Warning: Rebels Have 'Claimed Nearly 600 Attacks'...
WORLD
INTO THE ARMS OF PUTIN...
Russia
Warns Of Nuclear Disaster If Syria Is Attacked...
Pope
writes letter to Putin...
BUCHANAN:
Our boys to be 'mercenaries of sheikhs, sultans and emirs'...
SHOWDOWN
ON SYRIA: LEADERS TRADE THREATS BEFORE SUMMIT...
COULTER:
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER GOES TO WAR...
Putin:
Show Me The Proof...
Many
in Middle East struggling to understand Obama policy...
CRUZ:
US IS NOT 'AL-QAEDA'S AIR FORCE'...
Senate
Breaks Own Rules in Rush to Vote...
CONGRESSMAN:
Calls Running 498-2 Against...
Resolution
allows boots on ground...
Brazilian
Open US Spying Probe; Seeks Protection For Greenwald...
NSA
leak might lead to cancellation of state visit...
Mexican
President Demands Investigation into spying...
Egyptian
Media Portray Obama as Satan...
Outrage
over Outhouse Labeled 'Obama's Presidential Library'...
Protesters
wave 'bloody' hands at Kerry...
PHOTOS:
Primates share 98.7% of human DNA -- right down to hair loss... { Ask
wobama’s bro pictured below in kenya who’s worried about that ever-widening
part }
UNION
BOSS: Employers Cut Workers to 29 1/2 Hours to Avoid ObamaCare...
Northern
California County Votes To Secede From State...
The
Syrian War: What You're Not Being Told
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 17:31
What's really going on in
Syria? Let's look at the evidence from a non-mainstream media perspective... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dkamZg68jpk
Kerry and Assad: Come Dine
with Me Posted by : Pivotfarm
Post date: 09/04/2013 - Why on earth does the UN Security Council still
exist when the rules and regulations that the people who have the right to veto
set up in the first place are dumped just as quick as you can say...
Bonds Bleed: Largest Bubble
In History Unwinds, But The “Great Rotation” Into Stocks Is Deceptive Wall
Street Hype Posted by : testosteronepit
Post date: 09/05/2013 - The evaporating “wealth effect”
Richest Countries in the
World Posted by: Pivotfarm
Post date: 09/05/2013 - Wealth has besotted people since time immemorial.
It’s accrued, amassed, hidden, stolen and we would even die sometimes for it,
or at least knock someone off more than likely to get what they have.
Video: Syrian Rebel Admits Using Chemical Weapons...
Russia
issues 100-page report ...
BRUTALITY
REVEALED....
EXECUTING
MEN ON KNEES...
Al-Qaeda
seizes Syrian village that still speaks language of Christ...
U.S.
Travel Warning: Rebels Have 'Claimed Nearly 600 Attacks'...
BUCHANAN: Our boys to
be 'mercenaries of sheikhs, sultans and emirs'...
Republican congressman withdraws support for Syria strike...
Intelligence
'Manipulated' to Favor War, Dem Congressman Alleges...
OBAMA
FACES DEFEAT IN HOUSE
INTERNATIONAL
OPPOSITION BUILDS
BIDEN
ATTEMPTS RESCUE
This Is
America's Curse
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 18:45
Perhaps the reason behind
America's moral, economic and social decay is, more than anything, the
unprecedented apathy among the general population.
Video: Syrian Rebel
Admits Using Chemical Weapons
Paul Joseph Watson
| “We’ll kill their women and children like Osama Bin Laden said”.
99% of Calls to
Congress Are AGAINST War in Syria
Infowars.com | On
the heels of Reuters poll showing only 9% support military action.
10 Chemical Weapons
Attacks Washington Doesn’t Want You to Talk About
Wesley Messamore
| Only regime to ever use one of these weapons of terror has busied itself with
pretense of keeping the world safe.
G20 Summit: Obama
Faces Heavy Criticism From World Leaders
Julie Wilson |
Putin accuses Kerry of lying; Mexico and Brazilian presidents accuse Obama of
spying.
Putin: Kerry’s lies
‘Pathetic’
Adan Salazar |
Russian president says U.S. Secretary of State “knows he is lying.”
Russia Says It’s
Sending Warships To Med For Evacuations From Syria
Steve Watson | Flagship of the
Baltic Fleet on its way toward Syria.
EPA SWAT Team Raids
Gold Miners in Alaska
Kit Daniels |
Paramilitary task force “reminding” miners not to put too much mud in the
water.
Report: China Sends
Warships to Coast of Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
| PLA dispatches vessels to “observe” US maneuvers.
White House to spend another $12m
promoting Obamacare
Politico | CMS
has reserved at least $12 million in airtime in a dozen Republican-led states.
China: Military strike against
Syria would hurt global economy
LA Times |
Military strike would lead to a $10 jump in the price of a barrel of oil.
McCain ‘Moar War’ Trumps
Berlusconi’s Ouster-Talk As European Stocks Recover Early Losses
zerohedge.com |
European stocks turned back higher in a ridiclously correlated manner.
Video: Syrian Rebel
Admits Using Chemical Weapons
Paul Joseph Watson
| “We’ll kill their women and children like Osama Bin Laden said”.
G20 Summit: Obama
Faces Heavy Criticism From World Leaders
Julie Wilson |
Putin accuses Kerry of lying; Mexico and Brazilian presidents accuse Obama of
spying.
Video Shows RPG
Terror Attack on Chinese Cargo Ship in Suez Canal
London Guardian |
An Islamist militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Russia Says Its
Sending Warships To Med For Evacuations From Syria
Steve Watson | Flagship of the
Baltic Fleet on its way toward Syria.
Report: China Sends
Warships to Coast of Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
| PLA dispatches vessels to “observe” US maneuvers.
Russia says it’s
compiled 100-page report blaming Syrian rebels for a chemical weapons attack
McClatchy | Russia says it has
compiled a 100-page report detailing what it says is evidence that Syrian
rebels were behind a deadly sarin gas attack.
Kerry portrait of
Syria rebels at odds with intelligence reports
Reuters | Secretary of State John
Kerry’s public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in
influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European
intelligence.
Obama’s Syrian
Allies Bombard Christian Village
Lew Rockwell Blog | Obama’s allies
in Syria — those who will directly benefit from the coming US airstrikes —
stepped up their genocide against Syrian Christians today.
Alyssa Milano ‘Sex
Tape’ Promotes Attack on Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
| PR stunt regurgitates Obama’s “red line” propaganda.
The Syrian War:
What You’re Not Being Told
Zero Hedge | What’s really going
on in Syria? Let’s look at the evidence from a non-mainstream media
perspective…
Unemployment Rate Surges To
Highest Since 2011 – Gallup Polling
Zero Hedge | With ADP out of the
way, and providing no guidance to an extreme NFP print one way or another, we
once again turn to Gallup.
EUROGROUP HEAD: It’s Safe To
Assume Greece Will Need Another Bailout
Reuters | Greece’s financial
troubles will not end in 2014.
Because Nothing Says “Dump Gold
And Oil” Like A Pending Middle-East War…
Zero Hedge | Both precious metals
and crude oil prices are getting slammed lower this morning…
Boston mayor causes outrage by
saying he’d blow up Detroit and start all over again
UK Daily Mail | Detroit Mayor Dave
Bing accused his Boston counterpart of insensitivity Tuesday after Thomas
Menino told a magazine that if he ever visited the Motor City, he’d ‘blow up
the place and start all over.’
Saxo
Bank CEO Slams Merkel: "The Verdict Is Out, Need To Re-Evaluate The
EU"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 18:30
"I have met a
number of politicians over the years, but lately it has dawned on me that very
few of them are seriously prepared to stand up for their beliefs,
if indeed they have any. ...
Ideologies and courage have
been consigned to the past and, as I see it, Europe’s
Achilles’ heel is the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the de facto leader of
the EU, and her lack of vision for the single-currency bloc.
... Her lack of vision stands as a striking contrast to the emotional
feelings that dominated much of post-war European political thinking. ...
As I see it, the research is done.
The verdict is out. We have to re-evaluate the EU."
Guest
Post: The Three Types of Austerity
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 17:08
Reading the financial
press, one gets the impression there are only two sides to the austerity
debate: pro-austerity and anti-austerity. In reality, we have three
forms of austerity. There is the Keynesian-Krugman-Robert Reich form
which promotes more government spending and higher taxes. There is the Angela
Merkel form of less government spending and higher taxes, and there is the
Austrian form of less spending and lower taxes. Of the three forms of
austerity, only the third increases the size of the private
sector relative to the public sector, frees up resources for private
investment, and has actual evidence of success in boosting growth.
S&P
Blames DoJ's Lawsuit On "Retaliation" For US Downgrade
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 – { This is absolutely true; so true in point of fact
that in a rational nation (america’s not) the same should be posited as a given
and broadcast to the world to emphasize the reality that reality is considered
too dire for america to embrace; and hence, america’s erosion,
decline, defacto bankruptcy and cover-up of america’s crimes which are
substantial and numerous, past and present. }
Standard & Poor's has
broken its relative silence over the US government's $5 billion fraud lawsuit
against it in style. Slamming the DoJ's suit as "impermissibly selective,
punitive, and meritless," S&P - seeking to dismiss the lawsuit with
prejudice - exclaimed that the suit was brought "in retaliation
for [their] exercise of their free speech rights with respect to the
creditworthiness of the United States of America." The government
says there was "no connection" between the downgrade and the filing
of the lawsuit which is focused on the S&P inflating ratings to win more
fees from issuers and failing to downgrade CDOs. Interestingly, as
Reuters notes, S&P noted yesterday that $4.6bn of the alleged
losses were from CDOs structured and marketed by BofA and Citi...
McCain
Sparks Stocks Best Day In A Month As Bonds Drops To 25 Month Low
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 16:16
US equities were drifting
quietly lower after a modest rise overnight fadsed through Asian anxiety and
European political issues in Italy but all that changed once McCain said
"no" and proposed a broader-scope, deficit-growing Syrian plan.
Stocks instantly rushed higher to Russia "catastrophic consequences"
levels from last week with Trannies and the NASDARK having their best day in a
month. Commodity markets - most notably silver, copper, gold, and
crude oil - were all sliding lower before McCain, and oddly accelerated lower
in his news. Treasures also rallied into the morning and then sold off
significantly after McCain's comments with 10Y now up 11bps on the week at high
yields with 10Y closing at its highest yield in 25 months. The
USD slipped lower as AUD smashed to its best 3-days in 21 months and EUR slid
but that left the USD unchanged on the week (compared with S&P's +1.6%).
Stocks gave up some gains into the close but ended with Healthcare and
Discretionary almost unchanged from Kerry's 8/26 speech.
These
Are The 7 Democratic And 3 Republican Senators Who Want To Start The Syrian War
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 15:40
Robert Menendez, D-N.J. - net
worth from
$317,005 to $680,000
Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. - net
worth from
$1,147,008 to $5,380,000
Ben Cardin, D-Md. - net worth from
$1,416,074 to $3,998,000
Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. - net
worth from
$1,692,382 to $5,223,360
Chris Coons, D-Del. - net
worth from
$2,690,584 to $7,095,576
Dick Durbin, D-Ill. - net
worth from
$1,208,567 to $1,443,564
Tim Kaine, D-Va. - net worth from
$667,015 to $1,507,000
Bob Corker, R-Tenn. - net
worth from
$6,625,018 to $76,453,998
John McCain, R-Ariz. - net
worth from
$3,226,239 to $15,247,981
Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. - net
worth from
$-234,998 to $299,999
Senate
Panel Authorizes Limited Military Strike In Syria
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 15:26
And like that, the first step to
all out war has been taken:
SENATE PANEL AUTHORIZES
LIMITED U.S. MILITARY STRIKE IN SYRIA
Vote breakdown: 10 Yes; 7 No; 1
Present. The measure includes new language saying U.S. policy is to "change
the momentum on the battlefield in Syria" in way that brings
about negotiated settlement of conflict, leading to a democratic govt in Syria.
In other words: a pro-Qatari/Saudi coalition government that will permit the
passage of natgas pipelines under Syria, through Turkey and into Europe,
breaking Gazpromia's marginal energy monopoly over the broke continent.
Behold
The AAPL $500 "Sell" Algotron
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 15:04
One has to wonder whether the
proximity of this stock's price to $500 once again was a trigger for NASDARK's
issues this morning... but it is clear that the narrow-range oscillation is
anything but 'normal' on an exuberant stock market day...
About
That "Construction Worker Shortage"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 14:38
Now that the house
"recovery" myth is blowing up before everyone's eyes, the confidence
spin crew, headed by the Fed itself, is stuggling to come up with any shred of
evidence that despite everything seen so far, despite spiking mortgage rates,
despite the scramble to cash out of all "homes for rent"
ventures, despite the rush to cash out of major rental, and housing,
investments by the smartest
money of all, there is still room for hope. Today's hook came courtesy of
the Beige Book, which otherwise was
lethargically boring (same old "modest to moderate growth"), was
promptly used to serve as an theme of "construction worker shortages"
across areas of the country, and thus to indicate that there is simply too much
demand, and not enough supply, resulting in not enough transactions. Well, if
that is true, that means that the level of construction workers already employed
should be near or approaching previous capacity levels, right? Let's take a
look shall we...
The
Recovery Is Here: Spot The Outlier
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 14:19
Presented with little comment
aside to note that following last
month's Porsche news, the
Lambo release, and now this... the 'recovery' is truly here...
China's
Unspoken "Catastrophe" - 11.6% Of The Population, Or 114 Million,
Have Diabetes: More Than The US
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 13:50
While China was absorbing all
the best that the "West" had to export to it over the past three
decades (credit cards, MTV, inflation, apps, youtube), it was also importing
the worst. Such as a sedentary, lazy lifestyle which at a massive social scale,
usually has one inevitable conclusion - diabetes. And even as
the world is focused on all the other pending crashes China has to offer:
housing, credit, demographic, it has been largely ignorant of what is rapidly
becoming a "catastrophic" epidemic. According to Bloomberg,
which cites just released findings in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, "the most comprehensive nationwide survey for diabetes ever
conducted in China shows 11.6 percent of adults, or 114
million, has the disease. This means that another 22 million diabetics,
or the population of Australia, have been added to a 2007 estimate and means
almost one in three diabetes sufferers globally is in China. By
comparison in America "only" 11.3% of the population have been
diagnosed with diabetes.
A Market
Week Of War-Drums
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 13:27
Wondering where we are with
"war-on", "war-off" discussions? Confused at
whether war is good or bad? Here is a week in the life of the S&P
500 and the Syria-related headlines that appeared to be driving it...
Guest
Post: Have Advances In Consumer Electronics Reached Diminishing Returns?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 13:12
Aerospace technology
experienced a Golden Age of rapid technological development that leveled off
once fundamental technologies had matured. Investment in further
advances reached a point of diminishing return: the cost of squeezing out
modest gains exceeded the profit potential of the advances. We can expect the
same trajectory of change in consumer electronics: it will be ubiquity
that creates change, rather than technological leaps in capabilities.
Russia
Chemical Attack Probe Shows "Weapons Similar To Ones Made By Rebels"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/04/2013 - 12:48
While John Kerry remains adamant
that it is "undeniable" that the Assad regime was behind the chemical
weapon attacks in Syria, the results of Russia's probe suggest the truth is
anything but undeniable...
*RUSSIA SAYS SHELL USED IN
ATTACK WASN'T STANDARD SYRIA ORDNANCE
*RUSSIA SAYS SHELL USED IN
CHEMICAL ATTACK WAS MAKESHIFT DEVICE
*RUSSIA SAYS GAS USED IN SYRIA
WASN'T INDUSTRIALLY PRODUCED
And perhaps most critically, as
Reuters reports, the foreign minstry statement asserts that Russian
expert findings show the weapon used in the Syrian chemical attack was similar
to the ones made by a rebel group.
Senate Foreign
Relations Panel Approves Military Action in Syria
Julie Wilson | US
inches one step closer to war with Syria.
German Intelligence
Claims Evidence Assad Responsible for Chemical Attack
Kurt Nimmo |
Obama administration has yet to issue a response.
Breaking: Russia
Says Syria Chemical Weapons Made By Rebels
Anthony Gucciardi
| New Russian report finds chemical weapons made by Syrian rebels.
Oliver Stone Slams
Push Toward Intervention In Syria
Steve Watson | “This is not a real
debate in America—any more than when we dropped the nukes on Japan.”
Syria: Conservative
Icons Put “Anti-War” Left to Shame
Paul Joseph Watson
| Drudge, Buchanan, Rand Paul & Justin Amash highlight hypocrisy of Obama
supporters.
Syrian Activists
Form ‘Human Shields’ Around Military Installations
Adan Salazar |
Will Obama take the ultimate step to embodying ‘war criminal’ status?
McCain Blames
Boredom For Playing Poker At Senate War Meeting
Kit Daniels |
Senator disappointed he lost at poker during hearing which could lead to World
War 3.
Will Congress
Reject Obama’s Attack on Syria?
Paul Joseph Watson
| No vote could spark constitutional crisis if White House launches attack
anyway.
McCain ‘Moar War’ Trumps
Berlusconi’s Ouster-Talk As European Stocks Recover Early Losses
zerohedge.com |
European stocks turned back higher in a ridiclously correlated manner.
Is The United States Going To Go
To War With Syria Over A Natural Gas Pipeline?
Michael Snyder | Why has the
little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in Syria?
The 5% recovery: Why most are
still in recession
USA Today | Lower
income families have fared poorly since 2009.
Kerry: Arab
Countries Will Pay For US Military to Topple Assad
Washington Post |
Is the US military now a mercenary army for hire?
Syria: Conservative
Icons Put “Anti-War” Left to Shame
Paul Joseph Watson
| Drudge, Buchanan, Rand Paul & Justin Amash highlight hypocrisy of Obama
supporters.
Oliver Stone Slams
Push Toward Intervention In Syria
Steve Watson | “This is not a real
debate in America—any more than when we dropped the nukes on Japan.”
McCain Blames
Boredom For Playing Poker At Senate War Meeting
Kit Daniels |
Senator disappointed he lost at poker during hearing which could lead to World
War 3.
Syrian Activists
Form ‘Human Shields’ Around Military Installations
Adan Salazar |
Will Obama take the ultimate step to embodying ‘war criminal’ status?
Will Congress
Reject Obama’s Attack on Syria?
Paul Joseph Watson
| No vote could spark constitutional crisis if White House launches attack
anyway.
Russia Boosts
Mediterranean Flotilla as U.S. Weighs Syria Strike
Bloomberg | Russia is sending
three more ships to the east Mediterranean to bolster its fleet there.
Pelosi Uses Her 5
Year Old Grandson To Propagandize War With Syria
Ben Swann.com | In an attempt to
rally support for a Syrian war Nancy Peolosi (D-CA) uses a conversation with
her 5-year-old grandson to try and persuade Americans.
Rand Paul Demands
Obama Adhere to Congress on Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
| Current indications show House will reject White House resolution.
Because Nothing Says “Dump Gold
And Oil” Like A Pending Middle-East War…
Zero Hedge | Both precious metals
and crude oil prices are getting slammed lower this morning…
Boston mayor causes outrage by
saying he’d blow up Detroit and start all over again
UK Daily Mail | Detroit Mayor Dave
Bing accused his Boston counterpart of insensitivity Tuesday after Thomas
Menino told a magazine that if he ever visited the Motor City, he’d ‘blow up
the place and start all over.’
Unemployment At One Year High,
Gallup Finds
Zero Hedge | The US economy
continues to deteriorate.
Is The United States Going To Go
To War With Syria Over A Natural Gas Pipeline?
Economic Collapse | Why has the
little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in Syria?
Asia's Richest Man, Li
Ka-Shing, Looking to Make Gold Investments
Posted by: GoldCore
Post date: 09/04/2013 - It is likely that he does, as he is Chinese and was
a Chinese refugee who fled to Hong Kong with his family to avoid the perils of
war. Refugees who flee from their homeland to start new lives in...
Is The United States Going To Go
To War With Syria Over A Natural Gas Pipeline?
Why has the little nation of Qatar spent 3 billion dollars to support the rebels in
Syria? Could it be because Qatar is the largest exporter of liquid
natural gas in the world and Assad won't let them build a natural gas pipeline
through Syria? Of course. Qatar wants to install a puppet regime in
Syria that will allow them to build a pipeline which will enable them to sell
lots and lots of natural gas to Europe. Why is Saudi Arabia spending huge
amounts of money to help the rebels and why has Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan been "jetting
from covert command centers near the Syrian front lines to the Élysée Palace in
Paris and the Kremlin in Moscow, seeking to undermine the Assad
regime"? Well, it turns out that Saudi Arabia intends to install
their own puppet government in Syria which will allow the Saudis to control the
flow of energy through the region. On the other side, Russia very much
prefers the Assad regime for a whole bunch of reasons. One of those
reasons is that Assad is helping to block the flow of natural gas out of the
Persian Gulf into Europe, thus ensuring higher profits for Gazprom. Now
the United States is getting directly involved in the conflict. If the
U.S. is successful in getting rid of the Assad regime, it will be good for
either the Saudis or Qatar (and possibly for both), and it will be really bad
for Russia. This is a strategic geopolitical conflict about natural resources,
religion and money, and it really has nothing to do with chemical weapons at
all. (Read
More....)
Quotes From Glenn Beck, Ted Cruz,
Rand Paul, Sarah Palin And Rush Limbaugh About War With Syria
Right now, top conservatives such
as Glenn Beck, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh
and Matt Drudge are all trying to warn us about the foolishness of the Obama
administration’s rush to go to war with Syria. Many prominent
conservatives are absolutely disgusted that the U.S. military would be fighting
on the side of al-Qaeda if we intervene in Syria, and
some of them are even warning that striking Syria could lead to World War
III. Over the past couple of decades, conservatives have generally been
the most eager to support going to war, but this time is very different.
This time, many of the most well-known conservatives are urging us to stay out
of Syria. The following are 12 quotes from some of the top conservative
voices in the country about the upcoming war in Syria that should send a chill
down your spine… (Read
More.....)
GAME
TIME: MCCAIN PLAYS POKER DURING WAR HEARING
WEAR
YOUR BOOTS...
Kerry
recalls testimony where he accused US troops of committing atrocities against
civilians...
Top
general cannot say what USA seeks in Syria...
PAPER:
Libya left in lawlessness and ruin...
Absolutely Shocking Syria War
Bible Code
Did you know that there is a Bible
code matrix that contains the words “Armageddon”, “Asad”, “Military” and
“Holocaust”? Did you know that there is another Bible Code matrix that
contains the words “Syria”, “World War”, “Russia”, “China” and “USA”?
These discoveries were made by Michael Drosnin in his 1997 book entitled “The Bible Code“, but
what is going on in the Middle East right
now is causing a lot of people to give these Bible codes a second
look. Could it be possible that our future is encoded in the ancient
Hebrew Scriptures? Some people believe that there is something to these
Bible codes while others consider them to be a total load of nonsense.
If you are not familiar with the
Bible codes, the following is a quick summary from Wikipedia…
IT'S TiMe FoR THe NeoCoN
MuNSTeRS! Posted by : williambanzai7
Post date: 09/03/2013 - Grandpa: What smells so good? Herman: I cut myself
shaving...
IT'S TiMe FoR THe NeoCoN
MuNSTeRS!
Submitted by williambanzai7 on 09/03/2013 10:50 -0400
Herman Kerry: “Life is real;
life is earnest. If you're cold, turn up the furnace.”
Grandpa McCain: "What are you
knocking? Some of my best friends are petrified."
Lily Graham: "We Munsters
always feel more at home in a box."
Eddie Obama: "I thought you
liked violence Pop."
Barack can be seen in the smoke
His peace prize was simply a joke
His hope we believed
But all were deceived
And on the word "change"
we now choke
The Limerick King
Support your local Visual Combat
Artist
Visual Combat Fine Art Prints
Inquiries: [email protected]
Point-By-Point Rebuttal of
U.S. Case for War In Syria Posted by: George
Washington Post date: 09/03/2013
- Demolishing the American War Brief Piece by Piece
The White House released a 4-page document setting forth its
case for use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.
But as shown below, the case
is extremely weak (government’s claim in quotes, followed by rebuttal
evidence).
“A
preliminary U.S. government assessment determined that 1,429 people were killed
in the chemical weapons attack, including at least 426 children, though this
assessment will certainly evolve as we obtain more information.“
But McClatchy notes:
Neither
Kerry’s remarks nor the unclassified version of the U.S. intelligence he
referenced explained how the U.S. reached a tally of 1,429, including 426
children. The only attribution was “a preliminary government assessment.”
Anthony
Cordesman, a former senior defense official who’s now with the Washington-based
Center for Strategic and International Studies, took aim at the death toll
discrepancies in an essay published Sunday.
He
criticized Kerry as being “sandbagged into using an absurdly over-precise
number” of 1,429, and noted that the number didn’t agree with either the
British assessment of “at least 350 fatalities” or other Syrian opposition
sources, namely the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has confirmed
502 dead, including about 100 children and “tens” of rebel fighters, and has
demanded that Kerry provide the names of the victims included in the U.S.
tally.
“President
Obama was then forced to round off the number at ‘well over 1,000 people’ –
creating a mix of contradictions over the most basic facts,” Cordesman wrote.
He added that the blunder was reminiscent of “the mistakes the U.S. made in
preparing Secretary (Colin) Powell’s speech to the U.N. on Iraq in 2003.”
An
unclassified version of a French intelligence report on Syria that was released
Monday hardly cleared things up; France confirmed only 281 fatalities, though
it more broadly agreed with the United States that the regime had used chemical
weapons in the Aug. 21 attack.
Next, the government says:
“In
addition to U.S. intelligence information, there are accounts from international
and Syrian medical personnel; videos; witness accounts; thousands of social
media reports from at least 12 different locations in the Damascus area;
journalist accounts; and reports from highly credible nongovernmental
organizations.”
Reports on the ground are
contradictory, with some claiming that the rebels used the chemical
weapons. See this and this. Indeed, government officials have admitted that they’re not sure who used
chemical weapons.
More importantly the U.S.
government claimed it had unimpeachable sources regarding Iraq’s WMDs … and
that turned out to be wholly fabricated.
“We
assess with high confidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on
a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year, including
in the Damascus suburbs. This assessment is based on multiple streams of
information including reporting of Syrian officials planning and executing
chemical weapons attacks and laboratory analysis of physiological samples
obtained from a number of individuals, which revealed exposure to sarin.”
Chemical weapons experts are still skeptical. The chain of custody is
suspect, given that the U.S. hasn’t revealed where the samples came from, and
who delivered them to the U.S. McClatchy reports:
Among
chemical weapons experts and other analysts who’ve closely studied the Syrian
battlefield, the main reservation about the U.S. claims is that there’s no
understanding of the methodology behind the intelligence-gathering. They say
that the evidence presented points to the use of some type of chemical agent,
but say that there are still questions as to how the evidence was
collected, the integrity of the chain of custody of such samples, and which
laboratories were involved.
Eliot
Higgins, a British chronicler of the Syrian civil war who writes the Brown
Moses blog, a widely cited repository of information on the weapons observed on
the Syrian battlefield, wrote a detailed post Monday listing photographs and
videos that would seem to support U.S. claims that the Assad regime has
possession of munitions that could be used to deliver chemical weapons. But he
wouldn’t make the leap.
On
the blog, Higgins asked: “How do we know these are chemical weapons?
That’s the thing, we don’t. As I’ve said all along, these are munitions linked
to alleged chemical attacks, not chemical munitions used in chemical attacks.
It’s ultimately up to the U.N. to confirm if chemical weapons were used.”
Moreover, Dan Kaszeta – a former Chemical Officer in the United
States Army, and one of the foremost experts in chemical and biological weapons
– said in a recent interview that there can be false
positives for Sarin, especially, when tests are done in the field
(pesticides or other chemical agents can trigger a false positive for sarin.)
The bottom lines is that – even
though the U.S. has done everything it can to derail a
UN weapons inspection – we have to wait to see what the UN tests reveal.
“We
assess that the opposition has not used chemical weapons.”
The rebels absolutely had had access
to chemical weapons. While the American government claims that the
opposition has not used chemical weapons, many other sources – including the
United Nations, Haaretz, and Turkish state newspaper Zaman - disagree.
“The
Syrian regime has the types of munitions that we assess were used to carry out
the attack on August 21, and has the ability to strike simultaneously in
multiple locations.”
The types of munitions which were
apparently used to deliver the chemical weapon attack are an odd, do-it-yourself type of rocket. The
rebels could have made these.
“We
assess that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons over the last year
primarily to gain the upper hand or break a stalemate in areas where it has
struggled to seize and hold strategically valuable territory. In this regard,
we continue to judge that the Syrian regime views chemical weapons as one of
many tools in its arsenal, including air power and ballistic missiles, which
they indiscriminately use against the opposition.
The
Syrian regime has initiated an effort to rid the Damascus suburbs of opposition
forces using the area as a base to stage attacks against regime targets in the
capital. The regime has failed to clear dozens of Damascus neighborhoods of
opposition elements, including neighborhoods targeted on August 21, despite
employing nearly all of its conventional weapons systems. We assess that the
regime’s frustration with its inability to secure large portions of Damascus
may have contributed to its decision to use chemical weapons on August 21.”
This is not evidence. This is a
conclusory opinion without any support. (To give an analogy, this
would be like claiming Saddam was using weapons of mass destruction right
before the Iraq war started because he didn’t like short people … without
refuting the actual fact that Saddam didn’t have any WMDs.)
“We
have intelligence that leads us to assess that Syrian chemical weapons
personnel – including personnel assessed to be associated with the SSRC – were
preparing chemical munitions prior to the attack. In the three days prior to
the attack, we collected streams of human, signals and geospatial intelligence
that reveal regime activities that we assess were associated with preparations
for a chemical weapons attack.
Syrian
chemical weapons personnel were operating in the Damascus suburb of ‘Adra from
Sunday, August 18 until early in the morning on Wednesday, August 21 near an
area that the regime uses to mix chemical weapons, including sarin.”
Gareth Porter notes:
Despite
the use of the term “operating,” the US intelligence had no information about
the actual activities of the individual or individuals being tracked through
geospatial and signals intelligence. When administration officials leaked the
information to CBS news last week, they conceded that the presence of the
individual being tracked in the area in question had been viewed at the time as
“nothing out of the ordinary.”
Yet,
after the August 21 event, the same information was suddenly transformed into
“evidence” that supports the official line.
Moroever, American intelligence
sources have repeatedly been caught lying.
During the run-up to the Iraq war, the government entirely bypassed the normal
intelligence-vetting process, so that bogus claims could be trumpeted
without the normal checks and balances from conscientious intelligence
analysts. Israeli intelligence - which appears to have played a part in
the Syria war brief - has been equally bad.
Former top CIA intelligence
officers confirm that the intelligence has
been grossly politicized to justify war against Syria.
“On
August 21, a Syrian regime element prepared for a chemical weapons attack in
the Damascus area, including through the utilization of gas masks.”
This is an oddly-worded – and
carefully crafted – statement. Assad has repeatedly warned that the rebels might steal
chemical weapons and use them on civilians. The utilization of gas masks could
have been a preventative measure because the Syrian government had received
word that the rebels might carry out a chemical attack. More information is
necessary.
“Multiple
streams of intelligence indicate that the regime executed a rocket and
artillery attack against the Damascus suburbs in the early hours of August 21.
Satellite detections corroborate that attacks from a regime-controlled area
struck neighborhoods where the chemical attacks reportedly occurred – including
Kafr Batna, Jawbar, ‘Ayn Tarma, Darayya, and Mu’addamiyah. This includes the
detection of rocket launches from regime controlled territory early in the
morning, approximately 90 minutes before the first report of a chemical attack
appeared in social media. The lack of flight activity or missile launches also
leads us to conclude that the regime used rockets in the attack.”
The area in which attacks occurred
was heavily contested by the both government and the rebels, and both sides were
in and out of the area. 90 minutes before the first attack is an eternity
when fighting a war on a heavily-contested battlefield … and could have been
plenty of time for rebels to slip in and fire off chemical weapons.
As Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting notes:
It’s
unclear why this is supposed to be persuasive. Do rockets take 90 minutes to
reach their targets? Does nerve gas escape from rockets 90 minutes after
impact, or, once released, take 90 minutes to cause symptoms?
In
a conflict as conscious of the importance of communication as the Syrian Civil
War, do citizen journalists wait an hour and a half before reporting an enormous
development–the point at which, as Kerry put it, “all hell broke loose in the
social media”? Unless there’s some reason to expect this kind of a delay, it’s
very unclear why we should think there’s any connection at all between the
allegedly observed rocket launches and the later reports of mass poisoning.
The government next turns to
social media:
“Local
social media reports of a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs began at 2:30
a.m. local time on August 21. Within the next four hours there were thousands
of social media reports on this attack from at least 12 different locations in
the Damascus area. Multiple accounts described chemical-filled rockets
impacting opposition-controlled areas.
Three
hospitals in the Damascus area received approximately 3,600 patients displaying
symptoms consistent with nerve agent exposure in less than three hours on the
morning of August 21, according to a highly credible international humanitarian
organization. The reported symptoms, and the epidemiological pattern of events
– characterized by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time,
the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid
workers – were consistent with mass exposure to a nerve agent. We also received
reports from international and Syrian medical personnel on the ground.
We
have identified one hundred videos attributed to the attack, many of which show
large numbers of bodies exhibiting physical signs consistent with, but not
unique to, nerve agent exposure. The reported symptoms of victims included
unconsciousness, foaming from the nose and mouth, constricted pupils, rapid
heartbeat, and difficulty breathing. Several of the videos show what appear to
be numerous fatalities with no visible injuries, which is consistent with death
from chemical weapons, and inconsistent with death from small-arms,
high-explosive munitions or blister agents. At least 12 locations are portrayed
in the publicly available videos, and a sampling of those videos confirmed that
some were shot at the general times and locations described in the footage.”
No one contests that some kind of
chemical agent was used. The question is exactly what type of chemical it
was and – more importantly – who used it.
Moreover, the rebels were making propaganda videos
for years … and they’ve gotten more sophisticated
recently. More information is needed.
“We
assess the Syrian opposition does not have the capability to fabricate all of
the videos, physical symptoms verified by medical personnel and NGOs, and other
information associated with this chemical attack.”
Another conclusory opinion without
evidence. More importantly, it is a red herring. No one is saying that
the tragic and horrific deaths were faked.
The question is when and where
they occurred, and who caused them. For example, one of the world’s leading
experts on chemical weapons points out that it is difficult to know where the
videos were taken:
Zanders,
the former EU chemical weapons expert, went even further, arguing that outsiders
cannot conclude with confidence the extent or geographic location of the
chemical weapons attack widely being blamed on the Assad regime.
He
singled out the images of victims convulsing in agony that have circulated
widely on the Web, including on YouTube.
“You
do not know where they were taken,” he said. “You do not know when they were
taken or even by whom they were taken. Or, whether they [are from] the same
incident or from different incidents.”
Zanders
added: “It doesn’t tell me who would be responsible for it. It doesn’t tell me
where the films were taken. It just tells me that something has happened,
somewhere, at some point.”
The government then expands on
allegedly intercepted intelligence:
“We
have a body of information, including past Syrian practice, that leads us to
conclude that regime officials were witting of and directed the attack on
August 21. We intercepted communications involving a senior official intimately
familiar with the offensive who confirmed that chemical weapons were used by
the regime on August 21 and was concerned with the U.N. inspectors obtaining
evidence. On the afternoon of August 21, we have intelligence that Syrian
chemical weapons personnel were directed to cease operations.”
The Washington Post points out that alleged intelligence intercepts are “the
core of the Obama administration’s evidentiary
case….” America’s war intelligence has been spotty. For example:
The U.S. Navy’s own historians now
say that the sinking of the USS Maine — the justification for America’s entry
into the Spanish-American War — was probably
caused by an internal explosion of coal, rather than an attack by the Spanish.
It is also now well-accepted that
the Gulf of Tonkin Incident which led to the Vietnam war was a fiction (confirmed here).
And the U.S. and Israel have admitted that they have carried out false flag
deceptions (as have Muslim countries such as Indonesia; but to our knowledge,
Syria has never been busted in a false flag.)
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
writes:
Recall
that Powell played tapes of Iraqi officials supposedly talking about concealing
evidence of banned weapons from inspectors–which turned out to show nothing of the kind.
But Powell at least played tapes of the intercepted communication, even as he
spun and misrepresented their contents–allowing for the possibility of an
independent interpretation of these messages. Perhaps “mindful of the Iraq
experience,” Kerry allows for no such interpretation.
David Swanson notes that American officials mischaracterized
the communications to justify the Iraq war:
Powell
was writing fictional dialogue. He put those extra lines in there and pretended
somebody had said them. Here’s what Bob Woodward said about this in his book
“Plan of Attack.”
“[Powell]
had decided to add his personal interpretation of the intercepts to rehearsed
script, taking them substantially further and casting them in the most negative
light. Concerning the intercept about inspecting for the possibility of
‘forbidden ammo,’ Powell took the interpretation further: ‘Clean out all of the
areas. . . . Make sure there is nothing there.’ None of this was in the
intercept.”
[In
addition] Powell … was presenting as facts numerous claims that his own staff
had warned him were weak and indefensible.
The government then makes a
throw-away argument:
“At
the same time, the regime intensified the artillery barrage targeting many of
the neighborhoods where chemical attacks occurred. In the 24 hour period after
the attack, we detected indications of artillery and rocket fire at a rate
approximately four times higher than the ten preceding days. We continued to
see indications of sustained shelling in the neighborhoods up until the morning
of August 26.”
This is another red herring. If
the Syrian government believed that the rebels had used chemical weapons on
civilians, they may have increased artillery fire to flush out the rebels to
prevent further chemical attacks. Again, further information is needed.
“To
conclude, there is a substantial body of information that implicates the Syrian
government’s responsibility in the chemical weapons attack that took place on
August 21.As indicated, there is additional intelligence that remains
classified because of sources and methods concerns that is being provided to
Congress and international partners.”
This sounds impressive at first
glance. But Congress members who have seen the classified information –
such as Tom Harkin – are not impressed. Indeed,
Congressman Justin Amash says:
What
I heard in Obama admn briefing actually makes me more skeptical
of certain significant aspects of Pres’s case for attacking
And see these further
details refuting the government’s argument for war.
Bonus:
The
Congressional Vote On War with Syria Is Too Close to Call
A Complete Guide to European
Bail-Out Facilities - Part 1: ECB Posted by: Eugen
Bohm-Bawerk Post date: 09/03/2013
- This is our first out of four series where we look at all the various
bail-out schemes concocted by Eurocrats. Today we look at how the ECB has
evolved since 2007. In the next three posts we will...
Why
Did Obama Choose Syria?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 12:11
On a purely humanitarian
basis, Syria’s tragedy is exceeded by many conflicts that the US abstained from
participating in. So when thinking about civil wars and how the US
defines its national interest, one has to ask why Syria would qualify for
direct intervention while others conflicts did not.
Guest
Post: Congressional 'Danse Macabre' Has Begun
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 21:13
The first draft of the
White House's war authorization legislation was leaked yesterday, signaling the
opening round of the danse macabre, in which the bargaining and
maneuvering over what Congress and the president both want -- war on Syria
-- begins its public journey from conception to law. There will be
fighting and sharp words along the way. Members will be coy and make
impassioned speeches. It is all for show. It is important to make this
clear to readers: The fight is not between whether the House and Senate
will pass or reject the president's request for authorization to attack, but
rather what kind of force authorization will ultimately be brought to the Floor
for passage... and sure enough the headlines are starting with more drafts:
*OBAMA WANTS "TOO
BROAD AUTHORITY'' IN SYRIA, TWO DEMOCRATS SAY
and Menendez/Corker propose a new
US Senate resolution for authorizing use of military force in Syria
setting a 60-day deadline, with one 30-day extension possible, while barring
ground forces
Jordan
Prepares For Syrian Fallout; Places Air Force On High Alert
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 20:46
Following last week's
refusal to allow the US to use the nation as a launchpad for Syria strikes,
Jordan has placed its air-force, one of the Arab world's strongest, on high
alert in anticipation of "various possibilities." The show
of strength captured in Al-Arabiya's
special access to the Jordanian air-base shows F-16s and multiple Himars
truck-mounted rocket-launchers. While Jordan, like so many nations, would
prefer the political solution, it is prepared for any emergency.
BofAML
Warns Of 'Deeper Downside Risk' To June Lows (S&P 1560)
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 20:21
Last week's 90%-down day and
TRIN (market-breadth) above 2.0 provided the ammunition for an oversold bounce
but as BofAML notes, there is plenty of resistance to limit upside.
With 1658 as critical resistance (S&P 500 cash traded 1651 this morning),
the following charts show the weight of evidence suggests deeper
downside risk to the June lows around 1560.
Unemployment
At One Year High, Gallup Finds
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 19:45
Gallup, which every week polls
thousands of adults to get an unadjusted, snapshot picture of who has a job,
who has a part-time job and who has no job has released its latest weekly
results which have some good and some bad news. Good for those who fear that
the NFP print on Friday will be so bad Bernanke will have no choice to delay
(or reduce) the taper; bad for the economy. Because at 8.5%, unemployment for
the week ended September 1 is now near the highest levels it has been in one
year, following a spike in mid-August that sent it all the way to 8.8%.
Ex-Reserve
Bank Of India Chief Admits 'Central Bankers Rarely Learn From Mistakes Of The
Past'
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 19:19
With the value of the
rupee plunging to new lows, the current account deficit at an all-time high and
inflation running at nearly a ten-percent annual clip, India is in serious
economic trouble. Indeed many are beginning to wonder whether the
country is edging toward a replay of the events in the summer of 1991.
Back then, an acute balance of payments crisis forced New Delhi into the
indignity of pawning its gold reserves in order to secure desperately needed
international financing. At a small public event the other week, Duvvuri
Subbarao, the outgoing head of the central bank conceded that policymakers
rarely learn from their mistakes: "...in matters of economics and finance,
history repeats itself, not because it is an inherent trait of history,
but because we don’t learn from history and let the repeat occur."
'Ben'-edictions
On The Economic And Profit Cycle
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 18:41
1:1 In
the beginning, Ben Bernanke hath said, let there be liquidity.
...
1:6 And so each
among them sayeth the following benediction: “May the Fed bless you and
keep you; may the Fed extend its balance sheet to shine upon you; and may the
Fed lift up asset prices and protect you from harm”
Marc
Faber Warns "Western Imperial Arrogance Will Ignite Middle-East
'Powder-Keg'"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 17:57
As usual, Gloom, Boom, and Doom's
Marc Faber pulls no punches in this brief interview on CNBC's Futures Now. When
asked what is the catalyst for the crash he expects in US equity markets (following
crashes in various markets around the world), he shocks a stunned anchor
looking at equity markets near all-time highs with some ugly truths - "interest
rates are no longer a tail-wind, earnings growth is not there, and emerging
economies are collapsing (so no global growth)." However, with
asset allocators "swimming in the pool of liquidity" it is hard to
say 'when' it will occur especially as money floods out of EM markets.
Critically though, it is Syria (and the spillover) that has Faber most
concerned; as he concludes that Western governments
"meddling" is "going to be a disaster."
Is
Europe's Nuclear Fusion 'Experiment' Melting Down?
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 17:56
Fusion nuclear
energy has been described as both the ‘Hail
Mary pass’ and ‘Holy Grail’ of renewable energy sources. Fusion,
the process that powers the sun by fusing together light atoms at extremely
high temperatures, offers almost unlimited potential. The fuel is practically
inexhaustible, the production process emits no greenhouse gasses and it is
inherently safe from many of the safety concerns that have tarnished the
reputation of fission nuclear energy. Finally, unlike most renewable energy
sources under development, fusion nuclear energy could serve as a base load
power source, providing huge amounts of energy around the clock relatively
efficiently. ITER portends to be the next step on the path to scaling up
the process to commercial proportions. However, the ambitious project
may be critically handicapped by its European-politicis-inspired organizational
structure. The most apt metaphor may be a fumbled Hail Mary pass.
Russia
Sends Two Marine-Carrying Ships To The Mediterranean
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 16:38
If the direct result of today's
surprising and unannounced Israeli missile test was to provoke a response by
Russia, the Allies have succeeded. ITAR TASS reports that Russia’s Black and
Baltic Sea Fleets’ Ropucha-class landing ships Novocherkassk
(150 marines on board) and Minsk (225
marines) have sailed off for the Mediterranean Sea. What was not reported is
that the destination of the two marine carrying ships is the sensitive area
around Syria already staked out by the US navy. It is implied.
Hard-Assets
Surge As Equity Bulls Purge
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 16:14
Markets started the day in
exuberant mood. Investors were greatly rotating away from bonds into stocks,
"war-off" premia were holding up and oil prices were not shooting
higher. Then the macro data hit - better-than-expected - and things got a
little anxious in equity land (and bond yields pushed higher in Taper-on mode).
Then Boehner et al. showed their support for Obama and stocks started to
crumble. Commodities had already risen back above Friday's close
(dismissing any de-escalation) and while stocks stalled on their
collapse lower at Sunday's futures open, they inevitably dumped back to
unchanged from Friday. VIX jumped back above 17.25% and the curve flattened and
bonds (slow to start) saw yields dump back lower. A late-day pure algo
run to VWAP saved the day and closed us green in stocks buy Trannies are not
happy as WTI closes back above $108.50.
Assad
Gets Cold Feet: Tells France "Willing To Work To Reach Diplomatic
Solution"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 15:57
No
Electricity Or Toilet Paper Is A Small Price To Pay For "All Time
Highs"
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 15:24
Now that the All Time High
(ATH) in the S&P is a distant memory (at least until the Syrian war becomes
a widespread conflict involving all global powers and the US suddenly has to
issue, and monetize, a few extra trillion) there are those momentum chasers who
have an itch to BTFATH. To all of them we have a
message: don't despair, and merely set your sights a
little lower, on the globe that is, to Venezuela where the local stock market
keeps crushing every upside resistance level and hitting new all time highs day
after day after day, resulting in a YTD return of nearly 200%!
Guest
Post: America's Energy Boom And The Rising U.S. Dollar
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 14:59
The petrodollar
regime - that oil is bought and sold globally in U.S. dollars - is easy to
understand. It boils down to these two principles: 1. Petroleum is
the lifeblood of the global economy; and 2. Any nation that can print its own
currency and trade the conjured money for oil has an extraordinary advantage
over nations that cannot trade freshly created money for oil. This is why
many analysts trace much of America's foreign policy back to defending the
petrodollar regime. America's energy boom is creating consequences for
the value of the dollar.
Kerry,
Dempsey And Hagel Pitch For "Use Of Force In Syria" - Live Webcast
Submitted by Tyler
Durden on 09/03/2013 - 14:22
"The Big Three" will
take the stage in front of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to make
the case for "the authorization of the use of force in Syria."
Given the volume of 'supportive' leadership comments this morning already, it
seems that John Kerry (Secretary of State), Chuck Hagel (Secretary of Defense),
and General Martin Dempsey (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) will not get
too much push-back though earlier comments that the scope of the strike
"was too narrow" may become a sticking point.
Exclusive: High Level
Source Confirms Secret US Nuclear Warhead Transfer
Anthony Gucciardi & Alex
Jones | High level military official confirms secret nuclear
warhead transfer to East Coast US.
The top 9 real
reasons to go to war in Syria
Jon Rappoport |
None of these reasons has anything to do with “punishing Assad for using
chemical weapons.”
Rush Limbaugh
Suspects Obama Conspired With Al-Qaeda to Frame Bashar al-Assad
Julie Wilson |
“If true, this is the setup of all time,” says Limbaugh.
‘Impeach Obama’ Ad
to Run in Washington Times
Adan Salazar |
Group planned to deliver copies of newspaper to Congress members today.
CIA Trained
Al-Qaeda Cell To Enter Syria
Steve Watson | US sanctioned 50
man group to sneak over border into Syria with arms.
22 Reasons Why Starting World War
3 In The Middle East Is A Really Bad Idea
While most of the country is obsessing over Miley
Cyrus, the Obama administration is preparing a military attack
against Syria which has the potential of starting World War 3. In fact,
it is being reported that cruise missile strikes could begin "as early as Thursday". The Obama
administration is pledging that the strikes will be "limited", but
what happens when the Syrians fight back? What happens if they sink a
U.S. naval vessel or they have agents start hitting targets inside the United
States? Then we would have a full-blown war on our hands. And what
happens if the Syrians decide to retaliate by hitting Israel? If Syrian
missiles start raining down on Tel Aviv, Israel will be extremely tempted to
absolutely flatten Damascus, and they are more than capable of doing precisely
that. And of course Hezbollah and Iran are not likely to just sit idly by
as their close ally Syria is battered into oblivion. We are looking at a
scenario where the entire Middle East could be set aflame, and that might only
be just the beginning. Russia and China are sternly warning the U.S.
government not to get involved in Syria, and by starting a war with Syria we
will do an extraordinary amount of damage to our relationships with those two
global superpowers. Could this be the beginning of a chain of events that
could eventually lead to a massive global conflict with Russia and China on one
side and the United States on the other? Of course it will not happen
immediately, but I fear that what is happening now is setting the stage for
some really bad things. The following are 22 reasons why starting World
War 3 in the Middle East is a really bad idea... (Read
More....)
#1 The American
people are overwhelmingly against going to war with Syria...
Americans
strongly oppose U.S. intervention in Syria's civil war and believe Washington
should stay out of the conflict even if reports that Syria's government used
deadly chemicals to attack civilians are confirmed, a Reuters/Ipsos poll says.
About
60 percent of Americans surveyed said the United States should not intervene in
Syria's civil war, while just 9 percent thought President Barack Obama should
act.
#2 At this point,
a war in Syria is even more unpopular with the American people than Congress is.
#3 The Obama
administration has not gotten approval to go to war with Syria from Congress as the U.S. Constitution requires.
#4 The United
States does not have the approval of the United Nations to attack Syria and it
is not going to be getting it.
#5 Syria has said
that it will use "all
means available" to defend itself if the United States
attacks. Would that include terror attacks in the United States itself?
#6 Syrian Foreign
Minister Walid Muallem made the following statement on
Tuesday...
"We
have two options: either to surrender, or to defend ourselves with the means at
our disposal. The second choice is the best: we will defend ourselves"
#7 Russia has
just sent their most advanced anti-ship missiles to
Syria. What do you think would happen if images of sinking U.S. naval
vessels were to come flashing across our television screens?
#8 When the
United States attacks Syria, there is a very good chance that Syria will attack
Israel. Just check out what one Syrian official said
recently...
A
member of the Syrian Ba'ath national council Halef al-Muftah, until recently
the Syrian propaganda minister's aide, said on Monday that Damascus views
Israel as "behind the aggression and therefore it will come under
fire" should Syria be attacked by the United States.
In
an interview for the American radio station Sawa in Arabic, President Bashar
Assad's fellow party member said: "We have strategic weapons and we can
retaliate. Essentially, the strategic weapons are aimed at Israel."
Al-Muftah
stressed that the US's threats will not influence the Syrain regime and added
that "If the US or Israel err through aggression and exploit the chemical
issue, the region will go up in endless flames, affecting not only the area's
security, but the world's."
#9 If Syria
attacks Israel, the consequences could be absolutely catastrophic.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promising that any attack will be
responded to "forcefully"...
"We
are not a party to this civil war in Syria but if we identify any attempt to
attack us we will respond and we will respond forcefully"
#10 Hezbollah
will likely do whatever it can to fight for the survival of the Assad
regime. That could include striking targets inside both the United States
and Israel.
#11 Iran's
closest ally is Syria. Will Iran sit idly by as their closest ally is
removed from the chessboard?
#12 Starting a
war with Syria will cause significant damage to our relationship with
Russia. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the
West is acting like a "monkey with a hand grenade".
#13 Starting a
war with Syria will cause significant damage to our relationship with
China. And what will happen if the Chinese decide to start dumping the
massive amount of U.S. debt that it is holding? Interest rates would
absolutely skyrocket and we would rapidly be facing a
nightmare scenario.
#14 Dr. Jerome
Corsi and Walid Shoebat have compiled some startling
evidence that it was actually the Syrian rebels that the U.S. is
supporting that were responsible for the chemical weapons attack that is being
used as justification to go to war with Syria...
With
the assistance of former PLO member and native Arabic-speaker Walid Shoebat,
WND has assembled evidence from various Middle Eastern sources that cast doubt
on Obama administration claims the Assad government is responsible for last
week’s attack.
You can examine the evidence for
yourself right
here.
#15 As Pat
Buchanan recently noted, it would have made absolutely no sense for
the Assad regime to use chemical weapons on defenseless women and
children. The only people who would benefit from such an attack would be
the rebels...
The
basic question that needs to be asked about this horrific attack on civilians,
which appears to be gas related, is: Cui bono?
To
whose benefit would the use of nerve gas on Syrian women and children redound?
Certainly not Assad’s, as we can see from the furor and threats against him
that the use of gas has produced.
The
sole beneficiary of this apparent use of poison gas against civilians in
rebel-held territory appears to be the rebels, who have long sought to have us
come in and fight their war.
#16 If the Saudis
really want to topple the Assad
regime, they should do it themselves. They should not expect
the United States to do their dirty work for them.
#17 A former
commander of U.S. Central Command has said that a U.S. attack on Syria would
result in "a full-throated, very, very
serious war".
#18 A war in the
Middle East will be bad for the financial markets. The Dow was down about
170 points today and concern about war with Syria was the primary reason.
#19 A war in the
Middle East will cause the price of oil to go up. On Tuesday, the price
of U.S. oil rose to about $109 a barrel.
#20 There is no
way in the world that the U.S. government should be backing the Syrian
rebels. As I discussed a
few days ago, the rebels have pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda, they have beheaded numerous Christians and they have massacred entire Christian
villages. If the U.S. government helps these lunatics take
power in Syria it will be a complete and utter disaster.
#21 A lot of
innocent civilians inside Syria will end up getting killed. Already, a
lot of Syrians are expressing concern about what "foreign
intervention" will mean for them and their families...
"I've
always been a supporter of foreign intervention, but now that it seems like a
reality, I've been worrying that my family could be hurt or killed," said
one woman, Zaina, who opposes Assad. "I'm afraid of a military strike
now."
"The
big fear is that they'll make the same mistakes they made in Libya and
Iraq," said Ziyad, a man in his 50s. "They'll hit civilian targets,
and then they'll cry that it was by mistake, but we'll get killed in the
thousands."
#22 If the U.S.
government insists on going to war with Syria without the approval of the
American people, the U.S. Congress or the United Nations, we are going to lose
a lot of friends and a lot of credibility around the globe. It truly is a
sad day when Russia looks like "the good guys" and we look like
"the bad guys".
What good could possibly come out
of getting involved in Syria? As I wrote about the
other day, the "rebels" that Obama is backing are rabidly
anti-Christian, rabidly anti-Israel and rabidly anti-western. If they
take control of Syria, that nation will be far more unstable and far more of a
hotbed for terrorism than it is now.
And the downside of getting
involved in Syria is absolutely enormous. Syria, Iran and Hezbollah all
have agents inside this country, and if they decide to start blowing stuff up
that will wake up the American people to the horror of war really quick.
And by attacking Syria, the United States could cause a major regional war to
erupt in the Middle East which could eventually lead to World War 3.
I don't know about you, but I
think that starting World War 3 in the Middle East is a really bad idea.
Let us hope that cooler heads
prevail before things spin totally out of control.
ISRAEL LAUNCHES MISSILES OVER MED
EGYPTIAN HELICOPTERS STRIKE
KILLS 15 IN SINAI...
First Syria rebel unit
armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield'...
Boehner will support
Obama call for military action in Syria... { boehner is really a
very stupid man … and, I mean that literally, not figuratively; because he
truly is very dumb … Really! And, as
his name implies, he’s also a dick! Really! }
First 'rebels' armed and
trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield'...
KERRY'S DRINKS AND DINNERS
WITH TYRANT...
2010: 'I Trust Senator
Kerry... I Met Him Five Times'...
FLASHBACK: REBELS arrested
with Sarin gas!
MSM Claims Military
Revolt Against Obama a Hoax
Paul Joseph Watson
| Rest of corporate media refuses to cover viral Twitter backlash against
attack on Syria.
Obama’s Syria
Attack Resolution Authorizes Boots on the Ground
Paul Joseph Watson
| Plan for military intervention greases skids for war throughout the region,
says Harvard professor.
Israel claims joint
US missile launch in Mediterranean for ‘target practice’
RT | Israel later claimed
responsibility for firing the target test rockets.
#IDidntJoin:
Stunning Photos Of U.S. Service Members Publicly Saying No To War With Syria
American Dream | What do members
of the U.S. military think about the possibility of a war with Syria?
Bombshell: Syria’s
‘chemical weapons’ turn out to be sodium fluoride used in the U.S. water supply
Mike Adams | Natural News can now
reveal that the Syria chemical weapons narrative being pushed by the White
House is an outlandish hoax.
Point-By-Point
Rebuttal of U.S. Case for War In Syria
Washington’s Blog | The American
War Brief Is Extremely Weak.
US-Backed
Terrorists Behead 40 Syrians Including Baby
Alalam | Al-Qaeda militants kill
24 civilians near Ras al-Ain.
Congressional Danse
Macabre Has Begun
Ron Paul Institute | The first
draft of the White House’s war authorization legislation was leaked today.
The 5% recovery: Why most are
still in recession
USA Today | Lower
income families have fared poorly since 2009.
Syria and the geopolitics of oil
Al-Jazeera | How
will a war impact the U.S. energy sector?
Poverty consumes so much mental
energy it’s like a drop in IQ
UPI | Poverty
like a 13-point drop in IQ or loss of a night’s sleep.
MSM Claims Military
Revolt Against Obama a Hoax
Paul Joseph Watson
| Rest of corporate media refuses to cover viral Twitter backlash against
attack on Syria.
US general says
Syria action could be ‘more substantial than thought’
London Telegraph | A former US
army chief has claimed that Barack Obama is eyeing intervention in Syria that
would go beyond a mere deterrent against chemical weapons to damage the
military capacity of the Assad regime.
Kaine: Syria
resolution must explicitly forbid boots on the ground
The Hill | Kaine said Congress
should specify that Obama seek “additional authority before there are boots on
ground.”
Obama confident
Congress will vote to strike Syria
USA TODAY | President Obama said
Tuesday he believes Congress will vote to authorize military action against
Syria, and he is willing to work with lawmakers on the wording of a specific
resolution.
Cruise missiles
unlikely to deter Syrian regime, analysts say
The Washington Times | Tomahawks
lack bunker-busting ability, poor on mobile targets.
Obama’s Syria
Attack Resolution Authorizes Boots on the Ground
Paul Joseph Watson
| Plan for military intervention greases skids for war throughout the region,
says Harvard professor.
Israel claims joint
US missile launch in Mediterranean for ‘target practice’
RT | Israel later claimed
responsibility for firing the target test rockets.
Congressional Danse
Macabre Has Begun
Ron Paul Institute | The first
draft of the White House’s war authorization legislation was leaked today.
Point-By-Point
Rebuttal of U.S. Case for War In Syria
Washington’s Blog | The American
War Brief Is Extremely Weak.
#IDidntJoin:
Stunning Photos Of U.S. Service Members Publicly Saying No To War With Syria
American Dream | What do members
of the U.S. military think about the possibility of a war with Syria?
Markets Briefly Fall After
Russian Headlines About Missile — Stocks Recover On News Of No Attack
Business Insider | An incident
this morning reveals how jittery the world is, in the midst of escalating
geopolitical tensions surrounding Syria.
Labor Day: 90 Million Americans
Without Jobs; 36% Of the Population
Mac Slavo | This weekend President
Obama delivered his weekly radio address commemorating the Labor Day weekend.
Global Watchdog to Set
Creditor-Loss Rules for Failing Banks
Bloomberg | Global regulators said
they would seek to protect taxpayers from having to bail out failing banks by
drawing up international rules on creditor losses.
Oil, Gold Pull Back on Syria
Strike Delay
Wall St Journal | Oil Fell on
Easing Supply Concerns While Gold’s Safe-Haven Appeal Became Less of a Factor.
The Blood Red Moons Of 2014 And
2015: An Omen Of War For Israel?
Is Israel going to be involved in
a war during the blood red moons of 2014 and 2015? According to ancient
Jewish tradition, a lunar eclipse is a harbinger of bad things for
Israel. If that eclipse is blood red, that is a sign that war is
coming. And blood red moons that happen during Biblical festivals seem to
be particularly significant. There was a “tetrad” of blood red moons that
fell during Passover 1967, the Feast of Tabernacles 1967, Passover 1968 and the
Feast of Tabernacles 1968. And of course the 1967 war during which Israel
took full control of Jerusalem took place during that time period. There
was also a “tetrad” of blood red moons that fell during Passover 1949, the
Feast of Tabernacles 1949, Passover 1950 and the Feast of Tabernacles
1950. If you know your history, you already are aware that the Israeli
War of Independence ended on July 20th, 1949. So does the blood red moon
tetrad of 2014 and 2015 signal that another season of war is now upon us?
The upcoming blood red moon tetrad
was discovered by Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries. He found
that this is a very rare event that has only happened seven times since the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This upcoming blood red moon tetrad will be
the eighth occurrence. The following is a chart of the upcoming (Read
More....)
#IDidntJoin: Stunning Photos Of
U.S. Service Members Publicly Saying No To War With Syria
What
do members of the U.S. military think about the possibility of a war with
Syria? So far, they appear to be overwhelmingly against it just like the
rest of the general public. In fact, a new Twitter hashtag (#IdidntJoin)
has been flooded with messages from service members expressing their
displeasure with the idea of being forced to fight for al-Qaeda in Syria. This is
consistent with what we have been hearing from other sources as well. For
example, U.S. Representative Justin Amash
recently sent out a tweet with the following message: “I’ve been hearing a lot
from members of our Armed Forces. The message I consistently hear: Please vote
no on military action against #Syria.” Of
course there are probably a few members of the military that would love a war
with Syria, but they appear to be very much in the minority. Hopefully
the Obama administration and members of the U.S. Congress are listening. (Read
More.....)
Russia Has Equipped Syria With
Their Most Advanced Anti-Ship Missiles
Russia
has sold Syria highly advanced rocket launchers, anti-aircraft missiles and
anti-ship missiles. In fact, the P-800 Yakhont anti-ship missiles that Russia has
equipped Syria with are the most advanced anti-ship missiles that Russia
has. When the United States strikes Syria, they might be quite surprised
at how hard Syria can hit back. The Syrian military is the most
formidable adversary that the U.S. military has tangled with in the Middle East
by far. From Syria, P-800 Yakhont anti-ship missiles can cover much of
the eastern Mediterranean and can even reach air bases in Cyprus. If the
U.S. Navy is not very careful to stay out of range, we could easily see footage
of destroyed U.S. naval vessels sinking into the Mediterranean Sea on the
evening news. And once the American people see such footage, it will be
impossible to stop a
full-blown war between the United States and Syria. (Read
More....)
The U.S. Military Does Not Want
To Fight For Al-Qaeda Christian Killers In Syria
Why
is the Obama administration so determined to have the U.S. military help
al-Qaeda win the civil war in Syria? Why are we being told that the U.S.
has "no choice" but to help rabid jihadist terrorists that are
slaughtering entire Christian villages, brutally raping Christian women and
joyfully beheading Christian prisoners? If you are a Christian, you
should not want anything to do with these genocidal lunatics. Jabhat
al-Nusra is a radical Sunni terror organization affiliated with al-Qaeda that
is leading the fight against the Assad regime. If they win, life will be
absolute hell for the approximately two million Christians in Syria and other
religious minorities. According to Wikipedia,
Jabhat al-Nusra intends "to create a Pan-Islamic state under sharia law
and aims to reinstate the Islamic Caliphate." As you will see below,
many members of the U.S. military understand this, and they absolutely do not
want to fight on the side of al-Qaeda. (Read
More....)
Who Benefits From A War Between
The United States And Syria?
Someone
wants to get the United States into a war with Syria very, very badly. Cui
bono is an old Latin phrase that is still commonly used, and it roughly means
"to whose benefit?" The key to figuring out who is really
behind the push for war is to look at who will benefit from that war. If
a full-blown war erupts between the United States and Syria, it will not be
good for the United States, it will not be good for Israel, it will not be good
for Syria, it will not be good for Iran and it will not be good for
Hezbollah. The party that stands to benefit the most is Saudi Arabia, and
they won't even be doing any of the fighting. They have been pouring
billions of dollars into the conflict in Syria, but so far they have not been
successful in their attempts to overthrow the Assad regime. Now the
Saudis are trying to play their trump card - the U.S. military. If the
Saudis are successful, they will get to pit the two greatest long-term
strategic enemies of Sunni Islam against each other - the U.S. and Israel on
one side and Shia Islam on the other. In such a scenario, the more damage
that both sides do to each other the happier the Sunnis will be. (Read
More....)
ShooT FiRST AND ASK QueSTioNS
LaTeR... Posted by : williambanzai7
Post date: 08/29/2013 - 13:50 And no matter what happens...
ShooT FiRST AND ASK QueSTioNS
LaTeR...
Submitted
by williambanzai7
on 08/29/2013 13:50 -0400
.
.
Shoot first and ask questions
later, and don't worry, no matter what happens
I will protect you.
Hermann Goering
In Stunning Move UK Parliament
Rejects Syria Military Strike, Obama "Willing To Go It Alone"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 17:57
Moments ago the UK House of
Commons, in a razor thin vote, rejected the Cameron proposal for military
action in Syria with a vote 285 to 272. Cameron promptly said he would respect
the will of the House of Commons and UK Defense Secretary Phillip Hammond
confirmed there would be no UK military intervention in Syria. Incidentally,
this may have been the best outcome for an already humiliated British premier
who will avoid being dragged into an unpopular war having both sided with his
greatest ally, the US, and also relented and listened to the voice of the
people. More importantly, the "people" in the UK actually had a
voice, which is more than can so far be said about developments in the US. And
speaking of the US, the NYT reports that even
as the Syrian war "option" is slowly being shut out for staunch US
allies (except for France of course), that Obama is "willing to
move ahead with a limited military strike on Syria even while allies like
Britain are debating whether to join the effort [ZH: and have now
voted against it] and without an endorsement from the United
Nations Security Council" citing senior administration officials.
Guest Post: If These Are The
Fastest-Growing Jobs In America - We're Doomed
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 19:26
Here’s another depressing list to
ruin your day. You can tell a lot about a society by what they value,
what they build and what they do. The only new buildings we see being
built are banks and medical facilities. That tells us a lot. We look around and
see that we value fancy new leased or financed cars, financed McMansions,
fastfood, and lots of shopping outlets. And now this list tells us a lot about
where this country is headed. Among the ten fastest growing jobs in
America, only one can be considered well paying. Only two of the jobs are in
industries that produce something. Only one requires a non-liberal arts college
degree. Most of the jobs barely pay a living wage. Most of these jobs are
non-essential service jobs that add absolutely nothing to society. A
society that does not produce is destined to decline. We’re doomed. Based
on the list below, we would describe the United States as a
service based nation of aging, vain, obese, shallow, financially
illiterate boobs with bad skin and muscle aches, who love sports and
entertainment, but can’t understand each other, and are addicted to their
oil based suburban sprawl debt financed lifestyles.
Welcome to Amurika.
The 10 Fastest-Growing Jobs in
America
August
27, 2013 by Alexander E.M. Hess
Source: Thinkstock
Over the past 10 years, the number
of nonfarm workers rose by just 5%. But despite past decade’s painful recession
and the slow job growth that has followed, several occupations have more than
doubled the number of workers employed.
24/7 Wall St. compared employment
figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for hundreds of
occupations from 2002 and 2012. Service unit operator jobs in the energy
industry quadrupled in that time. The nation’s aging population and changing
energy needs played major roles in driving disproportionate job growth for many
of the occupations listed. These are the 10 fastest-growing jobs in America.
Many occupations with extreme job
growth in the past few years owe at least part of their growth to the changing
demographics of the United States. As the baby boom generation ages, many more
people need help planning for retirement. This has driven growth of personal
financial advisors jobs. Similarly, the need for personal care aides has grown
because more people require help in their daily lives
An aging population also has
driven job growth in many occupations that are not directly related to
retirement planning and care. According to BLS Chief Regional Economist Martin
Kohli, “The aging of the population is one of the factors that is driving the demand
for massage therapists.” An aging population “is also a factor in the demand
for coaches,” Kohli said. Many coaches work as instructors for leisure sports
that retirees enjoy.
The growing Hispanic population,
in conjunction with expanding international trade, are also factors behind the
rising number of interpreters and translators, according to the BLS and Kohli.
But not all job growth can be
explained by demographic shifts. For both petroleum engineers and service unit
operators in the resource industry, the nation’s two fastest-growing jobs,
growth likely is due largely to changes in the energy sector. Both the rise in
oil prices, as well as the need to produce from unconventional sources, such as
shale oil, have been beneficial to workers in these occupations.
To determine the jobs with the
highest percentage growth in employment, 24/7 Wall St. compared data from the
BLS’s Occupational Employment Statistics program for both 2002 and 2012. Only
jobs with an estimated 20,000 employees or more were included. The program is
intended to be a sample of the overall workforce, and estimates are subject to
sampling error. The program does not count self-employed workers. Data are
collected by the program over the course of several years. Only occupations that
existed in both 2002 and 2012 were considered, and any occupations split-up or
consolidated between these periods were excluded. Further information on each
occupation came from the BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook.
These are the 10 fastest-growing
jobs in America.
10. Skin Care Specialists
> Pct. 10-year job growth:104% > 10-year job
growth: 16,230 > Total employed: 31,810 >
Median annual pay: $28,640
The number of employed skin care
specialists doubled in the 10 years ending in 2012. Specialists typically work
in salons and spas, although many are self-employed. Among the services they
provide are skin cleanings, advice on proper skin care and removal of unwanted
hair. Vocational schools usually offer cosmetology programs, which skin care
specialists typically complete. States typically require a license to work in
the field. New skin care services and products have driven demand for such
specialists.
9. Personal Care Aides
> Pct. 10-year job growth: 118% > 10-year job
growth: 534,190 > Total employed: 985,230 >
Median annual pay: $19,910
Personal care aides are in
extremely high demand as the baby boom generation ages and the number of
elderly Americans rises. But while the total number of such aides doubled
between 2002 and 2012, with nearly a million working in the field as of 2012,
it remains a high turnover job because of the typically low pay and the high
emotional toll. Even the top 10% of home care workers earned just $27,580 last
year, when the median wage for employees across all occupations was $34,750.
8. Personal Financial
Advisors > Pct. 10-year job growth: 128% >
10-year job growth: 98,460 > Total employed:
175,470 > Median annual pay: $67,520
The increased number of aging baby
boomers approaching retirement and looking to manage their savings and assets
has been one of the main drivers behind the growth in personal financial
advisor jobs. Another key driver has been the rise in private sector retirement
planning as a result of pension shortfalls. The resulting cuts to retirees’
benefits mean ever more individuals turn to financial planners in order to
better plan for later in life. Becoming a financial advisor usually requires a
bachelor’s degree. Backgrounds in math, accounting, economics, finance and law
are all considered useful. Pay for many financial planners is quite high, with
the top 25% of professionals taking home at least $111,450.
7. Coaches and Scouts
> Pct. 10-year job growth: 130% > 10-year job
growth: 114,080 > Total employed: 201,800 >
Median annual pay: $28,360
The number of coaches and scouts
rose from less than 100,000 in 2002 to more than 200,000 in 2012. Several
factors have driven job growth of coaches and scouts, and the same factors are
expected to continue to drive further growth. A growing number of retirees with
time to participate in sports such as golf and tennis is a major source of
demand for coaches. But schools and universities are actually the largest
source of jobs for coaches, according to the BLS. Job growth in college sports,
especially women’s sports, is expected to be a key driver of employment growth
in the field going forward.
6. Human Resources
Specialists > Pct. 10-year job growth: 134% >
10-year job growth: 225,830 > Total employed:
394,380 > Median annual pay: $55,800
Human resources specialists’ duties
involve recruiting, hiring and placing workers. The number of workers employed
as human resources specialist rose by more than 225,000 between 2002 and 2012.
One major factor contributing to job growth – and that is expected to continue
to contribute — is the increase of firms in the employment services industry as
companies outsource human resources tasks. Most human resources roles require a
bachelor’s degree, and interpersonal skills are also very valuable.
5. Massage Therapists
> Pct. 10-year job growth: 162% > 10-year job
growth: 43,880 > Total employed: 71,040 >
Median annual pay: $35,970
The reason for the growth in
massage therapists jobs has been a rise in the number of spas and massage
clinics, according to the BLS. The Bureau also cites an increase in the
nation’s elderly population as contributing to demand for massage therapists.
The median salary for employed massage therapists was just under $36,000 last
year, but the majority are self-employed and most work only part time. The
median hourly wage for a massage therapist was $17.29 in 2012.
4. Interpreters and
Translators > Pct. 10-year job growth: 171% >
10-year job growth: 31,720 > Total employed:
50,320 > Median annual pay: $45,430
As international trade expands and
globalization continues, the need for interpreters and translators should
continue to rise, according to the BLS. Already, the number of employed
translators has jumped from less than 20,000 in 2002 to more than 50,000 in
2012. As the nation’s Hispanic population grows, interpreters and translators
also will be needed. Translation pay varies considerably. The top-paid 10% of
translators earned more than $91,800 annually last year, while the bottom 10%
earned less than $23,570.
3. Music Directors and
Composers > Pct. 10-year job growth: 178% >
10-year job growth: 15,960 > Total employed:
24,940 > Median annual pay: $47,350
It seems that Americans’ thirst
for music is on the rise. This should drive job growth of music directors and
composers. Another factor driving job growth for this occupation is the
expected greater need for original music scores or transcriptions used in
commercials and movies. In addition to musical talent and mastery of a variety
of instruments, those in this occupation, especially the ones writing and
conducting classical music, usually have a bachelor’s degree. About 10% of
music directors and composers earned less than $21,450 annually, while the top
10% made more than $86,110, a high annual income compared with the same top 10%
of other occupations on this list.
2. Petroleum Engineers
> Pct. 10-year job growth: 227% > 10-year job
growth: 25,280 > Total employed: 36,410 >
Median annual pay: $130,280
Petroleum engineers are some of
the highest paid workers in the nation, with a median wage that exceeded
$130,000 in 2012. Their work typically involves assessing and planning drilling
operations, as well as determining the equipment and methods necessary to
extract oil and natural gas in the most efficient way possible. Petroleum
engineers are required to have a bachelor’s degree in engineering and must pass
a licensing exam and have four years of work experience to be licensed. Oil
prices play a major role in determining job outlook for petroleum engineers,
partially because higher prices improve incentives to explore and produce oil
from newer, more challenging sources. In the past decade, oil prices have risen
dramatically, possibly accounting for much of the profession’s estimated 227%
job growth.
1. Service Unit Operators,
Oil, Gas and Mining > Pct. 10-year job growth:
365% > 10-year job growth: 44,870 > Total
employed: 57,180 > Median annual pay: $41,970
No occupation has grown faster
than service unit operators working in natural resources extraction, where the
number of workers jumped from just over 12,000 in 2002 to more than 57,000 in
2012. Workers in these fields typically are responsible for overseeing and
maintaining wells and other technology used in extracting natural resources.
Workers are most often employed in oil and gas producing states, such as Texas,
Oklahoma, Louisiana and North Dakota. There are several potential reasons for
the profession’s explosive job growth, including rising energy prices and the
increased extraction of non-conventional fuel sources.
THE NoBeL MaNiaC...
Posted by : williambanzai7
Post date: 08/31/2013 - What have we done?
THE NoBeL MaNiaC...
Submitted
by williambanzai7
on 08/31/2013 14:28 -0400
Barry has murderous eyes
The Nobel for peace was his prize
He's prepping for war
So Kleptos get MOAR
And Kerry's in charge of the lies
The Limerick King
Slavery!
Posted by: Pivotfarm Post
date: 08/30/2013 - Slavery was meant to have vanished
from the face of the Earth, or at least from our modern societies years ago.
But, it hasn’t. We all know that.
Experts: U.S. Case that Syrian
Government Responsible for Chemical Weapons Is Weak
Posted by: George
Washington Post date: 08/30/2013 -
And other Syria updates ...
'UTTER NONSENSE' { Yes … I concur with Putin … First, the war
mongers seem to hang their hats on the chemical strike … conceded … that’s the
easy part … the reality concerns who the real perps are … indeed, other
so-called circumstantial at best inferences/not proof is quote ‘being held
back’ for unspecified reasons (that I believe like the yellow-cake-Iraq
scenario does not exist or definitively point to Assad) … Quite simply, I don’t
believe the americans/american position and based on history including my own
direct experience ( http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/ricosummarytoFBIunderpenaltyofperjury.pdf
http://www.albertpeia.com/112208opocoan/PeiavCoanetals.htm
http://albertpeia.com/fbimartinezcongallard.htm ) , have no reason to do so… This is just
more desperation and diversion from unequivocally failed leadership and
government (corruption, cover-up, bankruptcy, etc.) in the u.s., ie., bush,
wobama, etc.. }
U.S. Had Intel on Chemical
Strike Before It Was Launched...
Syria Faces Cyber Attacks
in Upcoming Strikes...
Who Benefits From A War Between
The United States And Syria?
Someone
wants to get the United States into a war with Syria very, very badly.
Cui bono is an old Latin phrase that is still commonly used, and it roughly
means "to whose benefit?" The key to figuring out who is really
behind the push for war is to look at who will benefit from that war. If
a full-blown war erupts between the United States and Syria, it will not be
good for the United States, it will not be good for Israel, it will not be good
for Syria, it will not be good for Iran and it will not be good for
Hezbollah. The party that stands to benefit the most is Saudi Arabia, and
they won't even be doing any of the fighting. They have been pouring
billions of dollars into the conflict in Syria, but so far they have not been
successful in their attempts to overthrow the Assad regime. Now the
Saudis are trying to play their trump card - the U.S. military. If the
Saudis are successful, they will get to pit the two greatest long-term
strategic enemies of Sunni Islam against each other - the U.S. and Israel on
one side and Shia Islam on the other. In such a scenario, the more damage
that both sides do to each other the happier the Sunnis will be. (Read
More....)
25 Quotes About The Coming War
With Syria That Every American Should See
If
Barack Obama is going to attack Syria, he is going to do it without the support of the
American people, without the approval of Congress, without the
approval of the United Nations, and without the help of the British. Now
that the British Parliament has voted against a military strike, the Obama
administration is saying that it may take "unilateral action" against
Syria. But what good would "a shot across Syria's bow" actually
do? A "limited strike" is not going to bring down the Assad
regime and it is certainly not going to end the bloody civil war that has been
raging inside Syria. Even if the U.S. eventually removed Assad, the al-Qaeda affiliated rebels that would take power
would almost certainly be even worse than Assad. Even in the midst of
this bloody civil war, the rebels have taken the time and the effort to massacre entire Christian
villages. Why is Barack Obama so obsessed with helping such
monsters? There is no good outcome in Syria. The Assad regime is
absolutely horrible and the rebels are even worse. Why would we want the
U.S. military to get involved in such a mess? (Read
More....)
Obama Slapped Down
by Congress on Syria Attack
Infowars.com |
Alex breaks down Obama’s decision to seek Congressional authorization.
Under Colossal
Global Backlash, Obama Holds Off on Syria Strike
Julie Wilson |
Obama decides to follow the Constitution and seek Congressional approval for
Syrian military strike.
Video: Russell
Brand Trashes MSM in New Interview
Infowars.com |
Russell Brand’s full interview released.
Pat Buchanan: Chemical
Attack ‘Reeks Of False Flag Operation’
Mikael Thalen |
Three-time presidential adviser Pat Buchanan says Syrian attacks were part of
‘false flag’ programs.
USF Student
Harassed by Feds for Transporting Humanitarian Aide to Syria
Julie Wilson | US
government targets US Syrian immigrants.
Obama’s Syria
Attack: The Health of the Military Industrial Complex
Kurt Nimmo |
Graphs explain motivation behind looming Syria attack.
Syria expecting
military strike ‘at any moment,’ says security official
Al Arabiya | “We
are ready to retaliate at any moment.”
America Totally Discredited
Paul Craig Roberts
| Foolish Obama and moronic Kerry have handed the US government its worst
diplomatic defeat in history.
Who Benefits From A War Between
The United States And Syria?
Michael Snyder |
Someone wants to get the United States into a war with Syria very, very badly.
JPMorgan Bribery Probe Said to
Expand as Spreadsheet Found
Bloomberg | Spreadsheet
linked appointments to specific deals pursued by the bank.
Detroit stopped issuing death,
birth certificates after bankruptcy
The Detroit News
| City couldn’t issue death – or birth – certificates because skittish vendor
wanted cash to supply paper.
Video: Russell
Brand Trashes Media in New Interview
Infowars.com |
Russell Brand’s full interview released.
Under Colossal
Global Backlash, Obama Holds Off on Syria Strike
Julie Wilson |
Obama decides to follow the Constitution and seek Congressional approval for
military strike.
USF Student Harassed
by Feds for Transporting Humanitarian Aide to Syria
Julie Wilson | US
government targets US Syrian immigrants.
(Al-Qaeda Led)
Syrian rebels plan raids to exploit Western strikes
Reuters | “The
hope is to take advantage when some areas are weakened by any strikes.”
Syria expecting
military strike ‘at any moment,’ says security official
Al Arabiya | “We
are ready to retaliate at any moment.”
America Totally Discredited
Paul Craig Roberts
| A foolish President Obama and moronic Secretary of State Kerry have handed
the United States government its worst diplomatic defeat in history.
Putin: US Chemical
Weapons Claims “Utter Nonsense
RT | Russian
President Vladimir Putin has declared ‘utter nonsense’ the idea that the Syrian
government has used chemical weapons.
Who Benefits From A
War Between The United States And Syria?
Michael Snyder |
Someone wants to get the United States into a war with Syria very, very badly.
Attack on Syria
Could Start Tomorrow As UN Inspectors Leave
Daily Mail | U.S
missile strikes against Syria could start tomorrow after U.N. weapons
inspectors left the war-torn country earlier than expected.
Late-Day “Panic” Leaves Stocks
With Worst Month Since May 2012
Zero Hedge |
While the Dow suffered its worst monthly loss since May 2012, it is actually
holding up better than the rest of the US equity indices since Kerry’s speech.
Crude Falls From Two-Year High as
Syria Concern Eases
Bloomberg |
Prices dropped 1.2 percent.
Ex-CEO of McDonald’s warns
Obamacare forcing all employees into 25-hour work weeks
Natural News |
There is a movement afoot to force companies to pay low-skill employees better
than many college graduates.
Goldman Sachs Banker Indicted On
Rape Charges
Business Insider | Goldman Sachs
managing director Jason Lee has been indicted on a rape charge, Bloomberg’s
Chris Dolmetsch is reporting.
If You Want To Know Why Things
Are Falling Apart, Look At Total Debt
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 18:37
Want to know why things
are falling apart? Just look at our soaring systemic debt and the diminishing
returns on that debt. We are in a long-term trend where additional debt
undermines the system as the positive returns on that debt turn negative.
And Now, It's Golfing Time (Or
Putin +1, Obama 0)
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 17:00
After
bringing the world to the edge of WWIII and nearly giving the first order to
launch the ironically named Patriot missile, then dramatically punting in the
very last second whether to invade Syria to Congress, something he should have
done from the every beginning, Obama went on to do what he does best.
Mapping America's Dwindling
Invasion Coalition
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 16:45
U.S. President
Barack Obama is evidently not getting the multinational coalition his
administration was expecting to share the burden of a limited strike operation
against Syria. The British parliament has voted against a military
intervention, and NATO has said it would not participate in a U.S.-led mission.
The United States can either unilaterally fire a symbolic but ineffective shot
to demonstrate action for the sake of action, wage a highly unpopular
multi-month air-land attack alone or abandon the military campaign
altogether.
Guest Post: What To Expect During
The Next Stage Of Collapse
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 15:58
The most likely path of
collapse to take place within the U.S. includes economic destabilization caused
by a loss of the dollar's world reserve status and petro-status. This
fiscal crisis event will likely not occur in the midst of a political
vacuum. The central banks and international financiers that
created our ongoing and developing disaster are not going to allow the
destruction of the American economy, the dollar, or global markets without a
cover event designed to hide their culpability. They need
something big. Something so big that the average citizen is overwhelmed
with fear and confusion. A smoke and mirrors magic trick so raw and soul
shattering it leaves the very population of the Earth mesmerized and helpless
to understand the root of the nightmare before them. The elites need a
fabricated Apocalypse. Enter Syria...
Russia Restructures Cyprus Debt;
Cyprus Prohibits US Strikes On Syria
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 15:00
Yesterday afternoon, Russia
agreed to restructure Cyprus' EUR 2.5 billion loan terms to a much
more affordable 2.5% semi-annual coupon through 2016 and a principal re-payment
over the following four years. While probably still out of reach for the
desparate economy, it was a positive step. Of course, this 'offer' by Russia
has its quid pro quo. This morning, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has
stated that Cyprus territory will not be used to launch military
strikes against Syria, as "Cyprus wants to live up to its
responsibility as a shelter if needed for nationals of friendly countries who
evacuate from Middle East". It would appear Obama's influence is
fading everywhere...
Meanwhile In Fukushima: Multiple
Leaks, Radiation Soars To 1.8 Sieverts/hr
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 13:47
Obama's "Next Steps"
(On The Ground) Briefing - To Seek Congressional Approval
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 13:09
*OBAMA SAYS USERS OF CHEMCIAL
WEAPONS MUST BE HELD TO ACCOUNT
*OBAMA SAYS `MENACE' OF SYRIA MUST BE CONFRONTED
*OBAMA SAYS U.S. MUST TAKE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST SYRIA
*OBAMA SAYS HE WILL SEEK
AUTHORIZATION FROM CONGRESS ON SYRIA
While Andrea Mitchell reports that the President will not
be announcing airstrikes from the Rose Garden at 115ET, his press briefing this
afternoon will update the American people on his decisions about how to
proceed... so with no report due from the UN on Syrian chemical arms
until lab tests are done, we wait with bated breath for Obama's next steps (but
not on the ground...)
"I look forward to the
debate"...
Guest Post: Where's Congress on
Syria?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 12:18
Where’s
Congress? That’s the question that should haunt the American people in
the wake of President Obama’s apparent decision to get their country into
another Mideast war. In the long history of the American experience, matters of
war and peace have always been hotly debated. And those debates traditionally
have been most intense and concentrated in Congress. Now we have a president
who declares in word and deed that war decisions, as artificially defined by
him as something short of actual war, are exclusively within his constitutional
domain. And we have a Congress that shows no serious inclination to
challenge that claim of prerogative and power. This is a
very serious - and potentially calamitous - development in American history.
Syrian Army Warns "Finger On
The Trigger" For Strike Response
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 11:44
US Marine Ship Approaches Syria;
Russia Blasts Any "Acts Of Aggression" - Full Syrian Update
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/31/2013 - 10:50
WWhile there may have been a
verbal attempt by the Obama administration to diffuse Syrian tensions in the
aftermath of Thursday's shocker out of the House of Commons, the action on the
ground so far is hardly conciliatory. Or rather water, because a sixth US
warship has now anchored in proximity to Syria, joining the recently arrived
fifth destroyer USS Stout, which joined the warships already
"breathing down Assad's neck." From AP: "Five
U.S. Navy destroyers - the USS Gravely, USS Mahan, USS Barry, the USS Stout and
USS Ramage - are in the eastern Mediterranean Sea waiting for the order to
launch. And the USS San Antonio, an amphibious assault ship has now joined
them. The USS San Antonio, which is carrying helicopters and can carry up to
800 Marines, has no cruise missiles, so it is not expected to participate in
the attack. Instead, the ship's long-planned transit across the Mediterranean
was interrupted so that it could remain in the area to help if needed." So
in addition to a cruise missile based force, the US is now bringing in
the marines? The justification that they are there "just in
case" seems a little shallow in context.
25 Quotes About The Coming War
With Syria That Every American Should See
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 22:38
If Barack Obama is
going to attack Syria, he is going to do it without the support of the
American people, without the approval of Congress, without the
approval of the United Nations, and without the help of the British. Now
that the British Parliament has voted against a military strike, the Obama
administration is saying that it may take "unilateral action" against
Syria. Unfortunately for the Obama administration, the world is not
buying it. In fact, people are seeing right through this charade. The
following are 25 quotes about the coming war with Syria that every American
should see...
Guess Which "Bearish"
Bank Bought A Record Amount Of GLD In Q2
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/30/2013
- 21:32
In early April, the status
quo was exuberant when none other than Goldman Sachs issued a "sell" on
the barbarous relic that has become so indicative of the exuberance
of central planning. At the time, we were skeptical (to
say the least) and, just for extra Muppetting, the bank also suggested its
clients buy Treasuries. Well, now that the full details of holdings changes
have been released for Q2, it is perhaps clearer than ever before that as the
bank was telling its clients to "sell, sell, sell" it was itself
"buy, buy, buy"-ing the Gold ETF (GLD) with both arms and feet. In
Q2, Goldman Sachs added a stunning (and record) 3.7 million 'shares' of GLD.
As Paulson dumped his GLD, Goldman lapped it up to become the ETF's 7th largest
holder.
Citi On The Coming
"Black" Gold-Rush
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/30/2013
- 20:58
The present picture for the
oil price looks increasingly bullish once more. Citi asks, is this a replay
of the dynamics seen in the 1970’s? We hope not... but
the feedback loop (from oil prices) to the economy and markets is undeniable...
Hurricane Katrina... Eight Years
Later
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 19:35
On the eve of the eighth
anniversary of Hurricane Katrina the Greater New Orleans Community
Data Center, which has been tracking recovery indicators since the
early months after the storm, issued a snapshot of post-Katrina statistics...
and the results are mixed. From the good (63% of New Orleans students
passing vs 30% pre-Katrina); to the bad (rising adult unemployment and
child poverty rates); to the ugly (rapidly collapsing population dynamics
reflecting a very 'detroit'-like scenario), it seems there is still work to be
done...
Guest Post: The State's Dumb
Strength
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 18:39
Whenever the state
decides to remove the mask of decency and show its true, violent self, there is
a positive outcome to the predation. Many finally catch a glimpse of
the true force that backs monopoly government. Very few will allow
this image to change their preconceived notions of the viability of
institutionalized mass representation. The targeted harassment of
dissenters is indicative of the state’s brash reaction to all challenges.
It’s a task of extreme difficulty to pinpoint where the downward slide began. The
rise of statism, moral relativism, and total war has undeniably had a negative
effect on how individuals view themselves in civilized society. The
degree of degeneration varies between areas, but it’s not hard to recognize the
causal effect.
Wal*Mart Now Serving Effortless
Meals Posted by : hedgeless_horseman
Post date: 08/30/2013 - 10:59 Americans are taught that "effortless" is the
path to happiness, when really it is the path to diabetes, hip and
knee replacements, bankruptcy, no sex life, and MOAR DEBT!
Experts: U.S. Case that Syrian
Government Responsible for Chemical Weapons Is Weak
Posted by: George
WashingtonPost date: 08/30/2013 -
And other Syria updates ...
YouV'e HeaRD IT ALL, NoW LeTS
TWeRK IT OFF! Posted by: williambanzai7
Post date: 08/30/2013 - Keep on Twerkin'...
YouV'e HeaRD IT ALL, NoW LeTS
TWeRK IT OFF!
Submitted
by williambanzai7
on 08/30/2013 15:06 -0400
Twerkin Twirp
Hollandaise Twerk
Hefty Twerk
Angie's a hefty old girl
For votes she will bounce, thrust
& twirl
Some scandalous shakes
Whatever it takes
The sight of it might make us hurl
The Limerick King
Twerkin' Twerk Offs
No time for twerks'
25 Quotes About The Coming War
With Syria That Every American Should See
If
Barack Obama is going to attack Syria, he is going to do it without the support of the
American people, without the approval of Congress, without the
approval of the United Nations, and without the help of the British. Now
that the British Parliament has voted against a military strike, the Obama
administration is saying that it may take "unilateral action" against
Syria. But what good would "a shot across Syria's bow" actually
do? A "limited strike" is not going to bring down the Assad
regime and it is certainly not going to end the bloody civil war that has been
raging inside Syria. Even if the U.S. eventually removed Assad, the al-Qaeda affiliated rebels that would take power
would almost certainly be even worse than Assad. Even in the midst of
this bloody civil war, the rebels have taken the time and the effort to massacre entire Christian
villages. Why is Barack Obama so obsessed with helping such
monsters? There is no good outcome in Syria. The Assad regime is
absolutely horrible and the rebels are even worse. Why would we want the
U.S. military to get involved in such a mess? (Read
More....)
Reports Of Very Unusual Troop
Movements In The U.S. And Air Power Massing In Cyprus
The photo posted above shows a
massive lineup of U.S. military armored vehicles on the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River
in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. According to Before it’s News, this photograph was emailed to them
by a very concerned reader: “The picture below was just emailed to
Beforeitsnews by a very concerned reader who asked that we publish this to get
it out to the world. The picture shows a HUGE number of military vehicles
being transported towards New Orleans and was just taken by our reader today,
August 26th, 2013.” Barack Obama has pledged that the U.S. will not have
any “boots on the ground” in Syria. If that is
indeed the case, then where are all of those armored vehicles headed? Are
we being lied to? Could they actually be going over to the Middle
East? Let’s hope not, because a war with Syria could escalate (Read
More....)
PENTAGON CAN'T AFFORD WAR; MUST SEEK
ADDITIONAL FUNDS
KERRY'S MOMENT...
Syria says US evidence
'entirely fabricated'...
UN analysis of samples
could take two weeks...
WHITE HOUSE PISSED AT
LEAKS...
Experts: Don't bomb
chemical weapon sites...
U.S. turns on Britain...
Cameron first to lose war
vote in Parliament since 1782!
'Embarrassing'...
Obama 'not made any
decisions'...
Willing to go it alone...
SYRIA MOVES MISSILES,
TROOPS...
Obama: Sex Ed for
Kindergartners 'Right Thing to Do'...
COPS: 2 Women Gang Raped By
Group Of 10-12 Juveniles In Park... Developing... { Yup … uncivilized
niggers strike again … ‘Police say two women, ages 32 and
24, were reportedly attacked and sexually assaulted by a group of 10 to 12
black male juveniles in Kosciuszko Park at about 6:54 p.m. Thursday. According
to police, the suspects, who range in age from 12 to 17-years-old, remain on
the loose…’ }
Guess Which "Bearish"
Bank Bought A Record Amount Of GLD In Q2
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 16:52
In early April, the status
quo was exuberant when none other than Goldman Sachs issued a "sell"
on the barbarous relic that has become so indicative of the
exuberance of central planning. At the time, we were skeptical (to
say the least) and, just for extra Muppetting, the bank also suggested its
clients buy Treasuries. Well, now that the full details of holdings changes
have been released for Q2, it is perhaps clearer than ever before that as the
bank was telling its clients to "sell, sell, sell" it was itself
"buy, buy, buy"-ing the Gold ETF (GLD) with both arms and feet. In
Q2, Goldman Sachs added a stunning (and record) 3.7 million 'shares' of GLD.
As Paulson dumped his GLD, Goldman lapped it up to become the ETF's 7th
largest holder.
Don't Show Obama This Report
About Who Really Is Behind The Syrian Chemical Attacks
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 10:33
As we showed mere days ago, it
appears the truth of who the real puppet-master in the Middle-East is becoming
plainer to see. The incredibly frank discussion between Saudi's
spy-chief Prince Bandar and Russia's Putin exposed a much deeper plot is afoot
and the following details from the actual people on the ground in the
chemically-attacked region of Syria suggest Obama is playing right into the
Saudi's plan. While Obama is 'certain' that the chemical attacks took
place on al-Assad's orders, as MPN reports, "from numerous interviews with
doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different
picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical
weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were
responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack."
Guest Post: The State's Dumb
Strength
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 18:39
Whenever the state
decides to remove the mask of decency and show its true, violent self, there is
a positive outcome to the predation. Many finally catch a glimpse of
the true force that backs monopoly government. Very few will allow
this image to change their preconceived notions of the viability of
institutionalized mass representation. The targeted harassment of
dissenters is indicative of the state’s brash reaction to all challenges.
It’s a task of extreme difficulty to pinpoint where the downward slide began. The
rise of statism, moral relativism, and total war has undeniably had a negative
effect on how individuals view themselves in civilized society. The
degree of degeneration varies between areas, but it’s not hard to recognize the
causal effect.
Are You Eligible For A Black Card
(And Can You Afford One)? Find Out With This Infographic
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 18:03
When we think of the
once-mythical American Express black card, we tend to conjure images of the most
fabulously wealthy people in the world plunking one down on the counter to pay
for items that cost more than most Americans earn in a year – or possibly even
in a decade. The American Express "black" is actually
the American Express Centurion Black card and that image is not a terribly far
cry from reality...
When Printing Money Loses Its
Magic
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 17:31
The magic was the
magnificent illusion that money printing increased wealth. It
certainly looked that way, despite all the common-sense interpretation that
would have you believe that it doesn't. But that's the beauty of a wonderfully
performed magic trick. Something impossible seems to happen. You know it
can't happen, but it looks like it did, and what's the harm in letting yourself
believe? Assuming that the goal is reducing unemployment... it
really was a wonderful 50 years. Pumping out money increased the
labor force participation rate from about 59% in 1960 to 67% by about 2000 by
creating jobs in military procurement, lobbying, and (as we went through
successive bubbles) brokerages and finance, government, home construction, real
estate sales, retail, etc. Now the losses in manufacturing and primary
wealth creation are overwhelming the jobs created in the FIRE economy, and the
US looks to be heading back to the golden era of the 50s, with labor force
participation back below 60%. Too bad they'll all be low-paying jobs.
Late-Day "Panic" Leaves
Stocks With Worst Month Since May 2012
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 16:12
While the Dow suffered its
worst monthly loss since May 2012, it is actually holding up better than the
rest of the US equity indices since Kerry's speech on Monday. With the Trannies
down 4% since Kerry, they cap the worst in the last 23 months. Energy
outperformed (unchanged) on the week and financials were major losers down 3%
but hombuilders were hammered post-Kerry also ending at the lows of the week. VIX
closed at its highest in over 2 months with its biggest weekly jump in over 4
months. Away from equities, FX, commodity, and bond markets also turmoiled...
The last few minutes saw stocks crater and ramp as illiquidity, month-end, and
anxiety left traders (and machines) breathless.
Friday Humor: Kevin Henry's
Trading Platform
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 15:54
Because we get the feeling Kevin
was a busy boy this afternoon...
And Another Deserts As NATO Says
Obama On His Own
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 15:35
They are falling like flies...
following the British vote not to join Obama in his latest crusade, it s now
NATO's turn as Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen tells Dutch TV2 that "NATO
will have no role in any military action in Syria." Of course,
there's still the French; and as Rasmussen notes, should any retaliatory action
take place to endanger NATO member Turkey then the situation may well change.
Quoted as urging a political resolution rather than military, and supportive of
the UN inspectors, Rasmussen added "A sustainable solution is a
political solution. But an international reaction is necessary."
Shorting Stocks On These POMO
Days May Be Hazardous To Your Health
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 15:08
If anyone expected Bernanke to
hint at a tapering in daily monetizations for the month of September, they will
be disappointed. Moments ago the NY Fed reported that the Fed will inject a
total of $45 billion in the market in September, $1 billion less than in
August, but certainly not any other more notable amount which would indicate
that the Fed would announce and immediately proceed to reduce its daily POMOs
to match the reduction in QE (including $40BN in MBS monetizations). So,
continuing our long series of POMO shorting warnings,
now that even the Treasury openly admits "it's all POMO",
here is the list of 18 trading days on which shorting stocks may be hazardous
to one's health.
Guest Post: Freedom Is A
Community-Based Economy
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 14:56
We are
propagandized to assume the existing hyper-structures of our centralized
state-cartel economies will deliver us jobs, happiness, wealth, health and
financial security. They will not. The following insightful
essay is not just a critique of our current centralized economies but an
outline of a community-based alternative economy that offers freedom instead of
dependence. Though the examples are drawn from the U.K., the dynamics are the
same in America and other advanced state-cartel economies.
Obama Speaks Behind Closed Doors,
Says "Syria Action Will Be Limited, No Ground Troops"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 14:28
The headlines come pouring in:
OBAMA
SPEAKS ON SYRIA DURING MEETING WITH BALTIC LEADERS
OBAMA
CALLS SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACK CHALLENGE TO WORLD
OBAMA
SAYS SYRIAN USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS THREATENS U.S.
OBAMA
SAYS HE'LL CONTINUE TO CONSULT WITH CONGRESS ON SYRIA
OBAMA
SAYS HE HASN'T MADE FINAL DECISION ON SYRIA ATTACK
OBAMA
SAYS SYRIA ACTION WILL BE LIMITED WITH NO GROUND TROOPS
So... he hasn't made a decision,
but the action will be limited. Is this like the Schrodinger economy where
everything is dead if one collapses the Fed's wave function.
RANsquawk - Weekly Wrap - 30th
August 2013
Submitted by RANSquawk Video on
08/30/2013 - 14:21
The Revelation Will Not Be
Televised: White House Declines Request For Network TV Coverage Of Obama 2:30pm
Speech
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 14:00
An "Efficient"
"Illiquid" "Market" Responds To Kerry's Words
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/30/2013 - 13:48
Presented with little comment
aside to note that volumes surged as US equities initially dipped and then
ripped back to the entirely algorithmically-controlled VWAP level before
starting its fade back... Happy Holidays, Johnny 5...
John Kerry's "Proof"
Statement - Full Transcript
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/30/2013
- 13:35
It seems clear that it is not
"if" but "when" an attack takes place and as the following
world-cloud confirms; the US "know"... as the
strategy "better to ask for forgiveness than permission?" And that
with the Russia meeting due next week, and a UN inspector report that appears
pointless now that we have social media, that the attack will occur sooner
rather than later...
German Children
Kidnapped for Crime of Parent’s Homeschooling Them
Julie Wilson |
German Homeschooling ban upheld since Hitler’s rule.
John Kerry:
Negotiations to Continue Over Syrian Chemical Attack
Julie Wilson |
“Many friends stand ready to respond.”
Ted Nugent’s Wife
Arrested for Gun Found in Luggage
Kit Daniels |
Will court offer the same leniency given to others arrested for gun possession?
Kerry Lies About Number
of Syrian Chemical War Dead
Kurt Nimmo | 355
people were killed, not the wildly exaggerated figure cited by Kerry.
Ron Paul: Syria
Chemical Attack A ‘False Flag’
Mikael Thalen |
Ron Paul blasts Syrian chemical attack as a false flag to launch war.
Shocking Story That
Could Derail Attack on Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
| Will the mainstream media ignore a story that could derail the march to war?
Child Taken Because
Dad Read Gun Magazine
Gigi Erneta |
Government-run gun confiscation kickback program exposed.
Individual Morality
is the Last Firewall Against Psychopath Takeover
Daniel Taylor |
You can be the antibody to the pathocratic disease.
JPMorgan Bribery Probe Said to
Expand as Spreadsheet Found
Bloomberg |
Spreadsheet linked appointments to specific deals pursued by the bank.
Detroit stopped issuing death,
birth certificates after bankruptcy
The Detroit News
| City couldn’t issue death – or birth – certificates because skittish vendor
wanted cash to supply paper.
Will War With Syria Cause The
Price Of Oil To Explode Higher?
Economic Collapse | Are you ready
to pay four, five or possibly even six dollars for a gallon of gasoline?
John Kerry:
Negotiations to Continue in Syrian Chemical Attack
Julie Wilson |
“Many friends stand ready to respond.”
Will Obama Doom
Himself As A War Criminal?
Paul Craig Roberts
| Obama, pushed by his Israeli and neocon masters, only to have it sawed off by
the British Parliament.
Kerry Misrepresents
Syria Chemical War Dead
Kurt Nimmo | 355
people were killed, not the wildly exaggerated figure cited by Kerry.
Shocking Story That
Could Derail Attack on Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
| Will the mainstream media ignore a story that could derail the march to war?
Rebels Admit
Responsibility for Chemical Weapons Attack
Paul Joseph Watson
| Militants tell AP reporter they mishandled Saudi-supplied chemical weapons,
causing accident.
Released US Report
“Proving” Assad’s Use Of Chemical Weapons Is Based On YouTube Clips: Full
Report Attached
Zero Hedge | It
is exactly as expected, putting the full blame on Assad.
Saudi Arabia Goest
To “DefCon 2″
Zero Hedge | The
UK may be out, but Saudi Arabia isn’t taking any chances.
Obama Should Lose
Nobel Prize If US Strikes Syria – Pushkov
RIA Novosti | US
President Barack Obama should be stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize if the
United States carries out a military strike on Syria.
Crude Falls From Two-Year High as
Syria Concern Eases
Bloomberg |
Prices dropped 1.2 percent.
Ex-CEO of McDonald’s warns
Obamacare forcing all employees into 25-hour work weeks
Natural News |
There is a movement afoot to force companies to pay low-skill employees better
than many college graduates.
Goldman Sachs Banker Indicted On
Rape Charges
Business Insider | Goldman Sachs
managing director Jason Lee has been indicted on a rape charge, Bloomberg’s
Chris Dolmetsch is reporting.
Zero Hedge | How do markets (US
equities, Gold, Crude Oil, and the USD) react around US military conflicts…?
Intelligence Report On Syrian
Chemical Weapons To Be Released Tomorrow
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 19:01
1987 Or 2008?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 18:34
Because "its always
different this time..."
"This" Has Never
Happened Outside Of A Recession
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 17:34
As the mainstream-media and its
status quo "growth's around the corner" lackeys gloat hopefully over
this morning's soon-to-be-revised GDP data beat, we noted a rather disturbing
trend in a critical part of the report. Real Final Sales growth is collapsing.
In fact, the current slow level of growth in real final sales has never
occurred outside of a recession... So perhaps, as we commented (here, here, and here) things are not
as 'great' as headlines would suggest.
Syria News Recap: All The Latest
Developments
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/29/2013
- 16:54
Summarizing the latest updates in
the rapidly changing Syria story.
Guest Post: Economic Darwinism
And The Next Financial Crisis
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 16:44
Just as natural selection selects
for traits that improve the odds of success/survival in the natural world,
Economic Darwinism advances people and policies that boost profits and power
within the dominant environment. If there was one phrase that summarized the
current malaise, it would be "The Federal Reserve's 20-year policy of
easy money created an environment virtually assured to select bankers,
bureaucrats, educators, and elected officials who least understood the
consequences of a credit crisis." In other words, a
hyper-financialized environment of near-zero interest and abundant credit
rewarded those people and policies that succeed in that environment.
Stocks Up, Bonds Up, USD Up; VIX
Up? Commodities Creamed
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 16:15
Another very volatile day across
asset-classes with no-one having a clue what is going on. Good-news
(GDP) was instantly interpreted as bad-news (moar Taper) and bonds and
stocks sold off notably but as the US equity market opened, JPY was sold and
carry took over lifting stocks back to pre-FOMC-minutes levels once again...
but bonds also rallied significantly with it (in a non-Taper-ing manner) as the
USD rallied. But once that run-stop was covered on low volume levitation,
stocks limped lower from the European (and POMO) close onwards, ending towards
the lower-end of the day's cash range. Treasury yields dropped 7bps
from their post-GDP highs leaving the 30Y -3bps on the day (and 7Y and less
unch). VIX rose (turning higher before stocks topped), almost tagging
17% as it closed. But burying the lead, commodities were slammed with WTI
slammed back under $108; gold, silver, and copper all hit with the
latter -3.5% on the week. 'Average' volume day in futures.
Fast-Food Workers Of The World,
Unite: The McStrike Epidemic Spreads, Coming To A City Near You
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 15:56
A month ago we reported that US fast
food workers in several US cities, namely New York City, Chicago, St. Louis,
Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Mo., and Flint, Mich., walked out Monday in a
one-day strike demanding a doubling of
their pay. Not unexpectedly, even though the president himself has been a
strong proponent of rising the minimum wage, the corporations balked and the
strikers achieved nothing and just in case there is some confusion, there is a
lot of minimum skills, minimum wage applicants (not to mention robots) out
there which translates into two words for the strikers: no leverage.
However, these concepts may be foreign to a fast-food labor force that probably
just wants a day out in the nice weather and to take a break from hard work for
a change.
US Stealth Drones, Bombers,
C-130s In Cyprus?
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 15:51
Update: it appears
the photos posted on twitter are fake. Hopefully that means there are no B-2 in
the vicinity of Syria.
Boehner Demands Obama Release
More "Details" On Syria
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 14:56
With the traditional liberal war
dove brigade paradoxically and firmly in Obama's pocket on the issue of the
Syrian attack/invasion/false flag/war, it was only a matter of time before
Boehner made it clear that if Obama wanted an internal Congressional consensus
it won't come easy if at all. And just like Russia and China are making an
external united front for public consumption impossible, so the Republican just
threw the first theatrical roadblock. Sure enough:
BOEHNER
SEEKS MORE DETAILS ON SYRIA WITH OBAMA AFTER PHONE CALL
To help the speaker in his
theatrical quest for "more details", we have taken the first
theatrical step in providing them, after this hyperlink.
How Obama Got His Tomahawks
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 14:44
The rise of Tomahawk force began
in 1983 during the Reagan buildup, but the demise of the Evil Empire did not
slow down its development one bit. By the end of the century the United States
had about 150 surface ships and attack submarines that could launch these
deadly cruise missiles and an inventory of nearly 5,000 missiles. Tomahawks
have a range of seven hundred miles. This means that from their offshore
platforms they can reach three-fourths of the world’s population. And during
the last two decades they have been used in just this “stand-off” manner
against targets in Iraq, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Libya, and others—teaching
presidents that they could meddle freely without getting bloodied.
Crude Crushed Into Pit Close
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 14:38
No news; no update; nothing from
the White House or State Department... but WTI Crude futures collapsed over
$1.50 into the close in minutes on very heavy volume. We are sure someone
somewhere knows why... though the Press Briefing may just have started the
world's fears over the credibility of the US case...
NASDARK Admits "Software Flaws"; Blames NYSE
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 14:08
Unsurprisingly NASDARK, while
admitting to "latent software flaws" in the SIP,, choose to place the
blame for causing the 'glitch' at the foot of the NYSE Arca...
*NASDAQ
HALT REPORT SAYS DATA FLOOD EXPOSED SOFTWARE FLAW
*NASDAQ
SAYS CONFLUENCE OF EVENTS 'VASTLY EXCEEDED' SIP CAPACITY
*NASDAQ
SAYS SOME ISSUES 'CLEARLY WITHIN' COMPANY'S CONTROL
*NASDAQ:'UNPRECEDENTED
VOLUME' OF MSG TRAFFIC TO SIP CAUSED HALT
*NASDAQ:
SIP RECEIVED OVER 20 SEQUENCES FROM NYSE ARCA
*NASDAQ:
SIP GOT INACCURATE SYMBOL QUOTE STREAM FROM NYSE ARCA
"Other issues contributing to
the halt are more endemic to technology issues across today’s complex markets
and will require a broader industry-wide effort to resolve... and will
present our initial recommendations related to these changes to the SIP
governing committee within 30 days." And here is Nanex's perspective.
Guest Post: This Failure Rate Will Shock You
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 14:00
History is very clear: societies
that organize themselves around a tiny elite who thinks they should
control the entire system suffer a 100% failure rate, without
exception. Today’s system shares similar fundamentals to nearly every other
case of failed empire. And it’s foolish to think that this time will be any
different.
Relative Strength Indicator: TOP!
Posted by: thetechnicaltake
Post date: 08/29/2013 - we are closer to the end of
this rally than the beginning
German Election Finally Gets
Messy: “Euro Is More Than A Currency” And Greece “Shouldn’t Have Been Allowed
In” Posted by: testosteronepit
Post date: 08/29/2013 - “It could create a domino
effect of uncertainty”
Gundlach's Year End Bond
Forecast, Revised
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 13:35
It would appear that the new
normal's Bond gurus are struggling with the weight of the 'Taper'-ing,
deleveraging, 'special-repo'-ing, government-repress-ing, EM-crisis-ing world
of extreme fast money flows that the Fed has thrust upon us. Just 3 short months ago, Jeff Gundlach said that he "expects the absolute
highest for the 10-year yield this year is 2.4%, but he expects it to
stay closer to 2%." However, as the 10Y yield presses up towards 3.0%, he
told CNBC (in this brief but insightful clip on world flows and how he sees
markets playing out) that "the 10Y Yield may go up to as
highs as 3.1% by year-end," because "investors have
switched from "I don't care about volatility, I want income" to
"I don't care about income, I dont want volatility." He sees no
sign of that changing...
Reads:
7,400
7 Year Treasury Auction Prices At
Lowest Bid To Cover Since May 2009
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 13:16
If yesterday's auction started off
as a 5 Year and ended up as a 7 Year reopening, today's 7 Year was just a 7
Year. That said, it was not pretty. Pricing at 2.221%, it was right on top of
the When Issued, and yet it was another 18 bps higher than the 2.03% in July,
and the widest since July 2011 or right before the first debt ceiling crisis.
As the chart below shows, the black line is steepening quite a bit over the
past 5 months as expected thanks to the Taper talk. But it was the Bid To Cover
that was the real story, having rolled over a long time ago, peaking in
mid-2011, and dropping moments ago to just 2.43. This was below the 2.54 from
last month., well below the 2.66 TTM average, and the lowest Bid To Cover since
the 2.26 in May of 2009.
Reads:
2,805
US Finally Admits What Ron Paul
Said: "Nobody Knows Who Set Off The Gas"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 12:39
The AP reports that US
intelligence officials are admitting that linking Syrian President
Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack is no
"slam dunk," as opposed to Obama (and Kerry) who are
'unequivocal' of the fact. This would appear to confirm Ron Paul's comments
this morning on Fox News that "We're not positive who set off the
gas," and indeed - who is set to benefit most from any
Assad-regime-smackdown? Al-Qaeda. "Assad is not an idiot,"
Paul adds, "it's unlikely he would do this on purpose... look how
many lies were told to us about Saddam Hussein prior to that build-up." A
lot of uncomrtable truths in this brief clip for an administration that has
crossed its own red line (as we noted here) on
actions against Syria now... "I think it's a false flag..."
Paul adds, there is a big risk that "we are getting sucked in" and
the American people are against this war.
Reads:
24,054
Russia Calls For Urgent UN
Security Council Meeting
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 12:16
Somehow we doubt that Putin just
folded...
Hopefully Putin doesn't whip out
incontrovertible proof the chemical gas attack wasn't linked to Al Qaeda... and
the US of course.
Reads:
16,054
So Much For That "Minimum
Repo Haircut"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 12:08
Back in May, with the release of
the quarterly TBAC presentation, we penned "Desperately Seeking $11.2
Trillion In Collateral, Or How "Modern Money" Really Works"
in which we described in detail Wall Street's lament that as a result of
upcoming changes and regulations of the shadow market, that there may be a
dramatic shortage in collateral over the next several years, which in addition
to other factors, may hit over $10 trillion. Well, we can scratch the
collateral concerns off.
G20
TASK FORCE SAYS NEW SHADOW BANKING RULES EXPECTED TO BE IN PLACE BY 2015
WON'T
IMPLEMENT GLOBAL MINIMUM 'HAIRCUT' ON REPOS, SECURITIES LENDING UNTIL MARKET
CONDITIONS RIGHT
Said otherwise, Wall Street looked
at the shadow banking abyss, and promptly ran away when the abyss looked back.
Reads:
4,285
EU Stocks Break Losing Streak On
EURUSD's Worst Day In Over 4 Months
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 11:42
Weakness in German unemployment
data was shrugged off as JPY-carry provided the same post US-open lift that US
stocks had to move European equities into the green on the day, breaking a
3-day losing streak. EURUSD is down 120 pips from the open of the EU
session - its largest plunge in over 4 months as 1.32 looks set to be
tested once again. European sovereign bonds traded in a narrow range but
rallied modestly on the US open. Once again, it seems, it is all one trade for
now...
Reads:
3,375
America's Social Recession: Five
Years and Counting
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 11:37
Forget Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) as a measure of expansion ("growth") or recession - what really
matters is the social recession, which continues to deepen in America.
The term social recession has two distinct meanings: around 2000, the term
was used to describe the erosion of social cohesion via the decline of
institutions such as marriage and the rise of social problems such as teen
pregnancy. We use the term social recession to describe a very different
phenomenon, the social and cultural consequences of permanently
recessionary economies such as Japan, and now Europe and the U.S.
Reads:
8,376
Market Update: It's Opposite Day
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 11:13
Sometimes you have to just sit
back and laugh and how Mr. Market (and the visible hand of carry-funded
exuberance) spreads its fingers of influence through asset-classes... This
morning's equity, bond, precious (and base) metal, and FX price moves are worth
a glance...
Reads:
7,003
Albert Edwards Storms Out Of The
Gate With Calls For 450 On The S&P, Sub-1% 10 Year, And $10,000 GOld
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 11:07
"The emerging markets
"story" has once again been exposed as a pyramid of piffle.
The EM edifice has come crashing down as their underlying balance of payments
weaknesses have been exposed first by the yen’s slide and then by the threat of
Fed tightening. China has flipflopped from berating Bernanke for too
much QE in 2010 to warning about the negative impact of tapering on emerging
markets! It is a mystery to me why anyone, apart from the activists
that seem to inhabit western central banks, thinks QE could be the solution to
the problems of the global economy. But in temporarily papering over
the cracks, they have allowed those cracks to become immeasurably deep
crevasses. At the risk of being called a crackpot again, I repeat my
forecasts of 450 for the S&P, sub-1% US 10y yields and gold above
$10,000."
Reads:
26,983
Meanwhile In Damascus, Life Goes
On
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 10:36
As global financial markets hang
on every headline, statement, and rumor emanating from the Middle-East,
residents of Damascus try their best to proceed with life as usual. This brief
clip from AFP sums it up perfectly as one resident notes, "we've
been under mortar attack for years... why should we be afraid? Mortars or Missiles,
what's the difference?" Interesting context for the
'Miley-Cyrus'-obsessed American public...
Reads:
8,683
Gold Confisaction Imminent? Or
Does India Simply Have An Offer For Its Citizens They Can't Refuse...
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 10:08
Even as the Indian capital
outflows and current account exodus may be threatening to shut down the economy
altogether (except for the three oil companies that received a last ditch USD
infusion from the RBI yesterday), the central bank is planning and
strategizing. And it appears to have come up with more of precisely the same
that has led it to its current unprecedented predicament: prevent the
population from converting their wealth into hard money, i.e., gold. But while
the government's attempts to impose capital controls on gold purchases have
been well documented, the latest foray is just a headspinner. Reuters reports that
India is now considering a "radical plan to direct commercial
banks to buy gold from ordinary citizens and divert it to precious metal
refiners in an attempt to curb imports and take some heat off the plunging
currency." Here we can safely assume that the commercial banks
will pay for the gold in... Rupees which just hit an all time low?
Reads:
15,499
The UK Government Debates The
Syrian Attack - Live Webcast
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 09:46
The first public 'discussion' and
not just a stream of teleprompter-driven talking points since the crisis came
to a head...
Reads:
8,738
2,400 Year Old Wisdom On The NSA,
Edward Snowden, And Gun Control
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 09:39
Nearly 2,400 years ago, Aristotle
wrote one of the defining works of political philosophy in a book entitled
Politics. It’s still incredibly relevant today, particularly what he writes
about tyranny. The ancient Greeks used the word ‘turannos’, which referred to
an illegitimate ruler who governs without regard for the law or interests of
the people, often through violent and coercive means. Aristotle attacks
tyrants mercilessly in his book, and clearly spells out the criteria which make
a leader tyrannical. You may recognize a few of them...
Reads:
20,549
BlackBerry All But Finished
Following "Dismal" Sales, "Virtually No Demand" For
Keyboard-Equipped Q10
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 09:14
Research In Motion
BlackBerry may have to rename itself again. Or Thorstein Heins will have to do
a Vogue cover spread. Or the company will have to take a page from the Amazon
playbook and revel in its losses (with the help of a few DE Shaw algos of
course). Or, worst case, Carl iCahn will have to tweet that his breakfast plans
include checking his email on a BlackBerry. Because operationally the company
is set to become the functional equivalent of JCP, especially following the
latest news from the WSJ that sales of the company's Hail Mary product, the
keyboard-equipped Q10, have been "dismal."
Reads:
10,795
Chairman Of Zurich Insurance
Quits Following CFO Suicide
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/29/2013 - 09:01
Mere days after the CFO of
Zurich Insurance, Pierre Wauthier, was found dead (of suspected suicide)
at his home in Zurich, the WSJ reports that CEO
Josef Ackerman has abrutly resigned. Just 18 months after his appointment at
Zurich (after leaving Deutsche Bank's top position), Ackerman's sudden
resignation appears based on his view that the late CFO's family felt he had
some responsibility for the death. Following a dismal 7% drop in Q1 profits and
having struggled in a low-rate environment since Ackerman took the reins, the
reasons for the CFO's suicide are not apparent but a statement from Ackerman
oddly commented, "I have reasons to believe the family is of the
opinion that I should take my share of responsibility."
Will War With Syria Cause The
Price Of Oil To Explode Higher?
Are
you ready to pay four, five or possibly even six dollars for a gallon of
gasoline? War has consequences, and a conflict with Syria has the
potential to escalate wildly out of control very rapidly. The Obama
administration is pledging that the upcoming attack on Syria will be
"brief and limited" and that the steady flow of oil out of the Middle
East will not be interrupted. But what happens if Syria strikes
back? What happens if Syrian missiles start raining down on Tel
Aviv? What happens if Hezbollah or Iran starts attacking U.S. or Israeli
targets? Unless Syria, Hezbollah and Iran all stand down and refuse to
fight back, we could very easily be looking at a major regional war in the
Middle East, and that could cause the price of oil to explode higher.
Syria is not a major oil producer, but approximately a third of all of the
crude oil in the world is produced in the Middle East. If the Suez Canal
or the Persian Gulf (or both) get shut down for an extended period of time, the
consequences would be dramatic. The price of oil has already risen about
15% so far this summer, and war in the Middle East could potentially send it
soaring into record territory. (Read
More....)
Don’t Let Your Daughters Grow Up
To Be Like Miley Cyrus
The
ultra-raunchy performance that Miley Cyrus put on at the 2013 MTV Video Music
Awards the other night is a perfect example of how morally bankrupt our culture
has become. Since that performance, Miley Cyrus has been the number one
topic of conversation in America, and a whole lot of people have actually been
defending her. They have been saying stuff like “if you don’t like it,
don’t watch it” and a CNN article even went so far as to say that we “need less outrage, less nannying”
about such performances. Unfortunately, the truth is that it would be a
tragic mistake to simply ignore such filth. Millions upon millions of
young girls absolutely adored Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana on the Disney
channel, and millions of those same girls are looking up to her as a role model
now. What they see her do is going to affect their
behavior. As for Miley Cyrus, she probably believes that the kind of
performance that she put on the other night is exactly what her audience wants,
and to a large degree that is probably true. It is easy to denounce the
garbage that we see at these award shows, but the cold, hard reality of the
matter is that the behavior that we see on these shows is a reflection of who
we are as a nation. (Read
More.....)
UK: NO WAR
British Parliament Votes
Against Action in Syria...
U.S. Congress stays away...
Obama Willing to Go Solo...
Deploys fifth warship...
Playing into Moscow's
hands...
Israelis hit out over gas
mask shortage...
Leaked documents
reveal US sees Israel as a major spying threat...
OBAMA BYPASSES CONGRESS,
GOES AFTER GUNS...
U.S. 'Black Budget' $52.6
Billion...
More than 107,000 intel
employees...
Feds OK pot use...
Marijuana advocates cheer
White House's stand...
LABOR PARTICIPATION RATE
HITS 34-YEAR LOW...
Teen employment hits record
lows, suggesting lost generation...
MAG: Premiums higher under
Obamacare as employers weigh dropping coverage...
Alternative Media
Blocks Globalist Attempt to Launch WW3
Julie Wilson |
Public becomes more aware of government’s constant lies and contradictions.
Rand Paul Warns
Obama Against Starting “Major War” With Russia
Paul Joseph Watson
| Senator says rebels more likely to be behind chemical weapons attack.
Rand Paul: Obama
Should Read Constitution to Avoid Allying with Al-Qaeda
Kit Daniels |
Paul says that only Congress can declare war on Syria.
Intel Sources:
Obama Is Stalling On Syria Strike To Make Deals With Putin
Steve Watson | Timescale for
attack now up in the air; Support for military action crumbling; Hezbollah
deploys troops to border.
Syria Attack: NY
Times Advocates Violating International Law
Kurt Nimmo | No
shortage of pro-mass murder advocates at the Grey Lady propaganda outfit.
Report: US Attack On
Syria to Begin Saturday
Paul Joseph Watson
| Onslaught to begin when UN inspectors leave.
Lawsuit Accusing
Texas of “Poorly Supervising Foster Children” Moves Forward
Julie Wilson |
“Children are being harmed. And the state knows it and is basically
disregarding the harm to children.”
Brzezinski: ‘Global
Political Awakening’ Making Syrian War Difficult
Mikael Thalen |
Top globalist Zbigniew Brzezinski says ‘global political awakening’ halts
Syrian war efforts.
JPMorgan Bribery Probe Said to
Expand as Spreadsheet Found
Bloomberg |
Spreadsheet linked appointments to specific deals pursued by the bank.
Detroit stopped issuing death,
birth certificates after bankruptcy
The Detroit News
| City couldn’t issue death – or birth – certificates because skittish vendor
wanted cash to supply paper.
Will War With Syria Cause The
Price Of Oil To Explode Higher?
Economic Collapse | Are you ready
to pay four, five or possibly even six dollars for a gallon of gasoline?
UN orders its
inspectors out of Syria in anticipation of strikes
London Guardian |
UN weapons inspectors have been ordered to leave Syria early amid mounting
anticipation of US-led military strikes.
Rand Paul Warns
Obama Against Starting “Major War” With Russia
Paul Joseph Watson
| Senator says rebels more likely to be behind chemical weapons attack.
Rand Paul: Obama
Should Read Constitution to Avoid Allying with Al-Qaeda
Kit Daniels |
Paul says that only Congress can declare war on Syria.
Alternative Media
Blocks Globalist Attempt to Launch WW3
Julie Wilson |
Public becomes more aware of government’s constant lies and contradictions.
Intel Sources:
Obama Is Stalling On Syria Strike To Make Deals With Putin
Steve Watson | Timescale for
attack now up in the air; Support for military action crumbling; Hezbollah
deploys troops to border.
US sends fifth
destroyer to eastern Med: official
AFP | The US Navy has deployed a
fifth destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean, a defense official told AFP on
Thursday, as expectations grow of an imminent strike on Syria.
Report: US Attack
On Syria to Begin Saturday
Paul Joseph Watson
| Onslaught to begin when UN inspectors leave.
AP: Syria
intelligence no ‘slam dunk’
The Hill | According to AP
sources, there is uncertainty about who controls Syria’s chemical weapon
supplies.
Obama imposes new
limits on guns through executive action
The Hill | The Obama
administration on Thursday imposed new limits on the import of military surplus
firearms.
Russia Sends
Warships to Mediterranean; Denies Syria Link
Paul Joseph Watson
| Missile cruiser & anti-submarine ship head to troubled region.
Goldman Sachs Banker Indicted On
Rape Charges
Business Insider | Goldman Sachs
managing director Jason Lee has been indicted on a rape charge, Bloomberg’s
Chris Dolmetsch is reporting.
Zero Hedge | How do markets (US
equities, Gold, Crude Oil, and the USD) react around US military conflicts…?
Jackson Hole Conclave: Central
Bankers Plan Global Theft, Massive Pain
New American | No Watchdogs
Allowed; Only Fed-friendly Media Lapdogs Admitted.
Presenting The Numerous,
Undisputed And Very Clear Signs That India's Currency Was Set For An Epic Crash
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 20:45
Citizens
of India have been watching, in stunned amazement, as over the past month the
local currency has lost an unprecedented 15% of its value, with a record plunge
taking place just last night. And, as so often happens, the population
habituated to a government "acting in its best interests" is
asking itself - how could we have possibly known this was coming. The
answer, as usually happens, was staring everyone right in the face. As
Grant Williams shows in his latest "Things That Make You Go Hmm",
the warnings came loud and clear, and were very explicit in the form of not one,
not two, not ten, but many more sequentially imposed and escalating forms of
capital controls by the Indian central bank that sought to prevent the
conversion of paper into hard currency. Gold.
Why Emerging Market FX Has
Further To Fall
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 20:14
The current external environment
and consequence of past policies are limiting options for EM nations (most
specifically Indonesia and India). Citi believes the best they can do
now is to smooth the (inevitable) macro adjustment (weaker FX, higher
risk premiums, slower growth) through improved policy credibility (to curb
volatility and overshooting) and find offsets to portfolio flows to ease the
pressure. The 4 choices of various rocks and hard places do not hold
much hope for anything but further FX devaluation. As Citi's Matt King
points out, what goes up (in terms of Emerging Market central bank FX reserves)
risks coming back down with a thud... and in case you were wondering why
India, Turkey, and Indonesia were the most-hammered...
22 Reasons Why Starting World War
3 In The Middle East Is A Really Bad Idea
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/28/2013
- 19:27
While most of the country is
obsessing over Miley
Cyrus, the Obama administration is preparing a military attack
against Syria which has the potential of starting World War 3. In fact,
it is being reported that cruise missile strikes could begin "as early as Thursday". The Obama
administration is pledging that the strikes will be "limited", but
what happens when the Syrians fight back? What happens if they sink
a U.S. naval vessel or they have agents start hitting targets inside the United
States? Then we would have a full-blown war on our hands. Could
this be the beginning of a chain of events that could eventually lead to a
massive global conflict with Russia and China on one side and the United States
on the other? Of course it will not happen immediately, but we
fear that what is happening now is setting the stage for some really bad
things... Let us hope that cooler heads prevail before things spin totally
out of control.
Nigerian Scam Emails To Get
Facelift Thanks To Goldman, UBS, Credit Suisse
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 18:52
Nigeria, Africa's top
oil-producing nation, has a problem - too much money in its sovereign wealth
fund and no idea what to do with it. Have no fear though, for as Reuters reports, Goldman
Sachs, UBS, and Credit Suisse have kindly responded (to emails from long-lost
cousins?) and will be allowed to managed 20% of Nigeria's $1 billion fund
(which is meant to cushion against oil price shocks - good timing?) This should
come as no surprise to Zero Hedge readers as we have been discussing Africa
as the only place left in the world
capable of incremental debt capacity (and therefore growth). There
are consequences (the boom-bust cycle) to this politically-motivated capital
inflow; but for now the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)
states (in a reassuring manner) that the banks will invest "the fund's
assets conservatively, with capital preservation in nominal terms being of
primary importance," which 'nominally' fits with UBS managing their
Treasury exposure and GS and CS their corporate debt exposures.
Obama "Concludes" That
Assad Carried Out Chemical Attack
Submitted by
Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 – { Non-sequitor, but convenient distraction from wobama’s
unequivocal failure and then some … ‘As Pat
Buchanan recently noted, it would have made absolutely no sense for
the Assad regime to use chemical weapons on defenseless women and
children. The only people who would benefit from such an attack would be
the rebels...The basic question that needs to be asked about this horrific
attack on civilians, which appears to be gas related, is: Cui bono?To whose
benefit would the use of nerve gas on Syrian women and children redound?
Certainly not Assad’s, as we can see from the furor and threats against him
that the use of gas has produced.The sole beneficiary of this apparent use of
poison gas against civilians in rebel-held territory appears to be the rebels,
who have long sought to have us come in and fight their war…’
Boehner Sends Obama Letter
Demanding "Clear, Unambiguous Explanation" For Syrian Intervention
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 17:58
Obama Administration Copies Bush’s
Sidelining of Weapons Inspectors In Iraq Posted by : George
Washington Post date: 08/28/2013 -
Debunking U.S. Claims about UN Weapons Inspections In Syria
Without Fraud and Accounting
Gimmicks, Earnings Are Falling... Posted by: Phoenix
Capital... Post date: 08/28/2013 -
If you remove this sector, then earnings for the S&P 500 in the second
quarter so far are DOWN 2.9%
I'M A DRoNe MaN!
Posted by: williambanzai7
Post date: 08/28/2013 - I have a drone or two!
I'M A DRoNe MaN!
Submitted
by williambanzai7
on 08/28/2013 16:53 -0400
.
.
I'M A DRONE MAN
(I'm a Soul Man, Sam and Dave)
WilliamBanzai7
Comin' to you on a Waziri mountain
road
Evil lovin', I got a C4 Butt Load
And when you get it, you got
nothing
So don't worry, 'cause I'm a
coming
I'm a drone man,
I'm a drone man
I'm a drone man,
I'm a drone man,
I'll bomb it all
You get what I got the hard way
And I'll make it bigger each and
every day
So pijamy jihadi, don't you fret
'Cause you ain't seen nothing yet
I'm a Drone man,
I'm a drone man, play it General
I'm a Drone man,
I'm a Drone man
I was brought up on a Hawaiian
street,
listen now
I learned how to hula before I
could eat
I was educated on choomba weed
When I start a bongin', oh, you
can't sleep
I'm a drone man,
I'm a drone man
I'm a drone man,
I'm a drone man
Well, smoke the hopium
and I'll pull you in
Give me the bong and I'll bomb
your kin
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm talkin' about a drone man
I'm a drone man, and you're a
droned man
I'm a drone man, oh no, drone man
I'm a drone man,
and you're a droned man
Just check out Obama's new drone
"In The Land Of The
Free" it is flown
Nothing will save
"The Home Of The Brave"
Tyrannical forces have grown
The Limerick King
.
72 Types Of Americans That Are
Considered “Potential Terrorists” In Official Government Documents
Are you a conservative, a
libertarian, a Christian or a gun owner? Are you opposed to abortion,
globalism, Communism, illegal immigration, the United Nations or the New World
Order? Do you believe in conspiracy theories, do you believe that we are
living in the “end times” or do you ever visit alternative news websites (such
as this one)? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you are a
“potential terrorist” according to official U.S. government documents. At
one time, the term “terrorist” was used very narrowly. The government
applied that label to people like Osama bin Laden and other Islamic
jihadists. But now the Obama administration is removing all references to Islam
from terror training materials, and instead the term “terrorist” is being
applied to large groups of American citizens. And if you are a
“terrorist”, that means that you have no rights and the
government can treat you just like it treats the terrorists that are being held
at Guantanamo Bay. So if you belong to a group of people that is now
being referred to as “potential terrorists”, please (Read
More....)
August 26th, 2013
| Tags: Alternative
News, Christian,
Conservative, Conspriacy
Theories, End Times,
Globalism, Gun Owner, Libertarian, Michael
T. Snyder, Potential
Terrorists, The
New World Order | Category: Conspiracy,
Police State, Society's War On Christianity | 67 comments
The Human Race Is Dying: DNA
Degeneration Would Eventually Lead To The Total Extinction Of Humanity
The human race is dying. It
certainly won’t happen this year or even this decade, but the steady
degeneration of human DNA would eventually lead to the total extinction of
humanity given enough time. The reason that we are heading toward
extinction is the increasing number of mutations that are being passed down
from generation to generation. According to Dr. John Sanford of Cornell
University, every one of us already carries tens of thousands of harmful
mutations, and each of us will pass on approximately 100 new mutations to
future generations. Humanity is degenerating at an accelerating pace, and
at some point the number of mutations will become so great that we will no
longer be able to produce viable offspring. This is not going to happen
in the immediate future, but already signs of DNA degeneration are all around
us. Despite all of our advanced technology, genetically-related
diseases are absolutely exploding. Our bodies are weak and frail, and
with each passing generation it is getting even worse.
Most people don’t understand
this. Most average people on the street just assume that the human race
will be able to go on indefinitely.
But the geneticists that carefully
(Read
More....)
Israelis Rush For
Gas Masks, Brace For Retaliation Ahead of Strike on Syria...
Syrian PM warns country
will become a 'graveyard for invaders'...
UN: 'Give peace a
chance'...
DOES OBAMA KNOW HE'S
FIGHTING ON AL QAEDA'S SIDE?
'I Have Not Made a
Decision'...
Iran: 'Thousands of
missiles' to rain on Jewish state...
REPORT: Calls intercepted
'prove' nerve gas...
Jordan: We won't help...
Oil Reaches Two-Year
High...
The worst and least-bad
scenarios...
Congressman to Boehner:
Call House Back Now...
HARVARD: GUN CONTROL DOES
NOT DECREASE VIOLENT CRIME...
More Than 200 Detroit
Teachers Moonlighting As 'Sugar Babies'...
Coretta Scott King in 1991:
Hold Employers Accountable for Hiring Illegals...
Jim Rogers Warns Syria War And
"Market Panic" To Send Gold "Much, Much Higher"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 08:57
Astute investor, Jim
Rogers has warned overnight in an interview with Tara Joseph of
Reuters that "oil and gold will go much, much higher"
due to "market panic" regarding Syria and the coming end of
free money... "when this artificial sea of liquidity ends
we're gonna see panic in a lot of markets, including in the US, including in
West developed markets."
Nigerian Scam Emails To Get
Facelift Thanks To Goldman, UBS, Credit Suisse
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/28/2013
- 18:52
Nigeria, Africa's top
oil-producing nation, has a problem - too much money in its sovereign wealth
fund and no idea what to do with it. Have no fear though, for as Reuters reports, Goldman
Sachs, UBS, and Credit Suisse have kindly responded (to emails from long-lost
cousins?) and will be allowed to managed 20% of Nigeria's $1 billion fund
(which is meant to cushion against oil price shocks - good timing?) This should
come as no surprise to Zero Hedge readers as we have been discussing Africa
as the only place left in the world
capable of incremental debt capacity (and therefore growth). There
are consequences (the boom-bust cycle) to this politically-motivated capital
inflow; but for now the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)
states (in a reassuring manner) that the banks will invest "the fund's
assets conservatively, with capital preservation in nominal terms being of
primary importance," which 'nominally' fits with UBS managing their
Treasury exposure and GS and CS their corporate debt exposures.
Obama "Concludes" That
Assad Carried Out Chemical Attack
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 18:15
Boehner Sends Obama Letter
Demanding "Clear, Unambiguous Explanation" For Syrian Intervention
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 17:58
The letter below was sent a short
while ago by House Speaker John Boehner to the president, voicing the Republican's
displeasure with the Commander In chief, and criticizing the level of
consultation about a potential military strike as well as demanding a clear
explanation of any mission in advance of its start. Sadly, since not even Obama
is quite clear why his Wall Street-based advisors demand that the US rush head
first into this deficit-boosting campaign (and whose primary purpose as we have
been explaining for a month is to make the Untaper possible), we doubt Boehner
will get a response. Separately, as the WSJ reports,
114 House lawmakers— 97 Republicans and only 17 Democrats—
have signed a letter calling on Mr. Obama to seek congressional authorization
before embarking on military action in Syria. We suspect that 17 would have
been substantially greater if the president engaging in unauthorized war had a
last name beginning with "Buh" and ending in
"Oosh."
August US Equity Trading Volume
Plunges To Lowest In 16 Years
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/28/2013
- 17:28
Earlier we showed one indicator of the US
investor's (should they exist anymore) loss of interest in the
Federal-Reserve-sponsored equity market - i.e. CNBC ratings at 20-year lows.
In the interest of being more fair-and-balanced we present anther
perspective... US equity trading volume in August of 2013 is the lowest
on average in 16 years... and all-time highs, middle-east war,
taper, weak macro, housing un-recovery, German elections, Asian FX crisis
will do little to improve that risk-appetite for the retiring boomer army.
Bill Ackman's Final JCP
Liquidation Price: $12.60/Share
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 17:12
"Citigroup Global Markets
Inc. is acting as underwriter of the offering. We and the Selling Stockholders
have entered into an underwriting agreement with the underwriter. Subject to
the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, the Selling
Stockholders have agreed to sell to the underwriter, and the
underwriter has agreed to purchase 39,075,771 shares of common stock at a price
of $12.60 per share, which will result in $492,354,715 of aggregate proceeds to
the Selling Stockholders before expenses. The underwriter is committed
to purchase all the common shares offered by the Selling Stockholders if it
purchases any shares."
Here’s What Candidate Obama Said
About Military Intervention In 2007
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 16:53
Q. In what circumstances, if
any, would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without
seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress? (Specifically, what about
the strategic bombing of suspected nuclear sites — a situation that does not
involve stopping an IMMINENT threat?)
Obama: The
President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize
a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or
imminent threat to the nation.
- Interview with Charlie Savage,
December 20, 2007
Volumeless 'Dead-Dog-Bounce' In
Stocks Fades Into Close On "I Believe" Day
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 16:13
With crude prices at multi-year
highs and India promising to save its oil companies it is perhaps not entirely
surprising that all the attention in this opposite world pushed the Energy
sector (most notably the biggest names) to lead the market higher on low
volumes today. Sadly, Chevron and Exxon accounted for 40 of the Dow's
48 point gain and the S&P energy sector gained an impressive 1.8%
as the rest sat around close to unchanged (and Staples lower). Treasuries
began selling off from the Asian open last night with the belly 6-7bps higher
in yield on the day (-3-5bps on the week)... But 330RAMP was missing
as all indices gave back considerable gains into the close with Trannies
red (and S&P at its 100DMA again).
A Brief Visual History Of US
Military Interventions
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 15:59
Since the Vietnam War, the United
States has engaged in several military interventions. As the West looks ready
to act against Syria, accused of using chemical weapons against its own
citizens, WaPo presents 10
instances when America has intervened, sometimes without authorization from the
United Nations.
The Chart That Every Taxpayer Deserves To See
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 15:35
This chart seems to sum up our
fiscal challenges as well as anything else...
50 Years After MLK: Obama Shares
His Dream - Live Webcast
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 15:06
President Obama commemorates 50
years of "believing"... in jobs and freedom
This Is How America Gets Educated
On Syria
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 14:35
Guest Post: A History Of Real GDP
& Population Growth
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 14:11
Despite trillions of dollars of
interventions and zero interest rates by the Federal Reserve, combined with
numerous bailouts, supports and assistance from the Federal Government, the
economy has yet to gain any real traction particularly on "Main
Street." Are we currently experiencing the second "Great
Depression?" That is a question that we can continue to debate
currently, however, it will only be answered for certain when future historians
judge this period. One thing is for sure. With the lowest rate of
annualized economic growth on record there is a problem currently that is not
being adequately recognized. The depression may indeed be on
"Main Street" once again with the only difference being that the
"breadlines" are formed in the mailbox rather than on street corners.
And while many are quick to dismiss comparisons to the Great Depression, there
is one important difference: the rate of population growth
which, as opposed to the depression era, has been on a steady and
consistent decline since the 1950's.
Nigel Farage Warns "Military
Intervention In Syria Could Lead To Something Far Bigger"
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 13:44
While Nigel Farage personal view
that it is 'probable' that Assad did what the US and British are accusing him
of, he notes "it is not absolutely certain," and before we go
to war, "we must have absolute proof and certainty."
Commenting on the British and US seeming enthusiasm for another Middle Eastern
'war', Farage provides a few minutes of common sense in this brief clip when he
notes that Europe remains split - though "moral outrage" at the
accusations will likely mean they support the attacks (adding that "moral
outrage alone is not enough to warrant attacks."). The UKIP leader then
warned that "military intervention in Syria could lead to something
far bigger, and even more worrying than we are seeing at the
moment." Finally, Farage notes that "whenever we get involved
in the Middle East, we tend to make things worse, not better,"
and as ghastly as the actions being committed are, there is nothing the British
(or American) military can do to make things better.
"MainStreet Bank" Chairman Stole Bailout Cash For
Florida House Purchase
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/28/2013 - 13:18
While unlikely to surprise too
many people, the chairman of the ironically-named "MainStreet Bank"
used over one-third of the TARP-supplied funds his bank received to buy himself
a luxury home. Darryl Woods plead guilty to using $381,000 of the TARP
funds to buy waterfront Florida property "at a time when many Americans
were losing their homes," the US District Attorney exclaimed.
Disgustingly, Mr Woods had previously written to TARP regulators describing
Mainstreet as a small community bank and saying the funds "will provide
vitally needed infusions to a bleeding patient." As The BBC reports, his wrongdoing was uncovered when
regulators began examining how the money was used - which has so far
uncovered 140 cases of misused funds...
Assad: Failure Awaits the USA
Posted by: Pivotfarm Post
date: 08/27/2013 - Syrian President Bachar al-Assad
has warned President Obama not to take military action against his country
since: “Failure awaits the United States as in all previous wars it has unleashed,
starting...
7 Countries In 5 Years
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 17:30
Presented with little comment
aside to note that it seems appropriate to watch the following 133 seconds to
get some context of just what is occurring once again...
The Dummies Guide To
Understanding The Middle East
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 21:00
Over the weekend we laid out the textual "short guide to the
Middle East", today we provide the graphic (visual) version of
the dummies guide to the Middle East. Simple, right?
Final Obamacare "Individual
Mandate" Rules Released: This Is What You Will Pay
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/27/2013
- 20:33
With president Obama taking his
role as Warmonger-In-Chief ever more seriously, it is easy to forget
that the only important function before the greatest presidential teleprompter
reader in history, is that of Socialized Healthcare Provider-in-Comrade.
And so today, in the fog of pre-war, the Obama administration released the final
rules on the "Individual Mandate" component of Obamacare, which
requires most Americans to buy health insurance starting in 2014 or be fined.
Specifically, the rules list lay out the amount of penalties that Americans
will face if they opt out of socialized healthcare. The WSJ was kind enough to
read the Treasury Department release and summarize it as follows.
What A US Strike On Syria Would
Look Like
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 20:01
In the event of a punitive strike or a limited
operation to reduce Syrian President Bashar al Assad's chemical
weapons delivery capability -- for instance, by targeting key command and
control facilities, main air bases and known artillery sites -- the United
States already has enough forces positioned to commence operations.
Syria Evacuates Troops From
Damascus Military Base, Al Arabiya Reports
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 19:33
Just a headline from Bloomberg,
citing Alarabiya, for now:
SYRIA
EVACUATES TROOPS FROM DAMASCUS MILITARY BASE: ARABIYA
Syrian army is clearing the
4th Battalion base in Damascus, Arabiya reports, citing activists in the city.
More as we see it.
O.J.Simpson Homeless? JPMorgan
Finally Forecloses After 3 Years
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 19:17
Murder (acquitted), armed
robbery (convicted), kidnapping (convicted), and now foreclosure...
It really hasn't been a good decade (or two) for O.J. Simpson. As NYPost reports, after
3 years of non-payment, none other than JPMorgan will foreclose on Simpson's
4,233 square feet, four-bedroom home in Florida. Still, he won't be entirely
homeless, he has a 'big house' to share with a few 'friends' for the
next 33 years...
Barclays Warns About The Oil
Price "Spillover Effects" From Syria
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 18:43
The increasing likelihood of some
form of limited US led military action in Syria is compounding concerns about
the stability of the world’s key oil producing region and Barclays warns that
it will likely exert upward pressure on prices until the nature of the possible
military intervention becomes apparent. But the bigger risk for the oil
market is the potential for the Syrian conflict to spread to neighboring
producing countries and imperil regional output, as the Syrian
conflict is fueling broader sectarian tensions across the entire Middle East
and has become something of a proxy war. The problem for global oil prices is
that all of this Middle East volatility is taking place against the
backdrop of a recent rise in unplanned outages in the oil market outside Syria.
In sum, Barclays is concerned that with geopolitical tension and physical
outages on the rise, crude oil markets are at an inflection point.
Syriana: Russia's Latest Official
Statements
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 18:12
MILITARY
OPERATION AGAINST SYRIA WOULD ONLY WORSEN CONFLICT - DUMA CHAIRMAN
MOSCOW
ALARMED BY SOME COUNTRIES' DELIBERATE ACTIONS TO UNDERMINE PRECONDITIONS FOR
POLITICAL-DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENT OF CONFLICT IN SYRIA - FOREIGN MINISTRY
LAVROV
DISAGREES WITH U.S. ON BLAMING SYRIAN GOVERNMENT FOR CHEMICAL ATTACK IN
TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH KERRY - RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY
RUSSIA
BELIEVES EXPERTS' WORK IN SYRIA SHOULD BE SUPPORTED, FACILITATED AS MUCH AS
POSSIBLE - FOREIGN MINISTRY
Guest Post: The Long View On
Interest Rates
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 16:52
There has been much discussion as
of late about the need for interest rates to rise as they have been
historically way too low for too long. However, is that really the case?
The average long term interest rate in the U.S. has been 5.49% (median
is 4.91%) since 1854. However, that average rate would be much lower
if the "spike" in interest rates in the 1960's and 70's were
removed which would mean that the current long term interest rate is likely
more aligned currently with historical norms. This is particularly the
case when compared to the much slower rates of economic growth that currently
exists. What we find find most interesting currently are the ongoing
discussions about whether or not the U.S. is in a recession. The reality
is that such discussions are relatively pointless in the broader context.
The "Great Depression" was not just
one very long "recessionary" period but
rather two recessions that "bookended" a
period of relatively strong economic growth.
Selloffnado: Perfect Macro Storm
Clobbers Stocks
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 16:08
An ugly day all around...
30Y Treasury yield
- biggest 4-day yield compression in 15 months
Dow Transports - biggest single-day loss in ~5 months (2nd
worst in 11 months)
Nasdaq - 2nd worst day in 10 months
AAPL - worst day in 3 months (2nd worst day of 2013)
USDJPY - biggest gain in JPY in 10 weeks
WTI - biggest single-day gain in 10 months
Financials - worst day in 10 months
In no particular order: Weak (and
strong) US data (good or bad news?), War, Taper (Treasuries 'special'), Debt
Ceiling, German elections, New Fed Chairman, imploding developing markets and
collapsing global currencies... (S&P 500's first close
<100DMA in 2013) it is on... (oh and S&P 500 futures 2nd
biggest volume day in 2 months)
Guest Post: The Immense (And Needless) Human Misery Caused By
Speculative Credit Bubbles
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 15:46
Financialization and the
Neocolonial Model of credit-based exploitation leave immense human
suffering in their wake when speculative credit bubbles inevitably
implode.
Meet Saudi Arabia's Bandar bin
Sultan: The Puppetmaster Behind The Syrian War
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 15:21
Yesterday the Telegraph's Evans-Pritchard
dug up a note that we had posted almost a month ago,
relating to the "secret" meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia, in
which Saudi's influential intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan met with
Putin and regaled him with gifts, including a multi-billion arms deal and a
promise that Saudi is "ready to help Moscow play a bigger role in the Middle
East at a time when the United States is disengaging from the region", if
only Putin would agree to give up his alliance with Syria's al-Assad and let
Syria take over, ostensibly including control of the country's all important natgas transit
infrastructure. What was not emphasized by the Telegraph is that
Putin laughed at the proposal and brushed aside the Saudi desperation by simply
saying "nyet." However, what neither the
Telegraph, nor we three weeks ago, picked up on, is what happened after
Putin put Syria in its place. We now know, and it's a
doozy.
On The Looming Federal 'Helium'
Reserve Cliff (No, Really!)
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 15:07
The US has been stockpiling helium
in ‘The Federal Helium Reserve’
(no, really) – an underground reservoir near Amarillo – since it was built in
1929. There is also a processing plant and 450 miles
of pipelines. The US produces about 75% of the world’s helium, with
half of that stored in the aforementioned reserve. Although helium is
abundant, it is not economically feasible to capture and extract it from the
atmosphere. The problem is that the Congress passed ‘The Helium
Privatization Act’ in 1996, which stated that the government would effectively
end sales from the reservoir once its debt was paid off. And this is expected
to happen in, um, early October.
Uncle Sam Comes Callin', Asks
Jamie Dimon For Another $6 Billion
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 14:44
The US is demanding a sum of $6
billion - the total loss associated with the "London Whale" debacle -
in compensation for JPMorgan's mis-selling of mortgage-backed-securities.
The FT reports that,
unsurprisingly, the bank is resisting the payment, which would be its single
biggest penalty in a catalog of expensive run-ins with US authorities and one
of the largest post-crisis settlements by any bank. The FHFA said the bank
falsely claimed that loans backing $33bn of mortgage-backed securities complied
with underwriting guidelines and that it "significantly overstated the
ability of the borrowers to repay their mortgage loans". It seems,
perhaps, it is time to trade in the old jewelry
for some new Kremlin cufflinks (the enemy of your enemy is
your friend?)
S&P 500 Futures Lose Critical
Technical Level
Submitted by Tyler Durden on
08/27/2013 - 14:30
For the first time since the most
recent rally began in November, S&P 500 futures have retested (and
broken below) the 100-day moving average within days of a previous
break (without making new highs). It would appear the BTFD mentaliity is less
exuberant with war and a tapering Fed in the background. And for those great
rotators... 30Y yields are at 2 week lows...
DAWN OF WAR
DOES OBAMA KNOW HE'S
FIGHTING ON AL-QAEDA'S SIDE?
FLASHBACK: Biden Wanted to
Impeach Bush for Attack w/o Congress...
Strike within days...
Warplanes begin arriving in
Cyprus...
Armed forces 'making
contingency plans'...
White House: Not regime
change!
Arab Allies Withhold
Support...
NKOREA caught trying to
send gas masks, weapons to Syria...
STOCKS JOLTED...
Oil Reaches 18-Month
High...
Russia warns 'catastrophic
consequences'...
Kucinich: USA Will Become
'al-Qaeda's air force'...
'Rebels' vow revenge
attacks...
IRAN THREATENS ISRAEL...
WILL BE 'FIRST VICTIM'...
POLL: Attack On Syria Would
Be Most Unpopular...
UPDATE: 'Homeland Security'
employee behind racist website placed on PAID leave...
SHOCK: Pre-teen black kids
bully 3-year-old white girl...
VIDEO: 'When
white people piss black people off'...
COPS: Black teen girls
assault white woman; charged with 'ethnic intimidation'...
PAPER: Black man attacks
elderly white male, tells him he 'shouldn't be in his park'...
SCHOOL: Black student sent
racist texts to himself...
RUSSIA, CHINA WARN AGAINST STRIKE
{ The final nail in america’s global coffin! Really! }
BAMA'S WAR...
BUCHANAN: Congress should
veto...
Strike within days...
Warplanes begin arriving in
Cyprus...
Armed forces 'making
contingency plans' for military action...
CAMERON RECALLS
PARLIAMENT...
STOCKS JOLTED...
Russia evacuates 90 people
...
Says West Acting Like
'Monkey With Hand Grenade'...
Top Syrian Official: Obama
'Completely Wrong'; 'Produce The Evidence'...
Cory Booker: So What If I'm
Gay? { Wobama’s a gay nigger too! }
COPS: Black teen girls
assault white woman; charged with 'ethnic intimidation'...
PAPER: Black man attacks
elderly white male, tells him he 'shouldn't be in his park'...
Report: SC restaurant
refused to seat black patrons...
SCHOOL: Black student sent
racist texts to himself...
Jesse Jackson: 'Tea Party
is Resurrection of the Confederacy'... { Riiiiight, jesse the typical nigger jackson … go join your son
in jail, where the niggers have proven by every factual crime stat they belong
… indeed, they’ve proven they can’t live in this or any other nation as
anything but slaves or inmates, so inherently uncivilized they are! Time to
require work for their welfare … to occupy their otherwise misspent time
getting high, partying, listening to their rap s***, and committing crimes. I’m
quite serious! }
Don’t Let Your Daughters Grow Up
To Be Like Miley Cyrus
The
ultra-raunchy performance that Miley Cyrus put on at the 2013 MTV Video Music
Awards the other night is a perfect example of how morally bankrupt our culture
has become. Since that performance, Miley Cyrus has been the number one
topic of conversation in America, and a whole lot of people have actually been
defending her. They have been saying stuff like “if you don’t like it,
don’t watch it” and a CNN article even went so far as to say that we “need less outrage, less nannying”
about such performances. Unfortunately, the truth is that it would be a
tragic mistake to simply ignore such filth. Millions upon millions of
young girls absolutely adored Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana on the Disney
channel, and millions of those same girls are looking up to her as a role model
now. What they see her do is going to affect their
behavior. As for Miley Cyrus, she probably believes that the kind of performance
that she put on the other night is exactly what her audience wants, and to a
large degree that is probably true. It is easy to denounce the garbage
that we see at these award shows, but the cold, hard reality of the matter is
that the behavior that we see on these shows is a reflection of who we are as a
nation. (Read
More.....)
Public School Is One Of The Most
Dangerous Places You Could Possibly Put Your Children
Would you willingly send your kids into a war zone?
No way. Would you willingly send your children into a federal
prison? Of course not. So why would you send them to a public
school? In America today, kids are being killed on the way to school, at
school and on the way home from school. Mass shootings are becoming
increasingly common, the influence of gangs in our schools is on the rise and
sometimes the biggest threat of danger comes from the teachers and the security
officials that are supposed to be there to “protect” our children. But
violence is not the only thing for parents to be concerned about when it comes
to our public schools. The truth is that public schools in the United
States have become government indoctrination centers, and many teachers
are constantly looking for opportunities to inject as much propaganda as they
possibly can into classroom instruction. After a dozen years of this,
many students leave high school virtually brainwashed and nearly incapable of
thinking for themselves. This is one of the reasons why so many high
school students seem like they are dumb
as a rock. Our young people spend most of their young lives in
prison camps where they are constantly being told what to think instead of
being trained how to think. Why would anyone want to subject their
children to that? (Read
More.....)
Edward Snowden leaks again: five
takeaways from the 'black budget'
Edward Snowden
has struck again, this time via The Washington Post. The former National Security
Agency data professional leaked a secret-filled 178-page summary of
Edward Snowden leaks again: five
takeaways from the 'black budget'
The
latest Edward Snowden leak reveals that the CIA claims the lion's share of the
$52.6 billion classified 'black budget' that the US spent on its intelligence
agencies in 2013, topping the NSA.
Peter
Grier
Edward
Snowden has struck again, this time via The Washington Post. The
former National Security Agency data professional leaked a
secret-filled 178-page summary of the US
intelligence community budget to Post reporters Barton Gellman and Greg
Miller, who published
online a lengthy story about the document, illustrated with great
charts and graphics, on Thursday.
The bottom line, or rather the
budget top line, is that all US intelligence agencies combined spent $52.6
billion in fiscal year 2013. That’s about 2.4 percent less than they spent in
FY 2012.
That’s not classified, strictly
speaking: The US has released its overall intelligence budget since 2007, as
Messrs. Gellman and Miller note. But breakdowns as to which agency gets how
much and what the money is spent on have been classified, and the Post reveals
those things, too.
Here’s our quick take on
significant things in the story:
The CIA is still first among
equals. The nation’s human-oriented intelligence agency got $14.7 billion for
2013. The eavesdropping NSA, despite its need for expensive electronics, got
less: $10.8 billion. The National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and
maintains signal and photo intelligence satellites, received almost as much as
the NSA, at $10.3 billion. That means those secret eyes and ears in the sky are
really, really expensive.
Predicting the future: priceless.
OK, maybe “priceless” isn’t quite the right word. There is a price tag here, a
big one. The biggest single item in the breakdown of the budget by mission
objective is “Provide Strategic Intelligence and Warning,” which gets 39
percent of intelligence community’s $52 billion. That means they are putting a
lot of effort into the predictions that go into the president’s morning
security briefings.
“Combat Violent Extremism” is the
second-biggest function, with 33 percent of the budget. “Counter Weapons
Proliferation” is third, with 13 percent.
Will Israel be insulted? The
budget summary included discussion of the intelligence community’s priorities,
successes, and failures, as well as numbers. For instance, it noted that the US
takes an “interest” in countries that are allies, as well as countries that
aren’t. Among the nations listed as counterintelligence “priority targets” are
China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and ... Israel.
Pakistan, a nominal ally, is also
listed as an “intractable target." That’s not too surprising, is it, given
that’s where Osama bin Laden was hiding in plain sight.
Why so many Spanish-speaking
spies? Intelligence agencies pay bonuses to employees who maintain proficiency
in foreign languages. The No. 1 bonus language is Spanish, with 2,725 bonuses
dispersed. That’s more than twice as many as were paid out to the
second-ranking language, Arabic. Arabic speakers got 1,191 bonuses. Chinese
speakers got 903, and Russian speakers got 736.
Did Manning make Snowden possible?
Near the end, the Post story notes that the intelligence community had budgeted
for a “major counterintelligence initiative” in 2012 that would have tried to
guard against insider threats by reinvestigating the activities of thousands of
“high-risk, high-gain applicants and contractors.”
Mr. Snowden himself might well
have fallen into that category. But the initiative never got carried out, the
Post notes, because those resources were diverted to an all-hands-on-deck
response to the leak of thousands of documents by WikiLeaks. Those documents
were provided by Bradley Manning (who has recently asked to be known
as a transgender woman named Chelsea).
“The government panicked so
strongly about the threat caused by leaking documents classified at a lower
level than this [budget] document that it diverted resources from the very
program that possibly would have exposed Edward Snowden before he could have
leaked,” notes national security journalist Joshua Foust on his blog.
RECOMMENDED:
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NSA may have spied on UN. Big
deal, or business as usual? (+video)
USA Update Why did NSA spy on UN? Not to
counter terrorism, secret documents show.
Global News Blog Russian media report: How Snowden
missed his flight to Cuba
Read this story at csmonitor.com
Meet the ex-'Seinfeld' funnyman turning the tables on
‘Nigerian princes’
Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News 6
hours ago The Sideshow
Comedian Barry Marder during a recent
appearance on Seinfeld's
Just about anyone with an email account has gotten a missive from someone
claiming to be a “Nigerian prince”
asking for money and promising a large financial reward in return.
And while the vast majority of us simply ignore the email scams, one man
has managed to turn the tables on the aspiring con artists in a very unusual,
and funny, way.
Comedian and author Barry Marder actually
replies to the Nigerian prince emails.
Often using his pseudonym Ted L. Nancy, Marder
sends polite, engaging and entirely naive messages to the individuals asking
for his money. And he doesn’t stop replying until the con men themselves
literally beg him to leave them alone.
“Basically, I drove them nuts until they cut it off,” Marder told Yahoo
News. “They said get away from me, you’re a moron.”
The resulting exchanges were so unexpected and entertaining that Marder showed his pal Jerry
Seinfeld, who suggested turning them into a new show.
Ted L. Nancy: Letters from a nut
The story of how Marder, a longtime friend and collaborator of
Seinfeld's, started his unusual correspondence with the Nigerian scammers dates
to the 1990s.
Marder created the Ted L. Nancy character as a way to interact with
companies who invite customers to write them about their experiences with the
company’s products.
“I came up with this character in 1994 with my girlfriend, Phyllis
Murphy,” Marder said of Nancy’s origins. “I was eating a bag of Fritos, and she
was watching TV at 4 in the morning. On the bag, it said, 'If you’ve got any
problems, write Fritos.' I said to myself, 'Who would write to Fritos?'”
Marder, as Ted L. Nancy, then began writing letters to major corporations
and even public utility providers. And strangely enough, they wrote back.
“I wrote to the gas company and told them I was an avid reader of your
gas pamphlets,” Marder told Yahoo News. “I started to get answers back, and I thought
wow, these people are going to answer me.”
The Ted L. Nancy act works by seeing how long someone will indulge the
ridiculous rants of an entirely sincere, enthusiastic and wildly uninformed
man.
“Ted is a very nice, polite person,” Marder explained. “He’s not
contentious. He compliments them. And then he starts with the horror, ‘I like
to check into your hotel with 300 hamsters.’ Ted was a nut. But he was really
nice, friendly nut.”
Eventually, Seinfeld encouraged Marder to compile the Nancy letters into
a book. The Ted L. Nancy series – Letters
From a Nut became so popular that many people assumed they were
actually written by Seinfeld himself. Eventually, the pair had to make a series
of national TV appearances on programs like NBC’s “Today” show
to convince a skeptical audience that Marder was in fact the person behind
Nancy.
'By the sixth exchange, they would be telling me I was a moron'
When the Ted L. Nancy email account started receiving messages from individuals
claiming to be Nigerian princes, lawyers or doctors, he knew it was a natural
way to extend the humorously benign adventures of Ted L. Nancy.
“Everyone in America gets these letters,” Marder said. “'We have $22
million for you,’ they have this sob story, etc. The stories became more and
more outlandish.”
“Comedy is a very good vehicle to show people the truth,” Marder
explains. “I would get into 20 to 30 email exchanges with them. I’d ask them if
I could get some spending money, could I get some money for dry cleaning,"
he said.
And while Marder would never actually send any of the email scammers
money, he would send them pictures of other, unusual items as part of the ruse.
For example, he’d mail a picture of a single sock or swimming goggles to
the physical address where the scammers were asking him to wire money. Then, he
would demand that they send back a photo of the sock to confirm they had
received his package.
“By the sixth exchange, they would be telling me I was a moron,” Marder
said. “This went on until every one of them told me off. I think this is just
weird, funny stuff. It’s a social thing, it does paint a picture.”
Along the way, he interacted with scammers hailing from Russia, India
and, of course, Nigeria. In the end, they all had two things in common: First
they asked for money, and eventually, they all gave up and asked Nancy to just
go away.
And now, Marder said he wants to turn the Nigerian prince email exchanges
into a new animated Web series. He hopes he and Seinfeld could do some of the
voices and his brother Alan Marder could
animate a series of 10 episodes chronicling the increasingly bizarre exchanges.
As to whether there’s a deeper social meaning to his efforts, Marder said
it’s all done for laughs. But he’s hopeful that anyone not already aware of the
scam emails sees his videos before getting roped in.
“Anyone that preys on anyone for any reason, it’s wrong,” he said.
“They’re not offering any kind of real service. I think they should be
stopped.”